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Health & Fitness

Oriole Pucksters' 6-Game Winning Streak Snapped

A St. Louis Park boys hockey update.

Most of us are familiar with the phrase, "All good things must come to an end." For the St. Louis Park boys hockey team, the "good thing" was a six-game winning streak that gave the Orioles 14 wins on the season. It fell by the wayside on Saturday in a 5-0 loss to Hopkins. Senior netminder Ryan Nichols made 41 saves but the O's were outshot 46-21 for the game. Six more regular season games remain on the docket before section 2A playoffs begin on February 21 or 22.

During the streak, the Orioles outscored their opponents by a 27-10 margin. Wins over Spring Lake Park (4-1), Cooper (7-1), Highland Park (6-2), Minnehaha (3-2), Como Park (6-2) and Chisago Lakes (4-3) have helped catapult the Shjon Podein led team to a 14-5 record and a 5-2 slate in the North Suburban Conference—good for third place. Quite a marked improvement off of last year's two-victory season.

Senior captain and center Tyler Brodersen recently recorded his 100th career point, and he is fifth in the conference with 24 goals and 16 assists for 40 points.  He centers a first-line that is aided by fellow captain Nick Gaitan-Gaitan with 18 points and eighth-grade sensation Alec Baer, who is first in the state amongst eighth graders with 11 goals and 19 points.

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Second-line freshman center Josh Passolt is eighth in the conference with 15-17 good for 32 points. He is third in the state in freshman scoring. His linemates are also young guns in sophomores Jake Lukasavage and Curtis Greenbush, who have 13 and 11 points, respectively. Fellow sophomores Miles Mularky and Jesse Knudson anchor the third line and each punched in important goals during the winning streak.

Junior goalie Ryan Froom (.926 save pct., seven wins) and senior Ryan Nichols (.887 with seven wins) have rotated in net.  Froom's save percentage is sixth in the state and leads the conference, with Nichols playing excellent between the pipes as well.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Junior blue-liner Marshall Tema continues to quarterback the defense to a 3-12-15 tune. Fellow seniors Sean Berens (4-5-9) and Steven Karl have added a physical presence and puck-carrying ability, which has helped the offense. Berens has rifled four goals from the blueline on a variety of wrist and snap shots.

The Orioles are one of the only teams in the state to have two sets of brothers, as senior Nick Fortmeyer and sophomore Noah are one set, and Alec Baer and his junior brother Jake comprise the other half. This has made for a great experience for the brothers and their families.

Park has played more road games than nearly any team in the state and will be at Kennedy at Bloomington Ice Garden for a 7:15 tilt on Tuesday (BSM plays Jefferson also at 7:15 at BIG that night). Arrive early and if you can't make it out,  the Orioles resume conference play this Saturday, Feb. 4, with a home game vs. Irondale at 7pm.

Orioles Nest Notes

  • Thursday, Feb. 16, is Senior Night with a special recognition program planned against the Minneapolis Novas.
  • A new cable series called "Hockey in the Park' continues to air on SLP cable channels 15 and 16. The shows are hosted by SLP resident and former Park player Steve Hahn. Visit www.parktv.org for more information, including LIVE webstreaming for those who don't have cable. Episodes include:  Shjon Podein, captains and JV team,  girls coach and players with the Parkettes, former coaches Chuck Pfannenstein and Tim Donahue, and former Park greats John Passolt, Jeff Passolt, and Scott Olson (Rollerblade founder). 
  • Visit www.gopark.org and www.slpozone.com (official fan website put together by Bob Baer) to stay up-to-date on Park games, coaches, rosters, and to get video replays of recent games. The Tuesday, Feb. 14, and Thursday, Feb. 16, games will also be broadcast on cable 16.
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