Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Benilde-St. Margaret’s has released its boys hockey schedule for the 2011-12 season, which features 13 of 25 games at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center.

The non-conference portion of this year’s slate features 15 teams which combined for a .694 winning percentage last season, with only one of those teams under .500.

The opening month of the season features the opener, Tuesday, Nov. 29, when the Red Knights open the season with St. Cloud Tech for the sixth consecutive season. That game, which is slated for 7 p.m. at the National Hockey Center, begins a season-opening three-game road swing for BSM.

That opener is followed on consecutive Thursdays, Dec. 1 and 8, by games at Hill-Murray, ranked fifth in the final LPH poll of last season, and number nine Burnsville.

"There is little question that our month of December is easily one of the strongest schedules in high school hockey," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "We always look forward to that month because it allows us to test our players against some of the state’s best competition."

Highlighting the schedule, for the third consecutive year, is the Holiday Hockey Classic, which will be held at the SLP Rec Center, Dec. 28-30. The tourney features four of the top 10 teams in last year’s final Let’s Play Hockey Class AA poll with defending state champion Eden Prairie, number three Wayzata, number eight Maple Grove and the 10th-ranked Red Knights slated to take part. Also appearing in the Classic will be number 15 Moorhead, number 18 Bloomington Jefferson, along with Centennial and Elk River. In all, the 2011 Classic features teams which averaged 18 wins and combined for a .683 winning percentage in 2010-11.

"The Holiday tourney features defending state champion Eden Prairie and many of the state’s best teams," Pauly said. "That tournament doesn’t take a back seat to any tournament in Minnesota."

The schedule also has several key games which have implications for the Section 6AA playoffs. BSM faces Wayzata, Jan. 5, and Minnetonka, Jan. 7, in regular-season games with the potential to see Eden Prairie in the Holiday Hockey Classic.

The home portion of the schedule, which opens with a 2:30 p.m. matinee game against Duluth Marshall, Dec. 10, features Maple Grove, Dec. 20, and state tournament qualifier Moorhead, Jan. 27.

As the season winds down, the Red Knights will be challenged as they face Moorhead, Bloomington Jefferson, Stillwater and national prep power Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the final three weeks.

"It’s fun to see Burnsville and Jefferson on the this year’s schedule," Pauly added. "Those are two great programs and, although we have seen those teams in tournament settings, we never have had them on the regular-season schedule before.

"Minnetonka, Moorhead, Maple Grove, Burnsville, Wayzata, and Hill-Murray will be in everyone’s preseason Top Ten so we wont’ be cutting any corners that is for sure.

"As the season winds down, the we will be challenged as we face Moorhead, Bloomington Jefferson, Stillwater and national prep power Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the final three weeks."

BSM begins its quest for a seventh consecutive North Suburban Conference title, Dec. 15, when it plays at Totino-Grace. A new format for the conference schedule is in place for the 2011-12 season with the top four teams from the previous playing each other twice while playing the bottom four teams in the standings once for a 10-game conference slate.

To download this release as a PDF and to view the complete 2011-12 schedule, click here.