The St. Cloud State University basketball teams opened the weekend with a win over Winona State, the Gophers women’s hockey team in St. Thomas, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Phoenix on Friday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State, St. John’s, and St. Penn hockey teams and the Gopher men’s hockey teams were all short of a win, and the St. Cloud Norsemen couldn’t rally in Austin. On Saturday, the SJU and CSB basketball teams will be back in action, the Minnesota Wild will host Arizona, and the Granite City Lumberjacks are expected to return to the ice after an injury delayed Friday’s game against the Loons.
Recaps:
– The SCSU men’s basketball team has a close victory over Winona State 74-70 in an NSIC game on Saturday. Connor Drew led all scorers with 17 points for the Warriors. St. Cloud has four players in double figures, led by Jalen Griffin who scores 15. The Huskies improved to 7-9 and 4-7 NSIC and will host Upper Iowa (9-8, 6-5 NSIC) on Saturday. The exit tip is set at 5:30 p.m
SCSU women’s basketball extended their winning streak to two games with a 58-43 decision over Winona State at home on Saturday. He also recorded coach Laurie Fish’s 300th win with the team. St. Cloud held a 24-11 halftime lead after winning by a disqualification. The NSIC’s second-ranked scoring defense kept the Warriors out of the net in the second quarter. Katrina Theiss led all scorers with 22 points and 8 rebounds for SCSU. The Huskies are now 11-4 and 8-3 in conference play. They will host Upper Iowa (6-10, 2-9 NSIC) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
– No. The women’s hockey team shut out the Gopher 3/4 in St. Thomas 5-0 to open the home series on Friday. Grace Zumwinkel led Minnesota with two goals. The Gophers outscored the Tommies 46-17. Skylar Vetter made a perfect 17 saves for her fifth shutout of the season. The Gophers improve to 17-3-2 and extend their winning streak to seven games. They’ll look to keep rolling when they host the Tommies (7-15-1) in game two at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
– The Timberwolves (21-22) halted a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Suns (21-23) 121-116 at Target Center on Friday night. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 31 points, while Damion Lee scored the same number for Phoenix. Next up for the Wolves is a home game against Cleveland (27-16). The tip time is set at 7:00 PM
– No. 2 The Gophers men’s hockey team tied Notre Dame 2-2 in overtime in the road series opener on Friday. Minnesota swept the series in Minneapolis earlier this season. Mason Nevers and Jackson LaCombe each scored for Minnesota to force the extra period. The Gophers are now 16-6-1 and the Fighting Irish are 10-10-3. The teams’ final will be played at 5:00 p.m. Saturday in Indiana.
– No. SCSU’s 3/4 men’s hockey team fell 4-2 to Colorado College to open the home series on the weekend. Grant Cruikshank and Joe Molenaar each scored for the St. Louis Cardinals. Cloud to book four goals scored by the visitors. St. Cloud State recorded a season-high 44 shots, compared to Colorado’s 24. The Huskies fell to 15-6 and the Tigers improved to 10-10-1. The teams will conclude the series on Saturday in a game that will also showcase the retirement of St. Cloud’s No. 9 Matt Cullen. The three-time Stanley Cup champions played two seasons for SCSU in the 1990s. The party begins at 5:00 PM and the game is expected to begin at 6:00 PM at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
– No. SCSU’s 14 women’s hockey team took a 3-1 lead on the road against MSU-Mankato. Svenja Voigt put the Huskies on the board in the first period, but then St. Cloud gave up three unanswered goals in the second and third periods. The Huskies drop to 13-11 and the Mavericks improve to 12-11. The teams will play Game Two in Mankato at 3:00 pm on Saturday.
– The SJU hockey team dropped their first non-conference game of the week 3-1 to UW-Stout. Nick Michel scored the lone goal for St. John’s as they edged out the Blue Devils 32-23. The Johnnies fell to 8-6-2 and will host UW-Stevens Point at Bernicks Arena in Sartell on Saturday night. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m
CSB hockey fell 5-2 to no. 1 Gustavus opens MIAC’s home-and-home series this weekend. Gusties pushed to a 5-0 lead through the first and second frames. Sammy Hackley and Emma Roux put St. Penn on the board starting in the second period to avoid a shutout. The Bennies are down to 7-5, 5-2 MIAC while the Gusties improve to 12-1, 7-0 MIAC. The teams play Game Two at 4:00pm in St. Cloud on Saturday.
– The Norsemen fell 6-3 to Austin in game one of the weekend series at home. The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period. Ryan Thomas, Kady Peterson, and Andrew Clarke scored on St. Cloud’s in the second period to bring the score to 5-3. Austin turned on the flashlight twice more in the third to put it away. Norseman outscored the home team 29-18 in the loss. The Norsemen are down at 13-15-2-2 and sit in fifth place in the Central Division. The Bruins improved to 22-5-3-4 and maintain first place in the division. The teams will meet in St. Cloud for game two at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Previews:
– The SJU basketball team (9-4) is second in conference and will host last place Bethel (4-10) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the first match between the two teams this season. St. John’s leads the series 48-28 and won the last game 72-51 in February 2022.
– CSB Basketball (9-3, 6-3 MIAC) will host conference leader Bethel (8-5, 8-2 MIAC) on Saturday. These are the first two matches the two teams will play this season. St. Penn leads the overall series 51-27 but has lost its last five straight games. Tip is set at 3:00 pm
– The Lumberjacks (25-3-0-1) are expected to host the Minnesota Loans (10-21-0-1) in Game 2 of the weekend series at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Friday’s game was postponed with 13:26 remaining in the first half, and Granite City led 2-0 after Lumberjack defender Brett Robinson was injured. Team representatives say he primarily suffered what is considered a “spinal cord concussion”. He was taken to the hospital and later allowed to go home. This game is expected to be made up at a later date.
– The Wild (23-14-4) hosts Arizona (13-23-5) on Saturday. This is the second match between the two teams this season. Back in November, the Wild slid off the Coyotes 4-3. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.
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