Gophers Roll to 3-0, Johnnies to Host Carleton for Homecoming

The University of Minnesota men's and women's hockey teams, St. Cloud State University women's hockey team, St. Cloud Norsemen, and Granite City Lumberjacks all started their weekend series' with victories on Friday, while the St. Cloud State men's hockey team fell to MSU-Mankato on the road. On Saturday, the St. John's University football team will host Carleton for homecoming, the North Dakota State University football team will visit UND, the Wild will face the Maple Leafs in their first road game of the season, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Knicks in their penultimate preseason matchup.

RECAPS:

- The no. 14/15 SCSU women's hockey team used a late push to beat Bemidji State 5-2 to notch their first WCHA win of the season Friday. The teams traded goals in the first two periods. SCSU got up early in the opening period before BSU scored late to tie it up 1-1. St. Cloud pushed out to 2-1 in the second, but the Beavers tied the score up again seconds later. Then in the third frame, SCSU found the back of the net three times to secure the win. CC Bowlby led St. Cloud with two goals, while Laura Zimmerman, Klara Hymlarova, and Avery Farrell each added one. Jojo Chobak made 10 saves and allowed two goals. The Huskies improve to 4-1 and will host the Beavers again in game two on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

- The Gopher men's hockey team opened the season with a 6-5 overtime win against St. Thomas in St. Paul on Friday. Minnesota got ahead early, netting two goals in the first period. In the second, the Tommies scored three of their own to take their first lead of the night 3-2. St. Thomas extended that lead to 4-2 less than a minute into the third period. After that, the Gophers put together a rally, scoring three more goals to steal the lead back 5-4. The Tommies slid one more in late in regulation to extend the game, but it was Minnesota who came out on top in the extra period. Jimmy Snuggerud scored two goals for the Gophers, including the game-winner in OT. Brody Lamb also lit the lamp twice for Minnesota, while Aaron Huglen and Jaxon Nelson each added one. Justen Close made 31 saves and allowed five goals. The Gophers are now 1-0 and will look to sweep the Tommies when they return to Minneapolis for the home opener and game two of the home-and-home series. The action gets underway at 6:00 p.m. Saturday.

- The Gopher women's hockey team shut out St. Thomas 8-0 to open their first WCHA weekend series of the season on Friday night. Abbey Murphy led Minnesota with three goals in the win. Ella Huber added two goals, and Peyton Hemp, Audrey Wethington, and Emma Conner each finished with one. Skylar Vetter made 27 saves to earn her second shutout of the season. The Gophers improve to 3-0 and will look to keep rolling when they face the Tommies in game two on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m.

- The Norsemen used an early lead to beat the Bobcats 6-3 at home on Friday. St. Cloud dominated the opening period, netting four goals before giving up one to Bismarck. The Bobcats played catchup in the second, netting two more goals and cutting the lead down to 4-3. The Norsemen tightened things back up in the third, scoring two more goals to earn the win. Six different players scored for St. Cloud - Michael Coleman, Louis Wehmann, Niklas Miller, Peyton Mithmuangneua, Lucca Munoz, and Kyle Miller. Ryan Manzella and Max Weilandt combined for 32 saves and three goals. With the win, the Norsemen improve to 4-3-1-2 and leapfrog Bismarck (5-4) in the standings to sit in third place in the Central Division. The teams will close out the weekend with game two in St. Cloud on Saturday. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The Lumberjacks routed the first-place Rochester Grizzlies 5-1 at home to open the weekend on Friday. Neither team scored in the first period. Granite City dominated in the second with two goals from Thomas Gerum and one from Easton Portner to take a 3-0 lead. Jack Louko extended that lead to 4-0 early in the third. Later in the final period, the Grizzlies found the back of the net for their first goal and avoided the shutout. In the final minutes, Hayden Johnson slid in one more for Granite City. Sam Schowalter made 15 saves and allowed one goal in the win. The Jacks now stand at 4-4-0-1 and will host the Loons (1-6-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

- The no. 10/9 SCSU men's hockey team suffered their second loss of the young season 3-2 at MSU-Mankato on Friday night. St. Cloud scored the only goal of the first period to take a 1-0 lead early in the contest. That lead was extended to 2-0 a few minutes into the second period. After that, the Mavericks went on a rally, scoring their first two goals in the middle period to tie it up 2-2. Neither team scored in the third, sending the matchup to overtime where MSU put it away. Barrett Hall and Joe Molenaar each scored once for St. Cloud. Dominic Basse made 24 saves and allowed three goals in the loss. The Huskies fall to 1-2 and will look to earn the split when they play game two in Mankato on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.

PREVIEWS:

- The no. 8 SJU football team (4-1, 3-0 MIAC) will celebrate homecoming when they host the Northwoods Division leader Carleton College (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) in their first divisional contest of the season Saturday. In 40 years of matchups between the teams, the Johnnies have never lost to the Knights. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in Collegeville.

- The no. 6/7 Bison (4-1, 1-1 MVFC) will visit the no. 15 Fighting Hawks (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) on Saturday. NDSU trails UND 50-62-3 all-time but has won the last five matchups. Pre-game coverage starts at 12:00 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM KXSS.

- The Timberwolves (2-0 preseason) will look to keep rolling in the exhibition period with a preseason matchup against the New York Knicks (1-0 preseason) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.

- The Wild (1-0) will look to earn their first road win of the year when they visit Toronto (1-0) on Saturday. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:45 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.