BSM Drops Close One to Prep Powerhouse

The boys high school hockey playoffs don’t start for another two weeks, but got a preview of the postseason atmosphere Thursday night against Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

The host Red Knights lost to the Sabers 3-1 in a game that was even closer than the final score indicated.

“We are not in the very least disappointed in the way we played,” Red Knights coach Ken Pauly said afterward. “It’s too bad they got that last goal at the end. This was a one-goal game.”

Officially, it was a one-goal game until 1:08 remained in final period, when the Sabers’ Nicholas Weberg scored the last goal of the game. That came about 20 seconds after Benilde-St. Margaret’s defenseman Jake Horton’s blast hit the post — the third Red Knights shot to do so in the third period.

“When you play a powerhouse like Shattuck, there are two questions you ask yourself,” Pauly said. “'Can we play with them? (And) can we beat them?' We should have beat them tonight.”

Shattuck-St. Mary’s is a prep school in Fairbault, and the team’s season runs from late September to late March. This year the Sabers (36-6-2) will play 50 games against a mixture of high-school level all-star teams, prep schools and junior teams. Minnesota high school teams only play about half as many games.

“It’s as close as you get to playoff hockey,” Pauly said of playing the Sabers. “There’s never a second off, never a shift.”

The Red Knights (18-4-0) showed that they knew that and that they were unfazed, absorbing board-rattling checks and taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Pat Steinhauser, the team’s leading scorer (47 points), slammed a rebound past Sabers goalie Kyle Hayton at 7:27 of the period to give his team the lead.

The lead held up until 3:53 remained in the second period when the Sabers' leading scorer Tanner Sorenson got one past Red Knights goalie Anders Jecha.

The loss spoiled a magnificent performance by Jecha, who made 36 saves. Many of his saves were spectacular, and they came in a variety of ways – with his glove, his pads, through traffic, point-blank, on slapshots and wristers.

“Anders is a big-game type (of) goalie,” Pauly said.

Teddy Doherty gave Shattuck-St. Mary’s the lead for good when his left-handed wrist shot from the point found its way through traffic and over Jecha’s right shoulder with 4:02 left in the game.

Weberg added the final tally a few minutes later.

The Red Knights were 0-for-2 on the power play on Thursday, and Pauly rued a missed opportunity in the third, when Sabers forward Kenny Gillespie was called for tripping with 12 minutes remaining.

“The disappointing thing was not (scoring on) that power play in the third,” Pauly said. “Our power play has been spot-on.”

The Red Knights are 28-for-81 on the power play this season, a 34.6 percent conversion rate.

Pauly’s team has now lost back-to-back games after winning eight in a row. But he knows his team can’t hang its head.

“It’s just the time of year,” he said. “If you can’t get up for this, you aren’t very good.”

UP NEXT

The Red Knights stay at home for a 2:30 p.m. game against Irondale on Saturday. The team will honor its graduating players as it celebrates Senior Day.