Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 2.21.25

Feb 21

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Wild and Wolves both return this weekend. Minnesota is at Detroit in a nationally televised 11:30 a.m. game Saturday on ABC. The Wolves are at Houston tonight; Julius Randle is cleared for contact…Donte DiVincenzo cleared for non contact practice. Neither are playing tonight.

Terrence Shannon, the Wolves rookie who had his jersey retirement botched last week at the University of Illinois, has launched a T-shirt to benefit Boys & Girls Club that commemorates the upside down banner.

First home dance comp and also the first three-day comp of the weekend.

Canada Tops U.S. in OT for 4 Nations Title

“3-2 Canada” has another entry in Encyclopedia Britannica.

Fifteen years after the best player in the world, Sidney Crosby, gave Canada a 3-2 win over the Americans in the Vancouver Olympics, the current best player in the world, Connor McDavid, scored in the ninth minute of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 win over the U.S. to win a politically charged 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

And don’t let ESPN’s constant Miracle and Herb Brooks montages fool you, the U.S. expected to win this game. But after Luke Hughes may or may not have beat out an icing call (linesman said he didn’t), McDavid enjoyed a rare shift without locking horns with Jacob Slavin and the Wild’s Brock Faber. Not sure how he was left all alone from close range, but he’s not going to miss that shot many times.

It was an incredible tournament all around. After struggling early in the first game, Mike Sullivan paired up Faber with Slavin, and the pair look like the top American shutdown D-pair in recent memory. They’re a lock to be together in Italy in 2026; the Olympics are the next International competition.

It’s hard not to think what American Kyle Connor could have done in this ilneup last night. Connor, a 40-goal scorer, has not been good in this tournament but he was scratched in favor of Chris Kreider, who didn’t skate many shifts. Matthew Tkachuck didn’t play after the second period, nursing a sore groin, meaning Sullivan especially could have needed another big gun.

This event was obviously a huge success for the NHL, although it likely won’t be back in the same format. The league has already committed to the World Cup of Hockey, which will include the Russias of the world, in non Olympic cycles. But this was a war of attrition. Numerous players are going to miss significant time when they return to their NHL teams this weekend, even some who may have been able to play in the championship game. Boston’s Charlie McAvoy may miss the rest of the season. The owners like making money but they also don’t like losing their own players in a Stanley Cup drive.

Gopher Hoops

The Gopher men didn’t go to Southern California just for the sun. They returned to ice cold Minnesota this week with wins at both USC and UCLA, bringing their B10 record to 6-9. Their next two conference games are agains teams below them in the standings, starting Saturday at home against Penn State. They’re still going to have to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament, but they’re playing well for Ben Johnson.

The Gopher women defeated Purdue 74-61 in West Lafayette on Wednesday for just their second win in seven games. They don’t play again until Wednesday.

Gopher Hockey

Minnesota’s men could enter the regular season’s final week in first, second or third in the Big 10. They host Ohio State; those two teams are tied for second in the conference, three points behind Michigan. But the Spartans have two of the bottom three teams in the B10 left on their schedule.

The Gopher women play their final WCHA series, hosting UMD in a matchup with big conference tournament implications. Minnesota clinches the No. 3 seed with a regulation win out of the two games, clinching a semifinal matchup with Ohio State. The Gophers want to avoid a fourth-place finish and a potential semifinal matchup with all-world Wisconsin.

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