ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Benilde-St. Margaret's had to overcome six St. Thomas Academy power-play chances, which resulted in a pair of goal, but third-period goals by Cade Gleekel and Jacob Holmers snapped a 3-3 tie and led the top-ranked Red Knights to a 5-3 win over the 14th-ranked Cadets.

BSM got on the scoreboard first, midway through the opening period when Auggie Moore took a drop pass from Gleekel on the right side of the slot and beat STA goalie Vinnie Capezza before he could get back to the near post.

The Cadets evened the score with four minutes, three seconds remaining in the opening frame when Rob Christy took a faceoff in the left circle of the BSM zone and shot the puck off the drop underneath Ryan Bischel.

The Red Knights would score the next two goals, in the second period, with the hosts regaining their one-goal lead 5:03 into the frame.

Bronson McLeod started a rush when picked up a loose puck in his own end and moved the puck to Jacob Holmers on the left boards. With McLeod jumping into the play, the Red Knights were off on a 3-on-3 rush with Holmers sending a cross-ice pass to Luke Horton, who rushed the puck into the STA zone before scoring on a backhand shot from 10 feet out.

BSM then made it a two-goal lead when Nick Sims' pass from the right wall found Holmers alone in the middle of the slot. From there, the Red Knight senior turned and fired home his seventh goal of the season.

Penalties would then prove costly to the hosts as Payton Matsui scored a power-play goal with 1:22 to play in the period and, with a the Cadets on a 5-on-3 power-play, he scored another 4:30 into the final period.

Less than two minutes later, Gleekel scored the eventual game winner when Zach Risteau's rebound came out to Jerry Calengor at the left point. Gleekel, positioned on the inner edge of the right circle, then redirected Calengor's pass inside the right post.

Finally, the Red Knights added an insurance goal when Holmers banged home a Sims rebound with 5:24 to play.

The Red Knight offense was timely but backed by a solid effort in goal by Bischel, who turned aside 30 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his 13th win of the season, which leads the state.

Next up for the Red Knights is their Metro West Conference opener, Thursday, as they take on Chanhassen in a 7 p.m. game at the SLP Rec Center.

Complete statistics from tonight's game are available here.