Gophers Open Season with Win, Huskies Suffer First Loss to Lakers

The University of Minnesota women's hockey team started their season off with a shutout win, and the Granite City Lumberjacks earned a close win over the Minnesota Loons on Friday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State University women's hockey team suffered their first loss of the season, and the St. Cloud Norsemen fell to the division-leading Austin Bruins at home. On Saturday, the Gopher football team will host Michigan, the Bison football team will face Missouri State on the road, the SJU football team will host Concordia, the SCSU men's hockey team will host St. Thomas in their home and season opener, the Minnesota Twins will face Houston on the road in game one of the ALDS, and the Timberwolves and Wild will continue tuning up with preseason matchups.

RECAPS:

- The Gopher women's hockey team shut out the Rochester Institute of Technology 3-0 in their season opener on the road Friday. Abbey Murphy scored two goals for Minnesota, and Madeline Wethington added one. Skylar Vetter earned her first shutout of the season, stopping all 17 shots on goal. The Gophers improve to 1-0 and will continue the series against RIT on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m.

- The Granite City Lumberjacks held on to beat the Loons 5-4 in a back-and-forth battle that ended up in overtime. Carson Strapon netted the first goal of the night to give Granite City the lead in the first period. The Loons tied it up and then went on a run in the second, scoring two more to take a 3-1 lead. Late in the second period, Sam Brennan scored for the Jacks, closing the gap to 3-2. From there, Granite City put together a run of their own, with Tommy Woods and Cole Sieben each lighting the lamp once in the third, returning the lead to the home team 4-3. Late in regulation, the Loons scored once more, sending it to overtime where Patrick Dunaiski sealed the win for Granite City. The Jacks improve to 3-2-0-1 and will travel to Mason City to face the Toros on Saturday. Puck-drop is set for 7:10 p.m.

- The no. 12/13 SCSU women's hockey team was shut out on the road by Mercyhurst University on Friday. Marielle Parks scored back-to-back goals for the Lakers early in the first period. That score stood through the rest of regulation. Jojo Chobak made 14 saves and allowed two goals in the loss. The Huskies fall to 2-1 and will look to rebound in game two of the weekend series in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

- The Norsemen started October with a close home loss, falling 3-2 to the Bruins in the shootout. St. Cloud pushed out to an early lead against the division leaders. Hudson Blue and Hagen Moe each scored one goal in the opening period to give the Norsemen a 2-0 lead. Late in the first, the Bruins found the back of the net for their first goal. Early in the second, Austin scored again to tie it up 2-2. Neither team scored again in the remainder of regulation or in the extra period, sending it to the shootout where the Bruins hit one of three and St. Cloud missed all three. The teams were evenly matched, with each unit taking 25 shots on goal, and each goaltender making 23 saves. The Norsemen fall to 3-2-1-2 and will head to Austin to close out the home-and-home series against the Bruins (6-1) on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

PREVIEWS:

- The Gopher football team (3-2, 1-1 B1G) will look to stay undefeated at home this season when they host the Wolverines (5-0, 2-0 B1G) on Saturday. Minnesota is 25-76-3 all-time against Michigan and has lost the last three consecutive matchups. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be joined in progress following the Twins on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The no. 7/8 Bison (3-1) will look to get back in the win column after last week's homecoming upset when they hit the road to take on Missouri State (1-3). NDSU is 12-2 overall against the Bears. Kick-off is set for 2:00 p.m. The game will be joined in progress following the Texas/Oklahoma game on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM KXSS.

- The no. 7/9 Johnnies (3-1, 2-0 MIAC) will look to put together another strong performance against a conference opponent when they host Concordia College (2-2, 1-1 MIAC) on Saturday. The Johnnies lead the series 42-24-3 and have won the last two matchups. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in Collegeville.

- The no. 8/7 SCSU men's hockey team will open their season at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center against the University of St. Thomas on Saturday night. The Tommies lead the series 24-20, but the Huskies have won the last four straight matchups. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.

- The Minnesota Twins will look to keep their streak going when they face the Houston Astros in game one of the American League Division Series. Minnesota beat Toronto in two games to advance from the Wild Card round last week, while Houston was on a bye. The Twins went 4-2 against the Astros in the regular season. Bailey Ober is set to take the mound first for the Twins in the best-of-five playoff series. Pre-game coverage starts at 2:45 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Wild (4-1 preseason) will host Dallas (4-2) in their final preseason matchup on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

- The Timberwolves (1-0 preseason) will continue preseason action with an international matchup against Dallas (0-1). Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. in Abu Dhabi.