After taking a big hit in the first period, junior forward Grant Besse was receiving medical attention on the bench. Head coach Mr. Ken Pauly was forced to try to manage a 1-0 goal defecit with one of his top players out of the game. “It screwed up some of our mojo, to be honest with you,” said Mr. Pauly.

However, BSM did get their mojo back with Besse himself leading the way. Besse had a goal and two assists in a three goal middle frame for BSM, which was enough for a 3-2 win over Hill-Murray on Thursday, Dec. 1.

After the first period, BSM trailed by one, but Mr. Pauly wasn’t very concerned. “There were a lot of awfully positive things––that was the main thing we wanted to emphasize after the first period: just keep doing what you’re doing,” said Mr. Pauly.

In the second period, BSM exploded with three goals on 21 shots, while Hill-Murray only managed to test senior goalie Anders Jecha once in the period. Besse’s three points give him nine in two games. “[Besse] is a goal scorer but what he’s added to his repertoire is play-making. You’re not going to see just the goals, but you’re going to see the assists as well,” said Mr. Pauly.

Junior defenseman Patrick Graham played a solid game, and Mr. Pauly surely took notice. “Patrick Graham was just ‘Mr. Steady’ back there. He broke up some plays with their high-end forwards,” said Mr. Pauly. “He’s not flashy, he’s not as marquee as some of those high-end sophomores that we have but boy, I’ll tell you, if we’re going to get to St. Paul, Patrick Graham is going to be a big reason why.”

On Besse’s goal and one of his assists, he went strongly to the net. Although he is one of the top snipers in the state, it’s not all about flash for him. “You can have the pretty [goals], but you gotta get some of the ugly ones,” said Besse. “They count the same.”