No. 4 Huskies Take Down No. 3 Denver, Gophers Top Michigan in OT

The St. Cloud State University men's hockey and women's basketball teams, Gopher hockey teams, St. Ben's hockey team, as well as the Granite City Lumberjacks and St. Cloud Norsemen all claimed Friday victories, while the SCSU men's basketball and women's hockey teams both fell to open the weekend. On Saturday, the Gopher women's basketball team will visit Purdue, the St. John's hockey and basketball teams will return to action, the St. Ben's basketball team will visit Augsburg, the Minnesota Timberwolves will host the Rockets, and the Wild will take on the Panthers.

RECAPS:

- The no. 4 SCSU men's hockey team beat no. 3 Denver 7-3 at home Friday night. St. Cloud State scored first and then fell behind, before netting four in the second period. The Huskies lit the lamp twice more in the third to seal the win. Jami Krannila led all scorers with two goals for St. Cloud. The Huskies improve to 17-6 and 9-4 NCHC, and Denver falls to 19-6 and 10-3 NCHC. The teams will close out the weekend and season series with their fourth and final matchup of the year Saturday at 6:00 p.m. SCSU currently leads 2-1.

- The SCSU women's basketball team notched their fourth straight win with a 70-59 overtime victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall Friday. St. Cloud led 36-27 at the half before falling behind 48-46 in the third. The fourth ended in a deadlock, sending it into extra time where the Huskies scored 11 points and held the Mustangs to zero. Katrina Theis led all scorers with 29 points and 8 rebounds. She also became the 35th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in the win. The Huskies improve to 13-4 and 10-3 NSIC and will head to Sioux Falls to face the Cougars on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

- The CSB hockey team topped Hamline 4-3 in overtime in St. Paul Friday night. Presley Kraemer, Jenna Timm, Corrine Brown, and Emma Rooks each scored a goal for St. Ben's in the win. The Bennies improve to 8-6 and 6-3 MIAC, while the Pipers fall to 7-8-1 and 6-2-1 MIAC. The teams will head up to St. Cloud for game two on Saturday. Puck-drop is set for 4:00 p.m.

- The no. 2 Gopher men's hockey team held on to beat no. 8/7 Michigan 4-3 in OT Friday night. Minnesota got on the board first, netting a goal in the opening period. Michigan claimed the lead 3-2 by the end of the second. The Gophers tied it up in the final frame and scored in overtime to grab the victory. Jimmy Snuggerud, Jackson LaCombe, and Matthew Knies each scored once for Minnesota. The Gophers improve to 18-6-1 and 12-2-1 B1G, and the Wolverines fall to 13-9-1 and 5-8 B1G. Minnesota leads the season series 3-0. The teams will play game two of the weekend series at 7:00 p.m. in Minneapolis.

- The no. 3/4 Gopher women's hockey team earned their ninth straight win with a 7-0 shutout win over Bemidji State. Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle each scored two goals for the Gophers. Skylar made a perfect 16 saves for her 16th win of the season. Minnesota outshot Bemidji 52-16. The Gophers improve to 19-3-2 and 16-1-2-2 WCHA and the Beavers fall to 4-20-1 and 1-18 WCHA. Minnesota leads the series 3-0 and will play Bemidji one more time on the road at 2:00 p.m. Saturday.

- The Lumberjacks routed visiting Peoria 8-1 to kick off the weekend. Nolan Widman and Zak Kennett each lit the lamp twice for Granite City. Paul Cassin made 21 saves and allowed one goal. The Lumberjacks improve to 27-3-0-1 and retain first place in the West Division, while the Mustangs fall to 20-12-1-1 and sit in third in the Central Division. The teams will close out the series with game two on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

-  The Norsemen beat first-place Austin 5-4 at home Friday. St. Cloud fell behind 3-1 in the first period but rallied in the next to frames to come up with the close win. Andrew Clarke led all scorers with two goals for the home team. The Norsemen improve to 14-16-2-2 and the Bruins fall to 23-6-3-4. The teams will meet for game two at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night in St. Cloud.

- The SCSU men's basketball team came up short at SMSU, losing 69-58 to open the weekend. The score was all tied up 33-33 at the break. The Huskies fell behind by 8 in the second half and clawed their way back to close the gap to four points with less than a minute left, but a late run by the Mustangs put it out of reach. Dunwa Omot led all scorers with 27 points for Southwest Minnesota State, while Luke Taylor led St. Cloud with 15. The Huskies drop to 7-11 and 4-9 NSIC. The team will take on USF in Sioux Falls on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.

- The SCSU women's hockey team dropped their third straight, falling 6-2 to no. 1 Ohio State at home. Dayle Ross and Emma Gentry each scored a goal for St. Cloud in the loss. The Huskies fall to 13-13 and 6-13 WCHA, while the Buckeyes improve to 21-2-2 and 16-2-1 WCHA. SCSU trails 0-3 in the season series. The teams will close out their regular season matchups with one more at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 2:00 p.m. Saturday.

PREVIEWS:

- The conference-leading SJU hockey team (10-6-2, 6-2-1) will complete the series against Hamline (8-7-1, 1-6 MIAC) with game two in St. Paul on Saturday. The Johnnies beat the Pipers 6-3 on Thursday behind a two-goal performance from Max Borst. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The SJU basketball team (10-5, 7-3 MIAC) will head to Minneapolis to face Augsburg (5-11, 3-8 MIAC) in a conference matchup on Saturday. The Johnnies beat the Auggies 78-50 in December and lead the series 67-64 all-time. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

- The CSB basketball team (11-4, 8-4 MIAC) will face the Auggies (9-6, 6-6 MIAC) in Minneapolis on Saturday. The Bennies have won their last two, while Augsburg went 1-1 in that same time frame. St. Ben's won the last matchup between the teams 82-68 in December and leads the series 63-20. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

- The Gopher women's basketball team (9-10, 2-6 B1G) will look to win back-to-back games when they travel to Purdue (12-6, 3-5 B1G) Saturday. This is the first matchup between the teams this season. Minnesota trails 23-47 all-time. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

- The Timberwolves (23-24) will host the Rockets (10-35) at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night. Minnesota is currently sitting in ninth in the Western Conference, while Houston is in last place. The Wolves have beaten the Rockets twice already this season with a 129-117 victory in November and a 104-96 win nearly two weeks ago. You can catch the action by tuning into AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Wild (25-15-4) will look to get back in the win column when they face the Panthers (22-20-5) on the road Saturday. This is the first matchup between the two teams this season. Pre-game coverage starts at 4:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.