Benilde-St. Margaret's Boys' Hockey

Jake Horton figured in the scoring of all four Benilde-St. Margaret's goals and the Red Knights piled up 60 shots on goal en route to a 4-0 win at Stillwater.

The win gives BSM a 21-win regular season for just the second time in school history. The Red Knights won 22 games in 2007-08, finishing with a school-record 27 wins and a third-place finish at the 2008 Class AA state tournament.

Saturday's win came on the strength of a 60-11 advantage in shots on goal and Horton's two-goal, two-assist performance, which made him the first defenseman in school history to reach the 20-goal plateau in a season.

“Jake Horton’s run this past month has been amazing," BSM head coach Ken Pauly said of the junior blueliner, who has 18 goals and 32 points in 15 games since the start of the new year. "Some guys just always have a knack for being in the middle of where all of the action is and Jake is one of those players.

" It’s been a long time since we’ve a had a defenseman with that type of offensive ability.”

Horton set up Pat Steinhauser with the game's first goal, six minutes, 49 seconds into the contest.

The Red Knights turned up the pressure in the second period, outshooting the Ponies, 28-6, while extending their lead to 3-0 just over five minutes into the middle stanza.

Horton scored on the power play at 3:47 when he converted a Patrick Daly rebound during a scramble a goalmouth scramble and he then worked with Dan Labosky to set up T.J. Moore's goal 79 seconds later.

Stillwater had a chance to cut into the lead when Jeff Flicker was given a penalty shot with 4:13 to play in the middle stanza.

Flicker carried the puck in on the right side and shot from the right circle while making a move to the middle of the ice, but Justin Quale made the stop, the second penalty shot he has stopped this season.

The score remained 3-0 until the middle of the third period. With the Red Knights on the power play, Christian Horn was checked into the Ponies' bench but managed to get a pass off to Horton, whose shot from the left circle beat Stillwater goalie Blake Cates over his blocker.

“I think the team’s performance tonight exceeded my own expectations," Pauly said. "It really was a dominant performance against a quality opponent.

"To generate over 60 shots really says a lot about our offensive capabilities."

The win did not come without a price, however. Shortly after scoring his 23rd goal of the season, Steinhauser left the game and did not return.

“The injury to Steiny really puts a damper on the evening," Pauly stated. "We can only hope that his knee is ok.

“To finish the regular season 21-4-0 is a special accomplishment," Pauly added. "Whenever you hit 20 wins prior to sectional play, that says an awful lot about your team. This year’s record puts the guys in pretty elite company in terms of Red Knight Hockey history.”

Section 6AA play for BSM opens Thursday. The Red Knights find out there seed and opponent Sunday morning when the section seeding meeting takes place.