sports blast

The St. Cloud State University men's and women's hockey teams, the University of Minnesota men's hockey team, the St. John's University hockey team, and the Granite City Lumberjacks all started their weekends off with Friday wins, while the St. Cloud Norsmen fell short in Minot. On Saturday, the Gopher, Bison, and St. John's football teams will return to the field, the St. Ben's hockey team will take on UW-Superior in an exhibition matchup, and the Minnesota Wild will look to return to the win column when they face Columbus.

The University of Minnesota men's and women's hockey teams earned shutout wins to remain undefeated on the season, the St. Cloud State University women's hockey team shut out St. Thomas to complete the weekend sweep, the St. Cloud Norsemen and Granite City Lumberjacks both earned home wins, and the Minnesota Timberwolves made it three in a row in the preseason on Saturday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State men's hockey team was swept and nearly shut out by MSU-Mankato, the NDSU football team was crushed by UND, and the Minnesota Wild fell to Toronto. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will visit the Bears in their first NFC North matchup of the season.

The University of Minnesota men's and women's hockey teams, St. Cloud State University women's hockey team, St. Cloud Norsemen, and Granite City Lumberjacks all started their weekend series' with victories on Friday, while the St. Cloud State men's hockey team fell to MSU-Mankato on the road. On Saturday, the St. John's University football team will host Carleton for homecoming, the North Dakota State University football team will visit UND, the Wild will face the Maple Leafs in their first road game of the season, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Knicks in their penultimate preseason matchup.

The St. Cloud State University women's hockey team shut out Mercyhurst to earn the weekend split, the University of Minnesota women's hockey team rolled over RIT to stay undefeated, the St. John's University and North Dakota State University football teams both notched wins, and the Minnesota Wild and Timberwolves were victorious in their preseason matchups on Saturday. Meanwhile, the SCSU men's hockey team came up short in overtime in their homecoming game against St. Thomas, the St. Cloud Norsemen were swept by Austin, the Granite City Lumberjacks dropped their series opener to Mason City, and the Minnesota Twins were unable to catch up to the Astros in game one of the ALDS. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will host the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, and the Gopher men's hockey team will get their preseason underway at home.

The University of Minnesota women's hockey team started their season off with a shutout win, and the Granite City Lumberjacks earned a close win over the Minnesota Loons on Friday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State University women's hockey team suffered their first loss of the season, and the St. Cloud Norsemen fell to the division-leading Austin Bruins at home. On Saturday, the Gopher football team will host Michigan, the Bison football team will face Missouri State on the road, the SJU football team will host Concordia, the SCSU men's hockey team will host St. Thomas in their home and season opener, the Minnesota Twins will face Houston on the road in game one of the ALDS, and the Timberwolves and Wild will continue tuning up with preseason matchups.

The Gopher men's hockey team topped Michigan State to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, the Gopher women's hockey team shutout Duluth and punched their ticket to the NCAA Frozen Four, the St. Ben's softball team closed out the Spring Break Games with their seventh straight win, the Granite City Lumberjacks swept Willmar to move on to the NA3HL Division Finals, the St. Cloud Norsemen blanked Bismarck, the Minnesota Wild held on to beat San Jose, and the Minnesota Twins squeezed out a win against Boston Saturday.

The Gopher women's hockey team beat Wisconsin to advance to the WCHA title game, the Granite City Lumberjacks shutout Alexandria to open their final weekend of the regular season with a win, and the Minnesota Timberwolves fought hard to outlast the Lakers on the road Friday. On Sunday, the Minnesota Wild will look to keep rolling when they visit Calgary.

The St. Cloud State University baseball team notched their second win of the young season, the St. Ben's hockey team completed the weekend sweep of St. Mary's, and the Granite City Lumberjacks topped Gillette on Saturday. The St. Cloud State men's hockey team earned their second tie of the weekend against Miami University at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud Norsemen fell to Bismarck in the shootout, the Gopher women's hockey team was blown out by Ohio State, the Gopher men's basketball team floundered against Maryland, the SCSU women's hockey team fell in Wisconsin, the SCSU basketball teams came up short in Moorhead, the SJU hockey team lost in Winona, and the CSB and SJU basketball teams were outplayed by Hamline. On Sunday the Minnesota Timberwolves will go head-to-head with the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets and the Gopher women's basketball team will visit Illinois for the second matchup between the teams this season.

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.

The Minnesota Vikings clinched the NFC North division title for the first time since 2017 and made history with a win at home against Indianapolis and the St. Cloud Norsemen squeezed out a close win over North Iowa Saturday. On Sunday, the SCSU basketball teams will face UMD after some weather-related changes to their weekend schedule, the CSB basketball team will take the court in Hawaii, the Granite City Lumberjacks will play their only game of the weekend, and the Minnesota Wild and Timberwolves will look to keep things rolling with matchups at home.

The Gopher men's hockey team and St. Cloud Norsemen completed weekend sweeps, the Minnesota Wild earned a shutout win, and the SCSU women's basketball team and CSB/SJU basketball teams all came out victorious on Saturday. Meanwhile, the SJU hockey team ended the weekend with their second tie of the season, and the Gopher women's basketball team, SCSU men's basketball team, SCSU hockey teams, and Minnesota Timberwolves all lost. On Sunday, the Vikings will face the Lions as underdogs in Detroit, and the Gopher men's basketball team will look to snap a four-game losing streak with a home matchup against Mississippi State.

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.