Last season, his first at the helm of a high school team after a 30-year detour into the business world, Breck boys' hockey coach Les Larson guided the Mustangs from the No. 4 seed to the Class 1A championship.
If that sounds unexpected, imagine Larson's reaction five months ago when doctors told him triple-bypass surgery was required to relieve nearly total blockage in his heart.
A man who prides himself on long walks with his dog, carrying his own golf clubs and skating was told he would have to refrain from the latter until at least January.
"You can't run a practice without the skates," said Larson, 56, a former defenseman at Hill High School and Notre Dame. "But once I got them back on, it was like riding a bike."
Larson now feels "wonderful" and has had zero setbacks.
Though he spent six weeks coaching from afar, Larson has Breck as the favorite to repeat as champion this week in the Class A field.
The Mustangs (26-2) are the top seed. They continue their quest for a second consecutive title at 6 p.m. Wednesday against New Ulm (16-9-1) in the state quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center.
Breck lost only two seniors off last year's team, and have been favorites all this season. An overtime loss to St. Thomas Academy in the third game of the year and a 4-1 defeat to prep school juggernaut Shattuck-St. Mary's have been the only bumps in the road.
"This is maybe the most fun I've had in all my years at Breck," senior goaltender John Russell said. "We didn't even know if we'd have a coach before the season started. We're really glad he's here. He's got us prepared."
While recovering from surgery, Larson turned over the on-ice instruction to his assistant coach and son, Pete. But the man in charge was never too far away.
"He'll say, 'I'm the brains of this outfit, you're the drill sergeant,'" Les Larson said with a laugh.
Father and son did just fine as a tandem getting this year's Mustangs focused and prepared for a season under the microscope.
Breck is blessed with a top line of Tyson Fulton, Mike Morin and Riley Borer (203 combined points), but the Mustangs do not live and die by those three alone.
In the Section 2 championship game against Blake, a 5-1 victory, Fulton's empty-net goal with 70 seconds remaining was the only goal scored among those top players.
"It doesn't matter if you're Tyson Fulton or [fourth-line player] Brenden Yates," Les Larson said. "Everybody has an appreciation for the other guys on this team. It's a very mature team."
The most mature person on the ice at practice, once again, is Larson.
Players roll their eyes at old sayings he brings up during practices or in team meetings. They might gripe now and again at the skating drills he orchestrates at the end of a long practice.
But they'd have it no other way.
"We're thankful he's able to be here," Fulton said.