Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Benilde-St. Margaret's extended its winning streak to four games and remained unbeaten in North Suburban Conference play with a 6-3 win over Irondale.

The Red Knights rode two-goal, three-point performances by Pat Borer and Bryan Glynn to the victory, with the duo scoring goals 36 seconds apart in the game's first five minutes to give BSM a 2-0 lead.

Will Nelson extended that lead to three goals with 5:27 to play in the opening period when Glynn tipped the puck off the right win boards. Nelson picked the puck in the right faceoff circle and snapped off a shot that beat Knight goalie Lance Bortot for the three-goal lead.

Nelson's goal proved important as Irondale scored twice early in the second period to cut the lead to one goal and the score remained 3-2 into the final six minutes of the middle stanza.

The Red Knights went up by two goals again when Brett Patterson tipped the puck out of a neutral zone scramble along the left-wing boards. Borer picked the puck up, skated to the right side and into the home team's zone before get a shot from the top of the right circle which beat Bortot over his blocker.

"Pat's goal was huge," BSM coach Ken Pauly said. "He was very effective in rushing the puck tonight."

Glynn added the eventual game winner with just 50 seconds remaining in the period, on the power play, when he moved to the right edge of the goal crease to tip in a pass from Patterson.

"Bryan Glynn has very quietly begun to take some control with this team," Pauly said of his senior co-captain. "He has been a major factor in just about every game the last four weeks. He’s been more physical and he is getting opportunities each game. His two goals tonight were further evidence that he is finding his game."

BSM held onto its second three-goal lead deep into the final period but, with a faceoff in the visitors' zone, Irondale pulled Bortot for an extra attacker with 1:38 to play.

The Knights' Zach Iverson shot the puck off the drop of the faceoff and managed to find the back of the net to pull his team back to within two goals.

The Red Knights, however, controlled the game from that point and, with 40 seconds to play in the game, Borer got off a shot from the left point. Patrick Duda tipped the puck to Christian Horn who scored from the left side of the net to put the game away.

"You have to give (head coach) Jeff Martin and Irondale some credit," Pauly said. "They really have been a gritty team for us to play against this year. I’m glad we won’t see them anymore this year."

At the same time, Pauly admitted, his team had some lapses that could have proved costly.

"We were two different teams tonight," he said. "At times we looked passionate about the game and there were times when we just stood and watched. That’s a habit that can kill you in playoffs so we had best break it pretty soon."

BSM controlled much of the game and outshot the Knights, 50-24. Bortot suffered the loss despite a 44-save effort. Red Knight goalie Jacob Meyers, returning to the lineup after missing two games with a broken finger, earned his ninth win of the season with a 21-save outing.

Following the win, BSM gets just one day off before returning home to face Shattuck-St. Mary's, one of the top prep teams in the country, Thursday, Jan. 29. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff.