Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.18.23
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The Astros pitching staff isn’t nearly so good against a capable lineup. Both the Rangers and Phillies are up 2-0 and are on a collision course for the World Series.
Shorthanded Wild Smacks Canadiens 5-2
Man down? Literally. No problem.
Playing with 17 skaters and not 18 due to injuries and salary cap hell, the Wild got shorthanded goals 25 seconds apart from “Dewey #1” and “Dewey #2” and 27-saves from Quebec’s own Marc-Andre Fleury in an entertaining 5-2 beatdown of the Montrel Canadiens last night.
The Wild was already at the minimum for skaters. Matt Boldy was injured Saturday, but Dakota Mermis was on the roster and they’d play 11 skaters and seven defensemen. Then much maligned blueliner Alex Goligoski took a puck off the skate in practice and was seen in a walking boot.
But none of it mattered, as the Wild took an early 2-0 lead on Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime’s shorthanded goals 25 seconds apart in the first period. The Wild actually scored all five goals on special teams, as Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice and Kirill Kaprizov once. Mats Zuccarello assisted on all three of those goals
And you have to feel good for Fleury, who’s closing in on more goaltending records than you can count. He’s not made a commitment to play past this year (although he certainly could), so a special potential last game in Montreal for the Francophone. He got quite an ovation at game’s end.
The master tricksman also got a taste of his own medicine when Marcus Foligno got him in the face with a towel full of shaving cream during an interview with RDS.
Now, the Wild gets an emergency call-up that could include Sammy Walker, plus potentially more salary cap relief if Goligoski is out 10 games or more.
The Wild hosts the Kings on Thursday.
Gopher Women Slip by St. Cloud State
There are a few goals left in that No. 9 jersey vacated by Taylor Heise.
Freshman Ava Lindsay scored her second goal in five games wearing No. 9, and UMD transfer scored the rare shorthanded empty net GAME WINNING goal with less than a minute left as the Gophers outlasted St. Cloud State 2-1 in their home opener at Ridder Arena. That’s because the Huskies ruined Skylar Vetter’s shutout with six seconds left. Vetter wound up with 14 saves as the Gophers dominated much of the play.
It’ll be a different season for sure for Minnesota, which is 5-0-0 and now 3-0-0 in the WCHA. Abbey Murphy is going to take the worst of it, with the Olympian being the most consistent scoring threat but also one known to be a little hot headed. If opponents can get her in the penalty box, their chances for victory will dramatically increase.
Cool moment pre-game as Heise, Grace Zumwinkle and the other super seniors from 2022-23 returned to raise last season’s WCHA Tournament banner. That win came over Ohio State, where the Gophers travel for their next series, Oct. 27-28.
Garza Goes for 30 Against Israel Team
The Wolves hosted Maccabi Ra’anana, a second tier team from Israel, at Target Center last night. Luka Garza, a big man who’s on a two-way contract, went for 30 points, the most in a pre-season game since KAT had 33 in 2019. The Wolves won 138-111.
Minnesota is the first NBA team with four pre-season wins. So there’s always that.
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