Breck Falls To Duluth East At Schwan Cup

After not losing since last January, the Breck boys hockey team dropped its second-straight game with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Duluth East in the consolation semifinals of the Schwan Cup Gold Division Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday afternoon.

"Not as rough as yesterday," Breck coach Les Larson said in reference to an 8-0 loss to Hill-Murray in the tournament opener on Wednesday. "I was happy with our effort today."

Breck took the first lead of the game as forward Keegan Iverson scored at 8:51 of the opening period and the Mustangs carried the 1-0 edge into the first intermission.

"It's a math thing," Larson said. "If you score the first one, they have to score two to beat you."

The math was solid in theory, but not so much in practice as the Greyhounds turned the Mustangs mathematics on its ear by scoring their first goal at the 1:46 mark of the second period, then adding four more in the final frame to take a lead that could not be surmounted.

Breck's other goal of the game came off the stick of forward Wesley Iverson at 9:32 of the third period to briefly draw his team to within a lone tally at 3-2 before Duluth East logged the final two scores of the contest to skate off with the win.

"Our kids played tough and it was another good learning experience for our young team," Larson said. "The kids are doing fine."

Breck, now 5-2 on the season, has one more chance at claiming a Schwan Cup victory as the Mustangs take on White Bear Lake in the seventh-place game at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.

"New day, new deal," Larson said. "That's the best thing about this sport, you can start over the next day."