Chase Ellingson serves as the face, if not the focal point, for this season’s Breck team.

He is the senior captain and center, the leading goal scorer and fourth-year varsity anchor that draws the full attention of opposing teams.

On Thursday night at Breck School Ice Arena in Golden Valley, Ellingson proved again to be the heart of the Mustangs, scoring two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to lift his team to a 4-3 victory over St. Paul Academy.

The game-winner 1 minute, 35 seconds into overtime capped off a hard-earned comeback for Breck, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A by Let's Play Hockey. The Mustangs had to fight from behind at home to survive the upset bid against the inspired play of the No. 9-1A Spartans.

“We came out flat early, but we picked it up as time went along,” Ellingson said. “Our tenacity is a big team asset right now. We’ve got a group of guys who want to be at the rink, and it shows on the ice, and I think it shows in our record.”

The Spartans (16-5, 3-3) led 2-0 midway through the game before Breck (17-3, 4-0) started to convert on some of its many chances. The Mustangs put up 16 shots in the first period and 14 more in the second, but St. Paul Academy goalie Andy Beran was tough all night. The sophomore was flawless early and finished with 36 saves as the Spartans were outshot 40-23 for the game.

“Andy is an outstanding young goaltender, a feisty guy who plays us very tough,” Breck coach Les Larson said. “And then also the speed that (St. Paul Academy) brings, and it can present challenges.”

Evan Dahlseide opened the scoring at 11:27 of the first period, and St. Paul Academy went ahead 2-0 on the first shift on the second period when Matt Dahlseide struck for the Spartans to take a two-goal lead.

But Breck answered, as Tyler Scott put the Mustangs on the board midway through the second period, and Ellingson’s first goal knotted the game 2-2. 

St. Paul Academy's Justin Jallen put the Spartans ahead 1 minute, 22 seconds into the third hit, and that's when the Mustangs started getting to work. 

They threaded passes through the slot to open wings, creating prime scoring chances that ultimately produced the equalizer when Austin Heidemann scored 8 minutes, 32 seconds in the third to push for overtime.

Just 1:13 into the extra period, St. Paul Academy drew a penalty for elbowing and put Breck on the power play, a significant opportunity for a Mustangs team firing at 44.6 percent with the man advantage. A brief 22 seconds later, it was over when Ellingson buried his own rebound from the top of the slot.

“We’ve seen a hot goalie before,” Ellingson says. “It’s nothing new. We just felt like if we stuck to our game plan and continued to work hard on every shift, then it would pay off eventually.”

Larson credits the team's ability to keep its line shifts short in duration but heavy in treatment in helping close the gap late in the third.

“You hang in there and do what you do, and have faith that it’s going to work out,” Larson said. “Thank goodness we practice special teams and pay attention to detail like we do, because we are lucky we came out on top of this one.”

Afterward, Ellingson was complimentary in his assessment of St. Paul Academy, whom he thinks might do well in Class 1A, Section 4, while the Mustangs head to compete in Class 1A, Section 2 next month.

“That’s the best St. Paul Academy team I’ve ever seen in my four years here, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing in March,” Ellingson said. “They’ve got a great deal of speed and they work hard.”


St. Paul Academy's Andy Beran stretches for a pad save in the third period, denying Breck's Justin Paschke (12) the go-ahead goal. Photo by Cheryl Myers.

First Report

Chase Ellingson scored a power-play goal 1 minute, 23 seconds into overtime to help lift Breck to a 4-3 victory over St. Paul Academy Thursday evening at Breck School Ice Arena in Golden Valley. 

The goal was the second of the night for the Mustangs’ senior captain, whose game-winner capped off a hard-earned comeback for Breck, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A by Let's Play Hockey, who had to fight from behind at home to survive the upset bid from No. 9-1A St. Paul Academy.

The Spartans (16-5, 3-3) led 2-0 midway through the game before Breck (17-3, 4-0) started to convert on some of its many chances. The Mustangs put up 16 shots in the first period and 14 more in the second, but St. Paul Academy goalie Andy Beran was tough all night, and flawless early on as the sophomore finished with 36 saves as the Spartans were outshot 40-23 for the game.

Evan Dahlseide opened the scoring at 11:27 of the first period and St. Paul Academy went ahead 2-0 on the first shift on the second period when Matt Dahlseide struck for the Spartans to take a two-goal lead.

But Breck would answer, as Tyler Scott put the Mustangs on the board midway through the second period, and Ellingson’s first goal knotted the game at 2-2 headed into the third. Again, St. Paul Academy hit early in the period as Justin Jallen put the Mustangs out ahead again 1 minute, 22 seconds into the third. The game-tying goal for Breck came from Austin Heidemann at 8 minutes, 32 seconds to push for the overtime session.

Shortly after the start of overtime, St. Paul Academy drew a penalty for elbowing at 6:47, putting Breck on the power play, a significant opportunity for a Mustangs team firing at 44.6 percent with the man advantage. A brief 22 seconds later, it was over when Ellingson buried a rebound from the top of the slot to win the game.

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