Benilde-St. Margaret’s at Eden Prairie
7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 12

The jostling for position in Class 2A, Section 6 seeding begins this Friday when No. 8-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s travels down the road to No. 7 Eden Prairie (4-0-0) in a rematch of last year’s section final. In that game, Eden Prairie’s Jack Keeley scored the shorthanded game-winner in the second overtime to propel the Eagles to a 3-2 victory. Eden Prairie was the No. 4 seed in the section but upset No. 1 Wayzata and No. 2 Benilde-St. Margaret’s on the way to the state tourney.

Both teams return as strong contenders, although the Red Knights have dropped two straight games while allowing 11 total goals. High-scoring games have become the norm for coach Ken Pauly’s team, which is scoring 4.5 goals per game but allowing 3.75. Hill-Murray rallied from a third-period deficit to edge the Red Knights 5-3 last Saturday. Mark Kaske (2-7-9) leads the team in points, just ahead of Chase Jungels (3-4-7) and Zack Risteau (4-2-6).

On the opposite bench, Eden Prairie has been tight defensively, allowing only 1.75 goals per game. That’s not a surprise, as coach Lee Smith has a veteran defensive corps anchored by Andy Aguilar (0-2-2). Michael Graham (6-5-11) and sophomore Casey Mittelstadt (4-4-8) have provided the bulk of the scoring for the Eagles.