Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Bryan Glynn scored twice and a four-goal second period enabled Benilde-St. Margaret's to claim a 6-3 win over St. Francis.

The Saints put a scare into the home team early when T.J. Belisle's shot from the top of the slot got past Red Knight goalie Jacob Meyers to give the visitors a one-goal lead, seven minutes, 36 seconds into the game.

After giving up two power-play chances early in the contest, BSM scored on its first power-play opportunity as Christian Horn slammed home a Pat Borer rebound.

The Red Knights took the lead in the final minute of the opening frame when Brett Patterson's shot from the left faceoff circle went wide but came off the end boards, and Glynn picked up the puck to the right of the St. Francis goal and score on his backhand.

John Duda made it a 3-1 game when he scored from the right faceoff spot at 2:17 of the second period but the Saints got the goal back less than two minutes when Jared Lahti stole the puck along the left-wing boards, walked into the faceoff circle and put a backhand shot inside the near post.

BSM effectively put the game away by scoring three goals in the final six minutes of the middle frame.

Patterson made it a 4-2 game when he converted a Will Nelson rebound from the left circle with 5:15 to play in the period.

Glynn then scored his second goal to end a play which started in the Red Knights' end of the ice as Sam Anderson knocked the puck off of Joey Benik's stick.

Pat Borer grabbed the puck and quickly hit Glynn with a pass as he crossed his own blue line. He moved the puck to Nelson on the left wing and streaked down the middle towards the St. Francis goal. Nelson returned his pass and Glynn tipped the puck over Andy Benik's shoulder.

"That goal was about as pretty as they come," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "It was an awesome tip and a great passing play from Pat Borer and Will Nelson."

Patrick Duda scored just 21 seconds later when was able to score off Patrick Daly's blocked shot.

"He has been a bright spot," Pauly said of Duda. "Pat is such an unassuming young man that it can become too easy to overlook what he does. He’s been very consistent for us and I thought he played with a lot of confidence tonight. He’s been a leader."

St. Francis got a goal back midway through the final period when Joey Benik scored on a breakaway, tying the Minnesota state high school record with his 62nd goal of the season.

Although many people came to see the state's leading scorer, it was his twin brother, Andy, who turned in the most outstanding performance of the game, stopping 49 shots in the game, including all 23 shots the Red Knights threw at him in the final period.

"For all the talk about Joey Benik, it was Andy Benik who was the difference tonight," Pauly said. "We dominated play but that kid really came up with some amazing saves. There are a lot of Red Knights who will be seeing some of those chances in their dreams."

The game was the only meeting this season between the North Suburban Conference opponents and was worth four points in the league standings for the Red Knights. The win propelled them into a first-place tie with Totino-Grace, their next opponent.

BSM will host the Eagles, Thursday, with the opening faceoff slated for 7 p.m.