For the fourth consecutive year the Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ hockey team faced off against the Minnetonka Skippers at Parade Ice Garden in the section tournament. The past three seasons saw the Red Knights on the losing end of close games as they watched the Skippers advance to the state tournament.

This year, the Red Knights were able to reverse the trend as they earned a 4-2 victory to earn a berth in the section 6AA final where they will face the Wayzata Trojans. The Red Knights were led by senior forward Caitlin Reilly, who collected three goals and an assist. In the process, Reilly collected her 40th goal of the season before sealing the win by scoring her third and final goal into an empty net with under 2 minutes remaining. Ms. Hockey finalist and senior captain Kelly Pannek contributed on both ends of the ice by taking shifts at both defense and forward.

Although they played well to earn the victory, the Red Knights know that they will need to bring the same effort in the section final if they are to advance to the state tournament. “If we play like we did tonight, move our feet, get the puck deep and beat them to the puck, I don’t think we’ll have a problem,” Reilly said. The section final is scheduled for Friday, February 14 at Ridder Arena at 6 pm.