Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Benilde-St. Margaret's is ranked fifth in the Let's Play Hockey preseason poll for the 2010-11 season.

Coming off a 17-7-3 season, in which they won their fifth consecutive North Suburban Conference title, the Red Knights return 11 regulars to the lineup.

"There are two times when it's nice to be highly ranked," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said. "Those are at the start of the season, as it is a sign of respect for the program, and at the end of the season, as it is a testament to your team's actual achievement."

Among the returning players are senior center Pat Steinhauser, junior right wing Christian Horn and sophomore left Grant Besse. Last season, the trio combined for 73 goals and 159 points.

Also back are the team's top two defensemen in senior Patrick Daly and junior Jake Horton, both of whom have been varsity regulars since their freshmen seasons.

"It's always an honor to be highly thought of," Pauly said. "But we need to prove ourselves worthy of our preseason number."

Sitting atop of this year's preseason LPH poll is defending state champion Edina. The Hornets are followed by a pair of Section 6AA teams in second-ranked Wayzata and third-ranked Eden Praire, with Hill-Murray coming in at fourth.

All eight teams which will participate in this year's Holiday Hockey Classic, Dec. 28-30 at the St. Louis Park Rec Center, are ranked in the top 20, led by the trio of Wayzata, Eden Prairie and BSM.

The other teams in this year's event are 10th-ranked Maple Grove, No. 13 Bloomington Jefferson, No. 16 Moorhead, No. 18 Centennial and No. 19 Elk River.

Of the top 20 teams in the poll, the Red Knights will face nine teams in the Class AA top 20.

The second game of the season sees BSM hosting Hill-Murray, Dec. 4, with No. 18 Minnetonka slated for a Dec. 18 date at the SLP Rec Center.

Three days later, Dec. 21, the Red Knights will be at Maple Grove before embarking on three games in the Holiday Hockey Classic.

To start the new year, BSM will host Edina, Jan. 4, with games at #15 Holy Angels, Jan. 29, and Moorhead, Feb. 3, also on the slate.

"You don't go to the state tournament by adding your number of returning players with the number of players you had in the Elite League or select programs," Pauly added. "It's still a team game and it's now time for us to go to work in developing our team."

The complete Let's Play Hockey poll can be found here.