SLP Survives Senior Night Behind Nichols

With about 30 seconds left in Thursday night's game, St. Louis Park goalie Ryan Nichols stood up and leaned back against his own net, his arms stretched out. It was a fitting rest for a player who came up big all night.

Nichols stopped 23 out of 24 shots on net by Minneapolis, and the Orioles hung on for a 3-1 win at the Rec Center on Senior Night.

“Ryan’s our backstop. He played hard," St. Louis Park coach Shjon Podein said. "When we needed him, he was there.”

Nichols came up particularly big in the first and third periods. In the first, he stopped all eight Minneapolis shots, allowing Park to enter the intermission up 1-0 despite being outshot.

Minneapolis had one less shot in the third, but they put plenty of pressure on the net, especially over the last two minutes, when the Novas had pulled their goalie.

Nichols wasn't the only senior to have a standout night. Team scoring leader Tyler Brodersen had two goals, both on sweet backhand shots off of breakaways. The second of the two goals came late in the third, giving the Orioles a more comfortable two-goal lead. On the season, Brodersen now has 30 goals and 22 assists.

Brodersen and Nichols were joined by five other seniors—Nick Gaitan-Gaitan, Steven Karl, Nick Fortmeyer, Sean Berens and Matt Evans—during a pre-game celebration. (See ParkTV video above)

At the other end of the spectrum, freshman Josh Passolt had a nice game of his own. He was constantly attacking the Minneapolis zone, and his second period goal gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Minneapolis got the goal back in the period, but Nichols clamped down from there.

“I think tonight was a very good step for us," Podein said. "We needed a hard-fought, close game against a good competitor. And we got that. Now we’ll go into Richfield and try to keep that going."

St. Louis Park (16-5-3) ends its regular season with a Saturday road game against the Spartans before beginning the Section 2A playoffs next week.