Edina Puts Benilde Comeback on Ice, Defeats Red Knights 5-4

Tuesday night’s match-up between Edina and , two of the state’s top boys hockey teams, was all about space. One team – Edina – created just enough space on the scoreboard to overcome giving the Red Knights too much space on the ice late in the game, winning 5-4.

The visiting Hornets, ranked second in the Class AA poll released by Let’s Play Hockey magazine on Jan. 6, used a three-goal outburst in the second period to top the fifth-ranked Red Knights.

A goal by Edina senior Michael Sit at 13:21 of the second period, the Hornets’ fifth of the game, proved to be the game-winner.

“Both my wingers (Preston Blanek and Nick Leer) set really good screens for me, and I put the puck in the corner (of the net),” Sit said. “The goalie never saw it.”

The goal was Edina’s third in a two-minute, six-second stretch that saw a tie game become an impending blowout.

“Take away three-and-a-half minutes, and I was pretty happy with the way they played,” Red Knights coach Ken Pauly said.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s made a game of it in the third period when the Hornets gave the speedy Red Knights space to create on offense.

A goal by Grant Besse at 9:27 of the third and a power-play tally by Jake O’Borsky with 1:09 left cut the lead to one. O’Borsky’s goal came in a six-on-four situation, as the Red Knights, already on the power-play, pulled goalie Justin Quale. That made the score 5-4.

Despite a couple of late faceoffs deep in their offensive zone, the Red Knights (10-2-0) couldn’t score the tying goal.

Afterward, Pauly highlighted the difficulty of taking penalties while trying to erase a deficit. While the Hornets didn’t score on any of their five power plays, they forced the Red Knights to climb an even steeper hill by virtue of having to play a man down.

The Red Knights were whistled for three penalties after finding themselves in that three-goal deficit.

“Five-on-five, we didn’t have much of a problem,” Pauly said. “We have to stay out of the box. We weren’t able to use our third line much because we had to keep putting the same four or five guys out there to kill penalties.”

And there is one more thing that Pauly said would make beating Edina, or any team, easier.

“You can’t give up goals in bunches,” he said.

UP NEXT

The Red Knights square off against crosstown rival (and North Suburban Conference foe) St. Louis Park at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the .