Chanhassen Storm Thunders Past SLP Orioles

 The St. Louis Park played their final home game before Christmas but it was  Jake Risch who put a lump of coal in the Orioles stocking as he scored two goals to lead the Chanhassen Storm to a 7-0 win Thursday night at The Rec Center.  

The Storm stormed out of the starting gate when Ryan McPartland rebounded Jack Christ's shot that would cross the goal line :40 into the first period.  Chanhassen would scored two late goals.  The first came from Owen Buesgens with :33.1 left in the period and Nick Patka would put the Storm up by three with :21.9 to go.  

Caden Lee would account for Chanhassen's only second period goal.  The Storm weren't done in the third period as Risch would score two of the final three goals from the center slot.  With the game pretty much decided, St. Louis Park head coach Tyler Brodersen pulled goalie Bennett Anderson and replaced him with Brett Middleton.  The goalie change didn't do the Orioles good as Christ sent the game into running time.  

The Storm improved their record to 7-3 and will return to action Thursday, January 4 when they host the Delano Tigers at 7 PM at the Victoria Ice Arena.  The Orioles fell to 2-6 and will head to the Brooklyn Park Ice Arena on Saturday, December 23 at 4 PM to face the Totino-Grace Eagles.  

SLP Orioles Shut Out Bloomington Kennedy Eagles

 Thursday night, the St. Louis Park Orioles were in The Krone Zone as Griffin Krone scored two goals and assisted on three others to lead them to a 7-0 shutout of the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles in the annual outdoor game at The Rec Center.  

The Orioles cored the lone goal of the first period when Max Rider passed to Krone in the right corner boards and he put it into the net. 

St. Louis Park would strike twice in the second period when Krone picked up two straight assists.  The first came on a shot that was save by Kennedy goalie Rohr Brockman and Owen Anklam scored on a rebound that went top shelf.  The second assist would come on Sam Fuller's goal and the Orioles extended their lead to three.  

On to the third period where the Orioles offense exploded for four goals.  If you were in line at the concessions stand, you might have missed Krone's second goal, :18 into the period.  Marty Hirte would tally from the center slot to put them ahead by five and running time would commence Jack Betzer's liner from the right slot.  Dominick Russel replace Brockman in the Kennedy goal and he got tested :20 after the last goal on Jack Betzer's shot from the right slot.  

The Orioles improved their record to 2-4 and return to action on Saturday, December 16 against the Hopkins Royals at 5:30 PM at the Hopkins Pavilion.  The Eagles fell to 2-6 and will also be back in action on the 16th as they travel to Inver Grove Heights to face the Simley Spartans at 5 PM at the Veterans Memorial Community Center.  

Remembering Doug McLeod

 He was a familiar voice to Minnesota hockey fans, spending 16 years as the voice of Golden Gopher hockey, the TV voice for the North Stars and the state high school tournaments.  

Sunday, the man behind the voice Doug McLeod passed away.  HSGN checked various sources and found that he was 70 and suffered from heart issues.  

McLeod came to the Twin Cities in 1978 when he was hired by WWTC to be the first radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Minnesota men's hockey team.  He stayed in that role on other stations in the market for 16 years.  He would also be the TV voice of the North Stars for six seasons, until the team left for Dallas in 1992.  

After the North Stars departed, he also did some play-by-play stints for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes.  

McLeod would also be a familiar voice to state hockey tournament fans, serving as a back up voice on WCCO-TV.  When the rights switched over to KMSP in the early 1990s, the station utilized him on their coverage of the state hockey and basketball tournaments as well as the Prep Bowl.  In 2019, KSTC brought him back to handle their state hockey coverage in celebration of the event's 75th anniversary.  But in the first period of the White Bear Lake-Blaine game, he made a reference to lynching that got numerous complaints and he was pulled off the air following the conclusion of the period.  

Baseball was also on McLeod's resume.  He was a radio voice for Gopher Baseball and an early voice of the St. Paul Saints.  

McLeod also played a broadcaster in the movie Mystery, Alaska.  The movie that starred Russell Crowe, Mary McCormack and Hank Azaria featured cameos by Phil Esposito, Little Richard and Barry Melrose.  

One non play-by-play stint McLeod had in the 1990s was a Sunday night show on KBEM-FM in Minneapolis where he played music from the Big Band Era.

McLeod will be best remembered as a familiar voice to Minnesota hockey fans.  May he rest in peace.  

Crosby-Ironton Rangers Clobber Edina Hornets

 Twin Cities girls basketball fans who never had a chance to see super sophomore Tori Oehlwein in action had an opportunity to do so Saturday afternoon as she scored 39 points to lead the fifth ranked team in Class AA, the Crosby-Ironton Rangers to a 72-55 victory over the host Edina Hornets.  

It wasn't all Oehlwein for the Rangers since Sammie Hachey began the game with three straight points.  Abby Richter would begin the scoring for the Hornets with 15:32 left in the first half.  Saturday was the day for Oehlwein to shine as she would score seven straight points for C-I.  Defense would also factor into Oehlwein's stat line as she made a key steal that turned into a basket.  As for Edina, looking for their first win of the season, Richter, one of four seniors would be a bright spot as she tallied four straight points but the Rangers used outstanding passing and ball movement to lead at halftime 38-26.  

C-I added to their lead in the second half, going on a 4-0 run.  But foul trouble would hurt the Hornets as Richter, Ella Burke and Brenna Wulf picked up their third fouls.  Reserve Amanda Vessel also record three fouls.  Liz Vitt's basket would cut the Rangers lead to 10 but that is the closest Edina got as Oehrlein made a couple of outstanding passes that turned into scores.  

Also scoring in double figures for C-I were Hachey with 16 points and Margaret Silgen added 11.  Richter led Edina with 17 points.  The only other Edina player in double figures was Burke with 10 points.  

New University of Minnesota head women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit was in attendance at Saturday's game, sitting in the front row to the right side of where HSGN was stationed to cover the game.  

The Rangers improved their record to 4-0 and return to action on Tuesday, December 12 when they host the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines at 7:30 PM.  The Hornets fell to 0-6 and will also be back in action on the 12th, hosting the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers at 7 PM.  

Cheeseman's Hat Trick Leads AHA Stars

 Cole Cheeseman brought the cheddar back to Richfield as he scored a hat trick to lead the Holy Angels Stars to a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles Wednesday night at The Rec Center.

The Stars would shine in the first period with two goals.  Cheeseman would score the first from the right side and Gabriel Perron put Holy Angels ahead by two on a power play goal.  

The Orioles would cut the lead to one in the second period on Griffin Krone's right side goal.  But Holy Angels would extend their lead with two straight goals from Cheeseman.  The first would come on the power play and the second after he got a pass from Logan Ciresi, dribbled toward the center slot and fired the puck past St. Louis Park goalie Bennett Anderson.  Krone would find a net for the second time for the Orioles and the Stars led 4-2 at the end of the second period.

Holy Angels would add one more to their ledger in the third period as Perron lined a shot from inside the right blue line and into the cage to wrap up the scoring.  

The Stars improved their record to 3-1 and will host the St. Paul Academy Spartans on Thursday, December 7 at 7:30 at the Richfield Ice Arena. 

The Orioles fell to 1-4 and will host the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles on Thursday, December 14 at 7 PM.  The game will be play at The Rec Center's outdoor rink.   

SLP Orioles Clip Armstrong/Cooper Wings

 Two teams with bird nicknames flew into The Rec Center Saturday night, the Armstrong/Cooper Wings and the St. Louis Park Orioles.  The Orioles took it to the max in the third period when Max Rider scored two goals to led the Orioles to a 5-3 win.  

St. Louis Park would take the early lead with two goals.  The first came when Louis Piper rebounded Rider's shot and Sam Fuller would score from the top of the right faceoff circle.  A/C would tie the game on goals from Charlie Goergen and Lewis Majkozak.  

Neither team would break the tie in the second period.  Rider would put the Orioles ahead as he scored from the baseline.  Hobey Skulstad would tie the game for the Wings. St. Louis Park would forge ahead on Griffin Krone's center slot goal.  With 1:08 remaining in regulation time, A/C head coach Dan Charleston called time out and pulled goalie Ryan Melsha for a sixth attacker.  The Orioles would capitalize on the empty net when the puck went off Rider's stick. crawled down the ice and barely crossed the goal line to end a three game losing streak.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 1-3 and will host the Holy Angels Stars on Wednesday, December 6 at 7 PM at The Rec Center.  A/C fell to an identical 1-3 record and will be back in action Tuesday, December 5 as they take on the Providence Academy Lions at 7 PM at the Plymouth Ice Center.