[0:22] [music] [0:26] [music] Heat. Heat. [0:32] >> [music] [0:38] >> Hello everybody and welcome to [music] [0:40] Sports End, the very first Sports Stand [0:42] of 2026. I'm Ted Leu alongside Matt [0:46] Dean. We're getting you caught up on [0:48] everything that happened over the [0:50] holidays. Our last show here on Sports [0:52] 10 was December 22nd. So everything [0:55] since then, we're getting you all up to [0:57] date for Blaine Bengals, Centennial [0:59] Cougars, Spring Lake Park, uh, athletics [1:02] right now. And Matt, one of the teams, [1:04] uh, that really stands out as as one of [1:06] our best area teams is Centennial, [1:08] Spring Lake Park, uh, girls hockey kind [1:11] of death, Texas, CSLP, girls hockey is [1:14] is kind of at the top of the state and [1:15] doing their thing. [1:16] >> They really are. Uh, we remember we [1:18] covered them in a section final a couple [1:19] of years ago. had that disappointing [1:21] loss to Maple Grove. Huge comeback in [1:24] Roseville for the Crimson. Well, they [1:26] got back on track last year. Took it a [1:28] step further back to the state [1:29] tournament. They were upset in that [1:31] quarterfinal round. There's still a lot [1:34] of talent on this Centennial Spring Lake [1:36] Park team. Uh they're offensiveminded [1:38] and it's this winter sports season's got [1:40] a feel of the fall. We had two pretty [1:43] special teams kind of rise to the top, I [1:45] would say, in Centennial Volleyball, uh, [1:48] and of course, Spring Lake Park [1:49] football. We've got a couple of very [1:52] special teams, and I think one of the [1:53] ones headlining the show right now, um, [1:55] is that second ranked Centennial Spring [1:57] Lake Park girls hockey team. They got a [1:59] case to be the best team in the state [2:01] right now. We'll get into the highlights [2:02] because we had a chance to cover them [2:04] last week, Tuesday, in a rivalry cat [2:07] clash against the Blaine Bengals. So, [2:09] we'll roll the tape here from this past [2:11] Tuesday. CSLP first game of the new [2:13] year. They've won eight of their last [2:15] nine. Blaine headed in the other [2:17] direction a little bit. They've dropped [2:18] five of the last six. We pick up the [2:20] action less than five minutes into the [2:22] first. A power play for the Bengals and [2:24] sophomore Madison Orlette making a save. [2:27] Kaden Larson really good between the [2:29] pipes for Blaine. She had a lot to do. [2:31] It took a rebound to beat her. Freshman [2:33] Avery Wagner scoring her 10th of the [2:35] year on the scramble out front. It was [2:37] one- nothing Cougars 928 into the [2:40] contest. Wagner got a greasy goal for [2:42] her [music] first. This was clean. [2:44] Splits two defenders. A topshelf beauty [2:47] for her second of the game. Her second [2:49] career twogoal game for the freshman [2:51] Wagner. Two nothing. End to one. Just [2:54] less than 6 minutes gone into the [2:56] second. Three nothing Cougars. You [2:57] blinked and you missed the rocket off a [3:00] Josie Kelzenberg stick. Later in the [3:02] period, Melanie Ref with a drive from [3:04] the point. It was picked up by Katie [3:06] Ball, the senior wearing number seven [3:08] with her seventh of the year and it's 4 [3:10] nothing. And in the waning moments of [3:12] the frame, Kelzenberg off of such feed [3:14] gets her second of the game, eighth of [3:16] the year. Kelzenberg would score again [3:19] in that line of such Wagner and [3:21] Kelzenberg account for five. [3:22] >> What's it like playing a Blaine team [3:24] where you know like half the team and [3:26] it's a local rivalry. Is that does that [3:27] make it a little more fun? [3:28] >> Yeah, for sure makes it more fun. I [3:30] mean, we used to be Blaine Splink Park [3:32] that co-op. So knowing all these girls [3:34] and then obviously splitting to [3:35] Centennial like the rivalries still [3:37] there. We always want to beat each other [3:38] and it's super fun to play in. [3:40] >> Um the key is this line and this team [3:41] that I'm on. Honestly, I give all the [3:43] credit to these two. I love playing with [3:45] them. I love this team and yeah. [3:47] >> Why is this team peing right now as the [3:50] year turns to 2026? [3:52] >> You know, I think we're ramping up into [3:54] sections. We're ramping up into where we [3:55] want to be. And just overall, I think [3:58] it's [music] time that we start to make [4:00] our point. start to prove our space and [4:02] we show that we really do deserve to be [4:04] here. [4:05] >> A welldeserved shining of the Sports Den [4:08] spotlight on uh on those girls right [4:11] there. These these top five Centennial [4:14] Spring Lake Park forwards have just been [4:17] scoring at an unbelievable clip uh so [4:19] far, Matt. And you see some of the [4:21] numbers on screen. We'll dive a little [4:23] bit more in depth, but uh you know, not [4:25] only do you have kind of some of the top [4:27] goal scorers and assists at the top on [4:29] the top line, but it kind of bleeds over [4:30] to the second line as well. [4:31] >> I mean, that line that shined the other [4:34] night last Tuesday, you know, coach [4:36] Molen, he doesn't like to put numbers in [4:38] the lines, but that's effectively [4:39] [music] the second line for the Cougars. [4:41] Elena Ganets, who's had an unbelievable [4:44] season right [music] now, is not in the [4:46] lineup for the Cougars. She'll be out [4:47] for another about a week and a half as [4:49] she's playing for Team USA at the U8 [4:51] [music] World Championships in Nova [4:53] Scotia. Shout out to Ganette's UMD [4:55] commit. She just scored yesterday [4:57] against Cetchia. Uh it's an offense. [5:00] Those goal totals, that's just the top [5:02] five scorers that we have [music] [5:04] listed. That's enough for an entire team [5:06] this year. Uh and the Cougars as a whole [5:08] third in the class doubleA in the state [5:10] with a 5.95 [5:12] goals uh per game average. Guanettes is [5:15] top 10 in the state in points. She's two [5:17] goals shy of hitting 30 on the season. [5:20] Mia Such was a 30 goal scorer last year. [5:23] She's [music] top 15 in the state in [5:25] points. And Grace Logger, who has been a [5:27] 20 goal scorer already a couple of times [5:30] in her Cougar career. She's [music] [5:31] playing with so much talent on the ice. [5:33] She's been happy to be more of the [5:36] assist setup player. She's got 25 [5:38] assists, which is top [music] 10 in the [5:40] state. So, you got so much scoring [5:42] talent on the ice. This is maybe the [5:43] deepest [music] team in the state in [5:45] Centennial Spring Lake Park and a couple [5:48] of college commits. [music] Elena [5:49] Ganets, Grace Logger among the scoring [5:52] leaders. Plus, you've got Maddie Walter [5:54] who's a [music] D1 commit and she's not [5:56] listed because he's like sixth or [5:58] seventh on the team in scoring. So, you [5:59] get got an unbelievable uh ground swell [6:02] of talent right [music] here uh in the [6:03] North Burbs at CSLP. [6:05] >> And that depth is certainly going to [6:07] help you when you get to the postseason. [6:08] And now that we're like 3/4 of the way [6:10] through the season, you got to start [6:12] looking at the section standings and [6:14] [music] how things are going to kind of [6:15] play out right now. Centennial Spring [6:17] Lake Park is sitting right there uh as [6:19] the number one seed in their section [6:21] right now. It it we talked about death [6:23] taxes. How about death taxes CSLP the [6:25] one, Maple Grove the two or you know [6:27] some something those two kind of [6:29] interchanging and they've always been at [6:30] the top here for the last [6:31] >> day. That's who [music] you expect to [6:33] see in a section final just about every [6:34] year those two teams at the top. Cougars [6:37] lost to the Crimson. we mentioned in the [6:38] section [music] title game a couple of [6:40] years ago got their revenge last season [6:42] since losing to Maple Grove two seasons [6:44] ago. They've won [music] 15 straight [6:47] section games. Uh and they'll have one [6:49] more remaining on the schedule we'll get [6:51] to a bit later. Over in 7A, it's a key [6:54] time of the year for Blaine. They're [6:55] trying to fight for home ice in the [6:57] first round of the section playoffs. [6:59] Right now by the QRF, [music] they sit [7:01] in about the five position. it it's [7:03] decided on a coach's vote, but Blaine [7:05] wants to [music] build their resume a [7:07] little bit with some key section games [7:09] uh coming up as they fight for [music] [7:11] that home ice playoff spot. Looking at [7:13] those upcoming schedules, uh Centennial [7:15] Spring Lake Park on the right, they've [7:17] got one final section game coming up. [7:19] That's Tuesday on the road at Rogers [7:21] coming up tomorrow. We've mentioned [7:23] CSLP, two [music] losses, one tie this [7:26] year. They've lost twice to Holy Family, [7:29] but beat the number one ranked Fire in [7:31] the last matchup over the [music] [7:32] holidays at the Wallser invite. They're [7:34] going to play Holy Family for a fourth [7:37] time this year, Ted. And I would not uh [7:40] be surprised to see a fifth meeting at [7:42] some point, maybe at a potential state [7:44] tournament later in the year. That's [7:46] number one and number two in the state. [7:48] Uh coming up in 7A, the Bengals, they've [7:51] got two key section games left. One of [7:53] them's tomorrow against AIO Park Center. [7:55] The other is the one you see January [7:57] 20th against Rogers. Bengals trying to [8:00] break out of a three-game skid as they [8:02] host the Orioles on Tuesday. Also a big [8:04] game coming up on Friday when they host [8:06] last [music] year's Class A state [8:08] champions in Dodge County. [8:10] >> What do we say we shift it to the boys [8:12] side? Some boys puck right now. Let's [8:15] hit that rewind button uh and go back to [8:18] December 22nd. Uh why don't we as the as [8:22] the boys get started here. Bloomington [8:23] Jefferson visiting Spring Lake Park. [8:25] Rapids before the holidays. Early [8:27] first is where we start. Twoon one off [8:30] the turnover. Cole Carlson denied by the [8:33] blocker of Owen Matthews. Midst now. [8:35] Kaden Larson just trickles it past the [8:38] goalender. That's all you need. [8:39] Beginning of a great day for him. Two [8:41] nothing Jags. SOPCR on the power play. [8:44] [music] An absolute clinic of offensive [8:46] zone passing here. Jackson Bars with the [8:49] finish. Cop opposite corner. You got to [8:51] give it up if you want to get it back. [8:54] The deficit [music] cut in half. Two [8:55] minutes to go now in the first period. [8:57] Jacob Basy, keep it in the zone. Getting [8:59] that glove up. And how about just get it [9:01] on net. Good things happen. 3-1 [9:04] Jefferson at the end of one. Couple of [9:06] minutes into the second. Aiden Armagas. [9:07] Nice feed to Adam Kish, but he can't [9:10] quite bury it. Net comes loose in the [9:12] process to force the whistle. Good [9:14] things happen on the rush. Cole Peterson [9:16] gets it started. Mason Van Brunt cleans [9:18] it up for one of his three goals on the [9:20] night. Three-goal lead for the Catherine [9:21] down south. Another offensive zone [9:23] chance for BCR happy feet here from [9:25] Matthews. Jars the net loose once again. [9:28] Five to one in the third period. Van [9:30] Brunt, one of his two assists, five [9:32] total points on the night. Larson also [9:34] had a hat-tick. He's on the scoring end [9:36] here. The hattick connection. Six to [9:37] Baby Blues. Seven to one. Now it's the [9:39] declaration because it's all Jefferson. [9:42] Van Brunt snipes to the upper corner. [9:43] 8-1 handing the loss to SLPCR. [9:50] And the Panthers had lost three in a row [9:52] coming into the Jefferson game [music] [9:54] since then. They lost four in a row [9:56] after that, but they bucked the trend [9:58] then bucked that eight-game losing [9:59] streak with a win on Saturday [music] [10:02] against Irondale. Centennial and Blaine [10:04] just above 500. The Cougars sitting [10:07] there at 86 and0. The Bengals at 75-1 [10:10] respectively. Big cat clash coming up on [10:14] Thursday night between those two [music] [10:15] teams. North Metro TV will be on hand. [10:18] We've got all kinds of Blaine Centennial [10:20] [music] cat clashes on that night. More [10:22] on that uh a little bit later on in the [10:25] program. Cougars sitting up [music] [10:26] there tied with Elk River Zimmerman at [10:29] top the conference with 10 points a [10:32] piece. [10:35] And Matt, now as we shift from uh the [10:38] ice to the hardwood, we talked about at [10:40] the beginning of the show that great [10:41] team that was Centennial Spring Lake [10:43] Park girls hockey. Maybe the next best [10:45] team in our area is Blaine boys [10:47] basketball that we're we got three [10:49] highlights here coming up for Blaine and [10:51] what they've done from before the [10:53] holidays through after the holidays. [10:54] They had a 6 and0 record coming in and [10:56] they were one of the hottest teams uh in [10:59] the area in the conference kind of [11:00] coming into that stretch. [11:02] >> It's it's been unprecedented. We haven't [11:04] seen this from Blaine boys basketball. [11:05] Uh they've been really fun to watch. [11:07] They're still playing with a lot of that [11:09] that pace. uh use the athletes. They [11:11] have some good shooters on the floor, [11:12] but it's been a really nice to see the [11:15] Bengals be very committed on the [11:17] defensive end uh to back that up. So, as [11:19] you said, we had a chance to cover them [11:21] just before the holiday break. We're [11:23] going to take you way back to three [11:25] weeks ago, two days before Christmas, a [11:28] cat clash, and North Metro TV was there. [11:30] Blaine 6 and0 at the time, trying to [11:33] continue the undefeated start to the [11:34] season and take on Spring Lake Park. [11:36] Nolan Roach would splash down from the [11:38] right wing to push the Panthers out to [11:41] that seven and0 run on top of Blaine. [11:43] Bengals broke the drought, but Cal [11:45] Spencer the junior with a corner three [11:47] pushed it [music] to an eight-point [11:48] swing less than four minutes in. Shiloh [11:51] Aayit says good day. You're going to [11:53] hear his name a ton on the rest of [11:55] sports today. Owen Clark providing some [11:57] offense with this triple. The point [11:59] guard with his lone bucket on the day. [12:01] It started to become a one-man show. [12:03] Aayite with the transition score [music] [12:06] and he would hit a step back three on [12:08] the next play. The senior who had come [12:09] in averaging just shy of 20 a game had [12:11] 18 of Blaine's 26 at the break. Bengals [12:15] led by five. Jacob to points hustle [12:17] always on point for SLP. His loan two [12:20] points there. Aiden Lowry winning the [12:22] race down the floor. A pump fake to tie [12:24] it at 39 all. 7 minutes to go. Nolan [12:27] Meyer leading scoreer for the Panthers. [12:29] Had 20 in this one. on the Bamiji State [12:31] commit up the floor in a hurry. Lowry [12:34] would connect in a game tying triple [12:37] down the stretch about 530 to go and [12:39] we're tied. Aayite ahead of his own [12:41] bench hitting an answer three and that's [12:43] got to feel good with your teammates at [12:45] your back. And Shiloh saying, "Oh, let [12:47] me just scoot right past you." Blaine [12:49] leading by seven after that bucket. Cal [12:52] Spencer got to double figures with this [12:54] [music] three-point shot. And the [12:55] Panthers were down just one with a [12:57] minute to go. Aayite would hit his free [12:59] throws down the stretch, finished with a [13:01] career-high 40 of Blaine's 57 in the [13:04] win. [13:04] >> It was a It was a great game. Uh we [13:06] started pretty slow at the start and [13:08] then we started to pick it up. Um and [13:10] then uh some of my points led us to win [13:12] this win us the game. So, uh we played [13:14] pretty good. Uh a lot of bad things [13:16] happened, but we got it with a win. So, [13:18] >> my thought to you is this. I'm wondering [13:19] if this is sort of like a senior sort of [13:21] alpha scorer kind of thing where you [13:23] notice that guys are struggling. They're [13:24] off to slow starts. Do you think to [13:26] yourself, I got to I got to do this. I [13:28] got to will it. I got to get more shots. [13:29] I got to get more looks. Do you think [13:31] about that or is it just the flow of the [13:32] offense? [13:33] >> No, I kind of just flow through offense. [13:35] Um I'm more experienced than a lot of [13:36] the other players, four years here, so I [13:39] know what's going to happen most of the [13:40] time and I kind of just play and flow [13:42] through within the offense. [13:44] >> Blaine's next game was one week later, [13:47] December 30th. Bengals looking to keep [13:48] it rolling. Traveling to White Bear [13:50] Lake. Dump to start things off [13:51] scrunching the defense. Gives the Bla [13:53] the early lead from downtown. Bears plus [13:55] three now. How about a kick out to Owen [13:57] Clark this time for the trifecta ties it [14:00] up at eight. Bears working in transition [14:02] here. Jonathan Woods the lob. Colin [14:04] Piper two of his 21 on the finish. [14:07] Bengals looking to claw back. Down [14:08] seven. Kemp to splashes it from outside. [14:12] >> Bears creating points with defense. [14:14] Piper theft and the deposit with the [14:17] two-handed slam of the dunk. Shiloh [14:19] Aayet. Man, he commands a lot of [14:21] attention. And here's the double team. [14:23] Nice dish off of it. Clark waiting his [14:24] turn. cuts his deficit to five. You'll [14:26] always find a bear deep in the woods. [14:28] Jonathan Woods from deep. It's a [14:30] 10-point lead for White Bear Lake. [14:32] Bengals on the prow down four after a 6 [14:34] run. How about we make it 9-0 for good [14:36] measure. Gavin Olsen from downtown. [14:39] Second half, Bears plus three. How about [14:40] this touchdown pass to Will Mccclelay [14:42] finishing for two after the golden [14:45] classes in session with Mr. Clark taking [14:47] the wormhole to a twopoint game. Bengals [14:51] down three, continuing to eat the chase. [14:53] Genta draws even. It's 45 all after this [14:56] corner three. The run continues now. [14:58] Four-point lead. Olsen pushes it to [15:00] seven with just over nine to go in the [15:02] second half. All Bengals in the [15:04] affforementioned second half. Now a [15:06] 12-point cushion. McQuay takes the lid [15:07] off the basket for just a moment. He [15:09] finished with 14. Ga takes advantage of [15:12] the miscommunication on the inbound. [15:14] Puts the punctuation on the second half [15:16] surge. Bengals take it 76-61. [15:21] >> After winning that White Bear Lake [15:23] Holiday Tournament, they beat Rogers, [15:25] the Bengals did, to begin the new year. [15:26] So, they came in 10-0 in a matchup with [15:29] 8 and2 [music] AIO from this past [15:31] Thursday. Can somebody run a chat GPT [15:34] query for me and give me a few more ways [15:36] to say Shiloh Ait scores. A jumper from [15:39] the foul line got it started for Blaine. [15:41] Junior Joel Saw leading scoreer for the [15:43] Orioles. Two of his 20 there. Henry [15:45] Seammens reminding us for Blaine it's [15:48] more than a one-man show. It was the [15:49] start of a big night for the sophomore. [15:51] Seammens answered the call from [15:53] downtown. The first of his three trays [15:56] on the day. A little dose of Aayite. [15:58] He's had at least 12 points in every [16:00] game of this run for the Bengals. Great [16:02] team [music] ball here. Gavin Olsen [16:04] finding Owen Clark for the trailer [16:06] three. Aayite right down Highway 65 [16:08] picking up some Culvers when you're on [16:10] your way down there. Shiloh Olsen [16:13] showing the post moves are alive and [16:15] well in bla two of his 10. He was one of [16:17] five Bengals to get the double figures. [16:19] Quitama Silico slithers his way to the [16:21] rim for AIO. Then Quincy Johnson with an [16:24] and one. Three upper classmen led the [16:27] way with double figure scoring for the [16:29] Orioles. Aayite with another bucket [16:31] [music] and a holiday dish to pass here. [16:33] A high-scoring first half. Blaine led [16:36] 4537 at the break. Tula Ginta. Call him [16:39] Felix the Cat [music] getting into his [16:40] bag of tricks there. The Orioles kept [16:43] this though at single digits for most of [16:45] the night and would not go away. When [16:47] Aayite found himself in traffic, he was [16:49] happy to kick out and find the sophomore [16:51] seammens. A three-pointer by Trey [16:54] Schaefer. Cut it to a five-point game. [16:56] 13 1/2 minutes to go. The Orioles [16:59] continued to heat up from downtown. [17:01] Daniel Hattstead hit two threes and got [17:04] hot with his back-to-back triples. the [17:06] second of which cut it to a two-point [17:08] game. 8:30 to go. with another [17:11] tough finish around the 10. Saw and the [17:13] Orioles keep hitting their threes in the [17:15] second half. Orioles were 7 of 22. [17:18] Blaine were six of 21. This didn't [17:20] factor into that total, but it's as good [17:22] as a three-pointer. Aid and one to Royce [17:25] Mills [music] with a crucial triple off [17:27] the bench. That gave Blaine a 9-point [17:29] cushion with five minutes to go. But [17:32] Owen Counts, another guy coming off the [17:34] bench. Back-to-back triples for AIO. [17:37] That made it 7776. [17:39] Two minutes to go. But both teams fill [17:42] it up. Seammens gets a career-high 28. [17:44] Iay a measly 14 heavy air quotes [music] [17:48] in the 8982 win. [17:51] >> And Matt, this Blaine team, we started [17:53] this highlight. They're six and0 and [17:54] they come out of it with five [17:56] consecutive wins. on top of those six [17:58] consecutive wins to start the season. An [18:00] impressive 11 and0 start. You know, not [18:04] only, you know, you've got Shiloh Aayita [18:06] here pictured on the graphic. Henry [18:07] Seammons, those are your [music] top two [18:09] scorers. They're doing it offensively, [18:10] but man, have they gotten better since [18:12] Bernie Ward has taken over on the [18:13] defensive side of the ball. [18:14] >> Absolutely. I think we saw it in year [18:16] one last year with Coach Ward. The [18:18] [music] team had talent, had scoring [18:20] ability. We saw them just kind of buy [18:22] into more of a defensive [music] [18:24] commitment, just all five on the floor [18:26] right from the start. Now you get into [18:27] year number two. You know what coach [18:30] Ward expects a little more. Guys know [18:32] their roles a little bit better. A lot [18:33] of returners [music] from last year's [18:35] squad. And they were 6 and0 going to [18:37] that game two days before Christmas. We [18:39] rolled the highlights up. That was [18:40] already the best start for Bengal [18:42] basketball in at least the last 25 [18:45] years. [music] They've gotten out to a [18:46] great start against section opponents [18:48] setting them up well for the one seed. [18:50] Although there will be still [music] a [18:52] lot of section rematches coming up here [18:54] in the second half. and Blaine has been [18:56] able to score. Were able to do it before [18:58] coach Ward got here. You see that's [19:00] continued. What's really been [19:01] impressive, the defensive improvements [19:04] each of the first two years under coach [19:06] Ward giving up fewer than [music] 60 [19:08] points per game this year of better than [19:10] a 15 point improvement from the per game [19:13] averages on defense last [music] year. [19:15] Pretty impressive. [19:15] >> And when you start 11-0, yeah, there's [19:17] probably a pretty good chance you're [19:18] going to be at the top of the Northwest [19:20] Suburban Conference standings. uh 11-0 [19:22] overall record, 8 and 0 right now in the [19:25] conference. They played a lot more [19:26] conference games than anybody else. [19:28] Anoka has played six. Uh so Blaine's [19:30] kind of off to a little bit of a heavy [19:32] start in [music] terms of that, but you [19:34] know, they're sitting up there in Spring [19:35] Lake Park. They've won eight out of [19:36] their first 11 thus far this season. [19:38] >> Yeah, good start for SLP since [music] [19:41] we covered them in the highlights you [19:42] saw. They lost to Blaine just before [19:44] Christmas. They've won five in a row to [19:46] get them to eight and three. Uh, and [19:48] over on Tuesday, a section meeting [19:50] coming up. Always a big one. Park Center [19:52] coming [music] to town on Thursday night [19:54] in Spring Lake Park. And I think biggest [19:55] thing for for Spring Lake Park, Nolan [19:57] Mein, fantastic player. He's going to [20:00] Biji State. Already committed [music] as [20:01] a junior. They've been looking for a [20:03] more consistent second score. I think [20:05] Cal Spencer [music] is starting to do [20:07] that. Uh, 15 points a game. He's bumped [20:10] his average up lately. Spring Lake [20:12] Park's just [music] got a lot of good [20:14] scrappy athletes. A lot of those [20:15] football players, I think their bench is [20:17] going to get a little bit deeper as some [20:18] of those football guys start to come [20:20] back [music] here uh from some injuries [20:22] from the fall in the second half. [20:24] Centennial, they did snap out of a [20:26] sevengame losing skid recently with a [20:28] win Friday against Elk River. They [20:30] followed that up by losing on the road [20:32] at Woodbury. They're 2 and9 overall in [20:35] the season. Uh Tuesday, they'll face [20:37] Rapids. And uh after that, [music] [20:40] back-to-back key section games. If [20:43] Blaine beats Rapids coming up [20:45] tomorrow, that could be Centennial [20:47] [music] [20:48] Arrival trying to spoil what would be a [20:51] 12-0 [music] start to the season. Should [20:53] be pretty fun later this week. [20:54] >> Thursday, Super Cat Clash. Not only do [20:57] we have it on the hockey side of thing, [20:59] boys basketball, and we're going to be [21:01] talking about girls basketball uh in [21:03] just a moment, but how about we talk [21:05] about girls basketball right now? Some [21:08] cat clash action from Festivus. The [21:11] airing of grievances here between Spring [21:13] Lake Park and Blaine on December 23rd. [21:17] Leah Leila Banky uh looks starting her [21:19] things off with her. She can't connect [21:21] from downtown on SLP second time down, [21:23] but Jaylen Bersie Dixon cleans it up. [21:25] Four nothing SLP. Marley Jansen gives [21:28] Blaine the lead with a three. [music] [21:30] She hit three from downtown. 54 Blaine. [21:33] Panthers plus three under seven to the [21:35] half. Familia Richie three ball corner [21:37] pocket all square at 15 a piece. Jansen [21:39] working the other [music] side in the [21:41] corner to put the Bengals up 1815. They [21:44] take a break from the three ball. How [21:45] about taking advantage of the turnover [21:47] and Rosie Rookie a steal and score [21:49] stretch the lead to seven. Kaden Alstrip [21:51] only had one bucket all night. It was a [21:52] pretty nice one here late in the first. [21:54] Bengals plus 10. Panthers looking to [21:56] step up. That's a nice dish uh from [21:58] Bersie Dixon here to cut it to eight. [22:01] Under a minute and a half. Anna Smulich [22:03] makes the decision. I'm just going to [22:04] take [music] this one myself. Well, Rook [22:07] Cookie again. Another pick six taking it [22:08] to the house. Blaine lead back to 10. [22:11] And if 10 wasn't enough, how about the [22:12] next two time down? Yeah, I'll take a [22:14] three here and then I'll take a three [22:17] here. It's raining threes in the Bengals [22:20] end up 14. SLP flashing their defense [22:24] [music] as well. Annie Wright shoots the [22:25] gap, takes it back the other way. [22:26] Bengals wouldn't cool down from outside. [22:28] Alexis Airheart getting in on the funds. [22:30] Bercy Dixon just [music] trying to keep [22:33] the Panthers within striking distance. [22:35] Gets it down to a single digit game, but [22:36] Jansen the splash from the right wing [22:38] gets it back to double digits. Brianna [22:40] Cummings from almost the same spot. [22:42] Blaine hit 11 threes in this game. Their [22:45] defense pretty good too, forcing 24 [22:47] Spring Lake Park turnovers. The lead got [22:50] as high as 19. A strong second half [22:54] propelled Blaine to a 61- [22:57] 43 win. Happy Festivus. [23:03] And we look at what's been going on [23:05] since then. It's been a good time to be [23:08] a fan of Bengal hoops. Just like the [23:10] boys playing girls sit at [music] the [23:12] top of the Northwest Suburban Conference [23:14] right now, winners of six of their last [23:16] eight games. Spring Lake Park has won [23:18] four of their first five conference [23:20] [music] contests. They started off hot [23:22] with a 7-0 record, but they've lost four [23:24] of [music] their last six games. Trying [23:26] to get back on the right track here in [23:27] 2026. They're going on the road for a [23:30] pair of battles to Andover and Park [23:32] Center coming up here. And uh you know [23:34] the uh big cat clash on Thursday. We [23:37] finish up girls basketball and uh it's [23:40] always section implications. These two [23:41] always ma match up in the semifinals [23:44] championship a few years back. Cougars [23:47] looking to get it going having lost [23:49] three of their last four games. What [23:52] more could you ask for Matt on Thursday? [23:56] Hockey. Boys hockey. boys basketball and [23:59] girls basketball. There are not enough [24:02] camera people in this area maybe to get [24:04] all of that content. [24:05] >> We'll try our best. [24:06] >> We're going to try our best. [24:07] >> We will try our best. Uh one more note [24:09] too on on Blaine boys basketball. Uh the [24:12] coaches in the state have finally [24:14] stopped sleeping on the Bengals. They [24:15] are up to eight for what it's worth in [24:17] the uh the coaches association poll. So [24:20] I was refreshing, you know, the [24:22] Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association [24:24] Twitter account when I was writing my [24:25] notes earlier this afternoon. Class 4A [24:28] didn't quite come out, but hot off the [24:30] press as uh Blaine are are up to eight [24:32] in class 4A in the state top 10. So, [24:34] that'll be fun. As you mentioned, good [24:36] girls basketball matchup. It seems like [24:38] that's going to be pretty even this year [24:40] um between Blaine and Centennial. Should [24:42] be fun. All kinds of cat clashes coming [24:45] down the pipe here this week on North [24:46] Metro TV. Stick around for that. And if [24:49] you can't catch all of it, we'll catch [24:52] you all up on it coming up next week, [24:54] uh, a week from today on Monday, right [24:56] back here on Sports Den. Our thanks to [24:59] our entire crew here in Blaine, [25:00] Minnesota, led by Charles Brolan. That's [25:02] Ted Laroo. I'm [music] Matt Dean. We're [25:04] signing out here on another edition of [25:06] Sports.