ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Benilde-St. Margaret's may have come away from the 2016 Holiday Hockey Classic with an 0-3 record, but the Red Knights gained some valuable experience playing some of the state's top teams.
BSM opened tournament play by facing second-ranked Elk River, dropping a 7-3 decision to the Elks, Wednesday.
Thursday, the Red Knights faced unbeaten and top-ranked Stillwater and fell to the Ponies, 7-0.
No. 17 Moorhead was BSM's opponent, Saturday, in their tournament finale and the Spuds, who the Red Knights face next, Jan. 7 in Moorhead, claimed a 5-2 win.
#2 Elk River 7, Benilde-St. Margaret's 3
Peter Moran's goal, four minutes, 48 seconds into the first period, gave BSM a glimmer of hope as the Red Knights took a 1-0 lead over the state's second-ranked team.
The Elks would overcome the early deficit and then fend off a third-period BSM rally for a 7-3 win.
After Moran's goal, the Red Knights would hold onto the lead for over 13 minutes before Elk River tied the game with 53 seconds remaining in the opening period and then scored twice in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the game's final 17 minutes.
The Elks took a 4-1 lead, 1:11 into the final stanza, which kicked off a flurry of goals.
BSM scored twice in a 33-second span as Ian Bahr and Stefan Garcia pulled the Red Knights to within a goal at 4-3.
The Elks responded by scoring goals 22 seconds apart and added a final goal with 6:58 to play.
Peter Moran put the Red Knights on top when he scored the game's first goal.
Rookie Nate Clark had a team-high 22:34 of ice time versus the Ponies.
#1 Stillwater 7, Benilde-St. Margaret's 0
Stillwater scored just 28 seconds into the game and cruised to a 7-0 win over BSM.
In the midst of a rebuilding season while still missing players due to illness or injury, the Red Knights couldn't keep pace with the Ponies, who reached the Class AA state semifinals last season and have yet to suffer a loss this season.
Nick Sims led BSM with three shots on goal while Dawson Spindler had three blocked shots and Nate Clark led the team in ice time at 22:24.
#17 Moorhead 5, Benilde-St. Margaret's 2
Moorhead answered both BSM goals with two goals of its own and, after scoring in the game's first five minutes, the Spuds went onto a 5-2 win over the Red Knights in the first game of back-to-back meetings between the two teams.
Although Moorhead struck first, Jordan Roo sent the game into the first intermission, tied 1-1,, when he banged home a Matthew Kocourek rebound with just under two minutes remaining in the opening period.
The Spuds struck twice in the second period to take a 3-1 lead before Nick Sims scored 3:56 into the final period after Max Jablonski knocked down a Nate Clark shot from the right point, with Sims scoring on his backhand.
Zach Everett faced 44 shots in the game, stopping 40 shots as Moorhead scored their final goal with the Red Knight goalie pulled for an extra attacker.
Jordan Roo's goal tied the game at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
