Benilde-St.Margaret’s Red Knights repeated history from last year’s section finals vs. Minnetonka with a 4-3 win against the Skippers on January 10. The road to victory kept the crowd on their feet, as the score went back and forth throughout the duration of the game, until junior Will Nelson helped BSM take the final lead with a goal with 5:68 left in the game.

Starting at 7 p.m., the game would carry on for three hours. Senior captain Pat Borer came out onto the ice, followed by the other Red Knight hockey players and subsequently after, the Minnetonka Skippers. “The atmosphere was great. Everybody was cheering for us and booing for Minnetonka. It got the blood flowing,” said junior Sam Anderson.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s made the first goal within several minutes by number 22, junior Brett Patterson with assists by senior captain Bryan Glynn and junior Will Nelson. Halfway into first period, Minnetonka countered the Red Knight goal with a score by senior forward Sam Coatta on a Minnetonka power play. BSM had received 4-8 penalties in the first period alone, with Minnetonka only 2-4.

Four minutes into the second period, Benilde-St. Margaret’s freshman Christian Horn scored after a wide shot attempt by Anderson. Minnetonka gained an advantage when BSM had three players in the penalty box for roughing, which allowed Minnetonka junior Max Gardinier to make the second goal. Within the final two minutes of the second period, Horn missed a shot saved by Minnetonka goalie junior Jim Krueger. Horn re-gained the puck and shot past Krueger, making it Benilde-St. Margaret’s third goal, putting them ahead going into the third period.

In the third period, Minnetonka came back to tie the game up 3-3, when freshman forward Erik Baskin. Following the final Minnetonka goal, Red Knight player Will Nelson managed to get past the pressure of a Skipper defender and hit a sneak shot that went right over the shoulder of Minnetonka goalie Krueger. “I came around the corner and saw Krueger drop to his knees and I felt like a kid in a candy store and put it were Grandma keeps the cookies,” said Nelson. BSM now had a 4-3 advantage with estimated six minutes left. BSM goalie, junior Jacob Meyers, blocked all following shots by the Skippers, with a total of nine saves, to Krueger’s seven saves in the third period. The Red Knights came out with another victory over the thirteenth ranked Minnetonka Skippers.