St. John’s Squeaks Out Win In Saturday Sports Recap

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

-- St. John’s edged Gustavus Adolphus for a 66-64 win on Saturday. The game was close throughout with St. John’s holding a 40-34 halftime lead despite shooting over 73 percent from the floor in the first half.  The Johnnies held the 6-point lead at 64-58 with just 2:10 left in the game but Gustavus would hit back-to-back shots to cut the lead to 64-62. The two teams would trade baskets and then a Johnnies' turnover would give the Gusties one last chance but a three-point attempt by Adam Biewen would hit off the iron and St. John’s would hold on for the victory. Blake Berg led St. John’s with 18 points and Ryan Thissen had 14. St. John’s improved to 17-2 in conference play.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

-- Gustavus Adolphus was too powerful for St. Ben’s on Saturday dropping the Bennies 96-66. The Gusties jumped out to a 22-12 lead after the first quarter and just poured it on from there. Lydia Hay led St. Ben’s with 20 points, and despite the loss the team secured an MIAC playoff spot Currently the Bennies are in fourth place in the conference, and the top 6 teams advance. St. Ben’s has two regular season games left before the conference playoffs start.

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY:

-- The Gophers shut down Penn State and earned the weekend sweep with a 3-0 win. After a scoreless first period, Aaron Huglen scored twice in three minutes in the second to give Minnesota the lead. That is all goalie Justen Close would need as he would stop all 30 shots he faced. The shutout is the 13^th of Close’s career and ties a school record. The Gophers take on Notre Dame next.

--St. Cloud State got the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win over Miami University (Ohio). The Huskies got on the board in the first period on a goal by Adam Ingram to take the 1-0 lead. Miami would tie the game in the second and the game would head to the third knotted at 1. Dylan Anhorn would score for St. Cloud about halfway into the third for the 2-1 lead and Zach Okabe would put it away with a goal with just 1:59 left to play. St. Cloud has a week off before returning to action the weekend of the 23^rd and 24^th against Western Michigan.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY:

-- St. Olaf was too much for St. Ben’s on Saturday downing the Bennies 6-3. St. Ben’s scored first on a goal by Corrine Brown in the first period for the early 1-0 lead. St. Olaf took command in the 2^nd period scoring four times for a 4-1 lead. Aurora Opsahl would score for St. Ben’s with about 5 minutes to go in the second to cut the lead to 4-2 after two. Ava Stinnett would score to start the third period and cut the lead to 4-3 but St. Olaf would answer with two more goals to take the win at 6-3.

- The University of Minnesota used a third-period scoring bonanza to take down St. Cloud State 5-1. Abbey Murphy scored in the first period to give the Gophers an early lead. St. Cloud State would tie it up in the second with a goal by Avery Farrell. Then Minnesota would break the game wide open scoring four times in the third started by Ella Huber’s goal just 13 seconds in. Madison Kaiser would light the lamp about two minutes later for the 3-1 lead. SCSU would pull their goalie late, allowing the Gophers to get two empty net goals to wrap up the scoring and secure the 5-1 win.

JUNIOR HOCKEY:

-- The St. Cloud Norsemen fell to the Austin Bruins 2-1 on Saturday. Hagen Moe scored the only goal for the Norsemen who will take on Minot next weekend.

-- The Granite City Lumberjacks clobbered Rochester 8-1 on Saturday. 8 different players scored for the Jacks: Ashton Ericksen, Parker Comstock, Caleb Anderson, Parker Mitchell, Hayden Johnson, Thomas Gerum, Justin Lesser, and Sam Brennan. Up next for the Lumberjacks is Alexandria on Friday and then Willmar on Saturday.

READ MORE FROM AUTHOR PAUL HABSTRITT:

• Rocori Dance Team Has Strong Family Ties
• Display Lights Up Holidays In Cold Spring
• Making Connections Name Of The Game For St. John's Prep
• A Novel Idea Develops Into Passion For Retired Teacher
• New Sartell Community Ed Director Brings Diverse Skill Set To Job
• 2024 Opening Still The Goal For New Children's Museum
• Sartell Dance Showcase Packs Them In