With the 2020-21 season still months out, it’s time to take a look at teams from all over the State of Hockey and examine what happened this past season and what’s ahead. The next team we’re breaking down is Breckenridge/Wahpeton.
How last season went
The Blades got last season going in a big way as they won four of five games to open the season. As the rest of the regular season went on, it might have been easy to miss what Breckenridge/Wahpeton. The team’s schedule was loaded with games against teams from North and South Dakota. As an independent, there is also no conference schedule to judge the Blades off of. Ultimately, that made it hard to put too much into the team’s 14-10 regular season record.
Heading into postseason play, Breckenridge/Wahpeton’s record gave the team the No. 8 seed in Section 6A. The Blades faced off against Prairie Centre and lost a hotly contested matchup in the play-in round in a 3-2 nail biter.
Who’s back and who’s gone
Many of the top Breckenridge/Wahpeton scorers from last season will move on due to graduation. Jase Jensen is among those and led the team with 54 points (31 goals, 23 assists). Also gone are Isaac Wohlers and Thomas Withuski. They combined for 27 goals and 25 assists last season.
For those returning, look no further than Tanner Barth. His strengths lie in dishing out passes to teammates with solid scoring chances as he finished the season with 17 assists to go along with 6 goals.
As for the goaltending situation, Hunter Wamre and Jared Aarnold split time in net. Wamre graduates after posting a .889 save percentage. Aarnold is set to be back in net after a .886 save percentage in 13 appearances.
What to expect next season
As mentioned, it’s really difficult to judge the Blades with the schedule they put out every year. Playing non-Minnesota talent will continue to make them more of a mystery and might ultimately affect how they’re ranked when it comes to section play. As for the talent, it appears that Breckenridge/Wahpeton has some rebuilding to do. Aside from that, there’s also the challenge of rising the ranks in a section that has some of the top teams in all of Class 1A in St. Cloud Cathedral and Alexandria.