BRAINERD — It was Owen Olsen’s goal, but it was his younger brother’s milestone.
Aiden Olsen eclipsed 100 career points on an assist to his brother to hand the Brainerd Warriors a 2-0 lead two minutes into what turned out to be an 11-2 victory over Minneapolis Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Riverside Elementary.
Aiden Olsen opened the game with a goal at 1:36 of the first period on assists from Caleb Keran and Summer Headlee. Less than a minute later, he became
to reach 100 career points. Owen Olsen reached the milestone last season.
“It was a big goal of mine this year,” Aiden Olsen said. “I’m glad I was able to hit it. I was hoping to hit it in the game against Dakota United, but I didn’t quite make it. It was really exciting. I have a lot of people here watching me. It was a lot of fun to hear them cheer for that.”
Brainerd forward Landon Brotherton looks for an open teammate during the Warriors’ game against Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at Riverside Elementary.
Jeremy Millsop / Brainerd Dispatch
Aiden Olsen finished with two goals and four assists as Brainerd erupted for five goals in the first three and a half minutes of the opening period.
twice in the first frame and finished with three goals and three assists. Aiden Olsen finished Brainerd’s scoring in the first period off an assist from
.
“Minneapolis had issues with their bus and didn’t get here as early as they wanted to,” Warrior head coach Todd Person said. “It took them a while to get into the game and we certainly took advantage of that. I felt, overall, as the game progressed and we played other kids in the second period and then when the starters came back in, I thought they did a really nice job of bringing back that intensity and finding some open spots on the floor.”
Minneapolis snapped Brainerd’s perfect defensive season with a goal at 11:30 of the first. To that point, the Warriors had outscored their three opponents 24-0.
Brainerd’s Josh Pence battles for the puck during the Warriors’ game against Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at Riverside Elementary.
Jeremy Millsop / Brainerd Dispatch
“Andrew said the one guy hit his stick and he could see the puck rolling toward the corner of the goal,” Person said. “He’s good overall. He knows what he needs to do.”
Minneapolis then opened the second period with a goal 30 seconds in to cut the lead to 5-2, but
Eric Fordyce answered 24 seconds
later to make it 6-2 after two periods. Fordyce finished with three goals and one assist.
“I’m really glad to have the structure that we have,” Aiden Olsen said. “The ability to move people around and still play well. I’m pretty pumped for this. So far, I think we have a good look at a championship title again.”
Fordyce opened the third period with a goal at 1:04 and followed it with his hat-trick-producing third goal. Pence then reached his hat trick with a goal four minutes later.
Brainerd’s Eric Fordyce celebrates a goal with teammate Josh Pence during the Warriors’ game against Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at Riverside Elementary.
Jeremy Millsop / Brainerd Dispatch
Headlee and Keran finished off Brainerd’s scoring to improve the
’s record to 3-0. Headlee added three assists. Keran recorded two assists.
“I thought Landon (Brotherton) played probably the best game that I’ve ever seen from him tonight,” Person said. “Some of the passes that he made out there were just fantastic. He’s getting his head up a little bit more and that was fun to see for sure. Even some of the newer players, like Bob Coolie, it was great to see him show some intensity out there.”
Brotherton finished with two assists. James Martin assisted one of Frodyce’s goals and Owen Olsen added an assist. Brainerd dominated play in the third period and didn’t give up a shot on net. Warrior
saw his perfect season come to an end, but he did record two saves as Brainerd outshot Minneapolis 35-4.
Brainerd’s Owen Olsen sends a shot toward the net during the Warriors’ game against Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at Riverside Elementary.
Jeremy Millsop / Brainerd Dispatch
The Warriors have now won 15 straight games.
“Aiden is just so good out there,” Person said. “I just watch him play and, again, I’ve said it over and over, I’m just so thankful he wears a Warrior jersey. He knows exactly when to pop the stick. He knows where everybody is on the floor all the time. He’s just fantastic to watch him play.”
First period: Brd-Aiden Olsen (Caleb Keran Summer Headlee) 1:36; Brd-Owen Olsen (Aiden Olsen, Headlee) 2:00; Brd-Josh Pence (Aiden Olsen) 2:50; Brd-Pence (Eric Fordyce) 3:05; Brd-Aiden Olsen (Landon Brotherton) 3:22; M-Abubakarr Hade (Mariah Artis, Narada Hinton) 11:30
Second period: M-Artis (Hinton) 0:30; Brd-Fordyce (James Martin) 0:54
Third period: Brd-Aiden Fordyce (Aiden Olsen, Keran) 1:04; Brd- Fordyce (Brotherton, Pence) 4:28; Brd-Pence (Owen Olsen) 5:19; Brd-Headlee (Pence, Aiden Olsen) 6:21; Brd-Keran (Aiden Olsen, Headlee) 7:15
Shots on goal: Brd 9-7-19 — 35, M 2-2-0 — 4
Goalies: Brd-Andrew Kargel (2 saves); M-Khalid Omar (24 saves)
Overall: Brd 3-0. Next: Brainerd at Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound-Westonka 4:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12.