Providence Academy Lions Beat Becker Bulldogs

 Two state girls basketball powers battled Thursday night in Plymouth as the Providence Academy Lions, the top ranked team in Class AA got 27 points from Maddyn Greenway to help beat the Becker Bulldogs, the second ranked team in Class AAA 75-65..  

It would take a while for the first basket as Grace counts gave the Lions the early lead 1:16 into the game. Elizabeth Mackedanz and Courtney Nuest would put the Bulldogs ahead.  The early lead would go back and forth until Providence Academy would go on an 8-0 run, with five of the eight points coming from the freshman Greenway.  Becker would go on a 5-0 run, including a three pointer from Ayla Brown.  But the Lions would get back in front with six straight points from Emma Millerbernd, an eighth grade transfer from Wayzata.  The Bulldogs would cut the lead to one with three pointers from Mackedanz and Brown.  Providence Academy would widen their lead as Greenway would account for four of six consecutive points coming off steal.  But Becker would come close and eventually take the lead on a pair of three pointers from Brown.  The lead would be short-lived as the Lions closed out the first half with a three pointer from Brook Hohnecker and a layup by Greenway at the buzzer to give Providence Academy a 40-36 halftime lead. 

The Bulldogs would begin the second half scoring on their first possession as Nuest hit a layup.  The Lions would pull away as they would break through Becker's 2-1-2 defense.  Hohnecker would hit her second three pointer and Greenway would score four straight points.  Brown's hot shooting would be the bright spot but it wouldn't be enough as Hope Counts, whose offense went MIA in the first half would score seven in the second half.  As Providence Academy widened their lead, head coach Conner Goetz sent in the reserves with 3:05 left to go.  

Other Providence Academy players in double figures were Hohnecker with 16 points.  Grace Counts scored 11 and Millerbernd added 10.   Brown was the only Becker player in double figures, scoring a game high 29 points.  

The Lions improved their record to 8-2 and will face the Class A power the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers on Saturday, January 7 at 5 PM at Duluth East.  The Bulldogs, who started the season 5-0, lost their second straight game and fell ro 5-2.  They will return to action on Friday, January 6 when they host the Big Lake Hornets at 5:45 PM.  

40 Years Ago, Sale of the Century Returns to NBC

 January 3, 1983 marks a monumental day in game show history when three game shows debuted on NBC.  Two of them were short-lived, the video game themed Hit Man and Just Men, hosted by Betty white.  But one new show returned to daytime TV after a 10 year absence and had a healthy six year run.  The show was Sale of the Century.  

The original version debuted on September 26, 1969 and ran until July 13, 1973.  Taped at NBC Studios in New York, the show was originally hosted by former Maverick star Jack Kelly but he left in 1971 to return to acting and was replaced by sportscaster and Today Show regular Joe Garagiola.  

In 1980, seven years after Lin Bolen, who presided over NBC daytime canceled the show to make room for Alex Trebek's first game show The Wizard of Odds, Australian TV producer Reg Grundy bought the rights to Sale of the Century and it became a big hit in his homeland.  

Grundy would bring the show back to NBC in 1983 with a new host, Jim Perry, who returned to the network almost two years after the cancellation of Card Sharks.  He would have three female assistants throughout the show's six year run.  The first was Sally Julian, but she had a squeaky voice and had trouble reading from cue cards so she was fired after two months and replaced by Lee Menning, who previously assisted on Las Vegas Gambit and Your Number's Up.  Menning would last until December 28, 1984 and she would be replaced by the woman who would stay on for the remainder of the shows run, former Miss USA Summer Bartholomew.  

Now to the game.  The basic game remained the same, with three contestants competing by answer simple questions to earn money.  Their initial stake was $20, with $5 added for a correct answer but an incorrect answer would deduct $5 from a contestant's score.  After several questions, a bell rang indicating it was time for an instant bargain.  The contestant in front would be eligible for the instant bargain which can be purchased at a low price. (e.g. a $650 whirlpool for $6).  Sometimes, Perry would tempt the contestant by lower the price of the bargain and offering cash.  The contestant who hit their buzzer won the prize and had the value substracted from their score.  

There was a new element added to this version, The Fame Game.  Perry would read clues to a person, place or thing and the first player to buzz in got a chance to identify the subject.  A correct answer entitled them to pick from a board of nine photos.  One would have cash, the others would have a prize.  Later in the run, this was changed to a random light going around the board with increasing cash bonuses throughout the game.  If the contestant landed on a cash amount, it would be added to their score.  

Like many shows that have a long run, there would be changes to Sale of the Century.  The first was the final three questions jettisoned in favor of a 60 second speed round.  Listen closely, and you'll hear a female judge shout "Time!"  when nobody buzzed in. Highest score when time ran out would win the game.   The second was an Instant Cash bonus, where a contestant could give up their lead to win a cash prize.  

There were three bonus rounds utilized.  The first was the shopping segment where the contestant was shown several prizes, and had to decide whether to spend their winnings and walk away or come back and try to win another game for more expensive prizes.  The second was The Winners Board, where a contestant had to match two prizes. A win entitled the contestant to return with the possibility of winning a car or a growing cash jackpot.  The last was a word game where the contestant had to solve four ot five word puzzles in 20 or 25 seconds.  Six or more wins would earn the contestant $50,000 in cash and a new car.  

This version would be a hit thanks to Perry guiding the show at a fast pace and his efforts to help the contestants win an instant bargain.  Also adding to the proceedings was original announcer Jay Stewart, who left the show in 1988 and was replaced by former game show host Don Morrow.  Sale of the Century was one of NBC's last game show successes and was a fun and enjoyable game.  

Minneapolis and SLP Orioles All Even at Five

Playing their final game before the Christmas holiday, the St. Louis Park Orioles got the tying goal from Griffin Krone with :12.4 left in regulation time to tie Minneapolis 5-5 on a frigid Friday night at The Rec Center.  

Teddy Dahlin would put the Orioles ahead as he scored off a pass from Max Rider.  Minneapolis would tie the game at one on Hank Davis' goal.  St. Louis Park would strike twice, starting with Krone's rebound goal, followed by Max Rider :46 later.  

Minneapolis would score the first two goals of the second period, both coming from Max Pankratz.  The Orioles would get their lone goal of the period when Henry Schultz lined a shot from the left face off circle and it would land in the net.  Pankratz would get the hat trick :26 later.  Ronan Davis would wrap up the second period scoring when he got a pass from Andrew Lybeck and sent it to the net.  

It looked like Minneapolis would get their second win of the season in the third period as the scoreboard did not budge.  But wait.  With 1:31 left in regulation time, St. Louis Park head coach Tyler Brodersen pulled goalie Josh Middleton for a sixth attacker and they would capitalize on the extra man when Krone drove the puck past the right side of Minneapolis goalie Griffin Simpson and over the goal line with :12.4 to go and the game would enter overtime where nobody would score the game winning goal.  

Minneapolis improved their record to 1-4-1 and they will play in the opening round of the Herb Brooks Holiday Classic on Monday, December 26 at 1:30 PM at the Super Rink in Blaine.  The game will be played on Rink 4.  St. Louis Park extended their unbeaten streak to four games and now has a record of 3-3-1.  They will be back in action in the opening round of the Tradition Classic on Tuesday, December 27 at noon against the Champlin Park Rebels.  

BSM Red Knights Blast Holy Angels

 It was a Saturday matinee matchup between two top ranked Class AAA girls basketball teams as Olivia Olson scored 23 points to lead the third ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to an 88-73 victory over the second ranked Holy Angels Stars at Haben Center in St. Louis Park.  

The Stars got off to an early 6-0 run with three pointers from Kaylee Caron and Jenna Buer.  The Red Knights got on the board with four straight points from Kendall McGee.  McKenzie Wells would score a three point play to cut the Holy Angels lead to two and McGee's two free throws tied the game at 14.  Buer would regain the lead for the Stars with a three pointer.  The Red Knights would vault into the lead as they would go on a 12-0 run that included two three pointers from Sierra Lumpkin.  Celia Lund would end the run for Holy Angels and McGee would hit a three to put BSM ahead by 14.  Olson would heat up on offense, scoring five straight points to spark a 7-0 run and the Red Knights led 46-27 at the half.  

Kaylee Caron would begin the second half scoring for the Stars on a free throw awarded due to an intentional foul by McGee.  And speaking of fouls, the fouls began to pile up for Holy Angels and they would lose Kaylee Caron, Ella Pritchard and Buer to fouls.  The Red Knights would lead by as much as 20.  Olson, a junior who committed to Michigan, made an outstanding pass to McGee for a basket. Defense also was a factor as Josie Nnjai blocked Molly O'Malley's shot and Olson recorded five steals.  Holy Angels did have some late life as Lind hit three pointers but Lumpkin scored four straight points to clinch the win.  

Other Red Knights in double figures were McGee with 22 points.  Lumpkin added 18 and Zahara Bishop came off the bench to score 14.  Lind led the Stars with 17 points.  Also in double figures were Buer with 14 points, Kiera O'Rourke and Elizabeth Pierce 11.  

BSM improved their record to 4-2 and will head to Minneapolis to face the DeLaSalle Islanders on Tuesday, December 20 at 5:30 PM.  Holy Angels ended their six game winning streak and fell to 6-1.  They also return to action in the 20th as they host they host the Chanhassen Storm at 7 PM.  

Brodersen's First Career Win is Shutout

 Chalk up win number one in the Tyler Brodersen Era.  Max Rider scored two goals and Henry Schultz recorded two assists to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 4-0 shutout of the Hopkins Royals Tuesday night at The Rec Center.  

The game was originally scheduled to be played on The Rec Center's outdoor rink but was moved to the Orioles usual West Rink home due to rain.  

The Orioles got on the board in the first period on Schultz's center slot shot that was tipped in by Max Rider.

St. Louis Park added two goals to their ledger in the second period.  The first came when Griffin Krone scored on a rebound.  The second goal would while the Royals Malaki Berry was serving a two minute roughing penalty that put the Orioles on the power play.  Max Rider would score his second goal of the game from the left side to put St. Louis Park ahead by three.  

But St. Louis Park was not finished putting the puck into the net.  They would conclude the scoring with the lone third period goal as Mason Amelse went top shelf from the left point.  

The Orioles improved their record to 1-2 and will play their first road game of the 2022-23 campaign Saturday, December 17 against the Armstrong/Cooper Wings at 7 PM at New Hope Arena.  The Royals fell to 1-3 and will return to action on Thursday, December 15 when they host the Waconia Wildcats at 7 PM at the Hopkins Pavilion.  

Waconia Wildcats Edge SLP Orioles

 Though the St. Louis Park Orioles dominated the shots on goal, outshooting the Waconia Wildcats 35-14, it was the visitors from Carver County who would prevail as Charles Vacek's game winning goal with 1:17 left in regulation time to lead Waconia to a 2-1 win over St. Louis Park Friday night at The Rec Center.

Both teams would tally in the first period.  The Orioles broke out of the starting gate when Henry Schultz fed Phil Hirte on the left side of Wildcat goalie Matthew Johnson, found an opening and put it in the net.  The Wildcats even the score on Luke Puchner's center slot goal.  

Neither team would score in the second period.  The third period looked like the game would head into overtime as the score stayed even at one. St. Louis Park kept Johnson busy in goal as he made some outstanding saves.  But it was Waconia who would break the deadlock when Vacek would rebound the puck off the boards and he would fire it across the goal line with 1:17 to go.  The Orioles would call time out and head coach Tyler Brodersen pulled goalie Brett Middleton, who replaced his brother Josh in the third period for a sixth attacker.  Could St. Louis Park get the equalizer to send the game into overtime?  They would have several chances but Johnson prevented them from scoring to end the game.

The Wildcats improved their record to 5-2 and will face the Hopkins Royals on Thursday, December 15 at 7 PM at the Hopkins Pavillion.  The Orioles fell to 0-2 and will also face the Royals in an outdoor game at The Rec Center Tuesday, "December 13 at 7 PM.  

St. Louis Park's Elijah Puchner and Drew and Luke Puchner of Waconia are cousins.  

Five Goal Outburst Leads Chaska Hawks in SLP Orioles Home Opener

Tyler Brodersen's maiden voyage as head coach of the St. Louis Park Orioles boys hockey team would turn into a sunken ship as Ty Broten scored two goals in a five goal third period to lead the Chaska Hawks to a 6-1 win over the Orioles Thursday night at The Rec Center.  

Both teams would tally in the first period.  The Hawks would struck quick, 1:30 into the period when Nathan Hinze rebounded Tristin Wassengeso's shot.  The Orioles would even the score pn Cole Taylor's goal.  

Neither team would erase the ones from their end of the scoreboard in the second period.  In the third period, Chaska would break the game open with four goals in a period of 3:02. The first would come on a power play goal from Matthew Magnusson, followed by two straight goals from Broten.  The first came unassisted and the second was from the center slot.  Luke Iverson would put the Hawks up by four on his goal from the right corner and they would conclude the scoring when Zach Markwell got a pass from Ryder Herrmann and Zach Markwell would score from the left point.  

Chaska improved their record to 1-2 and returns to action as they host the Chanhassen Storm on Tuesday, December 6 at 7 PM at the Chaska Community Center.  St. Louis Park, playing their first game of the season after their opener on November 29 against Bloomington Kennedy was postponed due to the  snowstorm fell to 0-1 and will host the Waconia Wildcats on Friday, December 9 at The Rec Center at 7 PM.  

The game against Kennedy has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 21 at 7 PM at the Bloomington Ice Garden.