For the second straight game, the Benilde-St. Maraget's Red Knights fell to a fellow Catholic School rival.  Last night, the Holy Family Catholic Fire downed the Red Knights by a score of 7-3 behind a surge of four first period goals.

It was a hole too deep for the Red Knights to climb from however, they battled and eventually out-shot the Fire by a 50-31 margin for the game.  The power play fueled the Fire in the first period as they connected twice en route the 4-0 lead.

Junior defenseman Ben Newhouse continued his impressive string of production as he scored a goal and added an assist for the Red Knights.  Zach Risteau and Peter Heimbold also dented the twine for the Red Knights.  

While holding a 4-2 record, head coach Ken Pauly added that it is not a time to panic and said, "When you lose two game in a row to Catholic School rivals it's never a good thing, but it's December and there's no reason to panic. There is still a lot of systems and special teams work to be done and we are still playing with some combinations."

The Red Knights are known to play an offensive style and aren't afraid to push the tempo.  When that happens, sometimes the opponent has an opportunity to strike. When asked by a reporter about the bigger scores Ken Pauly suggested it was a work in progress.

"When you play an up tempo style you are susceptible to higher scores - but you have to take a longer view," Pauly said after the game.  "We are building right now and it's December 12th, not February 12th."

There has been plenty for the Red Knights to applaud at the early stages of this season and some if it has been yielded from high end defensive play that has developed offensive opportunities.  In referring to the effort last night, not lost on the fact was the Red Knights attempted over 60 shots toward the Fire net.

"There are still some very good performances out there," Pauly stated.  "Ben Newhouse and Johnny Austin had some beautiful rushes and our team kept playing hard and competing,despite getting down 4-0 very early. We have to maintain perspective right now and keep working hard. We did place over 60 shots on their goal so it's not like our kids went away."

Through six games, or equivalent to the one quarter mark of the season, the Red Knights have give their coaching staff plenty to look at and work with as they turn their attentions to the Hibbingh/Chisholm Blue Jackets, the Red Knights next opponent, this Saturday at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

"These first six games have given our coaching staff a pretty good read on what needs to be worked on and fixed and we will go to work on that. It simply has to be better," Pauly said.