Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 2.20.24
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Tuesday-Friday Takeout in this holiday-shortened week.
PWHL Minnesota split a pair of 2-1 decisions in Ottawa (W) and Montreal (L). Boston comes to The X on Sunday.
Former Viking Blake Proehl got a golden ticket on American Idol.
The Loons open up the season Saturday; may they finally have their coach? All signs point to Man U asst Eric Ramsay as their guy. Four Loons are older than Ramsay, who will become the youngest coach in MLS history at 32. The Loons have had two interim coaches this off-season; Cameron Knowles will coach the team until Ramsay’s paperwork gets done…
State Tournament Time at The X. Girls hockey starts Thursday.
Minot kid wins $10K by hitting four shots including a half courter in 30 seconds.
Wildest Game in Franchise History Ends with 10-7 Home Team Win
Considering how there have been some weeks this season where the Wild would be stretched to score seven goals - total - imagine just how bizarre their seven-goal, 20-minute outburst was yesterday. The Wild stormed back for an impossible 10-7 win over league-leading Vancouver in a game that both coaches likely put in the garbage can before their post-game flight. The Wild headed to Winnipeg, where they will take a 5-0-1 stretch into tonight’s tilt against the Jets. Minnesota is within two points of a playoff spot - albeit one that would almost certainly see a first-round match-up with the Canucks.
The Wild appeared dead in the water for much of the first two periods. Filip Gustavsson allowed goals on the first two shots he faced. They trailed 5-2 late in the second when a Mats Zuccarello pass went off a Canuck and into the net.
I’ve gone two paragraphs without mentioning that the game featured three hat tricks, including three-goal, three-assist performances by each Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson-Ek. J.T. Miller had one for the visitors.
The Wild had four different 5-on-3s, scoring on three of them. They scored the fastest six goals in the NHL in 25 years, reaching the 10-goal mark for the first time in team history.
Marc-Andre Fleury replaced the Gus Bus to start the third and had a front row seat to the offensive heroics. He’ll most certainly get the start in Winnipeg tonight. The road trip also includes red-hot Edmonton and Seattle.
The Wild is 8-2-1 in its last 11 games, and in all three of those losses, they led in the third period! Have to stop leaving points on the table.
KAT goes for 50 in All-Star Game
You won’t find much from the NBA All-Star Game in today’s Takeout. KAT went for 50 apparently, in a game that still featured more defense than Monday’s Wild matinee…
I get that these guys don’t want to get hurt. Not like Magic and Bird ever played defense, but maybe put a hand in someone’s face occasionally or just let everyone have a vacation.
The Wolves return Friday when they host Milwaukee in the biggest regular season game at Target Center in awhile…
Gopher Hockey
Not an ideal weekend for the Gopher men in South Bend, getting whipped 6-1 on Friday before eeking out a 3-2 overtime win over the Irish on Saturday. The Gophers have their Big 10 bye this week before finishing the regular season against Michigan. They’re all but locked into the three seed and a likely first-round date with Penn State.
The Gopher women needed to sweep Wisconsin to have any chance to take second in the WCHA. That didn’t happen. After a 4-3 Badger win in OT on Friday, Wisconsin routed the Gophers 4-0 on Saturday. Not that second place versus third matters a whole bunch in the scheme of things. The Gophers’ regular season finale is this weekend against UMD at Ridder. The Bulldogs are locked into fourth.
Gopher Hoops
A gritty win for the Gopher men, who snapped a two-game losing streak with an 81-70 win at Rutgers Sunday. A good opportunity Thursday for the Gophers, who host a winless-on-the-road Ohio State squad.
The Gopher women snapped a six-game losing streak with a big 88-63 home win over Northwestern on Saturday. They host Wisconsin tonight.
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