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Breck takes down Hill-Murray in top-ranked showdown

By Heather Rule, SportsEngine, 01/20/17, 7:00AM CST

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Grace Zumwinkle netted a hat trick, helping the Mustangs hold off the Pioneers 5-4.




Emily Zumwinkle (22) celebrates her first of three goals early in the first period. Breck would hold off Hill Murray's late attack to defeat the Pioneers 5-4 at Aldrich Arena on Friday night. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine




Haylee Blinkhorn (14) finds the back of the net bringing the Pioneers with in one with just 22 seconds left in the game. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Breck senior forward Grace Zumwinkle missed a few high school games recently, but she still played hockey. She scored the game-winner for the U.S. U18 women’s national team in its 3-1 gold-medal game against Canada last weekend.

“Obviously it was a cool experience in the Czech Republic, but we knew—all of us when we came back—that we have business to take care of in high school, especially with sections coming up,” Zumwinkle said.

With just a few games remaining in the regular season, the University of Minnesota commit picked up where she left off, scoring a hat trick for the Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A in the coaches’ poll, in their 5-4 victory over host No.2-2A Hill-Murray (17-4-0, 8-8-0) Friday night at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

Zumwinkle is one of the state leaders in goals, with 34 in 16 games. It was her eighth multi-goal game this season.

“It’s definitely nice to have her back,” said Breck coach Ronda Engelhardt. “I think it’s good sometimes when she goes away just for the team to kind of step up and see what they can do, and then when she comes back they just have that energy that she brings.”

Zumwinkle brought that energy in the form of the game’s first goal just 2:22 into the game Friday. It was the start of a six-goal total in the first period, leaving the teams tied at 3-3 in the first intermission.

Zumwinkle drove down along the boards before popping out front for a backhand shot into the net for her first goal of the night. That speedy move is one of her favorites, she said, though she knows she needs some variety so opponents won’t expect her move all the time.

The Pioneers responded about a minute later with a shot off the pipe, then they tied it up 1-1 after some work along the boards by junior Abigail Boreen.

The Mustangs (15-4-2, 3-1-2) killed off a penalty before Zumwinkle scored—that is, eighth-grade defender and Grace’s sister, Emily Zumwinkle. Her shot from the right point got through a screen for her second goal of the season.

“I’m always telling her ‘shoot more, because good things will happen,’” Grace said. “And then I was happy to see her do that tonight.”

Grace is used to playing with her older sister, Anna, who’s a freshman in college. Now, it’s Grace and Emily sharing some ice time and old-ice workouts together.

“This is my first year playing with my little sister, and obviously it’s such a cool experience to be able to share with her my senior year,” Grace said.

Exactly two minutes after Emily’s goal, the Mustangs grabbed a 3-1 lead with a goal from senior Kendall Williamson. The Mustangs maintained good puck control and kept the puck from leaving the offensive zone.

But the Pioneers weren’t going into the dressing room down a couple goals. They scored goals 36 seconds apart in the closing minutes to tie it up at 3 apiece. First, it was Boreen with her second of the game and 23rd of the season with a slapshot that found the corner of the goal on the blocker side. With 1:30 remaining in the first, sophomore Katie Kaufman scored the sixth goal of the period.

The Mustangs and Grace grabbed the momentum back just 43 seconds into the second period, with her second goal for a 4-3 lead. She scored again early in the third. The Pioneers scored with 22 seconds left to get within one, but their six-game winning streak was snapped.

Grace called it a “momentum builder” for the remaining regular season games.

"Today makes me happy," Engelhardt said. "I think we figured out how to play offensively, which is good. We were making decisions in the offensive zone that we weren't doing before, so it's fun to kind of see that growth."

First Report

Breck senior Grace Zumwinkle recorded the hat trick in her team’s 5-4 victory over host Hill-Murray on Friday night at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

It was a matchup of two No. 2-ranked teams, according to the state coaches’ poll. Breck (15-4-2, 3-1-2) No. 2 in Class 1A, and Hill-Murray (17-4-0, 8-8-0) No. 2 in Class 2A. They combined for a six-goal first period.

Fresh off her gold-medal-winning performance with the U-18 USA women’s national team last weekend, captain Zumwinkle picked up where she left off with Breck. She scored her 32nd goal of the season just a couple minutes into the game with a backhand move to the net to put her team up 1-0.

The Pioneers responded about a minute later with a shot off the pipe, then they tied it up 1-1 after some work along the boards by junior Abigail Boreen.

The Mustangs killed off a penalty before Zumwinkle scored—that is, eighth-grade defender Emily Zumwinkle. Her shot from the right point got through a screen for her second goal of the season. Exactly two minutes later, the Mustangs grabbed a 3-1 lead with a goal from senior Kendall Williamson. The Mustangs maintained good puck control and kept the puck from leaving the offensive zone.

But the Pioneers weren’t going into the dressing room down a couple goals. They scored goals 36 seconds apart in the closing minutes to tie it up at 3 apiece. First, it was Boreen with her second of the game and 23rd of the season with a slapshot that found the corner of the goal on the blocker side. With 1:30 remaining in the first, sophomore Katie Kaufman scored the sixth goal of the period.

In goal, sophomore Ally Frantzick made 24 saves for the Mustangs. Sophomore Ava Bailey stopped 27 shots for the Pioneers.

Photo Gallery


Grace Zumwinkle scored a hat trick as Breck held off the Hill Murray 5-4. Zumwinkle leads the Mustangs in scoring with 34 goals and 10 assists. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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