Jake Heikkenen accumulated five points as the Brainerd Warriors floor hockey team completed the first unbeaten season in program history with a 5-3 victory over the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs Monday at Riverside Elementary School.
Heikkenen had a hat trick and two assists as Brainerd locked up the No. 1 seed in the Northern Conference for the March 17-18 state tournament.
A-H, which finishes second in the North with a 6-3 mark, gave the Warriors one of their sternest tests of the season. The Mustangs led 2-0 and 3-1 before Brainerd scored the game's last four goals.
"We've had 12 days since we played last and I think that showed tonight as we struggled through the first period," Warriors coach Todd Person said. "After Anoka put in their second goal within nine seconds of their first, we took a timeout to regroup."
Matt Allord got Brainerd on the board with four minutes left in the first off a nice pass from Jake Heikkenen.
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"Our front three players, Jacob Heinlen, Matt Allord and Jake Heikkenen, really gave an amazing effort tonight with support from Blaise Edinger as we struggled a bit on the defensive end of the floor," Person said. "Cody Vleck had a couple of huge stops on Anoka breakaways and really moved well in net, making a couple of nice stick saves as Anoka had some open looks late in the game."
Heikkenen's first goal brought Brainerd to within 3-2 in the second period. Two third-period goals by Heikkenen, sandwiched around an Allord goal, helped the Warriors finish the regular season 9-0 in conference play, 12-0 overall.
"The game was fast and aggressive and I think we can play better than we did tonight," Person said, "but it was great to see those players up front dig deep as they truly gutted this one out coming back from a 3-1 deficit midway through the second.
"We now have a three-week break before the state tournament. Keeping the players focused and sharp will be the main goal as we look forward to March 17."
The previous best start in Brainerd's program, which became a varsity sport in 1996, was 8-0 in 2015. That season, the Warriors finished 11-2 overall and third in the state.
Anoka 2 1 0-3
Brainerd 1 1 3-5
First period: AH-Tyler Azell (Joey Manion) 5:01; AH-Tyler Azell 5:10; B-Matt Allord (Jake Heikkenen) 11:00
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Second period: AH-Stevey France 3:57; B-Heikkenen (Zachary Denny, Jacob Heinlen) 5:04
Third period: B-Jake Heikkenen (Jacob Heinlen) 0:20; B-Allord (Heikkenen) 11:30; B-Jake Heikkenen (Allord, Denny) 12:12
Shots on goal: B 7-6-9--22; AH 9-4-13--26
Goalies: B-Cody Vleck (19 saves); AH-Ben Schmitz (21 saves)
Conference: Brd 9-0. Overall: Brd 12-0. Next: Brainerd in state tournament March 17-18 at Bloomington Jefferson High School.
