Saturday was a good day for St. Cloud State University sports as the men's hockey team shut out the Gophers to open their exciting weekend series, the women's hockey team went undefeated at the East/West Showcase, and the basketball teams both earned wins over Concordia-St. Paul. The St. John's University hockey team completed the series sweep of Gustavus, the St. Ben's basketball team defeated St. Mary's, and the Granite City Lumberjacks shut out New Ulm. Meanwhile, the SJU basketball team fell on the road, the St. Cloud Norsemen dropped their final game of the weekend to lose the series to Minot, the Gopher men's basketball team came up short in overtime, and the Minnesota Wild fell to Buffalo in the extra period. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will close out the regular season with a matchup in Chicago, the Timberwolves will travel to Houston, the Gopher women's basketball team will meet the Badgers in Madison, and the NDSU football team will square off against the Jackrabbits in the FCS Championship game.

RECAPS:

- The no. 4 SCSU men's hockey team shut out the no. 3/1 Gophers 3-0 to open the series on Saturday night. This is the first shutout for St. Cloud against Minnesota since 2001. The matchup drew a crowd of over 6,000 people to Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Neither team scored through the first period and most of the second until Aidan Spellacy put the Huskies on the board. St. Cloud sealed the win with two empty net goals late in the third from Kyler Kupka and Grant Cruikshank. Minnesota outshot SCSU 23-22. Jaxon Castor made a perfect 23 saves in net for St. Cloud. The Huskies improve to 15-4 while the Gophers fall to 15-6. The teams will head to Minneapolis Sunday for game two. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

- The SCSU women's hockey team topped Merrimack 3-1 in their final game of the East/West Showcase. The Huskies outshot the Warriors 32-18 in the win. Klára Hymlárová led St. Cloud with two goals while Sanni Ahola made 17 saves and allowed one goal. The Huskies have now won two in a row and improve to 13-10. They will head to Mankato for a WCHA matchup against MSU on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

- The SCSU men's basketball team earned their first win in January, beating the Golden Bears 87-78 in overtime. The Huskies took a sizeable lead in the first half, but Concordia had a monster second half, putting up 50 points, ultimately tying the game and sending it to OT. Antwan Kimmons led all scorers with 30 points for CSP. Matthew Willert led St. Cloud with 25 points and Luke Taylor added another 17. The Huskies improve to 6-9 overall and 3-7 NSIC. The team will look to keep the momentum going when they host Winona State on Friday.

- The SCSU women's basketball team also found their way back to the win column with a 69-49 takedown of Concordia-St. Paul. Jada Eggebrecht led all scorers with 19 points for St. Cloud. Katrina Theis added 15 points, while Tori Peschel tallied 17 rebounds and finished with 7 points. The Huskies are now 10-4 overall and 7-3 NSIC. They will return home on Friday to host Winona State at 5:30 p.m.

- The SJU hockey team shut out Gustavus 4-0 Saturday to complete the weekend sweep. Mason Campbell led St. John's with two goals in the win. The Johnnies outshot the Gusties 31-12. Bailey Huber made a perfect 12 saves for SJU. The Johnnies improve to 8-5-2 and will return home next weekend for a pair of non-conference matchups against UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point.

- The CSB basketball team got back on track with a 65-58 win over St. Mary's University. Carla Meyer led all scorers with 19 points for St. Ben's. Gabby Martin added 16 points and Sophia Jonas finished with 11. The Bennies improve to 9-2 and 6-2 MIAC. CSB is now in a three-way tie for first in the conference along with Gustavus and Hamline. St. Ben's will look to shake the standings loose in a MIAC matchup at home against Concordia College (8-3 and 5-3 MIAC) on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

- The Lumberjacks shut out New Ulm 8-0 at home Saturday. Brett Robinson led Granite City with two goals in the win. Granite City outshot the Steel 38-15. The Lumberjacks are now 25-3-0-1 and still sit firmly in first place in the West Division. They will host the Minnesota Loons (10-21-0-1) on Friday.

- The SJU basketball team fell 69-57 to St. Mary's on the road Saturday. The Johnnies opened up a 30-21 lead in the first half but floundered in the second. Raheem Anthony led all scorers with 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals. Carson Schoeller led St. John's with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kooper Vaughn added 14 points. The Johnnies fall to 8-4 and 5-2 MIAC. SJU will look to rebound when they host Concordia College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

- The Norsemen fell 6-3 to Minot in game three. St. Cloud took an early lead in the first period with a goal from Nik Hong. In the second, Hunter Hanson scored his first goal of the day to extend the Norsemen lead to 2-0. Minot answered with two to tie it up. Then in the third, Elmeri Hallfors gave St. Cloud the edge again, but the Minotauros responded with four unanswered goals to close out the game. The Norsemen fall to 13-14-2-2, while Minot improves to 18-14-1-1 and takes the series 2-1. St. Cloud will hit the road Friday to face the Central Division leading Austin Bruins (21-5-3-4).

- The Gopher men's basketball team fell 81-79 to Nebraska in overtime. Minnesota took a 39-33 lead going into the break. In the second half, the Cornhuskers clawed their way back, taking a 48-47 lead. The teams exchanged shots and a 3-pt buzzer beater from Minnesota's Taurus Samuels sent it into OT. Jamison Battle led Minnesota with 20 points in the loss. The Gophers drop to 6-8 and will head to Ohio State for another Big Ten matchup on Thursday.

- The Wild snapped their win streak with a 6-5 heartbreaking loss in overtime to Buffalo. Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson each netted two goals for the Sabres, while five different players lit the lamp for Minnesota. The Wild fall to 22-13-3 and will return home Sunday to host the St. Louis Blues. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

PREVIEWS:

- The Vikings (12-4) will close out the regular season with a divisional matchup against the Bears (3-13). Minnesota has an outside chance at securing the no. 2 seed with a win in Chicago, while the Bears are only fighting for draft positioning. The banged-up Minnesota squad will be without first and second-string centers Garrett Bradbury and Austin Schlottmann, leaving them with third-stringer Chris Reed who will make his first start as a Viking. James Lynch and Harrison Smith will also miss the game, while Brian Asamoah, Za'Darius Smith, and Cam Dantzler are listed as questionable. Chicago will be without Justin Fields due to a hip injury. He will be replaced by backup QB Nathan Peterman. Also out for the Bears are Jaylon Jones and Sterling Weatherford, while Angelo Blackson, Kyler Gordon, and Terrell Lewis are listed as questionable. The Vikings handed Chicago a 29-22 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium in October. Pre-game coverage kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Timberwolves (19-21) will try to keep their win streak alive when they face the Rockets (10-29). This is the second matchup between the teams this season. Minnesota topped Houston 129-117 back in November, and the Rockets are currently on a six-game losing streak. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.

- The no. 3 Bison will look to defend their title when they face no. 1 SDSU in the FCS Championship. This marks the 10th trip to Frisco, Texas in the last 12 years for North Dakota. The Jackrabbits will look to take the crown from the nine-time champs in their 13th postseason appearance. The Bison are 63-45-5 all-time against South Dakota but have lost the last three matchups including a 23-21 decision in October. Pre-game coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Gopher women's basketball team (8-7 and 1-3 B1G) will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they visit Wisconsin (4-11 and 0-4 B1G). This is the 89th matchup between the two programs and the first of two this season. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

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