For Ken Pauly and the Benilde-St. Margaret’s boy's hockey team, absence (of tangible success) makes the heart grow fonder.

Just two years removed from an undefeated regular season, the Red Knights win just seven games last season and have hovered around the .500 mark for the bulk of the 2017-2018 campaign. 

Fast-forward to Tuesday night, where the Red Knights (12-11-1) secured the Metro West Conference championship with an emphatic 4-0 win over St. Louis Park, adding a sorely-desired piece of hardware to a crowded trophy case.

“Where we’ve been as a program, we’re big-game hunting,” Pauly said on Tuesday night. 

“Obviously we’ve been in rebuilding mode here the last couple of years, so the conference title wasn’t a big deal until you don’t win it.”

For a team with four freshmen on the varsity roster, a conference crown is a concrete testament to a quality season, and an emotional rivalry game provides for an environment that tests a young player’s mettle. 

“You play enough games where there’s no atmosphere, and tonight it was like a section playoff atmosphere,” Pauly said. 

Red Knights’ senior forward Joe Collins banged in a loose puck to put Benilde-St. Margaret’s up 1-0 midway through the second period, and freshman Jonah Mortenson helped puncture St. Louis Park’s emotional balloon, scoring a goal with just 1.7 seconds left in the second frame. 

Collins added his second of the night late in the third on an empty St. Louis Park net, and sophomore Charlie Bischel tacked on the fourth goal for the Red Knights with 13 seconds to play in regulation. 

Freshman Carson Limesand earned his fourth shutout of the season with 24 saves for the Red Knights and said that going into the game he had no idea what to expect. 

“I just knew it was going to be packed,” Limesand said after admitting to battling pregame nerves. 

“It’s their Senior Night (and) to win this game is huge,” Limesand added.

Senior goaltender Atticus Raasch finished the night with 39 saves for the Orioles (14-8-2).  

To have Limesand, fellow freshman and starter on defense James Callahan, and a pair of underclassmen notch goals, also bodes well for the future, said Pauly. 

“For those young kids being in a game like this, you can’t put a price tag on it,” Pauly said. 

St. Louis Park honored its 13 seniors prior the game as part of the annual Senior Night. 

Benilde-St. Margaret's did not allow a power play goal to the Red Knights in two games this season, as the Orioles went 0-7 with the man-advantage. 

The Red Knights' student section's favorite activity for the evening was chanting "little brother" at the Oriole students. 

Both teams claim the St. Louis Park Rec Center as their home ice, intensifying an already volatile rivalry.