Monday, April 29, 2019

McCallon Leads SLP Orioles to Win Over Irondale Knights

Monday night was a bit chilly in St. Louis Park but Sarah McCallon heated up with five goals to lead the host Orioles to a 11-9 win over the Irondale Knights.

McCallon set the temp early for the Orioles as she took the opening face off, went through the center slot and scored :22 into the game.  McCallon would strike again to put St. Louis Park ahead by two and Anna Nicholls would tally :25 later to put them ahead by three.  Angelina Larsen would score a left side goal to put the Knights on the board.  The Orioles would answer when Halle Weinmann would speed through the center slot like a train on the nearby railroad tracks and it would be a 4-1 game.  Grace Lynch would add to the offensive attack, scooping up a ground ball and sending it to the net.  McCallon would get the hat trick, scoring on a free shot.  Irondale would get a couple of goals, to cut the margin to two.  The first would come from Sydney Oswald and the second from Julia Clark. Iris Hutchins would score from the center slot.   Both teams would score in the final minute of the first half.  Larsen would score with :43 left and McCallon would score her fourth goal :19 later to give St. Louis Park a 7-5 halftime lead.

Lynch would begin the second half scoring for the Orioles.  The Knights would get a pair of goals from Kathryn Gunderman.  On the second goal, she would get a pass from Oswald and the ball bounced off her stick and rolled into the net.  Nicholls would score her second goal from the center slot and it looked like Irondale would get close to St. Louis Park as Hutchison would go around the right side of the net and the ball would enter the goal cutting the Oriole lead to 9-8.  Nicholls would also get a hat trick, bringing the margin back to two.  Hutchison would also score a hat trick and it would be a 10-9 game.  But there would be good news for Oriole fans when McCallon would ice the game as she scored her fifth goal with 1:37 left to play.

St. Louis Park improved their record to 3-2 and will host the Cooper Hawks on Thursday, May 2 at 6 PM.  Irondale fell to 0-6 and will head to Coon Rapids on Wednesday, May 1 for a 6:30 game with the Cardinals.

Friday, April 26, 2019

SLP Orioles End Two Game Losing Streak

The St. Louis Park Orioles headed into the weekend on a positive note as they hosted Minneapolis and got a hat trick and two assists from Sarah McCallon that led them to a 11-9 win over Minneapolis Friday night.

The Orioles broke out of the starting gate early when Anna Nicholls went through the slot and scored :54 into the first half.  McCallon would put St. Louis Park up by two :12 later.  Their lead would be three when Grace Lynch went around the left side of the net and put the ball past Minneapolis goalie Eva Jones.  Abby Meyer would tally :44 later to give the Orioles four unanswered goals.  But Minneapolis would come back with a three goal run, two coming from a junior varsity roster addition in Addy Kurkow.  Tess Ryan would score from the left side to cut the lead to one.  The Orioles would find the net again as Lynch would go around the right side of the net and score to increase the margin back to two.  Kurkow would get the hat trick on a pass from Avi Durand and it would be 5-4 in favor of St. Louis Park.  Goals would come fast and furious late in the first half.  McCallon would score her second goal then she made a centering pass to Alyssa Barth and it would be 7-4 Orioles.  Minneapolis would wrap up the first half scoring with a right side goal from Piper Sorock and St. Louis Park led at halftime 7-5.

Both teams would find the net four times in the second half.  Halle Weinmann would open the scoring following a pass from McCallon :57 into the half.  Ryan would score the first two goals for Minneapolis, giving her the hat trick.  McCallon would also get the hat trick for the Orioles and Lynch would pick up her third point of the game as she made a pass to Meyer in the center slot and she would connect.  Ryan would score her third straight goal and fourth of the game but it wouldn't be enough for Minneapolis to mount a comeback as Weinamnn scored her second goal.  Kurkow would also get her fourth goal of the game as she would score on a free shot with 4:51 left to play.

The Orioles ended a two game losing streak and improved their record to 2-2.  They will host the Irondale Knights on Monday, April 29 at 6 PM.  Minneapolis snapped a three game winning streak where they outscored the opposition 50-10.  Their record is now 3-1 and they head to Hopkins on Tuesday, April 30 for a 7 PM game with the Royals.  Hopkins is 4-0 and given up only five goals so far this season.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

St. Paul Bobcats Beat SLP Orioles

Jack Molter molded his way through the St. Louis Park defense to score a hat trick that led the St. Paul Bobcats to a 9-2 win over the host Orioles Thursday afternoon.

The Bobcats, playing an independent schedule in their second varsity season dominated the game with five unanswered first quarter goals.  Molter would account for the first goal after he received a pass from Mac Rosbacka and went through a couple of Oriole defenders to give St. Paul the early lead.  Charlie Eischens would put the Bobcats up by two as he went around the left side of the net and found an open spot.  Damian Cunningham would dodge his way through the defense and score from the center slot.  Molter would put the Bobcats ahead by four as he would score from the left side.  St. Paul would conclude the first quarter scoring on Rosbacka's goal with :17.1 left in the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats would go up by six as Luke Moberg passed to Samuel Blindt and he would go top shelf.  The streak would increase to seven as Thomas Etter scored on a rebound outside the crease.  There would be no shutout for St. Paul on this warm and windy Thursday as Parker Brynildson would line the ball into the net and St. Paul would lead at halftime 7-1.

There would be only one goal in the third quarter as Moberg picked up his second assist that set up Molter's hat trick goal.  Both teams would tally in the fourth quarter.  St. Louis Park would strike first on Tristan Rooney's inside pass to Jake Spano and he would send it to the net.  Freshman Luca Butler-Alexander would conclude the scoring with 3:30 left to play.

The Bobcats improved their record to 2-0 and will host Mankato on Monday, April 29 at 7 PM at Griffin Stadium at St. Paul Central.  The Orioles fell to 0-4 and begin a four game road trip on Friday, April 26 against the Tartan Titans at 7 PM.  The game was rescheduled from April 13 due to the snowstorm that hit the Twin Cities area.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Strong Second Half Keeps Hopkins Royals Unbeaten

Tuesday night was a big night for Olivia Michelson as she scored four goals to lead the Hopkins Royals to a 8-4 win over the host St. Louis Park Orioles.

There wasn't a lot of scoring in the first half as both teams played outstanding defense.  Michelson would open the scoring for the Royals with a center slot goal 1:11 into the game. Emma Galinson would tally :51 later to put Hopkins ahead by two.  Sarah McCallon would account for the orioles lone first half goal when she was awarded a free shot after being fouled and she put it past Hopkins goalie Leah Bosch.  The royals would lead at halftime 2-1.

St. Louis Park would tie the game in the second half on McCallon's second free shot goal.  But it would be the only highlight for Oriole fans as the Royals would put the game away with four straight goals.  Michielson would give Hopkins the lead, scoring on a bounce shot and Abbie Skadron would score off a pass from Dottie Galland.  Michelson would score the Royals next two goals as she used her speed and ability to break through the Oriole defense to send the ball to the net.  Lo and behold, the Orioles were not shutout in the second half as they added two goals to their ledger.  The first gave McCallon the hat trick as she scored her third consecutive free shot goal.  Outstanding passing played a role in St. Louis Park's final goal when Abby Meyer, who was a member of the Hopkins/Park girls hockey team with a number of Royals in uniform made an inside pass to Anna Nicholls in the center slot and it entered the net.  It would also wrap up the Oriole scoring as Hopkins would ice the game with two more goals.  They would come from Galinson and Skadron would score with :08.9 left to play.

The Royals improved their record to 3-0 and will host the Southwest Christian Stars on Thursday, April 25 at 5:30 PM.  The Orioles fell to 1-2 and host Minneapolis on Friday, April 26 at 6 PM.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Totino-Grace Eagles Trounce SLP Orioles

As the cold rain swept through the St. Louis Park area Monday night, Luke Schroeder scored five goals to lead the Totino-Grace Eagles to a 17-6 win over the host Orioles.

The Orioles got the early lead in the first quarter when Parker Brynildson got a pass from Jackson Aune in the center slot and scored :51 into the game. Schroeder would help the Eagles take the lead.  He would pass to Hunter Tisdale and Tisdale would even the score at one and then Schroeder would score to put Totino-Grace ahead.  Mike Kieselbach, playing his first varsity game of the season lind a shot toward the net to even the game at two.  But the Eagles would regain the lead on goals from Jack Kreger and Schroeder and led at the end of the first quarter 4-2.

Totino-Grace would start the second quarter scoring when Schroeder would score from the center slot.  Brynildson would score his second goal, cradling the ball downfield and sending it to the net.  The Eagles would widen their lead with three unanswered goals, starting with Caleb Meehan on a left side pass from Nate Zdon, followed by Mark Collins on a behind the net pass from Tisdale and Kreger scoring his second goal to give Totino-Grace an 8-3 halftime lead.

While the rain was letting up on this chilly Monday night, the Eagles were raining white balls into the Oriole net in the third quarter, scoring five unanswered goals.  Meehan would score his second goal from a Collins pass.  Schroeder would tally, followed by Tisdale :33 later.  Schroeder would pick up another assist on a right side pass to James Keiser and he lined the ball to the goal.  But Schroeder wasn't finished yet.  He would score another goal :24 later and the Eagles led at the end of the third quarter 13-3.

The Totino-Grace goal run extended to six on Kreger's goal :49 into the fourth quarter.  There would be good news for the small throng of Oriole fans in attendance when Jake Spano ended the Eagles run with the first of His two goals.  Brynildson would score another hat trick but it wasn't much for St. Louis Park to mount a big comeback as the Eagles would score four times, with Darby Jones scoring on a liner, followed by two goals from Collins and Keiser going around the net to score with :32 in the game.

Totino-Grace improved their record to 1-1 and will host the Armstrong Falcons on Wednesday, April 24 at 5 PM at Columbia Academy in Columbia Heights.  St. Louis Park fell to 0-3 and hosts the St. Paul Central Minutemen on Thursday, April 25 at 5 PM.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

BSM Red Knights Blast SLP Orioles

The home season for the St. Louis Park girls lacrosse team would be the "Battle of St. Louis Park" as Lauren Palmer, Piper Ehlen and Maggie Anderson scored hat tricks to lead the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to a 17-2 rout of the host Orioles Thursday night.

Palmer would begin the Red Knights first half scoring when she cut through the slot and sent the ball to the net. Grace Juckniess would score two goals and assist on another to put BSM on a four goal run.  She would get credited for an assist on Ehlen's goal and it would come after she received a pass from Maddi Zachman, broke through a couple of Oriole defenders and fired the ball toward the cage.  St. Louis Park would finally get on the scoreboard after Grace Lynch was awarded a free shot and she would score to cut the lead to 4-1.  The Red Knights would surge forward with five straight goals, two coming from Elizabeth Valley.  Palmer, Anderson and Caroline Pauly would also tally to extend the lead to 9-1.  The Orioles would get their last goal of the game on a liner from Sarah McCallon with 1:00 left in the first half and the Red Knights led 9-2 at halftime.

It would be all red jerseys populating the Oriole net in the second half as BSM would score eight unanswered goals to send the game into running time due to the 10 goal margin.  Two of them would come from Ehlen and Anderson.  Also accounting for Red Knight goals were Palmer, Pauly and Jane Hoyt.  Hoyt would conclude the scoring with 3:16 to play.

Pauly is the daughter of veteran BSM Boys Hockey head coach Ken Pauly.

The Red Knights improved their record to 1-1 and will host the Cooper Hawks on Thursday, April 25 at 6 PM.  The Orioles, who pounded the St. Croix Prep Lions on April 16 24-7 fell to an identical 1-1 record.  In the St. Croix Prep game, McCallon scored a game high six goals and Anna Nicholls added five.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Hopkins Royals Spoil SLP Orioles Home Opener

The Eric Buckley Era in St. Louis Park boys lacrosse hit a pothole in its maiden voyage Tuesday night as Xavier Zaccagnini scored a hat trick to lead the Hopkins Royals to a 9-4 win over the host Orioles in the season opener for both teams.

Buckley, a former Spring Lake Park assistant coach, replaced Chris Bixby who stepped down after last season.

The Royals would score first :59 into the first quarter as Evan Anderson made a left side pass to Jack Slattery and he would put it past Oriole goalie Noah Houser.  Hopkins would add three more unanswered goals that started on Jacob Renier's inside pass to Zaccagnini and he put the Royals up by two.  The lead would increase to three on a goal from Jackson James off a pass from Adam Cochran.  Zaccagnini would score his second goal of the quarter after he picked up a ground ball from Oliver Bernstein and fired it to the net.  The good news for St. Louis Park fans was that there would be no shut out when Riley Swanson would score from the center slot :14 later and Hopkins would lead 4-1 which was also the halftime score since neither team sent the white ball into the net in the second quarter.

Both teams would tally twice in the third quarter.  The Royals would score first as Slattery sent the ball to Renier and he would score 2:00 into the quarter.  Their other third quarter goal came when Renier, positioned behind the net, made an over the cage pass to Max Johanning and it would be a 6-1 Hopkins lead.  Both of the Orioles goals would come while Cochran was serving a two minute illegal body checking penalty and they would come from a junior wearing number 12, Parker Brynildson.  The first would come from the center slot and the second via a centering pass from Leo Benson and the Royals would lead 6-3 at the end of the third quarter.

It looked like St. Louis Park would make a comeback in the fourth quarter as they cut the lead to two on Brynildson's hat trick goal that came on another Benson assist.  But Hopkins would put the game away with three straight goals.  The first came as Slattery bulldozed his way through the Oriole defense to score his second goal of the game.  Zaccagnini would get the hat trick on Renier's third assist of the game.  The Royals would wrap up the scoring as Troy Landschoot would shoot the ball into an empty net with 1:37 left to play.

St. Louis Park junior Flynn Spano is the son of St. Louis Park mayor Jake Spano.

The Royals open the season with a 1-0 record and return to action on Thursday, April 18 as the host the Farmington Tigers at 7 PM.  The Orioles fell to 0-1 and will head to Benilde-St. Margaret's to face the Red Knights, also on the 18th at 6 PM.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Another Snowstorm Disrupts Spring Sports Season

After a couple of warm weather days, the weather in Minnesota took a turn for the worse with a snowstorm for the second straight April as spring sports throughout Minnesota were once again disrupted.

In St. Louis Park, the Oriole baseball team moved their home opener scheduled for April 11 against the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars to April 9 at Dred Scott Field in Bloomington.  The Orioles beat the Jaguars 1-0.  Next Monday's home opener against the Edina Hornets is still on for now.

The girls softball team had a home game postponed against Bloomington Jefferson.  As for the boys and girls track and field teams, their quadrangular meet at Bloomington Kennedy was not run.

Eric Buckley's debut as the new head boys lacrosse has been put on hold with two games postponed due to the weather.  Thursday's game at Burnsville and the game on Saturday the 13th against the Tartan Titans in Oakdale will not be played.  The home opener is still on for the 16th against the Hopkins Royals.  The girls lacrosse season opener on Friday the 12th at St. Paul Central has also been postponed.  Their season opener is also on the 16th as they travel to Stillwater to take on the St. Croix Prep Lions.  Their home opener will be on the 18th against the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights.

The good news is the weather will get better next week and the spring sports season will finally spring into action.