Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

When Grant Besse scored the opening goal of the Class AA state championship midway through the first period, eight minutes, 18 seconds into the game, Benilde-St. Margaret's had a good feeling.

They were 19-2-0 on the season when scoring first so the opening goal boded well.

When Besse scored 83 seconds later, the Red Knights' outlook on the game was even brighter.

Three short-handed goals later, Besse had singlehandedly given the Red Knights a 5-1 win over Hill-Murray and BSM's first Class AA state championship.

In the annals of the legendary Minnesota state boys hockey tournament, Besse's feat of five goals in the championship game, with three coming short handed, will go down as one of the classic moments in tournament's history.

After scoring his final goal, an electrying shot from the top of the right right circle that beat Pioneer goalie John Dugas over his blocker, Besse's celebration was somewhat muted.

"I didn't really know what to do," he said of simply raising his arms and skating past his team's bench to receive congratulations. "I don't think anyone dreams of scoring five goals in a state championship. I had to check back into reality for a second and realize what had happened."

Although Besse was clearly the star of the show, Red Knight goalie Justin Quale finished a six-week run of stellar play by stopping 24 of 25 shots, including all nine Hill-Murray shots in the first period while the outcome of the game was far from decided.

All Quale did was win 10 consecutive appearances since the beginning of February. Five of his nine starts resulted in shutouts and, while allowing just five goals in those 10 games, he posted an 0.57 goals against average and a .974 save percentage.

In all, the win gave BSM it's third state title, adding to Class A titles in 1999 and 2001. It was the program's second Class AA appearance, following a third-place finish in 2008.