Breck is Back On Top

Breck Avenges Lone Loss, Defeats Warroad for State Title

 Backstopped by Milinkovich and fueled by two goals from Mackenna Schlieman, Breck captured its fifth state title and completed a remarkable turnaround from a three-win season just four years ago.

by Robert Brent, Let’s Play Hockey
Photos by Jeff Anderson

In 2022-23, the Breck Mustangs were a struggling team who had recently come off a run of state titles in the late 2010s. The Mustangs finished that season with a 3-20-1 record. Just four seasons later, Breck is back on top of the world after capturing the Class A Minnesota State Championship.

The Mustangs emerged victorious over Warroad, avenging their lone loss of the regular season from a game where the Warriors defeated Breck 4-1. Breck Head Coach Tricia Dunn-Luoma reflected on the early-season loss after the championship game’s conclusion.

“I think we learned a lot from that loss in early December against Warroad,” Dunn-Luoma said. “We identified areas we needed to solidify if we wanted to be successful in January and February. The players really committed to those areas and that led to our success today.”

Like in many of Breck’s 28 wins this year, goaltender Clara Milinkovich was a major architect of the Mustang’s state championship victory. 

The freshman goaltender made 37 saves, allowing just one goal against one of the state’s most potent offenses. Warroad had scored a combined 16 goals in their previous three games.

Breck’s star goaltender was particularly solid down the stretch, with Warroad peppering the Mustangs’ goal as they tried to get back in the game. The Warriors registered 15 shots in the second period and 17 shots in the third period, but were largely unable to solve Milinkovich.

The first-year goaltender has been one of the team’s most vital weapons all season, giving up less than a goal a game (0.83 goals against average) and saving 96.4% of shots on goal. Tricia Dunn-Luoma spoke after the game about Milinkovich’s role in the team’s success.

“She’s been a rock all season. We have a lot of confidence in her and that helps us play better in front of her. We’re strong from the goaltender out. It’s a team effort, but knowing we have her gives us something extra,” Dunn-Luoma. “She’s super competitive. She challenges and frustrates our players in practice daily.”

Breck also got key contributions from other members of the team, including two goals from Mackenna Schlieman as well as tallies from Molly Larson and Ashley Babbitt. 

The efforts of the Breck goal scorers and all the Mustangs on the roster led to the moment that will last a lifetime for the players. The moment the team earned the opportunity to shed their equipment and celebrate on the ice. Sophomore defender Alexis Ulrich recalled the moment shortly after the victory.

“As a little girl you always dream of being the one team who ends it and gets to throw their gloves up at the end of the tournament. When you go through high school you never actually know. When you get to the tournament it’s a whole different level of hockey,” Ulrich said. “It was more of a shock almost, but it’s an honor. You want to leave your mark and legacy and that’s something we talked about this year.”

While a win against any team would be a seismic victory for the Breck program, winning against Warroad feels particularly poetic given the two programs’ stature in the Minnesota High School hockey landscape. 

The two teams skated into the contest with a combined nine state titles between the two. Warroad represents five of those trophies, while Breck carries four. The Warriors and Mustangs have played each other for the state championship on three separate occasions. Warroad defeated Breck in 2010, while the Mustangs earned two of their state titles against the Warriors in 2018 and 2019. 

Now, the Mustangs can hang up a fifth state championship banner in Anderson Arena. The 2025-26 Breck Mustangs team will go down in history for one of the state’s top programs. 

The players feel the weight of that accomplishment already. Sophomore Mackenna Schlieman reflected on joining the ranks of Breck’s immortal state champion teams after the game. 

“I see those banners every day and I’m like ‘I really want to do that’,”  Schliemann said. “Now being able to do that, seeing that year on the banner and knowing I was a part of that team will be super cool.”