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BSM upends unbeaten St. Thomas

01/13/2015, 11:15pm CST
By BSM Staff

Jungels' goal thwarts Cadets comeback bid.

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- St. Thomas Academy scored twice in a 29-second span of the third period to tie the game but Chase Jungels answered just 41 seconds later and Benilde-St. Margaret's handed the third-ranked Cadets their first loss of the season with a 4-3 win.


Ryan Bischel came up with a number of big saves early and finished with 24 stops to earn the win over STA.

Is was just one week ago that the Red Knights scored twice late only to see the Cadets respond immediately with the game winner late in the third period.

This time around, it was the Red Knights jumping out to an early lead, getting on top with the game's first goal, three minutes, 22 seconds into the contest.

Carter Roo won a faceoff in the right circle, back to Nick Austin at the right point. Austin then fired a low wrist shot which Roo deflected past goalie Matt Snow for an early 1-0 lead.

"Carter Roo was clearly one of our stars tonight," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said of his senior co-captain. "He won a lot of races to the puck and really set the tone from start to finish."

Roo's marker proved to be the only goal of the first period but it took just 35 seconds into the second period for the Red Knights to take a 2-0 lead.

BSM went on the power play 24 seconds into the period and the Red Knights needed just nine seconds before Mark Kaske found Zach Risteau with a pass in the right circle and the team's goal-scoring leader wasted no time in notching his eighth goal in seven games.

A goal by Christiano Versich with 1:37 to play in the second period would finally get St. Thomas on the scoreboard and send the game into the final 17 minutes with the 10th-ranked Red Knights clinging to a one-goal lead.

Near the midpoint of the final frame, at 8:21, BSM restored its two-goal lead when Cade Gleekel knocked down a pass as the Cadets tried to clear their own zone. Will Duda picked up the loose puck, skated into the left circle and bested STA goalie Matt Snow with a wrist shot to the short side.

"Will Duda had a very strong game," Pauly said of the senior, who scored his third goal in four games. "He was outstanding along the boards and played lights out defense. His goal was a reward for all of his hard work."

The goal started a flurry as four goals would be scored in a span of 2:45.

The next two goals would enable the Cadets to tie the game at Peter Tufto scored at 9:56 and Will Jerry's goal 29 seconds later tied the game and set up Jungels' heroics.

The game-winning goal came when STA tried clearing the puck up the boards in their own zone. Ben Newhouse intercepted the clearing attempt along the right boards and threw the puck towards the net.

Roo tipped the puck on net but the rebound came out to Jungels in front and he buried his second game-winning goal in six days.

Although he gave up the two late goals, Ryan Bischel stopped 25 of 28 shots in the game and came up win a number of big saves.

"He covered up several defensive lapses," Pauly said. "But we expect him to do that.

"St. Thomas is an outstanding team and you are never going to fully contain a team like that. Ryan answered when he had to."

After struggling through the month of December, where they went 3-5-2, the Red Knights have bounced back to win three of their first four games in January.

"It's a big win for our guys," Pauly said. "We've been in so many close games where we didn't make the critical play at a key moment and it was great to see us do that tonight."

The win was also the third in three road games in six days, starting a stretch of five games away from the St. Louis Park Rec Center for the Red Knights.

Next up is a Saturday night game, which gets underway at 7 p.m., versus Maple Grove at the Maple Grove Community Center.

Tag(s): Team