St. Cloud, Minn. — St. Cloud Norsemen forward Ryan O’Neill was named North American Hockey League Central Division Star of the Week after a four-goal performance last weekend.
O’Neill helped the Norsemen move into sole possession of 1st place in the Central and run their winning streak to 10 straight games thanks to a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Austin Bruins. The 5’10 175 lbs. native of Roseville, MN, racked up four goals in the two wins.
On Friday, O’Neill had a hat-trick in a 6-2 win. On Saturday, he scored the overtime-winning goal in a 4-3 home win. For the season, the University of St. Thomas recruit leads the Norsemen in scoring with 48 points in 36 games played so far this season.
“Ryan had a nice weekend. We rely on him to provide offensive punch,” said Norsemen head coach Corey Millen.
St. Cloud forward Chase Freiermuth was last week’s Central Division star, after scoring a pair of game-winning goals. Freiermuth scored in both contests this weekend as well and earned an honorable mention from the league, as his goal-scoring streak stands at five games.
This marks four consecutive weeks that the Norsemen have taken home NAHL Central Star of the Week honors, with the previous two titles held by goaltender Tomas Bolo. In addition, January’s NAHL Defenseman of the Month was St. Cloud’s Evan Murr.
St. Cloud (25-13-0-1) defends first place with another home-and-home series against the Austin Bruins, in St. Cloud at the Municipal Athletic Complex on Friday, and in Austin at Riverside Arena on Saturday. Both games are a 7:00 p.m. start.
Tickets for Friday’s home game are sold online at tickets.stcloudnorsemen.com or to book your group outing, contact Dan Miller at dan@stcloudnorsemen.com — Discounts are available for groups, including special rates and fun in-game opportunities for youth hockey and other teams.
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