Eden Prairie hands Benilde-St. Margaret's its first loss of the season
Marshall's late power-play goal not enough to overcome Eagles.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Senior forward Carter Batchelder scored twice and and senior goaltender Zach Hayes stopped 18 of 19 shots on Tuesday as Eden Prairie, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches' poll, knocked No. 2-2A Benilde-St. Margaret’s from the shrinking list of state unbeatens, defeating the Red Knights 4-1 at the Eden Prairie Community Center.
Batchelder notched his first goal with 5:17 left in the first period to put Eden Prairie (9-1-0) ahead 2-0. He scored the lone goal of the second period as the Eagles surged ahead of the 3-0 entering the third. The goals were Batchelder’s team-leading 15th and 16th of the season, placing him among the state’s goal-scoring leaders.
Adam Marshall scored a power-play goal with 1:37 remaining for the Red Knights (10-1-0) as they pulled to within 3-1. Eden Prairie’s Riku Brown answered with a goal just 19 seconds later.
Luke Mittelstadt opened the scoring for Eden Prairie in the first period.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s Carson Limesand stopped 31 shots, including 23 in the first two periods.
Carson Limesand tied a career-high with 36 saves.
Eden Prairie suffered a scare late in the first period when standout junior forward Jackson Blake went down along the boards and didn’t get up for several minutes. He received treatment between the first and second period, and his return to the ice midway through the second coincided with Batchelder’s second goal.
BSM returns to action, Thursday, when it travels to Chaska for its final Metro West Conference game of the season, Game time at the Chaska Community Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
