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Boys' top games: Familiar foes Benilde St.-Margaret's and Prior Lake square off

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine , 04/24/23, 8:00AM CDT

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April 27: The Red Knights and the Lakers have played against each other in the last four state title games.

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs. Prior Lake

7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27

It doesn’t get much bigger than this for an early-season matchup. 

Not only did these two teams play in last year’s state title game — a 10-9 triumph for Benilde-St. Margaret's thanks to an overtime goal from Mitch Dokman — but they’ve played each other in the last four championship games. Prior Lake won the first two bouts in 2018 and 2019, and Benilde-St. Margaret’s responded with back-to-back wins in 2021 and 2022. 

These two powerhouses play more than just dramatic title games as well. In their regular-season meeting last season, the Red Knights scored five goals in the first quarter and jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Lakers stormed back to force overtime, but just like in the championship game, the Red Knights prevailed, as Dylan Popehn scored to secure the win.

The Red Knights (3-0, 1-0), ranked No. 1 in the April 18 coaches’ poll, will come into this matchup not only as the two-time defending champs, but also boasting a 34-game win streak (with a chance to make it 35 against Bloomington Jefferson on Tuesday). Their last loss was a 11-10 defeat in double overtime against Chanhassen on May 4, 2021. The Red Knights will come into this game having already played four games this season.

The Lakers (0-0, 0-0), ranked No. 3, are in a different scenario, as they open their season at home against No. 4 Shakopee on Tuesday. The start of a season doesn’t get much tougher than their first two games this week.


Chanhassen vs. Minnetonka

11:30 a.m., Saturday, April 29

There’s another top-10 matchup in the cards this week, as No. 2 Chanhassen goes to No. 7 Minnetonka on Saturday. 

These two teams come into this season off the back of vastly different years. The Storm (1-0, 0-0) were one of the best teams in the state last season, finishing with an 11-2 record in the regular season and earning a berth in the state tournament after beating Shakopee in the Section 2 title game.

Meanwhile, the Skippers (2-1, 1-0) started 2022 7-0 before losing seven of their last eight games, with their season ending in the Section 2 quarterfinals to Eden Prairie. Now they both come into the year ranked in the top 10.

This will be the first matchup between these two sides since 2019 when they met in the Section 2 semifinals. The Storm won that meeting 6-5 after losing to the Skippers in sections in 2016, 2017 and 2018.


Delano/Rockford vs. Mound Westonka

6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27

Based on last year’s Wright County Conference standings, this game could have massive implications when it comes to the conference standings. 

Last season Delano/Rockford finished atop the Wright County Conference standings with a perfect 5-0 record. Mound Westonka finished its conference season with a 2-1 record, with its one loss coming to the Tigers (1-1, 1-0). 

Not only will this game affect the conference standings, but it will also loom larger on the seeding for the Section 2 tournament, where these teams met in the first round last year. In that game, the Tigers came away with a 14-13 overtime win to end the White Hawks’ (1-0, 0-0) season. Coincidentally, that was the exact same score, a 14-13 overtime win by the Tigers, when these two met in late April last season. If history repeats itself, this should be another dramatic affair.


Other games to keep an eye on

Eden Prairie vs. Edina, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 25 The teams that finished second (Edina) and third (Eden Prairie) in the Lake Conference last season now have two teams in the top-10 to deal with in the conference to match or build on those finishes. 

The Eagles (1-0, 1-0) were able to start their conference schedule with a 12-3 win against Hopkins/St. Louis Park last Thursday. The Hornets (1-0, 0-0) opened their season with an 11-9 win against Rosemount, and the Eagles will be their first Lake Conference opponent of the year. 

Blake vs. St. Thomas Academy, 7 p.m., Monday, April 24 Two teams with aspirations to play in the state tournament will have an early chance to jump above .500 with a win on Monday. 

Blake (2-2, 1-0) has already played four games this year and split them. The Bears are coming off a 17-2 defeat against Robbinsdale Armstrong, so they’ll be looking for a big response against St. Thomas Academy. 

The Cadets (1-1, 0-0) have split their two games this season and will head into this matchup off the back of a 7-4 win against Eagan.


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