Breck vs. Delano

7:15 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1

A week into this season and Class 1A, Section 2 looks to be one of the toughest in the small-school field with three teams ranked in the top 10 of the Class 1A coaches’ poll: No. 3 Orono, No. 6 Breck and No. 9 Delano.

Breck has dominated the section, with seven state tournament berths in the past nine years. That was until last year, when Delano broke through with a 2-0 victory to earn the program’s first state tourney appearance behind a talented 12-man senior class that helped produce 198 goals in 31 games.

It was the third consecutive time these rivals met for the section title, and the fifth straight postseason showdown for the programs, giving Friday's regular-season matchup the history and pedigree to be our Top Game of the Week.

The Mustangs lost their season opener 5-1 to Fargo Davies, a program that won the consolation title in North Dakota a season ago. Breck (1-1) rebounded with a 6-0 shutout of Pine City last Saturday.

A product of Mound Westonka’s youth program, Breck's Beau Cournyea notched a natural hat trick in the second period against the Dragons. Nick Strom, one of the state’s best two-way defenders, contributed on both ends of the ice -- helping the Mustangs defense shut out Pine City's offense and tallying two goals and an assist.

The Tigers, despite graduating most of their offensive productivity from a season ago, upset East Grand Forks 3-2 in their season debut last Friday.

Six-foot-7 defender Tanner Glasrud (3-19-22) is the embodiment of the gritty, physical play Delano has established as its identity over the years. Forward Justin Daly (8-9-17) has the skills to help the Tigers (1-0) take care of the puck and limit opponents' scoring chances, which could be key to helping Delano thrive this season.