ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- St. Thomas scored the game's first two goals but Benilde-St. Margaret's kept within striking distance but was unable to overcome the fourth-ranked Cadets, suffering a 5-3 loss in the team's 2017-18 home opener.

St. Thomas grabbed a 2-0 lead before the Red Knights were able to get on the scoreboard, ending an 0-for-21 drought on the power play when Joe Collins tipped a Nate Clark shot underneath Cadet goalie Atticus Kelly, cutting the lead in half with one minute, 23 seconds remaining in the first period.

The teams would trade goals in the second period within a two-minute span as Blake Holmes restored STA's two-goal lead with 6:01 to play before Nate Schweitzer's power-play goal with 4:12 to play got BSM back to within a goal.

The Cadets got the eventual game winner when Ben Stucker's shot through traffic found the back of the net less than two minutes into the final frame.

It would not, however, put the game away as Jett Johnson scored his first varsity goal by tipping in a James Norkosky rebound with 5:46 to play in the game.

STA sealed the win, however, when Luke Herzog scored with 1:28 to play in the game.

The Red Knights got five points on the night from its defense with Schweitzer scoring his first goal of the season while Nate Clark and James Callahan both added two assists.

BSM is back in action, Thursday, when they take on 10th-ranked Wayzata in a 7 p.m. game at the Plymouth Ice Center.