The boy’s hockey team has become accustomed to taking talented opponents into overtime, unwilling to give up in regulation. Earlier in the season, the Red Knights took St. Thomas Academy down to the final minutes in overtime after an astounding comeback. Fast forward a few weeks, and the same couldn’t be achieved against section rival Eden Prairie, losing by the score of 6-5.

It was apparent early on that this would be a game in which offensive players would unleash everything they could muster and the goalies would be left to fend for themselves. This was a huge test junior goaltender Jalen Long, who according to his teammates, played probably the best game of the year. “He faced something like 51 or 52 shots, he only let in 6. Against a team like Eden Prairie, that’s definitely impressive,” said junior Ben Newhouse.

As was the case last week, the Red Knights made their shots count. Though they lost by one, but they were outshot by almost twenty by the Eagles. Long turned away a majority of what EP threw at him, but Eden Prairie took an early 3-1 lead.

BSM would score 3 unanswered goals and would then take the lead 4-3 in the middle of the second period and from there, the game became a back and forth affair until the final buzzer of regulation. EP responded near the end of the second period tying the score at 4-4. Halfway through the third period, senior captain Spencer Naas reclaimed the lead for the Red Knights, but it wouldn’t last long, as EP tied it up yet again. The final tension choked minutes ended at a 5-5 tie which forced overtime.

Overtime was fairly quick with each team getting off two shots, but unfortunately for the Red Knights, EP found the net on their second rush to take the 6-5 victory.

BSM’s offense has little to worry about, scoring 5 goals in each of their meetings against EP, and has yet another chance to gain the edge next week for their third meeting. The concern, however. “They scored two quick ones during a 5 minute major, and I feel that killed us a bit. We had our chances to put it away late, and we just didn’t take them— EP however did,” said senior captain Spencer Naas.