Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 3.6.26
Never been to the Minnesota State High School League Boys Hockey Tournament as a fan. That changes tonight. Go Moorhead.
The lights never went out during play when it was the Xcel Energy Center, just sayin’.
NHL Deadline Day; Wild Visits VGK Tonight
The NHL Trade Deadline is today at 2 p.m. central and noon pacific, which is where the Wild will be awaiting the Vegas Golden Knights.
Bill Guerin made his third - and final (?) move of the week yesterday, helping his blueline depth by sending a seventh-rounder to Florida in exchange for veteran defenseman Jeff Petry. The pick becomes a fifth-rounder if the Wild wins two playoff series and Petry plays in 50 percent of the games.
Petry is 38 - began with Edmonton way back in 2010. For all its prowess on the blueline, the Wild is young back there save for Spurgeon and Zach Bogosian, and this will help. Petry wore a letter with Montreal, although I don’t expect him to play regular minutes.
This trade aside, it’s a seller’s market for sure. Of course, Guerin helped set that market this week by shipping a second-round pick for a fourth-line grinder.
The price has been high in several other trades the last 48 hours, and something will have to knock Guerin’s socks off in order for him to land, say, Vinnie Trochek. With Nashville’s sell off this week, I still wonder what it would take to get Steven Stamkos, who has reportedly said he’d be okay coming to the Wild.
I’d expect Guerin to stand pat, maybe a depth move, and go free agent hunting in July.
Avalanche plays the Stars tonight…
Wolves Move into Third in West with Fifth Straight Win
The Wolves are now third in the West after their fifth straight win, a 115-107 win over the Raptors at Target Center last night. Minnesota, which has won eight of nine, is now a game up on Houston for third. Not that it matters much, as their first-round match-up is going to be a doozy no matter what (they’d play the Lakers if the playoffs started today).
Anthony Edwards scored 22 points, including his latest highlight-reel dunk. Rudy Gobert had 18 points, nine rebounds and a team-high five assists. Gobert, who has disappeared late game, late season and in the playoffs in his Minnesota tenure, is playing the best basketball of his career, and it’s going to make a difference in May and hopefully June.
The Wolves host the Magic for a Saturday matinee on Prime.
Gopher Hockey; Women Likely Headed on Road for NCAA’s
Two months ago, it seemed unfathomable the Gopher women would not host an NCAA playoff game. But then the Olympic Break hit. The Gophers have won just three of their last 11 games, the latest loss a disappointing 4-0 decision to Ohio State last night in the first round of the WCHA Final Faceoff. The Buckeyes advance to play Wisconsin Saturday, as the best two teams in the nation all year will play for the WCHA Championship.
The Gophers, meanwhile, will need to scoreboard watch to see if they will be the fourth or fifth overall seed. They'll play Northeastern no matter what. They need UConn to beat Northeastern in Saturday’s Hockey East title game. If UConn does beat Northeastern, the Gophers will be the No. 4 seed and host the regional next week (just one game). Should Northeastern hold serve, Minnesota will be the No. 5 seed - still getting a bye - but they’ll head to Boston to play the Huskies.
Minnesota, which was never in the game, has looked disjointed in two of its four games since getting Abbey Murphy back from Team USA. The Gophers just don’t have the starpower to match Wisconsin and Ohio State.
The Gopher men were blown out at home 7-1 by No. 2/No. 3 Michigan State last night, setting up their final regular season game tonight at home against the Spartans. Minnesota carries an 11-21-2 record into that finale. They’ll be on the road as a big time underdog somewhere Wednesday in the B10 quarterfinals (single-game). You’ve got to wonder if this is the end of the road for Bob Motzko…
Gopher Basketball
It’ll be a Friday quarterfinal matchup between the Gopher women and Ohio State today at around 2:30 in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes beat Indiana to advance, while Minnesota earned the double bye. Both teams are safely in the NCAA’s, and the winner of this matchup is going to have a tough time with top-seeded UCLA, one of the top five teams in the country, in the semifinals. Worth noting that Ohio State is ranked 11thin the country - better than the Gophers, who are the better seed in the tournament.
The Gopher men lost by 30 to Indiana on Wednesday and host Northwestern in the regular season finale Saturday. For the first time, all 18 teams will make the Big 10 Tournament, set for next week in Indy.
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