Huskies Beat Miami U, Gophers Top Badgers, Bison Advance to Semis

The St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota, and St. John's University men's hockey teams, SCSU women's basketball team, and the St. Cloud Norsemen all opened their weekend series with solid wins Friday. The Granite City Lumberjacks won their lone game of the weekend, the Minnesota Timberwolves notched a double-digit win, and the NDSU football team put away Samford to advance to the FCS semifinals, while the Minnesota Wild, SCSU women's hockey team, and SCSU men's basketball teams came up short. On Saturday, the Gopher women's basketball team will face Iowa on the road and the CSB and SJU basketball teams will travel to St. Paul to face Hamline.

RECAPS:

- The no. 4 SCSU men's hockey team got the weekend off to a great start with a 7-3 in over Miami University on Friday. Dylan Anhorn and Jami Krannila each lit the lamp twice for St. Cloud in the win. Jaxon Castor made 18 saves and allowed three goals. The Huskies improve to 14-3 and the RedHawks fall to 5-10-2. Puck drop for game two is set for 4:00 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio.

- The no. 3 Gopher men's hockey team took down Wisconsin 7-1 at home on Friday to start the weekend series. Logan Cooley led all scorers with two goals for Minnesota. Justen Close made 37 saves and allowed one goal in the win. The Gophers improve to 14-5 and the Badgers fall to 7-10. The teams will meet for game two at 6:00 p.m. in Minneapolis.

- The SCSU women's basketball team rallied for a 71-61 win over UMary. The Huskies scored 20 points in the final quarter and held the Marauders to just seven en route to the win. Jada Eggebrecht led St. Cloud with 21 points. Katrina Theis added 13 points and nine rebounds. The Huskies improve to 6-2 and will continue their trip to North Dakota with a stop at Minot State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.

- The SJU hockey team earned a stellar 6-0 shutout win over Concordia University Wisconsin at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Friday night. Auggie Moore led the Johnnies with a hat trick. Jon Howe made a perfect 15 saves for his first career shutout. The Johnnies are now 6-5-1 and will face Lawrence University (2-8) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

- The no. 3 Bison routed no. 6 Samford for a win in the quarterfinals on Friday. No points were scored in the opening quarter, but NDSU got on the board in the second and never looked back. Cam Miller completed 15 of 18 for 194 yards and a touchdown and added 12 carries for 21 yards and a rushing touchdown. Joe Stoffel had three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. TK Marshall had 11 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. The Bison now stand at 11-2 overall. They advance to the FCS Semifinal Round which will be held next week.

- The Lumberjacks topped Mason City for a 7-3 win in their only contest of the weekend. Tucker Skime led all scorers with three goals for Granite City. The Lumberjacks improve to 22-1-0-1 and remain in first place in the West Division ahead of the Toros who are now 13-11-1-0. Granite City will return to their home ice on Thursday to host the Gillette Wild at 7:30 p.m.

- The Norsemen opened the weekend with a 4-3 win over Minot at home Friday night. Elmeri Hallfors led all scorers with two goals for St. Cloud. Tomas Bolo made 23 saves and allowed three goals in the win. The Norsemen are now 10-12-1-1 and in last place in the Central Division, while the Minotauros sit in third place with a record of 13-11-1-1. The teams will hit the ice for game two at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.

- The Timberwolves held on to earn a 118-108 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday. D'Angelo Russell led all scorers with 30 points for Minnesota. Rudy Gobert added 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Wolves improve to 13-12 and will stay on the road with a visit to Portland on Saturday. Pre-game coverage tips off at 8:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Wild gave up several goals late and fell to the Oilers 2-5. Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello each netted a single goal for Minnesota in the loss. The Wild fall to 13-11-2 and will face Vancouver Saturday. Pre-game coverage starts at 8:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The no. 14 SCSU women's hockey team snapped a four-game winning streak with a 0-6 shutout loss to the no. 4/6 University of Minnesota. St. Cloud State had two players leave the ice due to injury. The Gophers outshot the Huskies 40-14 in the matchup. Grace Zumwinkle led all scorers with three goals for Minnesota. In the net for St. Cloud, Sanni Ahola made 19 saves and allowed four goals before exiting the game. Jojo Chobak made 15 saves and allowed two goals in the third period. The Huskies drop to 11-9 and will get another chance against the Gophers (13-3-2) on Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 3:00 p.m.

- The SCSU men's basketball team fell 77-91 to UMary on the road Friday to snap their four-game winning streak. Matthew Willert led St. Cloud with 19 points. Tony Dahl added 18 points and Tommy Chatman added 16. The Huskies are now 5-4 and will face Minot State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

PREVIEWS:

- The Gopher women's basketball team (5-4) will face no. 7 Iowa (7-3) on the road in another Big Ten matchup on Saturday night. Minnesota has lost their last six straight games against the Hawkeyes. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.

- The SJU basketball team (6-2) will take on Hamline (5-2) in St. Paul. The Johnnies are 61-16 over the Pipers and are currently riding a 15-game winning streak. That game is expected to start at 1:00 p.m.

- The CSB basketball team (5-1) will face MIAC-leading Hamline (7-0) on the road Saturday. The Bennies are 65-10 against the Pipers all-time but have lost the last three straight matchups. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.