Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.19.26

Oct 19

Both local football teams come back after their bye. The Vikings opened up a 5.5-point favorite against an Indy team that just lost to previously winless Tennessee. Game time is noon Sunday.

The Gopher football team begins the week as a 5.5-point underdog against Iowa (who hates Iowa?) Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Minnesota will take on three straight ranked teams - can they win two? They’d need to beat Iowa and UCLA because winning at Indiana seems unlikely.

J.J. McCarthy threw for 243 yards in one quarter for the Giants yesterday and is the presumed No. 1 in New York moving forward. Vikings could use a young guy like that with upside…

Wolves finished pre-season 3-3 and play at Miami on Wednesday in the season opener. Home opener is Sunday against Toronto.

Loons beat St. Louis 3-2 at home for the first MLS win in 5.5 months. Five points back with four games to play is a huge gap to overcome for the playoffs…

Down Six Regulars, Wild Outlasts Columbus

The Wild won ugly, beating Columbus 2-1 last night despite missing six regulars including captain Jared Spurgeon and both Folignos.

The 6-2-1 Wild is atop the Central Division standings heading out on a five-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Edmonton. Spurgeon is going to travel…the Folignos are not.

A star like Kirill Kaprizov can help solve a lot of shortcomings. The Thrill scored his league-leading 10th goal. According to the Wild TV broadcast, there are five current instances of one player averaging at least a goal per game against one opponent. Three of those instances are Kaprizov, including against the Blue Jackets.

Kaprizov’s countrymate Danila Yurov scored the game’s first goal, and Jesper Wallstedt had to make just 13 saves. Former Wild goalie Cam Talbot was a hard-luck loser, making 32 saves in his return to Saint Paul.

Gopher Hockey: Women Split with No. 1 OSU; Men Winless on the Season

One of the reason’s Brad Frost was fired as head coach of the Gopher women was his inability to beat Wisconsin and Ohio State. His replacement, Boom May, beat the Buckeyes in his first opportunity.

The Gophers crushed No. 1 Ohio State 6-2 on Friday, before the Buckeyes rebounded for a wild 6-5 win on Saturday. In the finale, the Gophers fell down 3-0 but actually led 5-4 at the midway point of the third period.

Minnesota is 3-1-0 and hosts an overmatched Lindenwood team Thursday and Friday.

On the men’s side, Brett Larson has promised some changes in personnel after falling to 0-3-1 with a loss and a tie at No. 9 Duluth over the weekend.

If there’s a bright light for the men, it’s Brodie Ziemer scoring a pair of second-period goals to give the Gophers a 2-2 tie on Saturday at AMSOIL Arena.

The Gophers have little time to recover, with a home series against 4-0 UND on Thursday and Friday. The “Fighting Hawks” haven’t played anyone, but even with a generation of players removed from the WCHA, this series is sure to be emotional.

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