Besse Boosts Benilde

Record setting night gives Benilde its first AA state title

Saturday night at the Xcel was a night for the record books. Grant Besse scored all five goals for Benilde and gave the Red Knights their third overall state championship. Besse took advantage of his speed and some opportunistic turnovers as he set the record for most goals scored in a championship game. Back in 1951 the great John Mayasich scored four goals for Eveleth in the championship game. Even more amazing is that Besse scored three shorthanded goals. A stubborn Hill-Murray power play was prone to giving up the breakaways which cost them in the end. A five minute major late in the game gave Hill-Murray another opportunity to pull the game close. It didn’t take long for that power play to turn into a penalty kill as the Pioneers took two costly penalties. In the end Benilde had too much offensive firepower and they peaked at the right time of the season. It was another memorable state tournament with a title game performance that will be talked about for years to come.

Kloos wins Mr. Hockey

Justin Kloos wrapped up an incredible senior season with a third place trophy and the Mr. Hockey Award. He finished the season with 103 points, the 10th highest total in state history. He tallied a point in all but one game this season. Not bad for a player who every other team’s main goal was to shut him down. I think we’re all looking forward to seeing him wear the maroon and gold for at least a couple of seasons.

It was a great season followed by a great tournament. I’m sad to see it end, and now we must transition to a month of college basketball. However, not too far down the road is the NCAA hockey tournament, followed by the NHL playoffs. There’s still plenty of more puck talk to come so check back here for future articles.