Boys' Hockey News

Pat with Coach Pauly

April 8, 2009

Borer signs NLI with Nebraska-Omaha

Senior Pat Borer signed a letter of intent on April 8, to play hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Pat has decided to be a part of a junior hockey league (the Sioux City Musketeers) next year, so the Division 1 full-ride scholarship will take effect in 2010. 

Named Best Defenseman for the Red Knights this year, Pat was described by head coach Ken Pauly as having an “extraordinary work ethic. I don’t know anybody who wants [success] as badly. It’s nice to see it work out for him,” said Pauly.

A 2008-2009 hockey co-captain, Pat has racked up some impressive statistics throughout his playing career so far, including 22 goals, 50 assists and 72 points in 111 games. He was named to the All-Metro third team this year and has earned four consecutive varsity letters for his BSM ice time. Explaining his reasons for choosing Nebraska-Omaha, he says that he likes the coaches and the facilities, and “The guys made me feel right at home.”

Pat signs while his teammates look on.

March 10, 2009

Borer earns all-metro honors

Benilde-St. Margaret's senior co-captain Pat Borer has been named to the Minneapolis Star Tribune all-metro third team.

In his fourth varsity season, Borer set career highs with 12 goals, 19 assists and 31 points. His 12 goals were the most by a Red Knight defenseman since Blake Friesen scored 14 during the 2003-04 campaign.

Borer scored seven goals and 15 points in his final nine games, including his first career hat trick in a Feb. 17 win over Chisago Lakes.

As a four-year letterwinner, Borer has been a part of four consecutive North Suburban Conference championship teams, marking all four years BSM has been a member of the conference.

With the award, Borer becomes the fourth Red Knight to earn all-metro honors. Troy Riddle (1999) and Joe Schuman (2000) were second-team honorees and, last season, Chris Student became the first BSM player to earn first-team honors.

A two-time all-conference selection, finished his high school career with 22 goals, 50 assists and 72 points in 111 career games.

Borer, who was taken in the United States Hockey League entry draft last season by Sioux City, verbally accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Nebraska-Omaha last month.


February 28, 2009

Red Knights season ends in section semifinal loss

Eden Prairie scored just 20 sconds into the game and Benilde-St. Margaret's was never able to overcome the early deficit as the Red Knights' season came to an end with a 3-1 loss to in the Section 6AA semifinals.

The Eagles' first goal came when Joe McQuillan got the puck behind the BSM goal and tried to center the puck. BSM goalie Jacob Meyers tried to use his stick to prevent the pass but, instead, the puck deflected off his paddle and between his legs.

The goal seemed to set the Red Knights on their heels and allowed Eden Prairie to control the early portion of the game before BSM went on the attack.

"Other than the first six minutes, I really believe that we carried the play the entire evening," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said. "Unfortunately, those first six minutes would come back to haunt us because it proved to the difference tonight."

After the goal in the game's first minute, neither team was able to score again until the final minute of the second period.

With 29 seconds to play in the middle stanza, Mitch Rogge put the Eagles up by two goals but the elation from that tally quickly died as Bryan Glynn got BSM on the scored just 17 seconds later.

"Honestly, after all of the chances we had to score, I though we were in huge trouble when they made it 2-0," Pauly said. "But that's a testament to our kids that they came right back and got the next goal so quickly. That’s character."

Again, the score remained unchanged through much of the next period. Finally, BSM pulled goalie Jacob Meyers for an extra attacked, and, when Mitch Rogge and Taylor Wolfe got a 2-on-0 breakaway in the final minute the game appeared over.

However, Wolfe missed an easy tap-in attempt on the breakaway and the Red Knights had new life.

The second chance didn't help, though, and Mike Erickson finally scored into the empty net with 17 seconds to play in the game.

"It’s pretty tough to single out one or two players tonight because it was such a complete team effort," Pauly said. "The guys played their hearts out and left nothing on the ice. They deserved a better result but what you deserve has very little to do with it sometimes."

Meyers kept his team in the game by stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced but was bested by Andrew Ford's effort as the Eagle goalie turned aside 24 of 25 shots.

"I’m very proud of our seniors: Pat Borer, Pat Duda, Bryan Glynn, Gunnar Knutson, Rob Ankeny, Ben Sauer, and Pat Cron," Pauly added. "They did a great job in helping this team to a successful season and they did everything that they could to move us on, but we just couldn’t get a bounce tonight.

"It hurts right now, but in no time they will be able to look back on this season with a great deal of pride. They did Red Knight Hockey proud and they were deserving of the honor of being the 50th team in this school’s history."


February 26, 2009

BSM tops Hopkins in 6AA quarterfinal

Benilde-St. Margaret's struck for the first goal, eventually grabbed a three-goal lead, and Jacob Meyers stopped 21 shots as the Red Knights downed Hopkins, 4-1, in a Section 6AA quarterfinal game.

"Whenever you win that 4th and 5th seeded game, it’s a great relief," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly. "Hopkins came in with some legitimate firepower and I thought our guys really shut them down.

"The key is that we stayed physical and that hasn’t been the case for most of the season. They have some crafty forwards and we didn’t give them much room."

Fourth-seeded BSM made the physical play pay off on its first goal as Bryan Glynn won a battle in the left corner to get the puck to Brett Patterson. He got the puck to Christian Horn, who fired wide behind the net but Patterson picked the puck up off the boards on the left wing.

His shot was stopped but Horn came in from the right side to knock in the rebound for his team-leading 24th goal of the season.

"It was huge to get that first goal, especially with a goalie like (Alex) Fons," Pauly said. "The longer he goes with a goose egg on the board, the stronger he would have gotten and it may have planted some doubt in our kids’ heads."

Although the Red Knights got to Fons in the opening period, he and Meyers kept the score 1-0 deep into the second period but two goals by the hosts quickly turned that into a three-goal lead.

BSM took a 2-0 lead when Pat Borer's shot from the right faceoff circle was stopped by Fons. Will Nelson tipped the rebound to Pat Steinhauser to the right of the goal, and his backhand shot found its way inside the near post with 3:33 to play in the middle stanza.

It then took just 18 seconds for the Red Knights to get on the scoreboard again. Patrick Duda was able to tip a loose puck to Jake Horton on the right side near the blueline.

Horton carried the puck across the ice on his background and, at the left point, turned to his right and found a shooting lane which he used to score his second goal of the season.

"Our underclassmen came through with the goals tonight," Pauly said, pointing out that his team's first three goals came from two freshmen and a sophomore. "All three looked like they had good jump."

Less than two minutes, the Royals served notice that they would not go down without a fight.

Working on their fifth power play of the game, Matt Rowley moved the puck from the right point to Tom Plotkin at the left point.

The latter's shot went wide but rebounded off the end boards and onto the stick of Nate Seashore, who's 20th goal of the season breathed life into the visiting team.

BSM finally put the game away with 7:31 to play when Glynn created a turnover near his own blueline and Patterson, who coralled the loose puck, quickly returned it to Glynn for a short-handed breakway.

The senior co-captain carried the puck straight down the middle of the ice, fought off a back check and snapped a wrist shot over Fons glove.

"We really didn’t breathe easy until Glynn got that short-handed goal," Pauly said. "We took way too many penalties. If we do the same thing on Saturday then the playoff run will be over."

Although concerned about the penalties his team took, Pauly's demeanor was drastically different when talking about his goaltender.

"Jacob Meyers looked like the Meyers of last year," he said of his junior netminder, who turned aside 12 shots in the middle frame, when he faced 13 shots. "He made some key second-period stops."

The win for the Red Knights marked the fourth consecutive season, since they moved up to Class AA, that the team has reached the section quarterfinal.

For the third consecutive season, BSM will meet Eden Prairie in the section semifinal. The Red Knights won last year's semifinal meeting, 6-5 in double overtime, while the Eagles were 6-3 winners two years.

The meeting between 10th-ranked BSM and top-ranked Eden Prairie is slated for a 4 p.m. faceoff, Saturday, at Braemar Arena in Edina.


February 22, 2009

BSM tops Hopkins in 6AA quarterfinal

Benilde-St. Margaret's received the fourth seed in the 2009 Section 6AA playoffs and will begin tournament play with a quarterfinal versus the fifth seed, Hopkins.

The Red Knights (20-6-0) and Royals (15-9-1) will meet at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center, Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.

Section 6AA playoff action gets underway, Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., when eight-seeded Minneapolis East (14-8-3) hosts ninth-seeded Minneapolis West (1-24-0) at Victory Memorial Ice Arena.

The winner of that game will face top-seeded Eden Prairie (22-3-0), Thursday at the Eden Prairie Community Center.

No. 2 Minnetonka (18-7-0) hosts No. 7 Robbinsdale Cooper (6-18-1), Thursday, at the Pagel Activity Center at 7 p.m.

In a match up between Classic Lake Conference opponents, No. 3 Wayzata (16-8-1) will be the home team at the Plymouth Ice Center against Robbinsdale Armstrong (10-14-1), Thursday at 7 p.m.

Semifinal games are slated for Saturday, Feb. 28. The top half of the bracket will have its semifinal game at Braemar Arena at 4 p.m., featurning the winners of the No. 1 vs. No. 8/9 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinals.

The semifinal in the bottom half of the bracket, featuring the No. 2 vs. No. 7 and No. 3 vs. No. 6 winners, will be held at the Bloomington Ice Gardens at 7:30 p.m.

The Section 6AA championship game will be held Thursday, March 5, at Mariucci Arena beginning at 8 p.m.


February 19, 2009

Red Knights wrap up fourth consecutive NSC crown

Pat Borer had two goals and an assist and Ben Sauer had a career-high three points as Benilde-St. Margaret's wrapped up its fourth consecutive North Suburban Conference title with a 7-1 win over Robbinsdale Cooper.

Sauer and his linemates, Dan Pemberton and Pat Cron, got things rolling after a slow start. The trio forechecked the Hawks and forced a turnover, which resulted in Pemberton scoring from a pile up in front of the home team's net with 11 minutes, 34 seconds gone in the opening period.

It took just 37 seconds for BSM to get on the scoreboard again. Dan Kuenzi and Brett Patterson made a couple of quick passes along the left-wing boards to get the puck to Will Nelson, who got the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and proceeded to snap a shot over the glove of Cooper netminder Trent Kallas.

Goals by Borer and Pemberton in the first three minutes of the second period doubled BSM's lead and Cron tallied at the 10:21 mark to make it a five-goal lead before Sam Morgen got behind the Red Knight defense and put the Hawks on the scoreboard to send the game into the second intermission at 5-1.

Christian Horn scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season, a short-handed effort, 6:33 into the final period to restore the five-goal lead and Borer added his 12th of the year with 3:26 to play to finish the scoring.

Already missing John Duda and Gunnar Knutson due to injuries, co-captain Bryan Glynn was also out of the lineup Thursday due to injury, missing his first game since joining the varsity lineup as a sophomore in 2006-07, and the Red Knight lineup was different that usual.

"Brian Glynn’s absence really put our lines out of whack tonight," head coach Ken Pauly said. "Our top two lines were a little out of synch and the power play was brutal."

Still, Pauly admitted, there were some bright spots. Borer saw significant time at forward while others earned their mentor's praise.

"Pat Borer’s presence at forward gave us some jump that we didn’t seem to have," Pauly said. "Patrick Daly looks more and more like a leader on our blue line each night. He was very solid again, and Dan Pemberton had some effective shifts tonight. He was a bright spot at forward."

Even though his team wasn't sharp, Pauly feels ready for the playoffs.

"While we didn’t look the way we’d like tonight, I’m confident that our team will come out with a lot of jump for the section playoffs," he said. "We know how we need to play and it’s do or die time.

"As we prepare for playoffs, we can look back on our regular-season effort with the satisfaction of accomplishment. A conference title and a 20 regular-season victories is the type of season all high school teams shoot for in this state."

The Red Knights will begin their quest for a return trip to the state tournament Feb. 26, when they open Section 6AA play. Seeds for the section tournament will be announced Sunday, Feb. 22.

BSM's junior varsity got two goals and an assist from Michael Blessing as it wrapped up the 2008-09 campaign with a 6-1 win, concluding the season with a 22-3-0 record.


February 17, 2009

Red Knights win big on Senior Night

Pat Borer recorded his first career hat trick and was on the ice for 11 of his team's 13 goals as Benilde-St. Margaret's posted a 13-0 win over Chisago Lakes in the Red Knights' regular-season home finale.

Borer was one of three players to record hat tricks on the night. Both he and Pat Steinhauser added an assist to their three-goal efforts while Christian Horn scored his 20th, 21st and 22nd goals of the season.

BSM opened the game with three rapid-fire goals as Dan Pemberton scord four minutes, 49 seconds into the contest. Steinhauser scored just nine seconds later and added his second goal 29 seconds later.

Borer also scored his first two goals in the opening period, sandwhiching Horn's first tally, as the Red Knights took a six-goal lead into the first intermission.

"We came up very fast and hard and we haven’t done that all year," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "After a rough week, this was a good game for our team."

It was a night for the Pats as Patrick Duda and Patrick Daly scored the only goals of the second period before Steinhauser and Borer finished their hat tricks in the third period. Duda also added two assists in the win as did Pat Cron.

Horn scored twice in the third period to cap off his hat trick while Pemberton notched his four goal of the season.

While there was plenty of action at the other end of the ice, Rob Ankeny came up with several key saves to preserve his third shutout of the season.

"Rob Ankeny didn’t have a lot of action," Pauly said. "But he earned the shutout with a handful of great saves in tight.

"I don’t think I’ve every coached a team that had three guys get a hat trick in a single game. A lot of people got in on the scoring, a lot of guys played, and we took a giant step towards winning the conference title. It’s just nice to get some positive feeling going again."

The Red Knights are now tied for first place in the North Suburban Conference standings with Totino-Grace.

While the Eagles have a single, two-point game remaining on their conference slate, BSM faces Robbinsdale Cooper, Thursday, in the teams' only meeting of the season. As a four-point game, a Red Knight victory would give them their fourth consecutive conference title. Game time at the New Hope Arena is set for 7 p.m.

In Tuesday's junior varsity game, Michael Blessing and Taylor Topousis had a goal and three assists each, and Adam Clark picked up his 14th win and sixth shutout of the season, as BSM defeated Chisago Lakes, 8-0.


February 14, 2009

BSM drops second consecutive game

For the second game in a row, Benilde-St. Margaret's found itself down two goals after one period and, despite a third-period rally, could not come from behind in a 3-1 loss to Holy Angels.

The Red Knights had not suffered back-to-back losses since Dec. 2-5, 2006, before falling to Totino-Grace, 5-0 and then the Stars.

"Tonight, Holy Angels was just the better team," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "They beat us to loose pucks and were quicker than us.

"We didn’t combat that with a good passing game so we spent a lot of time chasing their speedy forwards."

The Stars' first two goals came in a span of just over two minutes in the opening period as Garrett Faust scored his second goal of the season, nine minutes, 25 seconds into the game, with John Haeg notching his 23rd tally of the season.

Heading into the second intermission, the hosts had a 29-19 advantage in shots on goal to go with their three-goal lead, which could have more were it not for the play of Red Knight goalie Jacob Meyers.

"You have to give Jacob credit for holding us in there through the second period," Pauly said. "He gave us some hope tonight."

Ryan Reilly extended the lead to 3-0 just over five minutes into the third period when he scored from the middle of the slot after taking a pass from Danny Mattson, who helped set up all three goals to give him 40 assists for the 2008-09 campaign.

BSM outshot Holy Angels, 10-6, in the final period but Stars goalie Tommy Burke was up to the challenge, maintaining his shutout bid into the game's final two minutes.

The Red Knights got their third power-play chance of the game with 3:12 to play and finally got on the scoreboard 49 seconds later when Pat Borer came across the slot with the puck and beat Burke from the edge of the right faceoff circle.

"As always, our guys didn’t quit," Pauly said. "I like the fact that we broke the shutout and were still looking to narrow the gap at the game’s end."

Pauly admitted suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in over two years has been tough but knows his team, heading into the final week of the regular season, still has to take care of some business.

"This has been a bad week for us," he said. "We lost two players to injury and we didn’t have one solid day of practice where everyone one was there. It showed in the results.

"Now we need to focus on securing the conference title and getting our program to the 20-win mark this week. That will do a lot to build some momentum going into the playoffs."

The final week of the season features the team's home finale, Senior Night, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, when the Red Knights host Chisago Lakes at 7 p.m.BSM closes out the regular-season at Robbinsdale Cooper, Thursday.


In the junior varsity game, BSM claimed a 3-2 win as Adam Clark stopped 18 shots and the Red Knights got goals from Evan Petersen, Oliver Shields-Nordness and Sean O'Toole. They take on the Wildcats' JV squad at 5 p.m. Tuesday.


February 12, 2009

Eagles halt Red Knights' winning streak

Flashback to Dec 19, 2006.

Benilde-St. Margaret's took a 2-1 lead through two periods but a goal by Brady Borer, three minutes, 43 seconds, into the third period enabled Totino-Grace to pull even with the Red Knights and, with four seconds remaining in overtime, Borer struck again to give the Eagles a 3-2 win at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

It was the last North Suburban Conference loss for BSM for over two years but the Red Knights' 32-game conference winning streak came to a halt this evening as they scored twice in the third period but couldn't overcome a three-goal deficit and dropped a 4-3 decision to Totino-Grace.

The visitors recorded the game's first seven shots and got on the scoreboard just 2:23 into the contest when Nick Colpitts finished off a give-and-go play with Cole Salewski.

Bryan Glynn's 19th goal of the season tied the score just over five minutes later but Dan DeLisle, who set up Borer's game-tying goal over two years ago, put his team ahead to stay with his 30th goal of the season.

Colpitts and Salewski hooked up again, this time with Salewski potting the goal, as the visitors went ahead 3-1 with 29 seconds remaining in the first period.

"Too many times this year we have come out with very little energy," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said. "It was bound to catch up with us and it did tonight.

"Totino played with fire and we stood and watched. When you do that, you too often dig a hole that you can’t get out of."

DeLisle dug that hole a little deeper when Billy Heck's pass through the neutral zone split two Red Knights and sent Eagles' leading scorer on a breakaway. DeLisle deked BSM goalie Jacob Meyers to the ice and flipped a backhand shot past his glove for a 4-1 lead.

The hosts began their comeback bid early in third period while killing a penalty.

Christian Horn forced a turnover inside the Red Knight blue line and Pat Borer collected the puck and pulled up to take a slapshot after crossing the Eagles' blueline. Mike Nagel blocked the shot but Ben Sauer came in from the right side and slid the loose puck underneath Totino-Grace goalie Tyler Olson, 3:49 into the final period.

Although BSM controlled play for most of the final period, Olson and the Eagles kept them off the scoreboard until the game's final two minutes.

With another Totino-Grace power play winding down, Meyers deflected the puck to Christian Horn, who carried the puck all the way through the neutral zone as the Red Knight penalty expired.

Horn's pass split the Eagles' defense at their blueline and sent Brett Patterson in alone on Olson. A backhand fake got Olson to the ice and Patterson brought the puck to his forehand and tucked the puck inside the left post.

After a timeout and pulling Meyers for an extra attacker, BSM had two chances to score in the final minute but Borer had a shot blocked and Pat Steinhauser had a tip attempt hit the post with 39 seconds to play.

"The bright side is that we played a great third period," Pauly said. "Ben Sauer gave us life with his great hustle on the shorthanded goal.

"We have to remember the lesson but have a short memory on the loss as we have a big game with Holy Angels on Saturday. These type of games happen and we just need to move on."

Pauly and his 10th-ranked Red Knights play their final non-conference game of the year Saturday when they take on ninth-ranked Holy Angels. Game time at Richfield Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m.

BSM's junior varsity, behind five-point efforts by Chris Flood and Oliver Shields-Nordness, posted an 8-4 win over Totino-Grace. The Red Knight JV takes on Holy Angels, Saturday, at 5:30 p.m..


February 10, 2009

Four-goal second period propels BSM to victory

Bryan Glynn scored twice and a four-goal second period enabled Benilde-St. Margaret's to claim a 6-3 win over St. Francis.

The Saints put a scare into the home team early when T.J. Belisle's shot from the top of the slot got past Red Knight goalie Jacob Meyers to give the visitors a one-goal lead, seven minutes, 36 seconds into the game.

After giving up two power-play chances early in the contest, BSM scored on its first power-play opportunity as Christian Horn slammed home a Pat Borer rebound.

The Red Knights took the lead in the final minute of the opening frame when Brett Patterson's shot from the left faceoff circle went wide but came off the end boards, and Glynn picked up the puck to the right of the St. Francis goal and score on his backhand.

John Duda made it a 3-1 game when he scored from the right faceoff spot at 2:17 of the second period but the Saints got the goal back less than two minutes when Jared Lahti stole the puck along the left-wing boards, walked into the faceoff circle and put a backhand shot inside the near post.

BSM effectively put the game away by scoring three goals in the final six minutes of the middle frame.

Patterson made it a 4-2 game when he converted a Will Nelson rebound from the left circle with 5:15 to play in the period.

Glynn then scored his second goal to end a play which started in the Red Knights' end of the ice as Sam Anderson knocked the puck off of Joey Benik's stick.

Pat Borer grabbed the puck and quickly hit Glynn with a pass as he crossed his own blue line. He moved the puck to Nelson on the left wing and streaked down the middle towards the St. Francis goal. Nelson returned his pass and Glynn tipped the puck over Andy Benik's shoulder.

"That goal was about as pretty as they come," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "It was an awesome tip and a great passing play from Pat Borer and Will Nelson."

Patrick Duda scored just 21 seconds later when was able to score off Patrick Daly's blocked shot.

"He has been a bright spot," Pauly said of Duda. "Pat is such an unassuming young man that it can become too easy to overlook what he does. He’s been very consistent for us and I thought he played with a lot of confidence tonight. He’s been a leader."

St. Francis got a goal back midway through the final period when Joey Benik scored on a breakaway, tying the Minnesota state high school record with his 62nd goal of the season.

Although many people came to see the state's leading scorer, it was his twin brother, Andy, who turned in the most outstanding performance of the game, stopping 49 shots in the game, including all 23 shots the Red Knights threw at him in the final period.

"For all the talk about Joey Benik, it was Andy Benik who was the difference tonight," Pauly said. "We dominated play but that kid really came up with some amazing saves. There are a lot of Red Knights who will be seeing some of those chances in their dreams."

The game was the only meeting this season between the North Suburban Conference opponents and was worth four points in the league standings for the Red Knights. The win propelled them into a first-place tie with Totino-Grace, their next opponent, which they face Thursday, Feb. 12, with the junior varsity scheduled to play at 5 p.m. with the varsity to follow at 7 p.m.

BSM's junior varsity defeated St. Francis, 15-0, as Chris Flood, who had six points, and Jeff Spellmire both had hat tricks while Joe Anderson and John Kernan registered a goal and four assists each.


February 7, 2009

Red Knight depth keys win over Wildcats

Despite its top line being held without a point for the first time in 11 games, Benilde-St. Margaret's got offensive production from its other three lines as the Red Knights defeated Chisago Lakes, 7-1.

The Wildcats came out energized and a sluggish start by BSM made the play of goalie Rob Ankeny key early in the game.

"This is the second year that we really haven’t played our best game in this building," Red Knight mentor Ken Pauly said. "Chisago played us tough and we were fortunate that Rob Ankeny was on top of his game in the first period. He made some key saves or the first period could have been pretty ugly."

After surviving the early part of the game, the Red Knights got on the scoreboard first when Dan Pemberton skated into the Chisago Lakes zone and his shot from the top of the slot deflected off the glove of Wildcat goalie Kyle Buchanan and into the net at nine minutes, 52 seconds into the contest.

It was less than three minutes later when John Duda's hit along the right-wing boards got the puck to Christian Horn, who skated to the net and found room on the short side to give BSM a two-goal lead.

The Red Knights took more than nine minutes into the second period to get on the scoreboard again but, once they did, the pumped home four goals in five minutes to take command.

Patrick Duda started the four-goal run when he took a pass from his brother, John, in the left circle. He failed to score on his first shot but got his own rebound in the middle of the slot and buried his second chance.

The fourth goal came off a Pemberton faceoff win in the left circle. Pat Cron quickly moved the puck to Sam Anderson, at the left point, and his shot was tipped in by David Tranvik.

The next goal came off the stick of Ben Sauer, who converted his own rebound to give him his first career goal and Pauly said it gave his team a lift.

"The bench was pretty pumped up when Ben scored," he said. "Ben kills penalties and gives us some physical shifts when we need it. It’s awesome to see a great team guy get rewarded."

The four-goal outburst concluded when Horn tipped a Patrick Daly shot with 2:55 remaining in the middle frame.

Just 47 seconds later, Matt Stamos scored his first career goal for the hosts to end Ankeny's shutout bid and, despite a 21-4 shots on goal advantage in the final period, the Red Knights needed more than 17 minutes to get their final goal John Duda knocked home a Sam Anderson rebound.

"John Duda looks re-energized at wing," Pauly said. "His energy up front was one of today’s big bright spots. It’s doubtful that he’ll return to center when Pat Steinhauser comes back from his injury. John is just too valuable at wing."

With two conference games coming up at home this week, Pauly is looking forward the opportunity his team has to wrap up its fourth consecutive conference title.

"We have a huge week coming up," he said. "St Francis comes in here for a four-point game, led by the state’s leading scorer (Joey Benik) and Totino-Grace comes in on Thursday.

"We have the opportunity to wrap up the conference title and that’s where we will keep our focus for now."

Taylor Topousis and Anthony Brask each had a goal and two assists, and Luke McCormick recorded his second consecutive shutout at BSM won the junior varsity game, 6-0.

The Red Knights take on St. Francis, Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the St. Louis Park Rec Center, Game times are 5 p.m. for the junior varsity and 7 p.m. for the varsity.


February 5, 2009

BSM dominant in win over SLP

Bryan Glynn recorded his first career hat trick and a career-high five points as Benilde-St. Margaret's routed St. Louis Park, 11-2.

In the battle of teams which call the city of St. Louis Park home, the Red Knights were dominant in their second win of the season over the Orioles.

"St. Louis Park has struggled but it’s always nice to get that series out of the way," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said afterwards. "Rival games are always dangerous regardless of the record."

His team put the game out of danger early, scoring five times in the first seven minutes, 12 seconds of the game, with Pat Cron scoring the first and fifth goals of the outburst.

"It was very good to see our guys get right on top of it tonight," Pauly said. "That four goal burst in the first six minutes was just what the doctor ordered."

Cron scored just 1:56 into the game, Sam Anderson followed with his first career goal at 4:21, scoring from the left point as he was being hooked to the ice. Will Nelson and Glynn scored goals 11 seconds apart as the Red Knights took a 4-0 lead at the 5:57 mark of the game.

With three of those goals coming in 96 seconds, Pauly pointed out that it was a key point in the game.

"Goals always give a team an emotional lift," he said. "Sam Anderson’s first career goal really seemed to fire the guys up, and it was a heckuva shot."

After Cron made it 5-0, the scoring stopped until the final minute of the opening frame as Patrick Daly crashed the net to take a pass from Glynn and knocked home his second goal from the right side of the goal crease.

Pat Borer scored a power-play goal from the right faceoff circle 1:29 into the second period and Glynn made it 8-0 less than three minutes later.

Kyle Johnson's 10th goal of the season, a power-play tally, got the Orioles on the scored at 5:17 but Christian Horn scored the first of his back-to-back goals just 27 seconds later and, with his goal with 3:56 remaining in the period, enabled the Red Knights to take a 10-1 lead.

The third period went nearly 10 minutes without a goal before Jacob Wood's shot from the right circle trickled through the legs of BSM goalie Jacob Meyers.

Glynn then closed out the scoring when Anderson head-manned the puck through the neutral zone. Glynn picked up the puck in the Orioles' zone, drew the puck from his backhand to forehand around SLP goalie Mickey Hills and tucked in his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

"If Bryan Glynn keeps putting up these type of numbers and playing with this kind of impact, he is really going to get a junior or college scout’s attention in a hurry," Pauly said. "With this size and skill he has all of the tools."

Another key for the Red Knights was the production from its line of Cron, Dan Pemberton and David Tranvik.

Cron scored twice and had two assists with Pemberton, normally a defenseman who centered the line, collecting four assists.

"Pat Cron just seems to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time," Pauly said of the first-year varsity player who scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season. "I think Pemberton at center really opened things up for the third line tonight."

The Red Knight junior varsity claimed a 3-0 victory as Alex Brask sandwiched a short-handed goal between tallies by Dan Kuenzi and John Kernan while Luke McCormick recorded his second shutout of the season.

BSM plays the second of four consecutive North Suburban Conference games Saturday, Feb. 7, when it travels to Lindstrom, Minn. Game time is for the junior varsity is set for 12 p.m. while the varsity gets underway at 2 p.m.


February 3, 2009

Three-goal second period enough for Red Knight win

Three power-play goals in the second period proved to be enough offense for Benilde-St. Margaret's as the Red Knights posted a 3-2 win over Osseo.

The teams skated through a scoreless first period, with each totalling eight shots on goal, before BSM got rolling in the second period.

Following back-to-back penalties on the Orioles, the Red Knights took advantage of the 5-on-3 power play as Brett Patterson's pass found Christian Horn in the right faceoff circle.

Horn was slow to pull the puck across his body and onto his forehand but, once he got into shooting position, he sniped the puck over the glove of Osseo goalie Ben Cohn at five minutes, 31 seconds of the middle stanza.

The Red Knights still had a 5-on-4 power play to work with and, 90 seconds later, Will Nelson passed the puck from the bottom of the left circle to Bryan Glynn, who tipped the puck into the net while camped on the right side of the goal crease.

BSM got its third power-play chance of the second period, and fourth of the game, with 3:04 remaining in the frame and it took just 14 seconds for Glynn to work the puck behind the net to Nelson, who got the puck to Horn at the top of the crease for a three-goal lead.

"Bryan Glynn just might be our most valuable forward," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said of his senior co-captain, who had a goal and two assists in the game. "This is the first time this year that I can say the power play won the game for us – and that’s huge."

However, the game was far from over.

Jacob Meyers stopped the first 20 shots he faced in the game but Tim Bonner's power play with 10:05 to play in the game gave the hosts some life.

Just 26 seconds later, Tyler Ladd took a pass from Kevin Bray, got behind the Red Knight defense and cut the lead to one goal with the first marker of his career.

From that point, BSM allowed just two more shots on goal and held on for its 15th win of the season.

"It would have been nice to pump in a few more goals in the third and put a stamp on the victory," Pauly said. "We’ll get more mileage out of a hard fought one-goal win. I liked the way we played after Osseo’s second goal."

Meyers rebounded from allowing seven goals in Thursday's 7-3 loss to Shattuck-St. Mary's and Pauly was pleased with the performance of his second-year junior netminder.

"I really liked the way the Jacob Meyers played tonight," he said. "He really appeared to be dialed in and on top of the puck. We gave up some quality chances in the first period and Jacob snuffed those out. We need that out of him.

"We have to understand that there is usually no such thing as an easy win this time of year. Osseo is tough in the building."

In the junior varsity contest, the Red Knights came from behind as John Kernan's third period goal tied the score and Jeff Spellmire scored 43 seconds into overtime, giving BSM a 2-1 victory.

The Red Knights play three games in five days this week. The second of the three contest sees BSM returning home for a North Suburban Conference meeting with St. Louis Park. The junior varsity game gets underway at 5 p.m. with the varsity game schedule for a 7 p.m. opening faceoff.

February 1, 2009

Borer accepts offer from Nebraska-Omaha

Benilde-St. Margaret's co-captain Pat Borer has verbally accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

In his fourth season on the Red Knights' varsity squad, Borer has compiled 15 goals and 57 points during his career.

Borer has played 17 games this season and leads the team in both average ice time, logging 27 minutes, 44 seconds per game, and shots on goal, with 75. He also has five goals and 16 points, leading BSM defensemen in both categories.

During the 2007-08 campaign, Borer played in all 31 Red Knight games as BSM placed third at the state Class AA state tournament. He had career highs with six goals, 16 assists and 22 points.

Last spring, Borer was selected by Sioux City of the United States Hockey League. He was the Musketeers' 17th-round selection, the 147th player chosen in the draft.

Borer cannot sign a National Letter of Intent with Nebraska-Omaha until April 8, the first day of the regular signing period for hockey.


January 29, 2009

Third period proves to be downfall in Red Knight loss

After skating to a 3-3 tie through two periods with Shattuck-St. Mary's, Benilde-St. Margaret's ran out of gas in the third period.

Giving up eight power-play chances took the wind out of the Red Knights' sails as they gave up four goals in the final frame in a 7-3 loss to the Sabres.

"As has been the case too much this season, we spent way too much time in the penalty box," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "Against a powerhouse like Shattuck, you are just playing with fire by taking so many penalties. It really gassed our guys and I believe that was a large reason that we didn’t have much left in the third period."

The Red Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game, getting on top with a power-play goal when Bryan Glynn tipped in a pass from Brett Patterson, eight minutes into the game.

It was the only goal of the opening frame but BSM held a 9-8 edge in shots on goal during the first period and carried some momentum into the first intermission.

"The first period was our best hockey of the season," Pauly said. "It was very exciting to see our guys play at such a high level. It was just awesome hockey."

That momentum carried into the second period as David Tranvik intercepted a pass behind the SSM goalie and was able to stuff the puck past Sabre goalie Garrett Jensen.

"It was nice to see David get rewarded with a goal tonight," Pauly stated. "He’s had some hard luck lately."

SSM then responded with three goals in an eight-minute span to take a 3-2 lead with 4:19 remaining in the middle stanza.

With the Sabres working on their fifth power-play near the end of the period, it appeared the visitors would take their one-goal lead into the final period when Christian Horn tipped a pass inside the Red Knight blue line.

The puck wound up on the stick of Will Nelson and he made a tape-to-tape pass to Horn who was streaking through the neutral zone. Horn broke in on Jensen and scored his first career short-handed goal with 37 seconds remaining in the period.

BSM was unable to take advantage of an early power-play chance in the third period and the visitors took over from there.

Blake Matejcek scored 3:07 into the final period, starting the Sabres' four-goal run and SSM outshot the Red Knights, 17-1, over the game's final 17 minutes.

"It’s too bad because our effort deserved a better score than 7-3," Pauly said. "In the end we found out some good things about our team tonight and we use that as a positive down the stretch."

The Red Knight junior varsity squad suffered a 14-0 defeat. Luke McCormick came on in a relief role and stopped 29 of 36 shots in 26 minutes of work.

BSM returns to action with a non-conference affair at Osseo, Feb. 3. The JV game gets underway at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow at 7:30 p.m.


January 27, 2009

BSM downs Irondale for fourth consecutive win

Benilde-St. Margaret's extended its winning streak to four games and remained unbeaten in North Suburban Conference play with a 6-3 win over Irondale.

The Red Knights rode two-goal, three-point performances by Pat Borer and Bryan Glynn to the victory, with the duo scoring goals 36 seconds apart in the game's first five minutes to give BSM a 2-0 lead.

Will Nelson extended that lead to three goals with 5:27 to play in the opening period when Glynn tipped the puck off the right win boards. Nelson picked the puck in the right faceoff circle and snapped off a shot that beat Knight goalie Lance Bortot for the three-goal lead.

Nelson's goal proved important as Irondale scored twice early in the second period to cut the lead to one goal and the score remained 3-2 into the final six minutes of the middle stanza.

The Red Knights went up by two goals again when Brett Patterson tipped the puck out of a neutral zone scramble along the left-wing boards. Borer picked the puck up, skated to the right side and into the home team's zone before get a shot from the top of the right circle which beat Bortot over his blocker.

"Pat's goal was huge," BSM coach Ken Pauly said. "He was very effective in rushing the puck tonight."

Glynn added the eventual game winner with just 50 seconds remaining in the period, on the power play, when he moved to the right edge of the goal crease to tip in a pass from Patterson.

"Bryan Glynn has very quietly begun to take some control with this team," Pauly said of his senior co-captain. "He has been a major factor in just about every game the last four weeks. He’s been more physical and he is getting opportunities each game. His two goals tonight were further evidence that he is finding his game."

BSM held onto its second three-goal lead deep into the final period but, with a faceoff in the visitors' zone, Irondale pulled Bortot for an extra attacker with 1:38 to play.

The Knights' Zach Iverson shot the puck off the drop of the faceoff and managed to find the back of the net to pull his team back to within two goals.

The Red Knights, however, controlled the game from that point and, with 40 seconds to play in the game, Borer got off a shot from the left point. Patrick Duda tipped the puck to Christian Horn who scored from the left side of the net to put the game away.

"You have to give (head coach) Jeff Martin and Irondale some credit," Pauly said. "They really have been a gritty team for us to play against this year. I’m glad we won’t see them anymore this year."

At the same time, Pauly admitted, his team had some lapses that could have proved costly.

"We were two different teams tonight," he said. "At times we looked passionate about the game and there were times when we just stood and watched. That’s a habit that can kill you in playoffs so we had best break it pretty soon."

BSM controlled much of the game and outshot the Knights, 50-24. Bortot suffered the loss despite a 44-save effort. Red Knight goalie Jacob Meyers, returning to the lineup after missing two games with a broken finger, earned his ninth win of the season with a 21-save outing.

In the junior varsity game, Joe Anderson, John Kernan, Chase Mlnarik and Sean O'Toole all scored two goals as BSM cruised to a 9-0 victory.

BSM returns to action Thursday, Jan. 29, when it hosts Shattuck-St. Mary's. The junior varsity will face SSM's U16 team at 5:30 p.m. while the varsity will take on the Sabres' nationally-reknowned Prep team at 7:30 p.m.


January 27, 2009

Ankeny earns honors from Metro newspapers

Benilde-St. Margaret's senior goalie Rob Ankeny has been named an athlete of the week by both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press for his work in two Red Knight wins last week.

Thrust into the starting role when Jacob Meyers broke his finger in practice last Monday, Ankeny stepped in to face defending state champion Hill-Murray and turned aside a career-high 37 shots as BSM came from behind for a 3-2 overtime win.

"I really don’t think you can say enough about the effort that Robby Ankeny gave this team," head coach Ken Pauly said after the win. "He was very calm and in control the entire night.

"I said at the beginning of the year that we had three goalies who could start for most teams in the state. Ankeny’s performance is proof of that."

The Red Knights returned to North Suburban Conference action Thursday, after two weeks of non-conference games, to face league-leading Totino-Grace. In that game, Ankeny notched his fifth career shutout by stopping 17 shots in a 5-0 win. He also picked up his second career assist in the win.

On the week, Ankeny stopped 54 of 56 shots and is now 4-0-0 on the season with a 1.19 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.


January 22, 2009

Red Knights dominant in win over Eagles

Benilde-St. Margaret's scored four power-play goals and outshot Totino-Grace, 50-17, en route to a 5-0 win in a match up of the North Suburban Conference's only unbeaten teams.

"I thought this was a pretty dominant performance by the team tonight," head coach Ken Pauly said. "The guys came out with passion and fire. We were very aware that these games with Totino Grace are critical if we hope continue to hold onto the conference title."

Pat Steinhauser, who snapped a nine-game goal-scoring drought Tuesday, scored the game's first goal when Patrick Duda flipped the puck out of the BSM zone. Steinhauser picked up the loose puck in the neutral zone along the right-wing boards, skated into the right faceoff circle and snapped a shot over Totino-Grace goalie Tyler Olson's glove.

Duda put the Red Knights up by two goals when he parked in front of the Eagles' net and tipped a shot from the left point by Jake Horton.

That lead went to 3-0, one minute, 22 seconds into the second period when Pat Borer took a cross-ice pass from Brett Patterson. His first shot from the left circle was blocked by Nik Colpitts but he got his own rebound and put it through Olson's pads.

Patterson, who extended his point-scoring streak to seven-games when he set up Borer's goal, got his 12th goal of the season when he made and end-to-end rush along the left-wing boards, worked around the left circle in the Eagles' zone and scored from along the goal line to put his team up, 4-0, with 7:36 to play in the middle stanza.

The score remained that way for the next 24 minutes, despite six BSM power-play chances, and appeared as the game would end that way until just 30 seconds remained in the game when Pat Cron knocked in his ninth goal of the season to finish the scoring.

The game marked the fifth consecutive ranked opponent the Red Knights have faced and they have come through it with four wins.

"The last five games have been a tough stretch," Pauly said. "To  have won four of those says a lot about our team. Our work isn’t done by a long shot, however, 13-3-0 looks pretty good right now."

Rob Ankeny, making his second consecutive start, the first time in his varsity career, earned his fifth career shutout with a 17-save effort.

"Ankeny was sharp again" Pauly said. "It’s a great bonus when you have your top goalie go down and your backup can come in and put together back-to-back efforts like Ankeny did this week.

"The shutout was a total team effort," he added. "You have to give defensemen Patrick Daly, Gunnar Knutson, Pat Borer, Chase Mlnarik, Sam Anderson, and Jake Horton a lot of credit. They did a great job slowing the Eagles' rush and turning the puck up ice."

The Red Knight junior varsity was also victorious, posting a 2-1 win as Michael Blessing recorded a goal and an assist and Adam Clark made 16 saves for his 10th win of the season.

BSM will be idle over the weekend, the first time in four weeks, and returns to action Jan. 27, when it takes on Irondale at the Schwan's Super Rink. Game time for the junior varsity is slated for 5:30 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow at 7:30 p.m.


January 20, 2009

Horn scores OT winner as Red Knights down Pioneers

Benilde-St. Margarets' 3-2 overtime win over Hill-Murray had several story lines, none of which appeared would happen until late in the game.

Rob Ankeny, who suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Pioneers last season, despite a then career-high 36-save effort, started Tuesday's game after Jacob Meyers was forced out due to a broken finger.

Freshman Christian Horn and sophomore Pat Steinhauser accounted for all three BSM goals. Horn's game-winner was his second overtime goal of the season.

All of this came after Hill-Murray scored goals 30 seconds apart in the final minute of the second period to take a 2-0 lead.

"I really don’t think you can say enough about the effort that Robby Ankeny gave this team tonight," head coach Ken Pauly said. "He was very calm and in control the entire night.

"I said at the beginning of the year that we had three goalies that could start for most teams in the state. Ankeny’s performance is proof of that."

Ankeny stopped the first 24 shots he faced through 33 minutes. However, it was the 34th minute that bit the Red Knights.

With just 45 seconds remaining in the second period, Ryan Holler went the length of the ice with puck before Ankeny stopped his shot. However, Jack Walsh followed him and banged home the rebound for the game's first goal.

It appeared the game would head into the third period as a 1-0 affair when Jeff Westerhaus blocked a shot near the Pioneer blue line and Ben Bahe tipped the puck to Tyler Zepeda and the duo began a 2-on-0 breakaway.

A delayed penalty was called when Zepeda was slashed in slot in Red Knights' end of the ice but Bahe trailed the play, quickly moved the puck from backhand to forehand and put the puck over Ankeny's left pad with five seconds remaining on the clock.

It's often said that a two-goal lead is the hardest in hockey to protect and BSM proved that axiom to be correct on this night.

The home team began pressuring Hill-Murray heavily in the final period but were unable to solve Pioneer goalie Tim Shaughnessy until nearly seven minutes into the final period.

With a faceoff outside the top of the left faceoff circle in Hill-Murray's, Steinhauser was able to tip the puck forward for Horn to collect. After taking a couple of strides took him inside the circle, Horn snapped off a shot that beat Shaughnessy over his glove and found its way inside the far post.

Despite a 14-shot third period, it appeared that the home team may not get the equalizer, but a power-play opportunity, with just over three minutes to play in the third period, set the stage.

Brett Patterson's shot from the right point was tipped by Horn into Shaughnessy's pads. Steinhauser came in on the left side and ended a nine-game goal-scoring drought by banging home the rebound to tie the score with 2:42 showing on the clock.

BSM ended regulation, and began overtime, on another power play but failed to convert to before the opportunity ended prematurely due to a Red Knight penalty. The Pioneers were unable to score on their fourth power-play chance of the game and the game continued.

Hill-Murray won 43 of 77 faceoffs in the game but had one loss prove costly and the finaly one proved to be the nail in the coffin.

Once again, Steinhauser won a draw in the Pioneers end, this one in the left circle. Once again, Horn stepped in to collect the puck, kicked it to his stick and, from low in the circle, got off a shot that beat Shaughnessy past his blocker on the short side.

"We knew that both Christian Horn and Pat Steinhauser had talent," Pauly said. "But they seem to be coming up with these big plays at some pretty big moments."

The game-winning goal, for Horn, was his 10th goal of the season, making him the first freshman during Pauly's 16-years as BSM career to reach double-digits in goals.

In the junior varsity game, John Kernan recorded his first hat trick of the season, scoring his final goal into an empty net to seal a 5-2 BSM victory.

The Red Knights return to North Suburban Conference action, Thursday, Jan. 22, as they take on Totino-Grace at Parade Ice Gardens. Game time for the junior varsity game is scheduled for 5 p.m. while the varsity contest is set for a 7 p.m. faceoff.


January 17, 2009

BSM holds on for win over Marshall

Benilde-St. Maragaret's took a four-goal lead early in the third period but had to fend off a late rally by the Marshall School before settling for a 5-3 win.

The Red Knights led 3-0 midway through the game and appeared well on their way to victory before the Hilltoppers began to show life.

"When we jumped to a 3-0 lead, I was hoping that we would win this one running away," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "But Marshall is just too well coached and too proud of a team to make it easy on you."

Brett Patterson banged home a rebound nearly 10 minutes into the game and Patrick Duda converted a Pat Steinhauser pass into a short-handed goal with 2:55 to play in the opening stanza.

The Red Knights grabbed a 3-0 lead when John Duda blocked a shot in his own zone. He quickly fed the puck to Bryan Glynn in the neutral zone, who then split two defensemen a snapped a shot from the inner edge of the right faceoff circle just inside the right post.

Joe Kozlak got his team back in the game less than three minutes later but Will Nelson restored the three-goal when his shot from the slot rang off the right post before finding the back of the net with 1:34 to play in the second period.

The visitors increased their lead to four goals barely four minutes into the final period. Marshall iced the puck in the waning seconds of a penalty kill and Jacob Meyers set the puck up for Patterson to collect next to the BSM goal.

Patterson proceeded to rush the puck up the left side of the ice. At the top of the left circle in the Marshall zone, he circled back to the point and ripped a low shot which Duda tipped into the net one second after the power play expired.

The Hilltoppers weren't ready to concede the win and, just 30 seconds later, Dane Morin scored to cut the lead to 5-2 and, with 7:28 to play, Matt Morsette knocked in a loose puck to get the hosts back to within two goals.

Marshall got a power-play chance with less than seven minutes remaining but the visitors easily killed the penalty, outshooting the Hilltoppers, 2-0, during that time and they they two two penalties in the game's final three minutes to effectively seal their fate.

Although happy to collected a road win against the 10th-ranked, Class A, Hilltoppers, Pauly knows his team has work to do.

"We would like to get the power play going," he said. "We really haven’t had a lot of opportunities to work on it in our games but, when we get chances, we need to capitalize.

"Simply put, we need to continue to improve on special teams and eliminate some of the 'blowup' plays on the defensive end in order to be a legitimate contender for a trip to the state tourney."

With five goals and 31 shots, the Red Knights had their most productive offensive outing of 2009.

"I’m very happy that Will Nelson, Bryan Glynn, and Brett Patterson continue to find their offensive game," Pauly added. "All teams need a line that they can rely on to score.

"I also think the John Duda, David Tranvik, and Pat Cron line is skating well. They are doing their job and then some."

Adam Clark posted his fourth shutout of the season and got goals from Chris Flood and John Kernan as the junior varsity claimed a 2-0 win.

Next up for BSM is defending Class AA state champion Hill-Murray. The Red Knights and Pioneers will get together Tuesday, Jan. 20, for a 7 p.m. faceoff at the St. Louis Park Rec Center. The junior varsity game will get underway at 5 p.m.


January 13, 2009

Edina's top line keys win over BSM

Edina's big three of Anders Lee, Marshall Everson and Connor Gaarder combined for four goals and 10 points as the Hornets handed Benilde-St. Margaret's a 6-2 loss.

Everson and Lee combined to put the Hornets on top, 2-0, with goals nine minutes, 32 seconds and 12:48 into the contest.

The Red Knights appeared to take some measure of control of the game after falling behind but, with 34 seconds remaining in the period, John Eppel dumped the puck into the BSM zone, where it deflected off a skate and into the net to give Edina a three-goal lead heading into the first intermission.

"We also could of have used a bounce tonight but we just couldn’t get one," Red Knight head coach Ken Paul said. "That fluke deflection at the end of the first period was very deflating for our team."

Edina scored twice in the opening five minutes of the second period, resulting in a Red Knight, and it wasn't until the 10:40 mark of the period when BSM finally got on the scoreboard.

John Duda won a faceoff in right circle of the Hornets' zone. As he battled for possession of the puck, he was knocked to the ice but still managed to pass the puck into the slot, where Pat Cron chipped in his eighth goal of the season.

Just 22 seconds into the third period, the Red Knights cut the lead to 5-2 when Sam Anderson carried the puck along the left-wing boards and behind the Edina goal, before giving the puck to Brett Patterson, who scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season from the right edge of the goal crease.

A power-play chance just 22 seconds later resulted in four shots on goal by the Red Knights but John Ankeny stopped each one and the missed opportunities seemed to turn the momentum as Edina quickly barraged BSM goalie Jacob Meyers with five shots, the last resulting in the game's final goal by Lee at the 5:10 mark.

“We have to find a way to get power play goals," Pauly said. "We had a golden chance to get back into the game at the start of the third and just couldn’t close the deal.

"We played with little passion in the third and Edina put the game away at that point."

The good news in the final period for the Red Knights was its goaltending. Meyers stopped 13 of 14 shots in 13 minutes before giving way to Rob Ankeny, who faced his younger brother, John, in the Edina goal, for the first time.

Rob stopped all four shots he faced in the game's final 3:46, in his first relief appearance of the season, while John raised his record to 12-1-0 on the season by turning aside 27 of the 29 shots he faced.

"Edina is on the very short list of the best teams in the state for a reason," Pauly added. "You cannot make coverage mistakes against high-end forwards. We did and it cost us early.

"The good news is that, after the time out, we pretty much stopped the bleeding and got  a couple of goals. I liked the way that we finished.

"We just need to regroup, take a day off for finals and come back with a better effort against Duluth Marshall."

BSM's junior varsity didn't fare any better, suffering a 7-2 loss. Alex Dale and Oliver Shields-Nordness each had a goal and an assist in the contest.

The Red Knights head north Saturday, to take on the Class A seventh-ranked Hilltoppers at Mars Lakeview Arena. The junior varsity game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start with the varsity contest slated to get underway at 3:30 p.m.


January 10, 2009

BSM wins rematch with Minnetonka

Christian Horn scored twice and Will Nelson's goal with five minutes, 28 seconds, remaining in the game prvoed to be the game winner as Benilde-St. Margaret's handed Minnetonka a 4-3 loss on the Skippers' home ice.

The hosts were in search of a measure of revenge for last year's 3-2 overtime loss in the Section 6AA final but they could never take the lead from their guests.

Brett Patterson opened the scoring just 4:21 into the contest when he took a Will Nelson pass from behind the net and scored from the left edge of the slot.

A series of three penalties found the Red Knights trying to kill a 4-on-3 Skipper power-play, which is when Sam Coatta's shot through traffic found its way to the back of the net to tie the game.

BSM took four penalties in the opening period but it was the only negative of the opening 17 minutes for the Red Knights.

"The way we came out in the first period was as strong an effort as I’ve seen out of our team this year," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said. "We were going to the body and making plays. It was good to see us dictate the pace right away."

BSM regained the lead 4:39 into the second period when Pat Borer's shot from the left point was blocked. Horn picked up the puck in the slot and dropped a pass for Pat Steinhauser, who shot from the left circle. Horn continued to the net and tipped the puck out of the air past the glove of Minnetonka goalie Jim Kruger.

It took the Skippers less than two minutes to respond, this time with a goal from Max Gardiner during a 5-on-3 power play.

The visitors would go into the second intermission with the lead, however, as Horn took a pass from Steinhauser to the left of the Minnetonka net and scored on his own rebound after Kruger had stopped his initial attempt.

"Christian Horn and Pat Steinhauser continue to get better each night," Pauly said of the youthful duo of freshman Horn and sophomore Steinhauser. "By the time they graduate they will be one of the top forward pairings in high school hockey."

The 3-2 lead lasted nearly 10 minutes into the final period when Erik Heskin fought off a backcheck and shot the puck past a screen in the low slot to tie the score for the third time.

Exactly two minutes later, at 11:32, Bryan Glynn picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and gave it to Nelson as he crossed the Minnetonka blue line. Nelson then moved deep into the right faceoff circle and shot the puck over Kruger's shoulder from a low angle.

BSM held a 29-27 edge in shots on goal and Jacob Meyers, with a 24-save effort, moved into sixth place on the Red Knights' career wins list with his 21st.

"This is huge win for us as we go into the toughest stretch of the regular season," Pauly said after his team won the first of four consecutive games against ranked opponents.

"What I liked most was how we played the third period. Despite giving up the tying goal, Will Nelson made a big-time play and got the lead back. That’s what good teams do and that ‘s what we did tonight."

Adam Clark stopped 24 of 25 shots, and Chris Flood and Dan Kuenzi scored second-period goals as BSM posted a 2-1 win in the junior varsity contest.

The Red Knights return home Tuesday, Jan. 13, when they take on second-ranked Edina in another rematch from last season, as the Hornets knocked off BSM in overtime in the semifinals of the Class AA state tournament in front of a crowd of 19,559. The JV game starts at 5 p.m. with the varsity game slated for 7 p.m.


January 8, 2009

Red Knights deal 4-1 loss to Panthers

Brett Patterson had two goals and an assist and Benilde-St. Margaret's handed head coach Ken Pauly his 300th career win with a 4-1 victory over Spring Lake Park.

Will Nelson blocked a shot near the BSM blue line which started a rush for the hosts. Bryan Glynn carried the puck up the right side and his pass along the goal line found Patterson, who tucked the puck inside the right post seven minutes, 17 seconds into the contest.

It was the only goal the Red Knights would get in the first period and, with 53 seconds remaining in the opening session, Josh Bevers took a long pass up the left boards from Max Corrigan and tied the score with a shot from the left faceoff circle.

Despite a 21-1 advantage in shots on goal during the second period, it took the hosts over 11 minutes before they retook the lead when Glynn carried the puck behind the Spring Lake Park net and found Patterson in the slot, and he buried the puck for his eighth goal of the season.

It was just over two minutes later when the Red Knights scored on the power play to take a 3-1 lead.

The Panthers dumped the puck into the BSM zone where Jacob Meyers grabbed the puck and passed it up the left boards. Patterson tipped the pass to Horn, who dropped it back to Patterson at the top of the left circle in the Spring Lake Park zone. Patrick Duda then tipped in Patterson's goal-mouth pass.

Just 16 seconds later, John Duda finished the scoring when he took a Dan Kuenzi pass in the slot and scored his third goal of the season.

The Red Knights failed to extend their lead in the third period despite outshooting their guest, 25-2, in the final 17 minutes. Mike Nelson stopped everything BSM could throw at him and the Panther netminder finished with 48 saves.

Michael Blessing had two and three assists, and Jeff Spellmire had a four-point night as the Red Knights' JV defeated Spring Lake Park, 9-1.

Benilde-St. Margaret's begins a stretch of four consecutive non-conference against ranked opponents Saturday, Jan. 10, when the 13th-ranked Red Knights take on ninth-ranked Minnetonka at the Pagel Activity Center. The junior varsity game is scheduled for 5 p.m. with the varsity game slated to follow at 7 p.m.


January 3, 2009

BSM alums return to celebrate 50 years of hockey

Benilde-St. Margaret's celebrated 50 years of hockey Saturday night as a number of alums returned to see their alma mater defeated Irondale, 4-3.

John ('75) and Jack Dwyer ('08) helped get the festivities started by conducting the ceremonial faceoff between Red Knight co-captain Patrick Duda and Irondale captain Jesse Lammi.

John Dwyer was the most valuable player of the 1974-75 BSM team while Jack, a three-sport letterwinner for the Red Knights, was a member of last year's team which played in the Class AA state tournament for the first time and finished third.

Duda, and his brother, John, a junior center, are second-generation Red Knights as both of their parents, Leon and Peggy, are BSM graduates.

Pat Cron is a second-generation Red Knight hockey player. His father, Bob, graduated from BSM in 1979 and went on to play hockey at St. John's.

Borer's family was in attendance. His sister, Melissa, is a junior co-captain for BSM's girls hockey team and Borer family has deep roots at Benilde-St. Margaret's.

It was not just alums who returned. Former head coach John Haider (1973-82) was in attendance. Haider was 103-87-5 in his nine seasons behind the bench and ranked as the winningest coach in school history for 16 seasons until Ken Pauly broke his record during the team's first state championship season in 1999-2000.

Charlie Burroughs was also in attendance. Pauly coached bantam hockey at Wayzata with him before they came to BSM, when Burroughs took over as the head coach for three season (1987-90) before turning the program over to Pauly.

"For 50 years students at BSM have been playing Red Knight hockey," Pauly said. "We have nearly 2,000 alumni who have skated for this school.

"When those players graduate they move on but they always have left a little piece of themselves with this program. I’ve always believed that when a program succeeds, it has as much to do with the people who came before us as it does with the people who are here now.

"We are proud of our alumni and it’s our goal to make them proud of us each night."


January 3, 2009

BSM holds on for win over Irondale

Three special-teams goals, including two short-handed tallies, enabled Benilde-St. Margaret's to post a 4-3 win over Irondale.

After the visitors took a two-goal in the first period, the Red Knights got on the scoreboard when Pat Steinhauser blocked a shot inside the BSM blueline and Bryan Glynn picked up the puck in the neutral zone.

The senior left wing carried the puck up the left-wing boards, cut to the net in the faceoff circle and wristed a shot over the glove of Irondale goalie Lance Bortot.

Glynn evened the score less than two minutes later when John Duda passed the puck from the right faceoff circle and Glynn scored on his own rebound.

The Red Knights finally took the lead one minute, 44 seconds into the second period as Brett Patterson's cross-ice pass found Will Nelson alone in the left circle and he was able to beat Bortot on the stick side.

Despite outshooting Irondale, 16-1, in the period, BSM was unable to extend its lead until 1:42 remained in the middle frame. While killing a penalty, Patterson forced a turnover at the Knights' blueline and walked in alone. He deked to his backhand and brought puck to his forehand before putting the puck behind Bortot.

The score remained 4-2 until Irondale pulled Bortot for an extra attacker and Jimmy Gjere scored on a slapshot from the left point, after a faceoff win by Aaron Iverson, with 1:08 to play in the game.

Bortot finished the game with 33 saves while Rob Ankeny won his second game of the year for BSM with a 15-save effort.

Michael Blessing scored two goals, assisted on another, and was on the ice for five of his team's eight goals as the junior varsity posted an 8-0 win Irondale.

BSM returns to action for another North Suburban Conference game Thursday, Jan. 8, when it hosts Spring Lake Park. The JV is slated for a 5 p.m. faceoff while the varsity contest gets underway at 7 p.m.


January 1, 2009

Red Knights second at Schwan Cup

Will Nelson scored a pair of third-period goals in the tournament opener, Brett Patterson scored twice in the semifinal but the offense dried up in the championship game of the Schwan Cup Silver Division as Benilde-St. Margaret's took second place for the second year in a row.

The Red Knights began tournament play Monday, at Aldrich Arena, facing Burnsville and the Blaze took a 4-2 lead into the third period before BSM came from behind.

First-period goals by Pat Cron and Bryan Glynn gave the Red Knights a 2-1 lead after one period but goals by Zack King, 54 seconds apart, late in the second period enabled Burnsville to overcome that deficit and take a two-goal through two periods.

Nelson scored 3:08 into the final period of regulation play and then tied the score with a power-play tally with 3:21 remaining.

BSM finished the come-from-behind win as Pat Steinhauser found Christian Horn with a pass in the neutral and the freshman right wing broke into the Blaze zone, cut to the net in the right faceoff circle and scored at 2:02 of the extra session.

“I didn’t like the way we played at all in the first two periods," Red Knight coach Ken Pauly said as his team gave up six power-play chances and two power goals in the game's first 34 minutes.

"We simply have to get more honest in all three zones of play," he added. "But the team didn’t quit and played with a lot of fire in the third period. The comeback help us to avoid a quick trip to the loser’s bracket."

Tuesday's semifinal 4-1 semifinal win over Cretin-Derham Hall was highlighted by Patterson's two goals, the second of which sealed the victory with 15 seconds to play, but others played key roles as well.

Pat Borer scored to open the third period, giving BSM a 2-0 lead, and he added two assists in the game. Meanwhile, Jacob Meyers stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced, keeping the Raiders off the scoreboard until 2:11 remained in the game.

"Jacob Meyers was dialed in," Pauly said after the game. "It was too bad that we couldn’t preserve the shutout for him. He was sluggish against Burnsville but he had been off from real game competition for over a week."

Meyers was on his game in the finale against Wayzata at the Xcel Energy Center but the Trojans' Ty Simcoe matched him save for save.

The two netminders kept the game scoreless through 45 minutes but Wayzata's Kevin Blackley collected a loose puck along the left-wing boards, walked into the faceoff circle and beat Meyers low with 5:46 remaining to break the ice.

Less than three minutes later Billy Soule scored a power-play goal to clinch the win for the Trojans.

BSM's' junior varsity claimed the consolation title in their division. After opening with a 4-1 loss to Burnsville, the Red Knights downed Breck, 8-0, and Cretin-Derham Hall, 6-4.

BSM will play its fourth game in a six-day span Saturday as it hosts Irondale in a North Suburban Conference game. Game times at the SLP Rec Center are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. for the junior varsity and 2:30 p.m. for the varsity.


December 23, 2008

BSM head into Christmas with win over Century

Bryan Glynn scored a pair of goals and Mike Shibrowski stopped 20 of 21 shots as Benilde-St. Margaret's posted a 4-1 win over Rochester Century.

The Red Knights took a 2-0 lead in the first period as Glynn scored just one minute, 50 seconds into the contest. Jake Horton scored his first varsity goal with 1:37 to play in the opening frame after intercepting a Panther clearing attempt at the blue line before stepping to the top of the circle, where he slapshot found the upper right corner.

"Jake Horton gets better with each game.," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said of his freshman defenseman. "He has great poise for a 15-year old. He is fast turning into one of our most dependable players."

Just 19 seconds into the second period, another freshman, Christian Horn, scored on a rebound of a Pat Borer shot to put the hosts ahead 3-0, but the momentum begin to swing the other way shortly thereafter.

Cory Birkestrand picked up a loose puck in the neutral for the visitors and got it deep into the BSM zone, where Joe Faupel picked up the loose puck. He got the puck to Tyler Anderson in the bottom of the left circle and his shot beat Shibrowski over his right shoulder with 5:43 to play in the period.

The Panthers had several scoring chances before the end of the middle frame but Shibrowski stopped each won, including a flurry where he made three saves before covering the puck.

"Century’s second-period goal really gave them life" Pauly said. "Our team took a step backward during that time. I was disappointed with how we responded to their goal. We were fortunate to take our two goal lead into the third."

Holding onto that lead was essential as the Panthers outshot their hosts, 9-7, in the final period. However, the Red Knights sealed the win with a power-play goal with 4:49 to play in the game as Brett Patterson's pass in front of the net hit Bryan Glynn in the leg and deflected into the net.

"Converting on the power play in the third gave us the breathing room that we had been looking for throughout the last part of the game," Pauly said. "Michael Shibrowski had some nice saves to preserve our win.

"Rochester Century is a very well-coached team," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said. "It was a very nice win for us going into the Schwan Cup."

BSM cruised to a 9-0 win in the junior varsity contest. John Kernan scored twice while Taylor Topousis, Ryan Minkoff, Chris Flood and Alex Dale all scored their first goals of the season in the win.

The Red Knights varsity returns to action Monday, Dec. 29, when it takes part in the Schwan Cup, taking on Burnsville at Aldrich Arena. Opening faceoff is slated for 3 p.m. The junior varsity takes on Burnsville at 12:30 p.m., Dec. 29, at Highland Arena.


December 20, 2008

Red Knights roll in battle of St. Louis Park

Brett Patterson scored a pair of goals, added a pair of assists and, in the battle of St. Louis Park, Benilde-St. Margaret's bested the host Orioles, 7-0.

"It really felt good for the guys to get back in action tonight," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said of his team returning after an eight-day layoff from game competition. "It’s always great to break 1-0-0 in the conference opener."

A short-handed effort by Patterson put BSM on top, 10 minutes, 38 seconds into the game. After Will Nelson cleared the puck out of the Red Knight zone, Patterson chased down the puck and, despite battling in left corner of the offensive zone with two Orioles, he managed to keep control, skated behind the SLP net and scored from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

Less than three minutes later, a couple of quick passes by Patterson and Christian Horn got the puck to Pat Steinhauser in the slot and the sophomore center found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

It took just 25 seconds for BSM to extend the lead to 3-0 as Patrick Daly made a pass through the neutral zone to Bryan Glynn, who skated to the top of the right circle and ripped a wrist shot into the top of the net.

Team scoring leader Patrick Duda scored just 52 seconds into the second period, a goal set up by Nelson and Glynn, and Patterson and Horn scored before the midpoint of the period to make it a 6-0 score.

Pat Cron scored on a rebound of a shot by Daly late in the third period to finish the scoring.

“It was very good to see Brett Patterson have a big night," Pauly said afterwards. "We need for  him to put up points if we are going to go places this year.

"I also liked the play of Will Nelson, especially since he was coming off a knee injury in last week’s game. His knee looked strong and that’s a relief."

BSM held a 34-11 advantage in shots on goal, posting its second consecutive shutout as Jacob Meyers recorded his third win of the season and fifth career shutout.

"St. Louis Park is one of those rivalry games that can be very dangerous for a team that is as young as ours," Pauly said. "Our juniors and seniors set a good tone tonight."

BSM's junior varsity also posted seven goals, winning its game, 7-1, behind two goals apiece by Alex Brask and Sean O'Toole, and a three-assist performance by John Kernan.

The Red Knights will be in action again Tuesday, Dec. 23, when they host Rochester Century in their final game before Christmas. The junior varsity tilt is slated for a 5 p.m. start while the varsity is scheduled to faceoff at 7 p.m.


December 12, 2008

Pauly earns 250th career win as Red Knight head coach

Benilde-St. Margaret's head coach Ken Pauly reached a career milestone in his team's 15-0 win over Meadow Creek Christian, earning the 250th win of his career at BSM.

Following the win, he was presented with the game puck and congratulated by his players on the ice.

"I was very touched by the kids’ gesture after the game in giving me the game puck and offering their congratulations," he said. "What’s most rewarding is to see how proud these guys are to be Red Knights and to become a part of our emerging tradition."

Now in his 16th seasons behind the Red Knight bench, Pauly has led his teams to six conference titles and three state tournament appearances. His teams won state Class A titles in 1999 and 2001 and finished third in the 2007 Class AA state tournament.

With Thursday's win, Pauly has amassed a 250-129-13 record for a .654 winning percentage. During his 19 seasons as a head coach, he has a 294-160-20.

"There are so many story lines that really put that number in perspective for me," Pauly added. "Pat Borer is one of our captains. His family’s roots run very deep at BSM and he’s been dreaming of leading this team since he was a 4th grader.

"Jake Horton is a ninth-grade defenseman for us and I went to high school with his parents and played on the same teams as his dad  (Jim) all they way up through the Wayzata youth system and high school.

"Pat Cron had a hat trick tonight and his father starred at BSM and coached for a few years in the 80s.

"Captain Patrick Duda had a big night (five points), along with his brother John (two goals, both set up by Patrick), and they are another set of players with parents who attended BSM and are a big part of this program.

"It’s just been such a rewarding journey thus far and I truly am thankful to all of the people who make Red Knight Hockey so special – especially the players. They are what it’s all about."


December 12, 2008

Red Knights rout Meadow Creek Christian

With 17 of 18 skaters scoring points, and tallying 80 shots on goal, Benilde-St. Margaret's cruised to a 15-0 win over Meadow Creek Christian.

Five different Red Knights scored their first varsity goals in the game and Pat Cron recorded his first career hat trick en route to a six-point night.

"No one ever feels good about a one-sided game like this," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "But you have to keep it in perspective. The Meadow Creek program is in its first year and they are looking to build a schedule.

"This game was about helping a newly formed program gain some experience and exposure. The players and coaches from both sides had the right frame of mind. I thought both teams showed mutual respect. The Meadow Creek kids kept playing hard and never quit giving an effort, and our kids played with class and treated the Saints players with the respect that they deserve."

After losing 12 letterwinners from last year, Pauly had the opportunity to give his new players some much-needed ice time.

Sophomore Dan Pemberton, playing his first varsity game, was one of the five Red Knights to record their first goal. Freshman Christian Horn scored the first two goals of his varsity career and added three assists while juniors Chase Mlnarik, Ryan Palm and David Tranvik also notched their first career goals.

The only player who failed to record a point was Will Nelson, who suffered a knee injury on his second shift of the game and did not return. It ended a four-game goal-scoring streak for the junior forward.

Among the 12 players who recorded multiple-points on the night, Patrick Duda also chipped in with five points, including a career-best four assists.

"The only thing that you can say about the actual game was that it was fun to see so many of our guys get their first varsity goal," Pauly added "It’s kind of nice to get that 'marking point' out of the way early."

With the Minnesota State High School League exempting the game from the maximum allowable number of 25, due to Meadow Creek Christian's first-year status, the Red Knights were able to fill a gap in their schedule.

BSM has an eight-day layoff before returning to action Dec. 20, in its North Suburban Conference opener, versus St. Louis Park. The varsity game is slated for a 7 p.m. faceoff.


December 9, 2008

Red Knights hold off Raiders for 4-2 win

Benilde-St. Margaret's gave up six power-play chances, three in the game's final seven minutes, but an outstanding effort by goalie Jacob Meyers and an early 3-0 lead enabled the 13th-ranked Red Knights to hold on for a 4-2 win over 17th-ranked Cretin-Derham Hall.

"This was a big early-season win for," head coach Ken Pauly said. "By no means are we even close to where we need to be as a team but our guys played well enough and earned a good victory against a quality program."

Things went well for BSM early in the game. Brett Patterson intercepted a pass along the left-wing boards, walked the puck into the faceoff circle and found Pat Borer at the top of the slot. Borer's shot through traffic beat Raider goalie Ben Walsh low on the stick side for a 1-0 lead.

It took just 25 seconds for that lead to go to 2-0 as Will Nelson won a faceoff in the left circle by kicking the puck loose and then immediately shot the puck through Walsh.

Just 2:40 into the second period, BSM went up 3-0 when David Tranvik forced a turnover behind the Cretin-Derham Hall net and passed the puck to Pat Cron in front of the net. Cron collected the pass and scored on the far side over Walsh's glove.

From that point, the momentum began to swing in the visitor's favor and, less than two minutes later, Tony Barbato intercepted a pass on the right-wing boards and connected with Bob Kinne, who came crashing down the slot and scored his third goal of the season.

Meyers, however, was up to the task as he stopped 14 of 15 shots in the middle stanza, including a scramble later in the period. After the Raiders won the faceoff to start a power play at 11:24 of the period, Meyers stopped Mychal Bangs twice on the doorstep and a follow-up rebound by Mark Alt.

"That was the biggest moment of the game," Pauly said. "Without those saves, the end result could have been very different."

However, those saves enabled the hosts to hold onto their two-goal lead and they were able to extend it late in the period with a short-handed goal.

Patterson tipped the puck out of the Red Knight zone and Patrick Daly picked up the loose puck, starting a 2-on-0 rush with Bryan Glynn. The duo worked a perfect give-and-go with Daly tapping home the return pass with one minute remaining in the period.

The third period turned into a defensive battle as the teams combined for just nine shots on goal. Four of the Raiders' six shots in the period came on the power-play as they had three chances, including a 5-on-3 with 1:26 to play in the game. They scored 20 seconds after starting the 5-on-3 but could get no closer.

Meyers finished the game with 26 saves. He stopped eight of Cretin-Derham Hall's nine power-play shots to pick up his second win of the season.

John Kernan scored twice in the junior varsity game, the first and last goals of the game, as Benilde-St. Margaret's remained unbeaten with a 4-3 victory.

The Red Knights return to action with a home game Friday, Dec. 12, against Meadow Creek Christian at 7 p.m. No junior varsity game is scheduled.


December 6, 2008

Red Knights falter at Stillwater

Stillwater scored three third-period goals and limited Benilde-St. Margaret's to 23 shots on goal as the Ponies posted a 6-2 win over the Red Knights.

“I’ve said all along that we would have growing pains at the beginning of the year,” BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. “Tonight’s loss would fall under that category.”

The Red Knights spotted their hosts a 3-0 as Stillwater’s Blake Dochniak scored just 39 seconds into the game and Dereck Doronfeld scored on the power play at 8:35 of the opening period.

Brandon Schuman scored at 5:30 of the second period to make it 3-0 before BSM cut into the Ponies’ lead.

Bryan Glynn scored 70 seconds later as Patrick Duda passed him the puck out of the left corner. Glynn then moved across the slot and scored on a low shot through traffic for his first goal of the season.

The Red Knights allowed six power-play chances in the first two periods with the last one ending with seven seconds remaining the in middle stanza. As Stillwater’s power play came to an end, Will Nelson stole the puck at the Ponies’ blue line and, with a defenseman draped on him, he crashed the net and scored with six seconds on the clock.

With the momentum on its side, BSM got an early power-play chance in the third period but failed to generate a shot and the tide quickly turned as Schuman scored his second goal of the game 41 seconds after Stillwater returned to full strength.

“When we pulled within one goal at the end of the second period, I really thought we had gained the momentum,” Pauly said. “We really outplayed Stillwater through the first part of the third period but, when we didn’t capitalize on the power play, that shifted the momentum back to them.”

Down two goals late in the game, the Red Knights were forced to gamble offensively and the Ponies were able to take advantage of the situation, creating odd-man rushes which resulted in goals by Tyler Gosso, at 10:19, and Dochniak’s second of the game with 2:54 remaining.

“We have to keep working to find an identity,” Pauly added. “That’s what we’ll continue to do. Losing on December 6 isn’t fatal. But we can’t lose the value of the lessons that we learned from tonight’s defeat.”

Sean O'Toole's hat trick, which featured the game-tying goal with 32 seconds remaining in the third period and the game-winning goal, 2:41 into overtime, led the junior varsity to a 4-3 win.

The Red Knights return to action Tuesday, Dec. 9, when they host Cretin-Derham Hall at the St. Louis Park Rec Center. The JV game is slated for a 5 p.m. faceoff on the East Rink while the varsity is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. on the West Rink.


December 2, 2008

Third-period outburst leads BSM to season-opening win

Three goals in a 37-second span enabled Benilde-St. Margaret's to break open a one-goal en route to a 6-2 win over St. Cloud Tech to open the 2008-09 season.

Will Nelson's power-play goal, one minute, 15 seconds, into the final period began the outburst and, according to Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly, was an important goal in sending his team on its way.

"It was a big advantage to have the power play to open the period because we had pretty good movement all night on the power play," he said. "The third-period outburst was all about confidence. That first goal just ignited our kids and we kept getting chances. It was nice to see a few fall right way."

It took BSM just 14 seconds to extend its lead to three goals as Pat Cron scored his first varsity goal. Patrick Duda followed with his second goal of the game 23 seconds later.

The Red Knights got on the scoreboard just 1:09 into the game. A Jon Mavetz penalty put the hosts on the power play. Brett Patterson won the ensuing faceoff in the left circle to Christian Horn along the left-wing boards. He quickly moved the puck to Pat Borer at the left point and his shot was tipped by Patterson for the season's first goal.

Sophomore Pat Steinhauser, making his varsity debut, put BSM up by two goals when he knocked home a rebound of a Sam Anderson shot at 8:36.

The Tigers used a pair of quick goals in the second period, with Mavetz scoring at 1:48 and Jobe Peterson tallying 38 seconds later to tie the score at 2-2.

Patrick Duda's first varsity goal proved to be the game winner as he tipped a shot by Anderson from the left point at 7:07 of the middle stanza.

Although his team won by four goals, Pauly had 10 players making their varsity debuts and knew his team would struggle at times.

"In a lot of ways it was a typical first game," Pauly said. "Especially for the guys who were playing their first varsity contest. There were a lot of nerves, so things were not as sharp as we’d like and our play was inconsistent. The good news is that they responded with fire in the third period after a really poor showing in the second."

That second period saw Tech with a 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard and a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal. However, BSM outshot its guest, 16-8, in the final period and held a 33-20 advantage for the game.

Jacob Meyers got the start in the season opener for the second year in a row and made 18 saves to pick up his second consecutive season-opening victory.

The Red Knight junior varsity also opened the season with a victory as Michael Blessing scored a goal and registered two assists to lead BSM to a 4-2 win.

Next up for the Red Knights is a trip to the East Metro, Dec. 6, and the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center, where they will take on Stillwater. The JV game is slated for 5:30 p.m., and the varsity game is set to get underway at 7:30 p.m.


November 18, 2008

Dates set for Toys For Tots collection

The BSM boys hockey program will be collecting new, unwrapped toys at its home games on Dec. 9 and 12, which will be donated to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program.

Toys will be collected at the entrance to the West Rink at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center on Dec. 9, when BSM hosts Cretin-Derham Hall, and Dec. 12, when the Red Knights take on Meadow Creek Christian.

The toys collected on Dec. 9 will be dropped off at KARE 11 on Dec. 10, with team members making an appearance during the station's 5 p.m. news broadcast.


November 3, 2008

BSM to collect equipment for charity during captains' practice

The Benilde-St. Margaret's boys hockey team will be collecting used hockey equipment during its captains' practice, Friday, Nov. 7, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

The public is invited to donate equipment, which will be given to the New Directions Youth Ministry in Minneapolis.

The Red Knights' season gets underway Dec. 2, when they host St. Cloud Tech at 7 p.m.


October 14, 2008

Captains' practices for 2008-2009 season beginning this month

Dear BSM Boys’ Hockey Players and Parents,

Welcome back for those who will be returning, and welcome to those of you who are just beginning to play Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys’ hockey. We have a great tradition of hockey here and are looking forward to another promising season, but we know we must work hard in order to succeed. After our winning season and trip to the state tournament last year, we hope to continue that tradition and maintain a high level of play.

To begin our season, we will hold captains’ practices beginning the last week of October at the St. Louis Park ice arena. The players will be divided into two groups: the red group and the white group. Each group will have nine sessions and be run by the captains and instructor Andy Ness. Full equipment must be worn. A schedule is posted containing specific times for each group.

We wish all of you the best of luck this season and at tryouts, and we hope to see you at the captains’ practices. These practices are a good opportunity to become familiar with the players you will be with all season, as well as the program. If you have any questions regarding times, rides, activities, etc., please feel free to call any of us. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Captains:

Patrick Borer (763) 205-5728
Patrick Duda (952) 937-0413
Bryan Glynn (952) 215-5942


March 8, 2008

Red Knights claim third with 5-1 win over Roseau

Benilde-St. Margaret's broke open a 1-1 game with four unanswered goals, including three power-play goals in the game's final 10 minutes, to claim a 5-1 win over Roseau in the third-place game of the Minnesota State High School League's Class AA tournament.

Early on, the Rams held a territorial advantage, going on to outshoot the Red Knights 10-5 in the opening period, but Mike Shibrowski helped keep the game scoreless by stopping all 10 Roseau shots.

Momentum began to swing BSM's way in the second period and the Red Knights finally broke the scoreless tie when Will Nelson, playing for the first time since a section quarterfinal win, Feb. 21, batted in a rebound at 6:34 of the middle, a goal which held up for the lead through two periods.

Roseau knotted the score just 46 seconds into the final period when Adam Knochenmus crashed into Shibrowski, who had made an initial save, but the players and puck carried into the net.

Less than two minutes later, however, Niklas Almstrom took a pass in the slot from Jon Holmers and ripped a shot home for his 18th goal of the year, which would prove to be the game winner.

Frustration set in for the Rams after that as they took eight penalties and BSM took advantage, getting a pair of power-play tallies from Matt Bergland and a final one from Pat Borer, with 1:52 to play, to put the game away.

The Red Knights had a 29-22 shots on goal advantage for the game. Shibrowski, who made his first start since the team's regular-season finale, Feb. 16, turned aside 21 shots to maintain his perfect record on the season, finishing 10-0-0.

At the conclusion of the tournament, which was won by Hill-Murray, Bergland, who had four goals, six points and a tournament-leading 31 shots on goal, and Chris Student were both named to the all-tournament team.

BSM finishes the season with a school-record 27 wins, concluding the 2007-08 campaign with a 27-4-0 record.


March 7, 2008

BSM suffers OT loss in state semifinals

Benilde-St. Margaret's overcame a pair of deficits, scoring twice in the third period to send the game to overtime. But, in the end, it was second-ranked Edina moving onto the state title game after defeating the Red Knights, 5-4, in overtime.

Marshall Everson got the game-winner, five minutes, 48 seconds into the extra session, when he stopped a shot with his skate to the right of the Red Knights' goal before fighting off a check and then knocking home the loose puck.

The Hornets took the lead in the middle of the opening period but BSM had several opportunities late in the period and, with momentum on its side, tied the game when Jon Holmers took a feed from Tom Knauff and scored from the edge of the crease with 1:12 to play in the first stanza.

However, the Red Knights could not take that momentum into the intermission as Edina scored 16 seconds later and then added a power-play tally 4:54 into the second period to grab a 3-1 lead.

Steve Zierke cut the Edina lead to one goal again when he grabbed a loose puck at the top of the left circle, skated through the slot picked the upper corner over the glove of Hornet goalie Derek Caschetta midway through the period. But BSM could not get the equalizer, despite a 14-6 shots on goal advantage in the frame.

Brendan Baker restored the two-goal lead for Edina, 2:58 into the third period but Chris Student cut it to one again with a rush into the Hornet zone before beating Caschetta just 46 seconds later.

The tying goal came from the stick of Matt Bergland, who got a pass from Zierke behind the net and scored his 36th goal of the season from the left edge of the crease.

BSM would have to kill a penalty just 16 seconds later and another at 2:27 of overtime, one which would take a physical toll on the Red Knights, who needed to expend a great deal of energy to withstand Edina's most sustained offensive barrage of the game and, just 61 seconds after that final power, was when Everson struck for the game winner.

In all, BSM held a 35-26 advantage in shots on goal. Jacob Meyers saw his 11-game losing streak come to an end in a 21-save performance.

The loss sends the Red Knights into the tournament's third-place game, where they will face top-ranked Roseau, which saw its bid for a perfect season come to an end in a 6-2 loss to Hill-Murray. Game-time at the Xcel Energy Center is slated for 4 p.m.


March 6, 2008

Red Knights advance to state semifinals with win over Woodbury

After seeing its lead cut in half with just over seven minutes to play, Benilde-St. Margaret's scored twice in the game's final minute to seal a 4-1 win over Woodbury to advance to the semifinals at the Minnesota State High School League Class AA tournament.

The win sets up a rematch with rival Edina at 6 p.m., Friday, March 7. The Red Knights defeated the Hornets, 2-1, on Dec. 26 in the Schwan Cup quarterfinals earlier this season.

In Thursday's win, the Royals carried the play through much of the first period but couldn't solve BSM goalie Jacob Meyers, who kept the score even until Matt Bergland scored from the top of the slot with two minutes, 34 seconds to play in the opening frame.

The score remained 1-0 until the 12:25 mark of the second period when Jon Holmers scored on a scramble in front of the Woodbury goal to give his team a two-goal lead.

Trying to hang onto that two-goal lead, the Red Knights gave up a 4-on-4 goal to David Eddy, who slammed home a loose puck from the top of the crease.

Each team would get one more power-play opportunity after that goal. BSM peppered Royal goalie Brandon Wigen with six shots during their final man-advantage chance but couldn't get a goal.

The Red Knights limited Woodbury to one shot on its power-play chance and, with 38 seconds remaining in the game, John Grupa sealed the victory when he collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and scored into an empty net for his team-leading third short-handed goal of the season.

For good measure, Blake Appelhof scored his 16th goal of the season with one second remaining in the game.

Meyers made 20 saves in the game to earn his 14th win of the season, extending his personal winning streak to 11 games, as BSM held a 46-21 advantage in shots on goal.


March 4, 2008

Student earns Minneapolis Star Tribune All-Metro honor

Benilde-St. Margaret's senior defenseman Chris Student has been named first team All-Metro by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

A second-team honoree last season, Student is in his second year as a Red Knight co-captain. He ranks fourth in the state with 49 assists, a mark which is tops among Minnesota defensemen this season.

Earlier this season, he became just the second defenseman in school history to reach the 100-point plateau for his career. His 87 career assists are a school record and he has tallied 105 career points.

A two-time All-North Suburban Conference selection, Student has signed a National Letter of Intent with Northeastern University, where he plans on enrolling in the fall of 2009. Next season, he is slated to play for the Waterloo Blackhawks of the United States Hockey League.

This year's All-Metro first team also includes goalie Joe Phillippi of Hill-Murray, defenseman Jake Gardiner of Minnetonka, Edina forwards Zach Budish and Marshall Everson along with Rosemount forward J.T. Brown.


February 27, 2008

Bergland's overtime goal sends Red Knights to State Tournament

Matt Bergland scored a pair of late goals, the second coming 20 seconds into overtime to give Benilde-St. Margaret's a 3-2 overtime victory over Minnetonka. The win not only gave the Red Knights the Section 6AA title, but also a berth in next week's Class AA State Tournament.

BSM never led in the game until Bergland's final goal, and they trailed 2-0 entering the third period. Paul Giel, who had three assists in the Skippers 3-2 win over the Red Knights earlier this season, scored both Minnetonka goals. The first came on a short-handed breakaway with 2:12 remaining in the opening period. He scored again, this time on the power play, with 3:59 remaining in the second period when he stole the puck in the BSM zone and scored unassisted.

The Red Knights' comeback began when Steve Zierke's shot from the left circle beat Minnetonka goalie Matt Buonomo while BSM was on its third power play of the game.

The score remained 2-1 until Bergland's 33rd goal of the season with 5:51 to play in the third period tied the score and set up the Red Knights' second consecutive overtime.

Minnetonka won the opening faceoff in overtime and sent the puck deep into the BSM zone. From there, Tom McCarthy picked up the puck behind his own net and moved it to Zierke, who carried the puck through the neutral zone before giving it to Blake Appelhof on the left wing boards. Appelhof, in turn, gave the puck to Chris Student, whose shot from the left circle was stopped by Buonomo but Bergland crashed the net from the right side and slammed home the rebound.

Goalie Jacob Meyers earned the win for the Red Knights, stopping 33 shots in all. He kept his team in the game through the first two periods as Minnetonka owned a 23-11 advantage in shots on goal through the first 34 minutes.

BSM will make its first Class AA State Tournament appearance Thursday, March 6, with the time and opponent to be determined this weekend. The Red Knights won the state Class A titles in 1999 and 2001, their only other appearances in the Minnesota State High School League tournament.


February 23, 2008

Red Knights advance to Section 6AA championship with double OT win

Steve Zierke finished a give-and-go, 2-on-1 play with Chris Student, five minutes, 35 seconds into the second overtime as Benilde-St. Margaret's claimed a 6-5 win over Eden Prairie to advance to the Section 6AA championship game.

After Brett Patterson was called for cross-checking, 4:42 into the second overtime, the Red Knights found themselves trying to kill their second penalty of overtime. The winning play started when Zierke tipped the puck out of the BSM zone and he began a 2-on-1 rush with Student. Inside the Eagles' blueline, Zierke fed the puck to Student and raced to the net. Student got to the bottom of the right faceoff circle before giving the puck back to Zierke, who buried the puck before Eden Prairie goalie Steve Loyd could get across his crease.

The Red Knights never trailed in the game but had to continuously fight off Eagle comeback bids.

Matt Bergland scored the game's first goal when he tipped a Chris Student shot at 10:46 of the opening period and Niklas Almstrom scored on his own rebound with 1:29 remaining in the opening frame to send BSM into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

It took Eden Prairie just 65 seconds into the second period to cut that lead in half on a Joe Mulvehill goal and the scored remained 2-1 for over 10 minutes before Tom McCarthy's power-play goal restored the two-goal lead.

The Eagles scored the next two goals, tying the game on Joe McQuillan's power-play tally at 4:33 of the second period but Steve Zierke won the ensuring faceoff and Bergland proceeded to score just six seconds later.

The teams would trade goals again with Blake Appelhof putting the Red Knights back on top, 5-4, with 4:28 to play. But McQuillan scored a power-play goal 58 seconds later and the teams would play into the second overtime before it all ended.

Eden Prairie had a 40-38 advantage in shots on goal but Jacob Meyers recorded a career-best 35 saves to earn his 11th win of the season.

With the win, BSM advances to the Section 6AA championship for a rematch with Minnetonka, which defeated the Red Knights, 3-2, Jan. 19. The two teams will square off at Mariucci Arena beginning at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Skippers advanced to the section title game with a 4-3 overtime victory over Hopkins.


February 21, 2008

Zierke's hat trick leads BSM to Section 6AA quarterfinal win

Game program featuring Chris Student

Steve Zierke scored three second-period goals and Benilde-St. Margaret's cruised to an 8-0 win over Minneapolis West in a Section 6AA quarterfinal game.

The Mustangs took the game to the Red Knights early and found themselves on the power-play just two minutes, nine seconds into the contest. However, Matt Bergland grabbed a loose puck behind the West goal and passed to John Grupa in the slot. From there, Grupa found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season and BSM was on its way.

Despite controlling much of the remained of the opening period, the hosts were only able to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission when Niklas Almstrom scored his 15th goal of the season.

It took Zierke just 1:59 into the second period when he scored from the slot off a Blake Appelhof feed. His next goal came less than six minutes later when the Red Knights caught their guests on a line change and goalie Jacob Meyers quickly passed the puck to Appelhof in the neutral zone. He fed Zierke who raced into the Mustangs' zone and proceeded to notch his 20th goal of the season.

Before the period was out, Almstrom would add his second goal, just one minute later, and Zierke completed his hat trick at 11:15 of the middle stanza. Matt Bergland then scored his 30th goal of the season on a rebound of a shot by Chris Student, who recorded his 100th career point with the assist.

BSM closed out the scoring at 6:19 of the final period when Jack Dwyer picked up a loose puck in the left circle and collected his seventh goal of the season.

Meyers, whose picked up his first career assist, earned his fourth shutout of the season as the Red Knights held a 44-5 shots on goal advantage.

With the win, BSM moves onto Saturday's Section 6AA semifinal. For the second consecutive year the Red Knights will meet Eden Prairie, a 5-4 winner over Robbinsdale Armstrong, in the section semifinals, a game which is slated for a 3:30 p.m. faceoff at the Bloomington Ice Garden.


February 16, 2008

Red Knights close out regular season with win over Cooper

Game program featuring Tom McCarthy

Nine of 12 seniors recorded points on Senior Day, led by Chris Student's career-high six-assist performance, and Benilde-St. Margaret's cruised to a 10-1 win over Robbinsdale Cooper in its regular-season finale.

Matt Bergland's goal just 34 seconds into the contest started the onslaught and, by the time all was said and done, Niklas Almstrom had his first career hat trick, while matching his career-best four-point effort, and Brett Patterson had chipped in with two goals and two assists.

Although they got on the scoreboard early, it took the Red Knights a little while to get on track in the game after having to kill a pair of early penalties. They finally broke thorugh when Jamie McCormick scored a four-on-four goal at 6:16. However, the Hawks responded during the same four-on-four to cut the lead.

Almstrom's first goal came at 7:24 and Tom McCarthy notched the game's only power-play goal at the 9:02 mark.

BSM struck early in the second period as well when Patterson scored just 18 seconds into the stanza, kicking off a five-goal period, which saw him score twice, along with Almstrom, Steve Zieke and Jack Dwyer, who each added solo tallies.

Almstrom's goal 11 seconds into the final period wrapped up the scoring.

The Red Knight junior varsity capped off a 21-1-3 season with a 12-1 win over Cooper. Arturo Shultz had a hat trick to lead the way while Chase Mlnarik scored his first goal of the season and added four assists in the victory.


February 7, 2008

BSM claims third consecutive NSC title with win over St. Francis

Benilde-St. Margaret's clinched sole possession of its third consecutive North Suburban Conference title by handing St. Francis a 12-0 loss, which extended the Red Knights' conference winning streak to 23 games.

In just his second game back after missing five games due to injury, Jon Holmers notched the second hat trick of his career, kicking off BSM's scoring spree just two minutes, 44 seconds into the contest.

Holmers was one of just 10 Red Knight players to record multiple points in the game and three others, Matt Bergland, Jamie McCormick and Brett Patterson, scored a pair of goals. In all, 16 of the team's 18 skaters recorded at least one point, including Gunnar Knutson who made his varsity debut.

BSM outshot St. Francis, 62-9, with Mike Shibrowski recording his ninth win and third shutout of the season.

The Red Knights claimed a 14-0 win in the junior varsity game. Bailey Dodds made 10 saves in recording the shutout win while 15 of 17 players scored points, led by Sean O'Toole's five-point performance.


February 5, 2008

Red Knights clinch share of conference title with rout of Wildcats

Game program featuring Matt Bergland

Benilde-St. Margaret's got points from 15 different players and clinched at least a share of its third consecutive North Suburban Conference title with a 15-0 rout of Chisago Lakes.

A five-goal first period, which featured three goals in the final three minutes, sent the Red Knights on their way to their 20th victory of the season. Jamie McCormick scored two of the first three goals and registered three points on the evening.

BSM scored six times in the second period, getting two goals from Matt Bergland and a short-handed tally from John Grupa among the half-dozen tallies.

Bergland completed his hat trick just 20 seconds into the third period and the Red Knights tacked on another three goals to finish the 15-goal victory.

By adding an assist to his second hat trick of the season, Bergland tallied a game-high four points, as did Blake Appelhof, who had a goal and three assists.

Jacob Meyers made seven saves in recording his second shutout of the season and third win in eight days.

The BSM junior varsity claimed a 6-1 win, outshooting Chisago Lakes 36-12 while getting multiple-point efforts from six different players.


February 2, 2008

BSM posts victory over St. Louis Park

Steve Zierke had two goals and Benilde-St. Margaret's scored twice in each period to take a 6-1 victory from St. Louis Park.

Zierke's first goal came eight minutes, 56 seconds into the contest when he took a pass from Pat Borer in the neutral zone, broke into the Oriole zone on the left side and cut to the net before firing a shot from the left faceoff circle.

From that point, the Red Knights never looked back, using a 53-9 advantage in shots on goal to control the game. Niklas Almstrom and Jack Dwyer both had a goal and an assist while Andrew Dale chipped in with two assists.

The BSM junior varsity claimed an 8-0 win behind three-point efforts from Sam Anderson, who had two goals and an assist, and Evan Miller, who had a goal and two assists.


February 1, 2008

Red Knights post win over Shattuck-St. Mary's

Jacob Meyers stopped 34 shots and made a two-goal second period stand up for Benilde-St. Margaret's as the Red Knights upset Shattuck-St. Mary's, 2-1, at the Alltel Center in Mankato, Minn.

BSM was outshot 13-3 in the first period but Meyers kept the game scoreless until Brett Patterson gave the Red Knights a lead two minutes, six seconds, into the second period. Patterson took a pass from Jack Dwyer at the blueline and his shot from the left wing boards snuck inside the post and past Sabre goalie Jared Andersen.

Pat Borer gave BSM a 2-0 lead with 5:07 to play in the middle frame as Bryan Glynn took the puck on the right wing board, passed to Borer at the right point and his shot found its way through traffic.

SSM continued to hold a territorial advantage but Meyers wouldn't be beat until 3:30 remained in the game in Kyle Murphy finished off a scramble in front of the net, scoring his 20th goal of the year.

In the junior varsity game, the Red Knights also got a stellar goaltending performance as Rob Ankeny made 39 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie. Patrick Duda and Will Nelson scored BSM's goals in the contest.


January 29, 2008

BSM remains unbeaten in conference with rout of Panthers

Game program featuring Jon Holmers

Benilde-St. Margaret's scored four times in each of the first two periods, got multiple-point performances from nine different players and cruised to a 10-2 home win over Spring Lake Park.

Steve Zierke, who led the offense with a four-point effort, got things going just 20 seconds into the contest when he carried the puck into the Panther zone, cut in from the left side and scored on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle.

Bryan Glynn's snap shot, also coming from the left circle, made it 2-0 at 5:02 of the opening period but the guests cut that lead in half just 16 seconds later when Aaron Bevers got behind the Red Knight defense, took a pass from his brother, Josh, and maneuvered around goalie Jacob Meyers for his 12th goal of the season.

Tom McCarthy and Matt Bergland added goals for BSM before the end of the period and Bergland's second of the night, his 23rd of the season, came amidst a second-period flurry which also saw John Grupa, Patrick Daly and Jack Dwyer score to give the Red Knights an 8-1 lead.

Nick Turbitt scored with 3:55 to play in the second period to get the Panthers back on the scoreboard but Andrew Dale and Brett Patterson added third-period tallies to give BSM its final margin of victory.

Meyers made eight saves in running his record to 7-1-0 on the season as the Red Knights outshot their guests, 49-10.

BSM's junior varsity lost for the first time this season in 20 games, falling to 17-1-2, with a 4-3 overtime loss to Hill-Murray.


January 25, 2008

Four-goal second period leads Red Knights to win

Game program featuring Steve Zierke

Benilde-St. Margaret's broke open a one-goal game with four second-period goals en route to an 8-2 win North Suburban Conference victory over Irondale.

The Red Knights took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Bryan Glynn and Niklas Almstrom but the visitors got a goal from Travis Baker just 16 seconds into the second period, cutting the lead in half.

The hosts scored four goals in less than 10 minutes, beginning with Blake Appelhof's 12th goal of the season at the 4:47 mark of the middle frame. After being set up by Steve Zierke for the goal, Appelhof returned the favored as Zierke made it a 4-1 game when he scored less than three minutes later.

Glynn's second goal of the game which, like his first goal, was set up by Tom Knauff, gave BSM a four-goal lead and, with 2:42 to play in the period, John Duda scored his first varsity goal to send his team into the second intermission with a 6-1 lead.

The Red Knights scored again early in the final period as Almstrom and Chris Student worked a 2-on-1 give-and-go with Almstrom knocking home Student's goalmouth pass.

With under five minutes to play, Almstrom collected his third point of the game when he set up Jack Dwyer for BSM's final goal before Baker closed out the scoring for Irondale with a power-play tally with 1:45 to play in the game.

Mike Shibrowski collected the victory, extending his personal winning streak to seven games, with 11 saves as the Red Knights had a 40-13 advantage in shots on goal.


January 22, 2008

BSM returns to win column with victory over Osseo

Game program featuring Niklas Almstrom

Tom Knauff scored a pair of goals and Matt Bergland recorded the 100th point of his varsity career at Benilde-St. Margaret's posted a 4-2 victory over Osseo.

In the second game of a four-game homestand, the Red Knights got off to a quick start when Knauff came off the left wing boards to bury a loose puck just one minute into the contest.

The story of the game for most of the night was that Osseo countered BSM and, with 5:17 remaining in the opening frame, Kean Paxton scored on the power play as the Orioles evened the score heading into the first intermission.

The Red Knights score again quickly as Blake Appelhof's shot from the top of the left circle hit Osseo goalie Kyle Moody and snuck in the short side for the first of two BSM power-play goals.

Barely a minute later, the Orioles won a faceoff in their own zone and Chad Feeny got the puck out of the zone to Tony Sullivan, who skated in on the left side and scored his second goal of the season.

BSM took the lead for good when Knauff again collected a loose puck in front and tallied his sixth goal of the season with 2:51 to play in the second period. Bergland then tallied his 100th point with his 21st goal of the season, a power-play goal with 4:29 to play in the game.

The Red Knights were unable to open break the game open despite a 43-15 advantage in shots on goal. Moody made 39 saves for the Orioles while Jacob Meyers won his sixth game of the season by making 13 saves.

BSM won the junior varsity game despite allowing a season-high five goals, claiming a 6-5 win behind a four-goal effort by Evan Miller. He scored a power-play and short-handed goal just 1:54 apart late in the second period and tallied a natural hat trick in a span of 4:45 at one point.


January 19, 2008

Prochno hat trick sends Red Knights to defeat

Game program featuring Blake Appelhof

Minnetonka's Andrew Prochno scored all three of his team's goals in the second period as the Skippers handed Benilde-St. Margaret's a 3-2 loss.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the opening period, which saw the hosts outshoot their guests, 6-4. However, the Red Knights got the only goal of the first period when Jack Dwyer tipped a Chris Student pass in the neutral zone of Jon Holmers. His shot from the top of the left faceoff circle was stopped by Minnetonka goalie Jim Kruger but Niklas Almstrom scored on the rebound.

Prochno then scored the first two goals of the second period, the first coming 54 seconds into the middle frame with the second goal being scored seven minutes later.

Brian Glynn tied the score for the Red Knights at 11:45 when his snapshot from the top of the slot found the upper part of the net but, less than four minutes later, Prochno completed his hat trick to finish the scoring.

The Skippers held a 28-23 edge in shots on goal, including a 14-5 margin in the second period. Kruger made 21 saves while Red Knight goalie Rob Ankeny turned aside 25 shots.

In the junior varsity contest, John Duda scored one goal, assisted on two others and a 37-15 shots on goal advantage led BSM to a 5-2 win.


January 17, 2008

BSM collects third consecutive shutout in win over Cooper

Six different players scored goals and Benilde-St. Margaret's limited Robbinsdale Cooper to nine shots on goal en route to a 6-0 victory at New Hope Arena.

Chris Student's scored one minute, 57 seconds into the game after taking a pass from Tom Knauff and then a deke around Hawks' goalie David Bajari.

It took less than a minute for the Red Knights' lead to become two goals when Pat Borer skated the puck through the neutral zone and his shot from inside the blue line found its way through Bajari.

Patrick Daly then scored the game's third goal with 2:18 to play in the opening period. BSM's forecheck kept the puck in the Cooper zone and Daly scored after the puck came to him in the left faceoff circle from a scramble in front of the net.

The Red Knights tacked on three more goals in the second period, starting with Matt Bergland's goal from the slot following a Blake Appelhof faceoff win.

Jack Dwyer made it 5-0 when he made a hit in the offensive zone, stole the puck in the slot and turned and fired a shot from the right faceoff circle.

The final goal came on BSM's lone power play of the game when Bergland got the puck on the right wing boards. His pass found Steve Zierke in the slot and the Red Knight centerman found the upper right corner of the net.

The Red Knights held a 41-9 advantage in shots on goal with Rob Ankeny posting his first shutout of the season.

BSM's junior varsity claimed a 9-2 win, running its record to 14-0-2 on the season, behind John Duda's hat trick. Ben Sauer and Zach Wahl added two goals each while Sam Anderson and Pat Cron both had three assists.


January 15, 2008

Red Knights win fourth consecutive game with shutout of Eagles

Matt Bergland scored two goals and Jacob Meyers made 20 saves to earn his second consecutive shutout as Benilde-St. Margaret's won its fourth consecutive game with a 4-0 victory at Totino-Grace.

Although they held a 16-7 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, the Red Knights were only able to put one behind Eagle goalie Tyler Olson. On the game's first power-play advantage, Blake Appelhof got the puck in the left faceoff circle and found Steve Zierke in the right circle. Zierke snapped off a shot that popped the goalie's water bottle straight in air as he shot over Olson's glove five minutes, 51 seconds into the contest.

Bergland's goal came at 5:25 of the second period when Tom McCarthy intercepted a clearing pass at the Totino-Grace blueline. He walked the puck to the middle of the ice and his shot was tipped by Bergland.

The final two BSM goals came in the third period. The Red Knights caught the Eagles on a line change and McCarthy found Tom Knauff in neutral zone. Knauff outraced the Totino-Grace defense and scored his first career power-play goal at 7:18.

Bergland tallied the game's final goal with 3:49 to play when he redirected Patrick Daly's shot from the left point.

With the shutout win, Meyers extended his shutout streak to 104 minutes, 18 seconds while raising his record to 5-1-0 on the season. Olson stopped 43 of the 47 shots he faced for the Eagles.

BSM remained unbeaten in junior varsity play with an 8-0 win over Totino-Grace. Pat Cron had a hand in half of the goals with a four-point performance, including three goals, while David Tranvik and John and Patrick Duda all contributed three points to the victory. Rob Ankeny made 16 saves to earn the victory.


January 12, 2008

BSM rolls to big win over St. Francis

Game program featuring John Grupa

Benilde-St. Margaret's held St. Francis without a shot on goal, compiling 66 shots itself, and the Red Knights cruised to a 16-0 win over the Fighting Saints.

Matt Bergland scored two of his three goals in the opening period before BSM exploded for eight second-period goals, which included two each by Pat Borer and Will Nelson, and then tacked on three more in the final stanza.

Chris Student paced the Red Knight offense with six points. Meanwhile, Pat Borer, Jamie McCormick and Steve Zierke each scored two goals and three assists as 16 of 17 skaters register points.

The junior varisty game saw BSM come away with a 12-0 win after outshooting St. Francis, 64-2. Defenseman Sam Anderson scored four goals among his six points to lead an offense which saw 15 of 18 skaters score points, nine of whom had multiple-point games.


January 10, 2008

Red Knights remain unbeaten in NSC with win at Chisago Lakes

Jon Holmers scored two goals, Niklas Almstrom added a goal and two assists, and Benilde-St. Margaret's raised its North Suburban Conference record to 5-0-0 with a 5-2 win at Chisago Lakes.

Holmers put the Red Knights on the scoreboard first, just three minutes, 41 seconds into the game, when broke up a play along the boards and got the puck to his centerman in the right faceoff circle.

Andrew Slagle notched the first of his two goals on the night less than five minutes later to tie the score but Bryan Glynn sent BSM into the first intermission with a lead when he scored with 1:05 to play in the opening frame.

Holmers second goal of the game came 4:03 into the second period and Almstrom converted a Tom McCarthy rebound late in the period to give the visitors a 4-1 lead through two periods.

Slagle got the hosts back to within two goals just 14 seconds into the final period and the score remained 4-2 until Steve Zierke carried the puck into the Wildcats' zone on the left wing, cut to the middle of the ice and snapped a shot over goalie Tyler Krumm's left shoulder from the faceoff circle.

Krumm made 31 saves to give his team a chance as BSM had a 36-10 advantage in shots on goal.

The Red Knights were also victorious in the junior varsity game, getting a pair of goals from John Duda and Pat Cron to remain unbeaten on the season at 11-0-2.


January 5, 2008

BSM begins new year with win over St. Louis Park

Game program featuring Tom Knauff

Steve Zierke recorded his fourth four-point game in his last six games and Benilde-St. Margaret's used a 45-18 shots on goal advantage to record a 5-1 win over St. Louis Park.

The Red Knights got things going early when Zierke converted a Chris Student pass for his seventh goal of the season just one minute, 17 seconds into the contest. With nine seconds remaining in the opening frame, Student set up Tom McCarthy for a power-play goal as BSM went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

The score stayed that way through much of the second period before the Orioles cut the lead in half with Kevin Bell blocked a shot and Benji Shandley picked up the loose puck and scored on a breakaway at 12:47.

Another power-play tally restored BSM's two-goal lead as Zierke fed the puck to McCarthy in front of the net. McCarthy's shot was stopped by SLP goalie Nick Smith but Matt Bergland stuffed home the loose puck for his 13th goal of the year with 1:14 remaining in the period.

Zierke then scored just 58 seconds into the third period when the Oriole defense turned the puck over behind the net. Zierke picked up the loose puck, skated out front and gave his team a 4-1 lead.

Bergland then closed out the scoring when he collected a loose puck and scored from the right side of the slot with 7:46 remaining in the game.

Smith, who finished with 40 saves, kept the Orioles in the game by making a number of spectacular stops. He had 18 saves in the first period and 14 more in the final period.

Rob Ankeny won his second game in three starts by stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced for the Red Knights.

In the junior varsity game, John Duda had a three-point night, including two goals, and BSM had a 44-6 advantage in shots on goal en route to a 5-0 victory.


December 29, 2007

Red Knights finish second in Schwan Cup Silver Division

Benilde-St. Margaret's reached the championship game of the Silver Division in the Schwan Cup but, despite taking a 2-0 lead, could not hold on to claim the title, dropping a 6-4 decision to St. Thomas Academy.

The Red Knights reached the title tilt with a 6-0 win over Breck, largely on the strength of a defense which allowed just six shots on goal. Offensively, BSM's top line of Blake Appelhof, Matt Bergland and Steve Zierke combined for five goals and 11 points.

Friday's title game saw BSM outshot, 11-5, in the opening period but Bergland's goal with 24 seconds remaining in the first frame gave the Red Knights a 1-0 lead.

BSM then got a boost as Tom Knauff scored at 4:54 of the second period but the Cadets scored the game's next four goals and, despite tallied by Appelhof and Chris Student, the Red Knights were unable to overcome the stretch of 12 minutes which gave STA a 4-2 lead.


December 26, 2007

Sophomores lead BSM to Schwan Cup win

Sophomore goalie Jacob Meyers stopped 20 shots and classmate Brett Patterson scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, 43 seconds into the second period, as seventh-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's, for the first time in four tries, won its opening game in the Schwan Cup by knocking off second-ranked Edina, 2-1.

The Red Knights used a tenacious forecheck to close down the Hornets early in the game while holding a 7-5 edge in shots through the opening 17 minutes. BSM took the lead midway through the opening period when Steve Zierke's snapshot from the left circle beat Edina goalie Derrick Caschetta over the glove.

The game's final 34 minutes saw Hornets outshoot the Red Knights, 16-12, but a defense which allowed few second-chance shots and Meyers' play in goal kept Edina off the scoreboard until Marshall Everson scored on the power play with five minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the second period.

With the win, BSM advances to the semifinals of the Silver Division where it will meet Breck in a 6 p.m. game, Thursday, Dec. 27. The winner will advance to the championship game, Friday, Dec. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Red Knights' junior varsity tied Edina's JV, 2-2, but fell into the consolation round round as the Hornets were victorious in a shootout, 1-0. Patrick Duda tallied both BSM goals in the contest.


December 22, 2007

Red Knights dominant in shutout victory of Panthers

Benilde-St. Margaret's proved to be dominant in all facets of the game and posted an 8-0 win over Spring Lake Park in both teams' final game before the Christmas holiday.

The Red Knights, who won their fifth consecutive game, had a 54-18 advantage in shots on goal, converted four of six power-play chances and won 57.4 percent of their faceoffs, used a five-goal second period to blow the game open.

After first-period power-play goals by Bryan Glynn and Matt Bergland, Tom McCarty scored goals at one minute, 47 seconds and 6:48 of the second period. Just 15 seconds after he gave BSM a 4-0 lead, Steve Zierke took a pass in the slot from Blake Appelhof and picked the upper-right corner to give his team a 5-0 lead.

Tom Knauff and Pat Borer closed out the period with goals to give the Red Knights a 7-0 lead entering the second period, putting the game into running time for the final frame. Bergland's second power-play goal of the game, just 1:46 into the final period, closed out the scoring.

McCarthy added to assists for a career-high four-point game. Zierke recorded his second consecutive four-point game and sixth multiple-point game in eight outings this season.

Meanwhile, Shibrowski made 18 saves to record the shutout, half of which came in the first period.

The Red Knight junior varsity ran its record to 8-0-0, posting its seventh shutout of the season, with a 6-0 win. Even Miller scored a pair of goals and Sam Anderson chipped in with three assists. Jacob Meyers made 12 saves to earn the shutout and also recorded an assist.


December 18, 2007

Eight consecutive goals lead BSM to rout of Irondale

After skating to a 1-1 tie through the first period, Benilde-St. Margaret's scored eight consecutive goals, outshooting Irondale over the final two periods, 37-4, and cruised to a 9-2 North Suburban Conference victory at the Schwan Super Rink.

The game was scoreless until the final two minutes of the first period when Niklas Almstrom finished off a Steve Zierke pass, 15 minutes, 48 seconds into the contest. Just 17 seconds later, however, the hosts answered back when Travis Baker slipped a shot past Mike Shibrowski for a 1-1 tie.

The second period belonged to the Red Knights as they scored three times and did not allow a shot on goal while racking up 23 themselves. Zierke, Brett Patterson and Chris Student scored goals in the middle stanza as BSM extended its lead to 4-1 entering the final period.

Student then kicked off a scoring rally in the final period which saw the Red Knights scored four goals in 2:58 as his goal was followed by 30 seconds by Matt Bergland. Bryan Glynn scored 1:24 later and Jack Dwyer added BSM's eightt goal of the night 1:04 later.

Patrick Daly made it a 9-1 game at 8:13 of the final period but the Knights ended their guests' run when Jack Eide scored on the power play with 4:01 to play in the game.

Student collected four points in the game, giving him 11 in his past three games. Zierke added a goal and three assists as eight players scored goals and 12 of the Red Knights' skaters tallied points.

BSM used a 52-10 advantage in shots on goal to post its fourth consecutive victory. Shibrowski, who went nearly 22 minutes at one point without facing a shot, made eight saves in the win. Irondale's Luke Marchiafava stopped 43 shots.

The Red Knight junior varsity ran its record to 7-0-0 with a 6-0 victory. Ryan Butts and Gunnar Knutson each registered two points in the win as 14 of 17 players tallied points in the game, including goalie Rob Ankeny, who stopped 14 shots in the win.


December 14, 2007

BSM wins final home game of 2007

Game program featuring Andrew Dale

Benilde-St. Margaret's extended its winning streak to three games, winning its final home game of 2007, taking a 5-2 decision from the Marshall School.

The Red Knights took the lead early in the game, at four minutes, 41 seconds of the opening period, when Tom McCarthy tipped in a Chris Student shot on the power play.

The Hilltoppers evened the score just 1:27 into the second period on a goal by Trent Harris but two goals by Matt Bergland, the first on the power play and the latter even strength when Bergland rushed into the Marshall zone on a line change and converted a Niklas Almstrom pass for his sixth goal of the season.

Brett Patterson made it a 4-1 game 2:08 into the final period but Zach Mausolf's short-handed tally got the Hilltoppers back to within two goals just 67 seconds later.

Almstrom sealed the victory with 1:14 remaining in the contest when he took a pass from Andrew Dale in the neutral zone, cut into the offensive zone and scored his first goal of the season.

In a game which featured 23 penalties and 16 power-play opportunities, 11 for the Red Knights, the hosts held a 27-19 edge in shots on goal. Rob Ankeny won his first game of the season by stopping 17 shots.

The BSM junior varsity ran its record to 6-0-0 on the season with a 6-0 win behind Jacob Meyers' 11-save shutout effort and a goal and an assist by Evan Miller and Will Nelson.


December 10, 2007

Red Knights open conference play with win over Totino-Grace

Game program featuring Jack Dwyer

Benilde-St. Margaret's saw 13 of 17 skaters register points, led by Chris Student's four-point performance, and the Red Knights opened North Suburban Conference play with an 8-3 win over Totino-Grace.

With last season's conference co-champions squaring off in the season opener, Fox Sports North was at the St. Louis Park Rec Center to broadcast the game and BSM gave fans a glimpse of things to come on the night when Student's power-play kicked off the scoring three minutes, 51 seconds into the contest.

Just 58 seconds later, Brett Patterson led a Red Knight rush but his shot, and Niklas Almstrom's subsequent rebound shot, were both stopped by Eagle goalie Tyler Olson. However, Bryan Glynn pushed his way through traffic to the front of the net and shoved the loose puck into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Blake Appelhof finished off the first-period scoring as he scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season with 1:03 remaining in the opening stanza.

Totino-Grace got on the scoreboard 5:34 into the second period on the first of two goals by Mike Schlagel but the hosts would respond with three consecutive goals to take a 6-1 lead. Patterson and Jamie McCormick each scored their second goals of the season but a penalty on McCormick, with 2:48 to play in the period, put the Eagles on the power play.

Just 14 seconds into the penalty kill, Student got the puck along the left boards in the Totino-Grace zone and made a cross-ice pass to Steve Zierke who's laser shot from the right point gave the Red Knights a five-goal lead but Schlagel's second goal cut the lead to three entering the second intermission.

Dan DeLisle then scored 5:41 into the final period to cut the lead to three but Tom Knauff and Tom McCarthy answered with goals for BSM to close out the scoring.

After holding a 20-4 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, the Red Knights were outshot slightly in each of the last two periods but came away with a 42-30 edge. Jacob Meyers won his second consecutive start by turning in a 27-save effort.


December 6, 2007

BSM gets back on winning track with victory over Raiders

Benilde-St. Margaret's used a 43-18 advantage in shots on goal to post a 3-2 win over Cretin-Derham Hall.

The Red Knights enjoyed a 21-5 shot advantage in the opening period but nearly came away with nothing to show for the effort. However, Brett Patterson took a pass from Niklas Almstrom and scored his first varsity goal by snapping a shot over the glove of Raider netminder Chris Weyant midway through the period.

Matt Bergland made it a 2-0 game just 38 seconds into the second period when he scored from the middle of the slot while sliding on his knees but it took the hosts less than a minute to cut that lead in half. CDH was awarded a penalty shot and Ryan Bohrer converted the chance for his seventh goal of the season.

Blake Appelhof restored the Red Knights' two-goal lead at the eight minute, 11 second mark of the middle period but, once again, the home team cut the margin to one quickly as Matt DeFlorin converted a BSM turnover into a goal just 25 seconds later.

The goalies then took over from that point at Weyant finished the game with 40 saves while Mike Shibrowski had 16 saves for the Red Knights.

In the junior varsity game, BSM ran its record to 4-0-0 as Will Nelson scored a pair of goals, set up another and Bailey Dodds made 14 saves for his second shutout of the season.


December 4, 2007

Red Knights suffer first loss of season

Hill-Murray scored two goals midway through the opening period and held off Benilde-St. Margaret's late in the game to post a 3-1 win in a game which started nearly 45 minutes late.

Following a junior varsity game which started over an hour late, the varsity squads squared and the host Pioneers struck first on the game's first power-play, seven minutes, 13 seconds into the opening period as Nick Widing's shot from the slot through traffic found the back of the net.

Widing then set up Isaac Kohls just over two minutes later as the hosts grabbed a 2-0 lead but, despite outshooting the Red Knights, 22-9, in the second period, could not add to that lead.

BSM finally got on the scoreboard during a delayed penalty call on Hill-Murray. With an extra attacker on the ice, Matt Bergland found Blake Appelhof in the left faceoff circle and his shot found its way over the leg pad of goalie Joe Phillippi.

Both teams had scoring opportunities in the game's closing minutes but Phillippi and Red Knights goalie Rob Ankeny kept the score 2-1 before the Pioneers sealed the win when Tyler Zepeda scored into an empty net with 44 seconds remaining in the game.

On the strength of its 22-9 advantage in the second period, Hill-Murray held a 38-29 edge in shots on goal. Ankeny, who stopped all 22 second-period shots by the Pioneers in the second period, finished the game by stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Phillippi earned the victory in the game with a 28-save effort.

The JV game, which saw the third period shortened to six minutes, saw BSM come away with a 1-0 victory as Patrick Duda's goal with 27 seconds remaining in the second period proved to be the difference. Jacob Meyers earned the victory in goal with a 27-save shutout performance.


December 1, 2007

Bergland goals lead BSM to win in home opener

Game program featuring Jamie McCormick

Matt Bergland scored the game's first and last goals, added an assist and led Benilde-St. Margaret's to a 4-2 win in its home opener versus Stillwater.

Although they dominated the opening period, outshooting their guests 12-3 in the opening 17 minutes, the Red Knights didn't get on the scoreboard until the 14:27 mark when Bergland scored the first of his two goals.

A pair of late second-period goals extended BSM's lead to 3-0. Jon Holmers scored on a Bergland rebound at 10:06 and Blake Appelhof scored a five-on-three power-play goal at 13:44.

The Red Knights had a 28-12 advantage and a three goal lead heading into the game's final 10 minutes but goals 20 seconds apart, by Wilson Housley and Ryan Freeman, got the Ponies back in the game.

After Freeman's goal with 9:20 to play in the game, Stillwater threatened several times and forced a faceoff in the BSM zone with 47 seconds to play. Following a timeout, the Ponies pulled goalie Tristan Pennella for an extra attacker but, after winning the faceoff, Chris Student blocked a shot, Steve Zierke picked up the loose puck and fed it to Bergland in the neutral zone, and from there he skated in alone on the empty net for a tap-in goal.

Zierke record his second consecutive three-point games while Student and Appelhof both chipped in with two points.

Pennella kept his team in the game by stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Mike Shibrowski made 13 saves to earn the victory for the Red Knights.

In the junior varsity game, Evan Miller snapped a 1-1 tie early in the third period and David Tranvik added an insurance goal in a 3-1 BSM win. Patrick Duda put the Red Knights ahead 1-0 in the first period and Rob Ankeny picked up the win by stopping 22 shots.


November 27, 2007

Late goals enable Red Knights to win season opener

Benilde-St. Margaret's scored four goals in the game's final six minutes, 45 seconds, and opened the 2007-08 campaign with a 7-2 win at St. Cloud Tech.

A pair of second-period goals by Blake Appelhof, tacked onto Steve Zierke's goal just 28 seconds into the game, gave the Red Knights a 3-0 lead, and they appeared well on their way to the victory.

Penalties would get BSM in trouble as the Tigers got within a goal on a pair of power-play tallies, including a 5-on-3 goal, with 8:09 remaining in the third period.

Defensemen Tom McCarthy and Patrick Daly broke the game open. McCarthy's goal game on an abbreviated power-play chance for the Red Knights while Daly's first BSM goal came from the right point.

Matt Bergland tacked on a power-play goal, his fifth point of the night, with 3:09 to play in the game and Jamie McCormick's short-handed tally with 54 seconds remaining closed out the scoring.

Jacob Meyers made his Red Knight debut in goal and stopped 11 shots to collect the victory as BSM held a 43-13 advantage in shots on goal.

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