The St. Cloud State University and University of Minnesota men's hockey teams both closed the weekend with shutout wins, the Gopher women's hockey team, St. Cloud State women's basketball team, St. John's hockey and basketball teams, Granite City Lumberjacks, Minnesota Wild, and Timberwolves also found themselves in the win column on Saturday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State women's and CSB hockey teams fell to get swept in their weekend series', and the SCSU men's basketball team, CSB basketball team, and St. Cloud Norsemen all came up short. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will make their first postseason appearance since 2020 and the Gopher women's basketball team will look to get back to .500 with a Big 10 matchup at home.

RECAPS:

- The no. 3/4 SCSU men's hockey team shut out Colorado College 4-0 Saturday to close the weekend with a split and the season series win 3-1. St. Cloud shared the wealth with Zach Okabe, Kyler Kupka, Grant Cruikshank, and Jami Krannila each scoring a goal in the win. Both teams took 27 shots, and SCSU goalie Dominic Basse made a perfect 27 saves. The Huskies improve to 16-6 and 8-4 NCHC. The team will have their work cut out for them on Friday when no. 4/3 Denver (19-5, 10-2 NCHC) comes to town. Puck-drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

- The no. 2 Gopher men's hockey team shut out Notre Dame 3-0 to complete the season series 3-0-1. Ryan Johnson, Logan Cooley, and Matthew Knies each netted a goal for Minnesota. Justen Close made a perfect 38 saves in the win. The Gophers improve to 17-6-1 and 11-2-1 Big Ten. Minnesota will return home to host Michigan on Friday. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM  Granite City Sports.

- The no. 3/4 Gopher women's hockey team earned their eighth straight win and completed the weekend series sweep with a 4-1 win over St. Thomas. Abigail Boreen led Minnesota with two goals. The Gophers improve to 18-3-2 and will head to Bemidji State for game one at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

- The SJU hockey team upset no. 10 UW-Stevens Point 3-2 in a non-conference matchup to complete the weekend 1-1. Peter Tabor, Spencer Rudrud, and Jack Johnson each lit the lamp once for St. John's. Bailey Huber made 41 saves and allowed two goals in the win. The Johnnies improve to 9-6-2 and will resume MIAC play with a home-and-home series against Hamline. The action starts Thursday at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 7:00 p.m.

- The SCSU women's basketball team made it three in a row with a 64-57 win over Upper Iowa at home Saturday. Katrina Theis led all scorers by a mile with 31 points for St. Cloud State. Makenna Vanzant added 13 and Dru Henning finished with 11. The Huskies improve to 12-4 and 9-3 NSIC and will hit the road to face SMSU at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

- The SJU basketball team notched an 83-69 win over Bethel in their lone game of the weekend. Mitchell Plombon led all scorers with 22 points for St. John's. The Johnnies improve to 10-4 and 7-2 MIAC. SJU now sits in second place in the conference behind Carleton (12-2 and 7-2 MIAC). The standings could loosen up a little bit when St. John's will host the Knights on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Sexton Arena.

- The Lumberjacks topped the Loons 4-3 in overtime at home Saturday. The Loons got on the board first, but Granite City pushed out to a 3-1 lead early in the third. Minnesota evened it up and sent it to extra time where Kyle Mortenson put it away for the Jacks. The Lumberjacks roll to 26-3-0-1 and will host the Peoria Mustangs (20-10-1-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

- The Wild earned a 2-1 win in a quiet game at home against Arizona Saturday night. Frédérick Gaudreau and Mats Zuccarello each netted a goal for Minnesota in the second period to secure the win. Marc-André Fleury made 27 saves and allowed one goal. The Wild improve to 24-14-4 and will hit the road to face the Capitals (23-16-6) on Tuesday. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Timberwolves finish the weekend with back-to-back wins after beating the Cavaliers 110-102. Minnesota outscored Cleveland in three quarters including a 33-22 mark in the fourth to seal the win. Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 26 points for Minnesota and Naz Reid added 17. Former Timberwolves Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio combined for nine points off the bench for the Cavs. The Wolves improve to 22-22 and will host Utah (22-24) on Monday. Pre-game coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM.

- The no. 14 SCSU women's hockey team got swept by MSU-Mankato with a 4-1 loss on Saturday. Avery Myers scored the lone goal for St. Cloud to avoid the shutout. The Huskies fall to 13-12 and 6-12 WCHA. The team will look to snap their two-game losing streak when they host Ohio State on Friday at 3:00 p.m.

- The CSB hockey team got swept up in the weekend series by no. 1 Gustavus after a 5-1 loss on Saturday. The Gusties outshot the Bennies 42-15. Presley Kraemer scored the lone goal for St. Ben's to avoid the shutout. The Bennies fall to 7-6 and 5-3 MIAC. The team will look to get back on track when they kick off a home-and-home series against Hamline in St. Paul on Friday. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The SCSU men's basketball team fell apart in the second half and lost 72-57 to Upper Iowa. Lucas Duax led all scorers with 20 points for the Peacocks. Matthew Willert let St. Cloud State with 12 points and Jalen Griffin added 11. The Huskies fall to 7-10 and 4-8 NSIC and will try to climb back into the win column on Friday when they visit SMSU. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Marshall.

- The  CSB basketball team dropped a close one 68-64 to Bethel. St. Ben's led 16-12 after the first quarter but was outscored by the Royals in each of the final three. Anna Garfield led all scorers with 22 points for Bethel, while Carla Meyer led the Bennies with 21 points. Sophia Jonas added another 18 for CSB. The Bennies fall to 9-4 and 6-4 MIAC. The team will take the court again on Monday when they face Carleton on the road. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The Norsemen fell to the Bruins 2-1 to give Austin the weekend series sweep. Andrew Clarke scored the lone goal for St. Cloud in the second period. The Bruins outshot the Norsemen 36-21. The Norsemen fall to 13-16-2-2 and will host Austin (23-5-3-4) again on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

PREVIEWS:

- The no. 3 Vikings will host the no. 6 Giants in the Wild Card round of the NFC Playoffs on Sunday. The game is essentially a rematch of the Christmas Eve game and marks the first trip to the postseason for Minnesota since the 2019-2020 season. First-year Head Coaches Brian Daboll and Kevin O'Connell have both lifted their team to unexpected heights going into a game where everything is on the line. Minnesota activated Blake Brandel from IR ahead of the matchup. His will be a welcome return to an offensive line that has suffered some serious losses in the back half of the regular season. Also expected to return for the Vikings is starting center Garrett Bradbury who missed the last five games with a back injury. Cam Dantzler, Kene Nwangwu, and Harrison Smith are all listed as questionable for Minnesota. New York is expected to be at full strength, getting back Adoree Jackson and Xavier McKinney who did not play in December's game. The Giants have no players with any designation on their final injury report. The last time the teams met it came down to a record-breaking 61-yard field goal from Greg Joseph as time expired to give the Vikings a 27-24 win, and Sunday's game could also come right down to the wire. Pre-game coverage kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Gopher women's basketball team (8-9) will look to improve their conference record of 1-5 when they host no. 24 Illinois (14-3, 4-2 B1G) on Sunday. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Minnesota trails 31-39 in the series, but have won the last two matchups at Williams Arena. Pre-game coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

CHECK IT OUT: 100 sports records and the stories behind them

KEEP READING: Here are 50 of the most famous sports goofs

More From AM 1240 WJON