MAPLE GROVE-Cody Vleck earned six points and Blaise Edinger added five for the Brainerd Warriors who remained unbeaten with a 9-3 victory over the Maple Crimson in a North Conference game Wednesday.
Vleck finished with a pair of goals and four assists while Edinger filled the nets with four goals and added two assists.
Edinger opened the scoring at 3:37 into the first. Midway through the period, the Warriors added three more goals in less than 30 seconds - two more by Edinger sandwiched around Vleck's first score.
"As we have done all season, we moved the puck extremely well and after that three-goal rush gave us a 4-0 lead, we never looked back," said Brainerd head coach Todd Person. "We took advantage of the lead and moved some players around to positions they don't normally play in."
Maple Grove pulled the Crimson within 4-1 before the period ended, but Brainerd slammed the door starting the second period with four unanswered scores, one each by Jacob Heinlen, Edinger, Vleck and Brach Delcastillo.
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"With around five minutes to go in the second period, we had two players in the penalty box," said Person. "Jacob Heinlen and Blaise Edinger did a great job of limiting Maple Grove to only two shots during that penalty kill."
Matt Allord wrapped up the Brainerd scoring with a third-period goal.
The Warriors held a 32-19 shots-on-goal advantage with goalie Karlee Schuler recording 16 saves.
"It was been great to have Cody Vleck back out on the floor for the second game in a row after a six-week injury recovery period," Person said. "Cody is looking closer to being back in game shape, as he made some solid passes tonight picking up four assists and a pair of goals.
"Spencer Thompson, Maddox Cannon and Sierra Hartung all played in a forward position tonight rather than their typical defensive spots. It was a good opportunity for them to use some of the skills they work on daily in practice in a game."
The win extends Brainerd's unbeaten streak this season to 10 after going undefeated last year while winning the state championship.
Maple Grove 1 1 1-3
Brainerd 4 4 1-9
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First period: Brd-Blaise Edinger (Cody Vleck) 3:37; Brd-Edinger (Vleck) 5:29; Brd-Vleck (Jacob Heinlen) 5:51; Brd-Edinger (Maddox Canon) 5:58; MG-Johnny Perez (Kirby Gilbertson) 6:01
Second period: Brd-Heinlen (Vleck) 0:34; Brd-Edinger (Matt Allord) 3:07; Brd-Vleck 12:17; Brd-Brach Delcastillo (Vleck, Sierra Hartung) 13:13; MG-Perez (Navarro Tellefson) 14:13
Third period: Brd-Allord (Edinger) 1:19; MG-Gilbertson (Perez) 9:09
Shots on goal: Brd 32, MG 19
Goalies: Brd-Karlee Schuler (16 saves); MG-various players (23 saves)
Conference: Brd 7-0. Overall: Brd 10-0. Next: Brainerd at Anoka-Hennepin 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26.
