Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

The pairings for the 2010 Holiday Hockey Classic have been announced with the event slated to take place Dec. 28-30, at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center.

This year's field features eight teams, all of which were ranked in Let's Play Hockey's final top-20 poll of the 2009-10 season.

"The Holiday Classic is second to no other tournament in high school hockey," Red Knight head coach Ken Pauly said. "It will be a great opportunity for our team to play the state’s top competition."

BSM, ranked 17th at the end of last season by LPH, meets Eden Prairie, the 2009 state Class AA champions and fourth-ranked team in LPH's final poll last season, in the opening round. The match up is the second quarterfinal game of the day and is slated to get underway at 2:30 p.m.

It will be the first regular-season meeting between the two schools and a potential preview of the Section 6AA playoffs.

Opening the tournament are Elk River, ranked 15th last season, and 14th-ranked Maple Grove at 12:30 p.m.

The evening sesssion of the quarterfinals features sixth-ranked Bloomington Jefferson and 19th-ranked Moorhead at 5 p.m., followed by fifth-ranked Wayzata and 10th-ranked Centennial, the defending Classic champion.

"With three of the top four teams from Section 6AA, the tournament will serve as a preview for the sectional playoffs," Pauly said. "This will be some great hockey with a playoff atmosphere over the holidays.”

Brackets for both the varsity and junior varsity tournaments can be found clicking here.