Delano defeats Mankato West in Minnesota High School Boys Hockey State Tournament Quarterfinal: Live Score Recap

ST. PAUL, Minn. - In the Class 1A quarterfinals game between the No. 2 Delano Tigers (23-4-2) and the No. 7 Mankato West Scarlets (19-8-2) in the 2026 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament, Daniel Halonen had what some would refer to as the Michael Jordan flu game.

The Michigan Tech commit was denied by Mankato West's Blake Brekke on two different occasions in the first two periods, but he was able to push through in the third period for the game-winning goal.

"He's a big goalie who can move pretty well. I thought I could beat him on the ice, but that wasn't the case," Halonen said on Brekke stopping him earlier. "When I got the pass from Lance, I just saw the side of the net and put it there. I am not going to put it on the ice on that guy when he is so low."

Lance Halonen opened the scoring for the Tigers when Brady Kangas and his brother Daniel assisted on the wonderful goal. Not long after, Dylan Nelson pounced on a loose puck in front of Brekke and made it a 2-0 game.

Scarlets head coach Nate Olsen took a timeout, and man did it work.

The Scarlets were able to get on the board after Brooks Baukol drove the net hard after Keaton Dorzek took a shot on net that was stopped by Evan Geyen. The rebound found the blade of Baukol, who put the Scarlets within one with six minutes left in the first.

Just 43 seconds into the second period, Baukol fired a shot on net that got tipped by captain Brodie Cox in front.

Nonetheless, the timeout was huge.

"The lights were kind of bright right away, and we weren't playing our game." Olsen said.

Scarlets senior forward Cox added, "I think the lights got a little too bright for us and kind of brought us back down to the earth and let us do what we do best."

Unfortunately for the Scarlets, Delano's top line took over.

After the go-ahead goal by Daniel, the Tigers added three more on the way to a 6-2 win over the Scarlets. Coach Gerrit van Bergen, said that Mankato didn't want to play its third line so he just matched the top-six against the top-six.

So much so that it led to Daniel Halonen throwing up on the bench.

In the third period in close game, Halonen came to the bench after a long shift and a trash can was placed in front of him. He took off his helmet and grabbed a water to spray off some stuff on his cage.

"Something came up," Halonen said while Kangas, Nelson and van Bergen smiled. "Maybe too much liquids or I don't know what it was, but we will try to figure it out in our next game."

But it was a good thing the Tigers' top six were on the ice the whole game, it seemed. Kangas finished with four points, Lance Halonen finished with five points and Daniel had four points.

"We did ride our top six a lot. A lot," van Bergen said. "But they always tell me that it's never enough."

It certainly seemed like it was enough tonight as the Tigers will move on to the semifinals, where they will play the winner of Northern Lakes vs. Warroad.

Delano defeats Mankato West in Minnesota High School Boys Hockey State Tournament Quarterfinal: Live Score Recap

FIRST PERIOD UPDATES

The first period is underway.

GOAL DELANO! The Tigers open the scoring. Lance Halonen finishes off a rush started by Brady Kangas. Delano's top line strikes again. Halonen's 22nd of the year. 1-0 Delano.

Big save by Delano's Evan Geyen on Grady Schmidt. A huge save on the 2-on-1.

GOAL DELANO! Dylan Nelson forces Mankato to take a timeout after capitlizing on a loose puck in front of the net. Nelson's 5th of the year from Brady Kangas and Lance Halonen. 2-0 Delano with 12 mintues left.

GOAL MANKATO WEST! Brooks Baukol drives the net hard after Keaton Dorzek took it to the paint. Geyen made the first save, but the rebound found the blade of Baukol, who put the Scarlets within one with six minutes left in the first. 2-1 Delano.

Huge save by Mankato's Blake Brekke on Daniel Halonen on the breakaway with 5:45 left in the first period.

All Delano to start the game. 17 shots for the Tigers. 7 Shots for Mankato West. They were able to get one after Delano went up 2-0.

END OF FIRST PERIOD: Delano 2, Mankato West 1

SECOND PERIOD UPDATES

The second period is underway.

GOAL MANKATO WEST! A point shot from Brooks Baukol gets tipped by Brodie Cox in front. Just 43 seconds into the second period and Mankato has tied it.

Penalty on Mankato's Rickey Enter. The Tigers head to the power play with 12:35 left in the second.

One shot for the Tigers. Power play is over.

Penalty on Delano's Brady Kangas. 2 mintues for slashing. Mankato will go to the power play for the first time tonight. 8:31 left in the second.

A couple of shots for the Scarlets but the Tigers kill it off. 6:31 left in the second.

Big save by the Tigers' Evan Geyen on Brayden Keech with 5:09 left.

A couple of late chances with under a minute left in the second period for the Scarlets' Blake Brekke. The sophomore goaltender has 29 saves through two periods now.

The Tigers have the shot advantage with 31 in two periods. They had 14 in the second to the Scarlets' six for a two period total of 13.

END OF SECOND PERIOD: Delano 2, Mankato West 2

THIRD PERIOD UPDATES

The third period is underway.

Another 2-on-1 for the Tigers and another sprawling save by Brekke on Halonen with 14:07 left in the game.

GOAL DELANO! Daniel Halonen gets his 40th of the year off a snapshot in the slot. With 11:42 left in the game, the Tigers have taken the lead 3-2.

GOAL DELANO! Lance Halonen gets his second of the game and 23rd of the year. Off a scramble play in front that started from Kangas, making a great defensive play along the boards. 4-2 Tigers with under 9 minutes left.

Huge hit by Jacob Perlich on Scarlets' Brodie Cox with 7:15 left in the game. 4-2 Tigers.

GOAL DELANO! Brady Kangas gets his fourth point of the night and first goal of the game. It was Kangas' 31st goal of the year. 4:49 left in the game. 5-2 Tigers.

Penalty on the Tigers. Scarlets will get a power play with 4:28 left. 5-2 Tigers.

30 seconds into the penalty kill, Tigers' defenseman Jackson Wollak heads to the box. 3:58 left. 5-on-3 for the Scarlets.

Tigers kill off both penalties. 1:58 left in the game. 5-2 Delano.

GOAL DELANO! Daniel Halonen gets his 41st of the year and second of the game.

Delano Tigers (23-4-2) defeated the Mankato West Scarlets (19-8-2) 6-2 in the quarterfinals and will advance to the Semifinals. They outshot the Scarlets 51-27.

FINAL: Delano 6, Mankato West 2

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