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Benilde-St. Margaret's topples Eden Prairie

By MN Girls Hockey Hub, 12/28/13, 1:00PM CST

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Red Knight penalty killers provide momentum boost in tourney title game


Eden Prairie sophomore Kate Rydland and Benilde-St. Margaret senior captain Kelly Pannek battle for control of the puck at the Eden Prairie girls Mid-Winter Meltdown tournament on Saturday, December 28th 2013. Photo by Brian W Nelson

Benilde-St. Margaret senior Ali Praus

Benilde-St. Margaret senior Ali Praus - click image for full resolution

It took nearly two periods for Benilde-St. Margaret's to get going, but a scoring outburst in the early stages of the third period propelled the Red Knights to a 3-2 victory over Eden Prairie in the Mid-Winter Meltdown tournament on Saturday at the Eden Prairie Community Center.

The Eagles were holding a 1-0 lead going into the second period on a goal by Angie Heppelmann when Ali Praus scored to tie the game just 2:11 into the period. That gave the senior four straight goals, as she led the Red Knights with a hat trick last night against Chaska/Chanhassen.

Near the end of the second period, Caitlin Reilly and Kasi Petersen each went off for penalties, so the Red Knights was facing a 5-on-3 against an Eden Prairie team that had outshot them in the period. The subsequent penalty kills are what set things in motion for the Red Knights.

“Anytime you kill a 5-on-3 and they hardly even get a shot on, that's positive for your side,” Benilde-St. Margaret's coach Dave Herbst said.

It was the momentum from that kill that led to the outburst by Benilde.

“We finally got a couple good shots on net, and that was the difference right there,” Herbst said.

He was right, as those two shots were goals by Kelly Pannek and Kaylee Druk just 1:50 apart. Pannek's was the eventual game-winner as the Eagles cut the lead to one late on a goal by Josie Olson.

“Any time you're tied going into the third period and you can get two quick ones, that changes the momentum of the game,” Pannek said. “Those two quick goals really gave us the confidence and energy to keep pushing on.”

The Red Knights needed to keep pushing on as Eden Prairie made a major push at the end to tie the game up, but goaltender Abbey Miller stood tall. Miller made 22 saves in the victory, while her counterpart, Eden Prairie eighth-grader Alexa Dobchuk, had 17 saves in the loss. 

-- Benjamin Bakker


Benilde-St. Margaret's Ali Praus fires this shot on goal but Eden Prairie goalie Alexa Dobchuk makes a nice save. Praus had a goal and an assist on the night. Photo by Brian W Nelson

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