In one of the most highly competitive tournaments in the state, the BSM Red Knights were able to make their way to the championship game of the Sports Authority Holiday Classic, but eventually fell to section 6AA rival Wayzata.
In the opening game of the tournament on Dec. 27, the Red Knights faced a feisty Lakeville North team, but BSM’s top line was too much to handle for the weaker Panthers team. Grant Besse scored four goals and Daniel Labosky added four assists in the 8-2 rout of Lakeville North.
The semi finals proved to be a tougher challenge against a strong Elk River squad, but it was nothing the Red Knights couldn’t handle. BSM trumped the Elks 5-3, but the scoreline didn’t reflect how dominant the Red Knights played, outshooting their opponents 31-19. Senior captain T.J. Moore picked up three assists, and Grant Besse added two more goals to his school record.
The SLP Rec Center was packed for the championship game featuring two of the metro’s top teams, Wayzata and BSM. Going into the game, the two squads looked fairly equal, but Wayzata blew out Benilde-St. Margaret’s 7-1 in a shocking loss for the Red Knights. The scoring started early when Wayzata forward Akash Batra fired a one timer past Red Knights goaltender Andrew Sprang just 20 seconds into the game. The first period ended with a 1-0 Trojans lead.
Hopeful BSM fans may have been excited for the second period until Trojan Chad Olson scored roughly five minutes into the period, and it kept going downhill for the Red Knights as Wayzata added four more goals to their lead, ending the period at 6-0.
The surprised Red Knights team was only able to put one point on the board when Grant Besse took a rocket slap shot past Wayzata goaltender Aaron Dingman. Dingman finished the night with 39 saves.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s will have an opportunity to avenge the loss on Thursday, January 3, when they face Wayzata again.
