With leaves covering the ground and temperatures outside dropping, the BSM boys hockey program is back at the rink and gearing up for a promising 2024-25 season. Led by senior captains Cameron Kirshner, AJ Ulrich, and Junior Podin, the team will be backed by numerous returning players and several new upper and underclassmen additions. Many students look forward to cheering on our BSM hockey team when they hit the ice in the season home opener on Saturday, December 7th, versus Edina.

The season began with tryouts: a week of pure physical and mental fatigue and stress. 65 guys vied for approximately 20 varsity and 15 JV spots, so making the cut was no small feat. Junior Grayson Quirk, after making varsity last year, comments that in tryouts you have to be confident, aggressive, and especially fast. “I would say make yourself stand out. Shooting, stick handling, and skating. [Especially] speed, speed kills,” Quirk said.

This year’s squad will again be led by head coach and social studies teacher Ken Pauly, who has been inspiring the hockey players at BSM for 34 years. He hopes to build a team that focuses on individual development and team collaboration. The varsity team isn’t just the kids with the best stick handling, but those who work hard and fast, are flexible, and can be a team player. “The biggest separator between varsity and JV is your ability to make decisions under pressure. … We’re looking for kids who will accept whatever role is assigned to them … We’re putting together a team, and that’s very different than trying to put an all-star team together,” Pauly said.

After a disappointing loss in the section finals to Edina last season and countless seniors off to college, junior Mason Minor, a starting defenseman since his freshman year, notices some gaps that need to be filled in the new season, specifically in the defense, which Coach Pauly agrees with. Defense must have a strong shot, quick recoveries, and smart game sense. New players will need to adapt to play different positions and as a whole team become physically strong to dominate the upcoming year. “I think we could improve physically as a team. Last year, our team was very physically dominated, and … I don’t know if we will bring that this year. I hope we bring [it] this year because I think that’s super important. I think a strength is our offensive ability,” Minor said.

You can’t have a hockey program as sought after and competitive as BSM’s without strong student leadership. Captains at a school like Benilde-St. Margarets are students who uphold and honor what it means to be a Red Knight. Voted by players and with the final decision in the hands of the coaches, hockey captains at BSM are encouraging, good sportsmen, and welcoming to younger players. “Why you become a captain is [because] you’re already looked at as someone that’s held to a higher standard. … I definitely say just showing up to the rink every day with the same attitude and working hard is what’s going to make you a good leader and a good captain,” Minor said.

Sophomore Tyler Kirshner is excited to share the BSM hockey experience with his older brother, Captain Cameron Kirshner. Kirshner looks up to his brother and hopes to follow in his footsteps and become a captain his senior year as well. “I think a good captain should have good leadership skills, [and] be able to hold people accountable. Go hard on [and] off the ice, and stick up for your teammates outside of [hockey],” Kirshner said.

The sports culture at BSM fosters community, school pride, and spirit, and creates an opportunity to learn life skills. Not only do coaches value solid, skilled hockey players, but also their morals and work ethic. “I do value how hard they work at [hockey], but I also want to use those efforts and that hard work to even have a greater purpose, or greater goals … We will always represent the Benilde-St. Margaret’s community with integrity [and] class,” Pauly said.

Pauly’s favorite quote from Gladiators “What we do in this life, echoes in eternity” is a concept that he hopes his hockey players feel; that they aren’t just playing hockey, but building meaningful relationships and connecting deeper with God. By encouraging people to work hard for something they care about, he knows his hockey players will mature through this experience. “[I hope] they realize that not all dreams come true, but that doesn’t mean you don’t work hard. You work hard to get what you want and sometimes you sometimes get what you want, more times than not you don’t get what you want but that doesn’t mean that the journey isn’t worth it,” Pauly said.