Breck at Centennial
3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14

Maybe this is the year Breck to get past Blake in Class 1A, Section 5. The Bears have defeated the Mustangs to win the last three section titles. Before the skid, Breck had won three straight championships.

The Mustangs went 19-8-1 last year with two losses coming against Blake.

No. 2-1A Breck returns three all-state players, including two goalies. Jenna Brenneman and Sydney Scobee are committed to play Division I hockey next year, with Brenneman heading to Clarkson and Scobee to Vermont.

For this season, they’ll combine to once again be one of the state's best goalie tandems. Last year, Brenneman finished with a 8-3 record and had three shutouts while posting a 1.49 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. Scobee went 11-5-1 with four shutouts and had a 1.95 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

The Mustangs also have leading scorer and Minnesota recruit Grace Zumwinkle back. She tallied 39 goals and 25 assists in 28 games last season and spent part of the offseason playing with the U.S. Under-18 Select Team in its three-game series with Canada.

Centennial will again try to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2008. The Cougars came up short last year after losing to rival Blaine 3-2 in the Class 2A, Section 5 championship. The Bengals, who should challenge for the section title again, ended Centennial’s season two years ago with a victory in the section semifinals.

The Cougars broke out last season, finishing with a 20-7-1 overall record - their first 20-win since 2008-09. With leading scorer Gabbie Hughes (32 G, 26A) returning for her sophomore season, No. 11-2A Centennial has a chance to replicate that success.

Anneke Linser, who had a 19-goal, 24-assist season as a freshman, is back, as is junior Clare Riley (9G, 8A) and senior Anne Juergens, who went 20-6 with four shutouts and had a 2.00 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in goal last year. 

Linser had two goals in Centennial's 5-3 loss to Elk River/Zimmerman in the season opener on Nov. 7. The Elks scored three third-period goals to rally from a 3-2.