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Eden Prairie's offensive onslaught proves to be too much for Benilde-St. Margaret's

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine, 02/11/20, 4:00PM CST

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The Eagles' Ben Steeves recorded a hat trick, while teammate John Mittelstadt chipped in with two goals and a pair of assists. Luke Mittelstadt added three assists.

Eden Prairie senior forward Ben Steeves notched a hat trick to lead the Eagles in a 6-2 win over Benilde-St. Margaret's on Tuesday night in St. Louis Park. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine

Eden Prairie senior forward Ben Steeves notched a hat trick to lead the Eagles in a 6-2 win over Benilde-St. Margaret's on Tuesday night in St. Louis Park. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine

After Eden Prairie lost to rival Minnetonka 3-1 on Saturday, the Eagles knew they were going to have to work hard and come up with a response when they traveled to St. Louis Park to take on Benilde St. Margaret’s.

The Eagles responded by scoring early, often, and in every phase of the game to triumph 6-2 over the Red Knights, who are ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll.

“We had a bad game on Saturday, and the kids rebounded really well, and came out and really competed tonight all the way through the lineup,” Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith said.

So many Eden Prairie players were excellent Tuesday, with the team’s leading scorer, Ben Steeves, headlining the show. Steeves recorded his fourth hat trick of the season, giving him a team-leading 27 goals this season. He also added an assist to cap a dominant performance.

Eden Prairie's Carter Batchelder celebrates with his teammates after scoring a short-handed goal in the third period to put the Eagles up 6-2. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine

Eden Prairie's Carter Batchelder celebrates with his teammates after scoring a short-handed goal in the third period to put the Eagles up 6-2. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine

First Report

Eden Prairie took apart Benilde St. Margaret’s on Tuesday night, as the Eagles defeated the Red Knights 6-2 at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

The onslaught started early, as Eden Prairie’s John Mittelstadt scored fewer than 90 seconds into the game. Ben Steeves made it 2-0 in favor of the Eagles (17-5-1, 6-2-0) just under 10 minutes into the first period, scoring on the first power play of the game.

The Red Knights’ Cooper Gay recorded his team-leading 17th goal of the season just 93 seconds later, and it looked like Benilde-St. Margaret’s, ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A’ coaches’ poll, was back in the game.

The No. 3-2A Eagles ended all hope of a Benilde-St. Margaret’s (14-7-2, 4-1-0) comeback in the second period, however, as they notched a goal at even strength, another on a power play, and a third short-handed in the period, showcasing their dominance in all phases. Steeves had two of the goals, giving him a hat trick to put his goal total up to a team-high 27 for the season, while Mittelstadt scored his second goal of the game, giving him 17 tallies on the year.

The exclamation point came 26 seconds into the third period, as Luke Middelstadt played an inch-perfect pass to set up Carter Batchelder for a short-handed goal. It was Luke Middelstadt’s third assist of the game, his 23rd of the season.

Benilde-St. Margaret's leading scorer Cooper Gay snipes the top corner to cut the Eden Prairie lead to 2-1 in the first period. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine 

Benilde-St. Margaret's leading scorer Cooper Gay snipes the top corner to cut the Eden Prairie lead to 2-1 in the first period. Photo by Gary Mukai, SportsEngine 

The MN Hockey Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.

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