In Memory of Jake Lynch

 He helped coach the Bloomington Jefferson boys basketball team to three state titles in 1982, 1986 and 1987 as well as many athletes that included his four sons.  

On December 20, Jake Lynch passed away at the age of 85.  

Lynch was also a World History teacher at Jefferson from 1970-1997 and I had him for a teacher my junior year but I remember him the most from my days as boys basketball statistician junior and senior year.  

Before he came to Jefferson, he coached at St Cloud Cathedral before he headed south to Owatonna.  He left Minnesota to become the head basketball coach at Central High School in Billings, Montana and led the Rams to a fourth place finish in the 1965 state tournament.  He then left The Treasure State to return to Minnesota and became the assistant football and track coach at Waconia High School before settling into Bloomington in 1968, serving as the assistant football coach at Lincoln.  

In 1970, when Jefferson opened, Lynch moved down 102nd St. to teach World History and serve as an assistant boys basketball and football coach.  He was also the junior varsity coach where he coached many talented athletes, including his four sons.  

The first was Mike, who graduated with me in 1980.  He was a starter along with a guard who would later succeed his father Jack as head coach, Jeff Evens.  Though he was the only Lynch never to play in a state tournament, one memorable moment stands out.  With time running out and the Jaguars behind against Burnsville, Chris MacGowan misses a shot but Mike tips in the rebound for the game winner.  

The second was John, who played in two state tournaments in 1981, where they lost to Anoka in the Class AA quarterfinals and in 1982 as a part of the state championship team.  John's brother Tim was also part of the Class AA title team that included Greg Montbriand, Mark Nelson and Steve Hill.  

The last of the Lynches would turn out to be one of the best players to wear a Jefferson uniform and it would be Kevin.  A three year starter, he played in three state tournaments, including the school's last two state titles in 1986 and 1987.  But his playing career wasn't over yet.  He would play four years at Minnesota under Clem Haskins and had a short stint in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets before heading overseas.  He currently is a studio analyst for Bally Sports North and a color commentator for 45TV's state tournament coverage.  

In 1997, Jake retired from coaching but he got to see his grandson Kyle play for Jefferson, where one of his teammates, Brian Mariska is the son of another former Jaguar guard Todd Mariska.  I also got to see his granddaughter Grace in action as a member of the St. Louis Park girls lacrosse team where I still do the public address announcing to this day.  

My condolences go out to the Lynch family on Jake's passing and may he rest in peace.  

Power Play Pays Off For Holy Angels Stars

 Monday night's game between the Holy Angels Stars and the St. Louis Park Orioles was brought to you by the number two.  Jack Bartfield scored two goals and the Stars capitalized on three power play opportunities to beat the Orioles 4-1 at The Rec Center.  

Neither team would erase the zeros from the scoreboard in the first period.  St. Louis Park would take the early lead as Ben Farley went two on one like traffic driving down Excelsior Blvd. and he found an opening to the right of Holy Angels goalie Bryce Hess to put the puck in the net.  But the lead didn't last for the Orioles due to a couple of penalties that the Stars would cash in on.  The first came when Henry Schrader was sent to the penalty box for tripping and :09 later, Noah Hermanson scored from the right slot.  The second came after Phillip Hirte went off for roughing and Holy Angels tallied :12 later on Bartfield's first goal.  

It looks like the Stars would widen their lead to two in the third period.  But after a summit meeting between the three officials, the ruling was no goal.  No problem for the Stars.  Barfield would score Holy Angels third power play goal.  After St. Louis Park called time out, head coach Ben Horsch pulled goalie Josh Middleton for a sixth attacker and Carter Hermanson would fire the puck into the empty net to clinch the victory.  

The Stars improved their record to 6-1 and will host the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks on Thursday, December 23 at 7 PM at the Richfield Ice Arena.  The Orioles ended a two game winning streak and fell to 2-3.  They return to action on Wednesday, December 22 at noon against Minneapolis at the Parade Ice Garden.  

Wayzata Trojans Beat CDH Raiders in Class AAAA Final Rematch

 If you missed last April's Class AAAA championship game between the Wayzata Trojans and Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders due to the pandemic, the two teams would battle again as Carter Bjerke scored 16 points to lead the Trojans to a 59-50 win over the Raiders in the Breakdown Big 12 Classic Saturday night at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley.  

Bjerke would begin the scoring :12 into the first half.  Ryan Harvey would spark a 5-0 run on a goaltending call against Donavhan Cain for a three point play.  Tre Holloman, headed for Michigan State next season would help put the Raiders on the scoreboard with a lob pass to Cain and he would score on a right handed jam.  The lead would go back and forth a few times until Wayzata would widen the lead on a 11-3 run.  They would play solid defense and box out well in the post and it would result in baskets to Bjerke and Davis Hay.  Holloman would be the bright spot for Cretin-Derham Hall as he stole the ball and slammed it home.  The Trojans led at halftime 27-22.  

In the second half, Hayden Tibbits, who wasn't heard from in the first half began the Trojan scoring with a pair of free throws :22 into the half.  But the Raiders would come close to the defending Class AAAA champions with a three pointer from Cain that cut the lead to three.  Foul trouble would hit CDH in the second half when Adam Tauer picked up his fourth foul with 13:50 to go and Sam Koopmeiers 1:36 later.  Tauer would return to the game and hit a three pointer to cut the Wayzata lead to five.  Cain would keep the Raiders in the game with three consecutive three pointers but they would have to foul late in the game to keep the Trojans from running out the clock as Tibbits would clinch the win with a pair of free throws with :07.1 to play.  

Other players in double figures for Wayzata were Tibbits with 12 points, all in the second half.  Drew Berkland contributed 10.  Cain led CDH with 18 points and Holloman added 10.  

The Trojans improved their record to 3-2 and will head to Champlin Park on Tuesday, December 21 for a 7 PM game with the Rebels.  The Raiders fell to 1-2 and are off until Wednesday, December 29 as they will play in Woodbury in the East Ridge Tournament against the Lakeville South Cougars at 6 PM.  

Regguinti's Return Sparks SLP Orioles to First Win

 After sitting out a one game suspension for fighting, Stanley Regguinti returned to action Tuesday night and scored two goals to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 6-1 win over the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles at The Rec Center's outdoor rink. 

It was the Orioles first win of the season and the first for new head coach Ben Horsch,.  

St. Louis Park would break out of the starting gate early on Griffin Krone's goal :25 into the game.  They would go up by two when Jacob Favour passed to Michael Hoikka and he went round the left side of the cage and stuffed the puck over the goal line for a power play goal.  Kennedy would get on the scoreboard thanks to the Brothers Manning.  Nick would get credit for the goal after rebounding Jack's shot.  The Orioles would regain the two goal margin on Phillip Hirte's unassisted goal with 1:11 left in the period.  

Krone would pick up his second point of the game as he sent the puck to Ben Farley and he would score from the right slot.  St. Louis Park would increase their lead to four on Regguinti's right slot goal.  

Regguinti's second goal would account for the third period's only goal.  The Eagles had a five on three advantage for 1:05 but the Oriole defense and solid penalty killing would deny any scoring opportunities.u

St. Louis Park improved their record to 1-2 and will head to Long Lake on Saturday, December 18 to face the Orono Spartans at 2 PM at Morrison Arena.  Kennedy fell to 0-4 and will also be back in action on the 18th as they battle their city rival the Jefferson Jaguars at 3 PM at the Bloomington Ice Garden.  

Hanus' Hat Trick Helps Minnetonka Skippers Sink SLP Orioles

It was an honorable night for Reed Hanus as he scored a hat trick to lead the Minnetonka Skippers to a 7-1 sinking of the St. Louis Park Orioles Thursday at The Rec Center.  

The Orioles were playing without Stanley Regguinti who was serving a one game suspension due to a game disqualification penalty in last Thursday's game against the Edina Hornets.  

St. Louis Park would get the early lead in the first period on a slap shot from Ben Olson that would enter the net.  

The Oriole lead would be short-lived in the second period as the Skippers took the lead with two goals.  Michael Manning would score the first one from the right slot and Alex Lunski would fire a shot from the left face off circle that landed in the net.  St. Louis Park goalie Josh Middleton was busy in the net, facing 30 shots in the period.  

Minnetonka would put the game away in the third period with five unanswered goals.  Manning would pick up his second point when he set up Hanus' first goal.  The Skippers would score four goals in a stretch of 1:18.  Baer would begin the run on a shot from ahead of the blue line.  Hanus would get the hat trick, scoring the next two goals.  Danny Pasqua would wrap up the scoring for Minnetonka.  

The Skippers out shot the Orioles 64-19.  

Minnetonka head coach Sean Goldsworthy is the son of the late former Minnesota North Star Bill Goldsworthy.  

The Skippers improved their record to 3-2 and will head up I-94 to face the Rogers Royals on Saturday, December 11 at 7 PM at the Rogers Activity Center.  The Oead outside for their next game on Tuesday, The Orioles fell to 0-2 and will head outside for their next game on Tuesday, December 14 as the host the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles at 7 PM at the Recreation Outdoor Center.  

Edina Hornets Sting SLP Orioles

 Ben Horsch's maiden voyage as head coach of the St. Louis Park Oriole Boys Hockey Team hit rough waters Thursday night as Trey Fechko scored two goals to lead the Edina Hornets to a 7-1 rout of the Orioles at The Rec Center.  

The Hornets, ranked number one in Class AA, tested Oriole goalie Josh Middleton early as they dominated the first period with four goals and held St. Louis Park without any shots until there was :26.6 left in the period.  John Halverson would score Edina's first goal from the center slot off a pass from Prescot Sexton.  The Hornets would go up by two on Caden Morgan's power play goal.  Trey Fechko and Ryan Flaherty would round out Edina's first period scoring.  

Trey Fechko would fetch the puck from Henry Whittlef and he would score his second goal of the game.  Sexton's shot from the right corner would enter the next to put the Hornets ahead by six.  

Edina would add another goal to their ledger in the third period when Jimmy Clark went top shelf. The one bright spot for the Orioles in tonight's game was there would be no shutout.  While Morgan was serving a tripping penalty,  Teddy Dahlin scored a power play goal on a rebound.  As the clock ticked down toward zero, several players from both teams got into a fight.  One player from each team received a game disqualification.  They were Sexton from Edina and Stanley Regguinti from St. Louis Park.  

The Hornets improved their record to 3-0 and return to action on Saturday, December 4 at 8 PM against the White Bear Lake Bears at Braemar Arena in Edina.  The Orioles opened their season with an 0-1 record and travel down Highway 5 to Waconia on Tuesday, December 7 to take on the Wildcats at 7 PM at the City Ice Arena.