Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 2.3.25
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Super Bowl week is upon us.
Canucks trade for Elias Pettersson. They now have THREE total guys named Pettersson, including TWO named Elias Pettersson.
Lakers fleeced the Mavs getting Luka.
Per Columbus’ Dispatch awesome hockey writer Aaron Portzline, BJ’s James van Riemsdyk took a high stick in the face and lost four teeth and 30 stitches. He returned to the game, yet it was later realized one of those teeth was still stuck in his bottom lip. So they removed the stitch, the tooth, restitched him…he had a bone graft and root canal…and he played in the next game. No load management in hockey…
Wild Blown Out in Ottawa; Hartman Facing Long Suspension
The Wild’s most underperforming player faces a long suspension after his actions in the team’s most underperforming game of the year. The Wild’s hot play skittered to a grinding halt with a 6-0 loss in Ottawa on Saturday. And Ryan Hartman, three years removed from a 34-goal season, will take his seven goals in 2024-25 to the press box for likely a couple weeks.
Hartman had battled with the Sens’ Tim Stutzle all night. The pair had already combined for three penalties - one a questionable dive by Hartman, when the Wild’s centerman drove Stutzle head first into the ice after a faceoff.
Now, it’s not the most egregious act I’ve ever seen, but this will be Hartman’s fifth suspension. It’s likely to be at least six games - he was offered an in-person hearing in New York but declined, despite the Wild being not too far away in Boston. Worse yet, Hartman’s salary will count against the Wild’s salary cap while he’s out, and the Wild has little room to spare. Kirill Kaprizov, who had surgery on Friday, went on LTIR yesterday, which should mean Jonas Brodin returns Tuesday in Boston. But the Wild isn’t blessed with gifted centermen in Iowa. With a lot of cap room being freed, and an increased cap overall, it’ll be interesting to see if Bill Guerin buys Hartman out. He continually puts the Wild in bad positions.
Without ANT, Wolves Fall to Hapless Wizards
Even without Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle (and Donte DiVincenzo), there’s just no reason to lose to the Washington Wizards. The Wizards snapped a 16-game losing streak, at Target Center no less, beating the Wolves 105-103.
Minnesota had won five straight and could have moved out of the play-in round in the West. But the Wolves missed 28 3-pointers, and couldn’t overcome the loss of their top two offensive threats.
ANT missed the game sick; an illness has been making its way through the time. It seems like the Wolves are preparing to be without Randle (groin) for some time. DiVincenzo is still out with his broken toe. Naz Reid, who left Saturday’s game, is questionable with a finger sprain.
The Wolves should at least get ANT back tonight against Sacramento. The Wolves have three home games in four nights this week. There are no breaks in the NBA.
Gopher Hockey
A slow start threatened to doom a big weekend for the Gopher men. But after falling down two goals to Wisconsin, Minnesota scored nine of the weekend’s final 10 goals in a series sweep over the hated Badgers. The Gophers got a game back on first-place Michigan State; they’re now two points back with six games to play. Minnesota visits a very so-so Michigan team this weekend.
The Gopher women traded victories with Ohio State, although the Buckeyes won 7-3 on Saturday. They’re still tied for second in the WCHA with two weekends left. However, Ohio State has the upper hand since the Gophers have to go to No. 1 Wisconsin this weekend. The Badgers are having one of the best seasons I can remember in NCAA women’s hockey. They’re 21-1-2 in the WCHA with a 111-30 goal differential. Overall, they’re 27-1-2 with a 160-33 goal differential. Not that second or third place matters much, as the Gophers and Buckeyes seem destined to meet in the WCHA Semifinal in Duluth next month.
Gopher Hoops
The Gopher women are an NCAA Tournament team barring a collapse, but they proved in two West Coast losses that they’ve got a ways to go to be a top five team. No. 1 UCLA whipped Minnesota 79-53 yesterday, three days after a 13-point loss to No. 4 USC. The Gophers have a few days to lick their wounds before hosting Iowa on Thursday.
On the men’s side, that three-game winning streak couldn’t seem longer ago. You can excuse the Michigan State loss, but the Gophers fell 71-68 at home on Saturday to the only team below them in the Big 10 standings, Washington. Dawson Garcia had 28 points. Minnesota just isn’t deep enough to make a sustained run. The same five players played a stretch of more than 15 minutes Saturday; only two bench players saw more than nine minutes. Minnesota visits Penn State Tuesday in a matchup of two teams with three conference wins.
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