With one leap and a mighty swing, Chase Ellingson stole all the momentum in the building and helped propel the Breck Mustangs to their seventh Class 1A State Tournament appearance in eight years with a 5-3 win over Delano on Thursday night.

The senior forward and Mr. Hockey finalist beat a Tiger defender to the puck, dove and swatted an airborne pass that fellow senior Tyler Scott was able to direct past Delano goaltender Jackson Hjelle after a botched Tiger clearing attempt to give the Mustangs a 3-1 lead early in the third period.

“I just tried to get it to (Scott), swung at it and it took a funny bounce into the net,” Ellingson said.

Ellingson also scored a goal for the Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in the latest Class 1A coaches’ poll, with Scott, Will Blake, Justin Paschke and Carter Breitenfeldt adding the other four.

Brian Halonen scored two goals for the No. 9 ranked Tigers (20-8-0), and Jesse Lawman tallied a goal as well.

This season marks the fourth year that the Mustangs (24-3-1) have ended the Tigers’ season, with three wins in the section finals and once in the section semifinals (2013).

Ellingson has been a factor in all four wins, totaling eight points in those games, a testament to his time in the Breck program.

“The kid’s played for us for four years, and he’s the straw that stirs the drink,” Mustangs’ coach Les Larson said of Ellingson. “I’ve never seen him on the ice where he hasn’t (given) a hundred percent, practices or games,” Larson said.

Larson also added that his players’ development as people off the ice has been just as rewarding as the success on the ice.

“We have such a good bunch of guys, maybe my best group of guys, just as people,” Larson explained. “It would’ve been tough to take, them not winning this game and going to the (state) tournament.”