Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Christian Horn scored twice and Benilde-St.Margaret’s opened the 2009-10 season with a 4-1 win at St. Cloud Tech.

After a scoreless first period, in which each team recorded seven shots on goal, the Red Knights took got on the scoreboard first when Horn scored on the power play, seven minutes, 15 seconds into the middle frame, a period in which BSM held a 19-8 advantage in shots on goal.

However, the visitors were unable to escape the period with the lead intact as Mitch Hall scored on the power play for the Tigers with 4:27 to play.

The Red Knights took over the game in the third period with Grant Besse scoring the eventual game-winning goal while on the power play at 5:15. Patrick Daly, who assisted on BSM’s first two goals, upped the lead to 3-1 when he scored from the middle of the slot at 9:13 and Horn’s empty-net tally, with 43 seconds remaining, sealed the victory.

“It was a typical first game,” BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. “The systems were spotty and we played with a lot of nerves in the first part of the game.

“St. Cloud Tech was very scrappy tonight with one hot goalie. This one could have turned into a loss without some outstanding early saves from Jacob Meyers.”

BSM held a 44-25 advantage in shots on goal but St. Cloud Tech had several good chance early, when Meyers’ efforts kept the Tigers off the scoreboard.

“We used a lot of guys tonight and I liked the overall effort,” Pauly said. “Our movement on the power play was very good for this early in the season, that was a bright spot for sure.”

The Red Knights converted two of six power-play chances and recorded 10 shots while spending 7:01 with the man advantage.

“We will have a stiffer challenge against Stillwater on Friday,” Pauly said of his team’s home opener, which gets underway at 7 p.m., Dec. 4. “We have a lot of work to do in the next few days.”