Yakesh scores twice, sets up a pair, as BSM downs Champlin Park
Red Knights give head coach Ken Pauly his 500th win at BSM.
CHAMPLIN, Minn. -- Third-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's scored just 64 seconds into the game, opened up a three-goal lead and went on to post a 7-4 win at Champlin Park in its final road game of the 2021-22 regular season.
The win also marked a milestone for head coach Ken Pauly, who is in his 29th season as the Red Knights' head coach. It was his 500th win at the school and he is now 544-267-34 in 32 seasons.
The game got off to a fast start for the visitors as they scored on their second shift of the game when Michael Risteau took a pass from Tristan Sarsland and, from the top of the slot, shot through traffic and gave BSM the opening lead.
It took over 10 minutes for the Red Knights to get on the scoreboard again but, when they did, they scored twice in a 20-second span.
Mitchell Dokman made it 2-0 with five minutes, 24 seconds to play in the opening period when he took a pass in the slot from Adam Marshall, behind the net, and a quick release beat Rebel goalie Coen Neu before he could reach.
It became a 3-0 game 20 seconds later when Ben Thompson started the play in his own zone, making a cross-ice pass to Ryan Gearen who then moved the puck by hitting Brendan McMorrow at center ice.
McMorrow's dump into the zone hit a Champlin Park defenseman inside the blue line and the BSM sophomore center picked the puck up, broke in on the goal and converted his own rebound for his sixth goal of the season.
However, the Rebels score twice in the closing five minutes of the first period and the Red Knights were left with a one-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
In his 29th season behind the Red Knight bench, head coach Ken Pauly won his 500th game as BSM's bench boss.
After a fast start, the game slowed down somewhat in the second period and saw just one goal scored.
That goal gave BSM a 4-2 lead as Tristan Sarsland passed the puck off the left-wing boards in his own zone to McMorrow on the right side of the neutral zone.
McMorrow skated the puck into the right circle before centering a pass to Brady Yakesh trailing the play and he buried the puck to give the Red Knights their first power-play goal in four games.
Yakesh then opened the third period by scoring just 1:39 into the final frame on a similar play, this time taking pass from Dokman for his ninth goal of the season.
The two teams would trade goals twice with Ethan Mus scoring both goals for the Rebels while Tristan Sarsland scored a short-handed goal in between, with Mus' second goal coming on the same power play as Sarsland's goal.
If Champlin Park had any designs on pulling Neu for an extra attacker late in the game, Gearen erased that idea as he tallied his fourth goal of the season with linemates Dokman and Marshall working to set up the tally.
BSM gave up a season-high seven power plays, costing the Red Knights two goals, although they also scored twice on special teams.
After the Rebels came back to hold a 15-10 advantage in shots during the final period, BSM wound up with a 37-33 edge for the game as Mason McElroy picked up his 15th win of the season with a 29-save effort.
With a chance to share the Metro West Conference title, the Red Knights close out the regular season, Saturday, when they host New Prague at the St. Louis Park Rec Center at 2:30 p.m.
Tag(s): News Team BSM Varsity
