The St. Cloud State University women's hockey team returned to action with a shutout win at the East/West Showcase, the SJU hockey team routed Gustavus, the Granite City Lumberjacks skated past Willmar, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on against the Clippers on Friday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State basketball teams floundered in Mankato, and the St. Cloud Norsemen dropped a close one in overtime to Minot. On Saturday, the Husky and Gopher men's hockey teams will go head-to-head, the CSB and SJU basketball teams will return to the court, the Gopher men's basketball team will host Nebraska, and the Minnesota Wild will look to keep their streak alive when they visit Buffalo.

RECAPS:

- The no. 14/15 Huskies shut out New Hampshire 3-0 in their first matchup of the East/West Showcase on Friday. Allie Cornelius led St. Cloud with two goals on the day. In the net for SCSU, JoJo Chobak made a perfect 24 saves for her third shutout of the season. The Huskies improve to 12-10 and will face Merrimack (7-14-1) in their final game of the showcase. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Minneapolis.

- The Johnnies returned to the ice with a 4-1 win over Gustavus. After a scoreless opening frame, Matt DeRosa, Mason Campbell, Josh Maucieri, and Auggie Moore each netted one for St. John's in the final two periods. SJU outshot Gustavus 42-18 in the win. The Johnnies are now 7-5-2 overall and 4-2-1 MIAC, while the Gusties fall to 2-10-2 and 0-6-1 in the conference. The teams will close out the series with game two in St. Peter at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.

- The Lumberjacks started off the new year with a 3-1 win over Willmar on the road Friday. The WarHawks scored the first goal, but Granite City responded with three unanswered goals of their own. Ashton Ericksen, Hayden Johnson, and Luke Delzer each lit the lamp once for Granite City. The Lumberjacks are now 24-3-0-1 and will return home to host New Ulm (10-16-3-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

- The Timberwolves notched their third straight win with a 128-115 decision over the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center on Friday. Rudy Gobert led Minnesota with 25 points and 21 rebounds. D'Angelo Russell added another 25 points and five rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels finished with 18 points. The Timberwolves improve to 19-21 and will hit the road Sunday to face the Houston Rockets (10-29). Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.

- The SCSU men's basketball team fell 78-65 to MSU-Mankato, giving the Mavericks the series sweep. Kyreese Willingham led Mankato with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Matthew Willert led St. Cloud with 18 points and 9 rebounds. The Huskies fall to 5-9 and will take a trip to Concordia-St. Paul (3-12) on Saturday.

- The SCSU women's basketball team also fell to MSU Friday, 86-61. The Mavericks had two players hit 18 points: Joey Batt and Natalie Bremer. Katrina Theis led St. Cloud with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Huskies drop to 9-4 and will get another chance to find their way into the win column this weekend with a matchup against Concordia-St. Paul (7-6) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

- The Norsemen fell in overtime 3-2 to Minot. Blake Perbix and Kade Peterson each found the back of the net once for St. Cloud in the loss. Tomas Bolo made 30 saves and allowed three goals. The Norsemen fall to 13-13-2-2 and the Minotauros improve to 17-14-1-1. The two teams will face again in Minot on Saturday at 7:35 p.m. to close out the weekend and the three-game series which is currently tied 1-1.

PREVIEWS:

- The no. 3/1 Gophers (15-5) and no. 4 Huskies (14-4) will face off in a two-game series starting Saturday. Minnesota leads the series 59-35-12 and won the last matchup 4-3 in October 2021. Game one is set for 6:00 p.m. at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

- The CSB basketball team (8-2) will take the court for the second time this year when they travel to Winona to face St. Mary's (3-7). The Bennies are 56-18 all-time against the Cardinals and have won the last four matchups. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. Saturday.

- The SJU basketball team (8-3) will also return to action with a trip to St. Mary's (6-5) on Saturday. The Johnnies lead the overall series 64-9 and is currently riding a 29-game winning streak. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in Winona.

- The Gopher men's basketball team (6-7) will return home to host Nebraska (8-7) on Saturday. Minnesota leads the series 56-24, but has fallen in the last two matchups including a 78-65 loss last February. Pre-game coverage starts at 10:30 a.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Wild (22-13-2) will look to keep their winning streak going when they visit Buffalo (19-15-2) on Saturday night. This is the first matchup between the two teams this season. The Sabres are currently boasting the league's best offense, while Minnesota's defense ranks ninth in the NHL. Pre-game coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

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