This week, we’re talking about Vikings news, breaks coming for the Wild, the Wolves and the road to state for high school girls’ hockey.
MINNESOTA, USA — Super Bowl Sunday is now in the past and football is over for now. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have sports to talk about.
As always, the sports scene here in Minnesota always delivers with things to KARE about. Here’s this week’s list.
1. Vikings active in New Orleans
The Vikings weren’t in the Big Game, but we heard from the Vikings plenty this week in the fanfare in the Big Easy. Kevin O’Connell took home the AP Coach of the Year award. He’s the first Vikings coach to win the award since Bud Grant in 1969.
Besides that, Vikings players were all over the NFL Honors Award show. Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus danced on stage and Justin Jefferson had some issues with the teleprompter. But the biggest news was Jared Allen getting the call to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after years of waiting. He’ll be inducted this summer in Canton, Ohio.
J.J. McCarthy also made some headlines during some media appearances this past week. The Vikings quarterback confirmed reports that he was ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery this past fall. It’s some promising news for Vikings fans on a week that is usually a reminder of the team’s lack of championships.
2. Wolves hit their stride but a tough week ahead
If you missed Saturday’s Wolves game against the Trail Blazers (on KARE by the way), you missed an impressive victory. Playing without Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle, the Wolves pulled off a comeback victory with Naz Reid showing up big-time on Naz Reid bobblehead night.
The team enters the week on a three-game winning streak but faces some challenges ahead. It starts Monday going up against the Cavaliers, which have the best record in the Eastern Conference. They follow that up with back-to-back games against the Bucks and Thunder, two of the top teams in the league. A silver lining is that following that stretch, the team gets the All-Star break to recover and prepare for the stretch run.
3. Wild enter their break with some wins
Meanwhile, the Wild put together a pair of solid performances at Xcel Energy Center before their midseason break. It started on Thursday with a gritty 2-1 win over the Hurricanes. They came back on Saturday and rolled over a red-hot Islanders team 6-3. Now the team gets some much-needed time off to get healthy and try and get their full arsenal of players back.
4. Get ready for the 4 Nations Cup
If you’re wondering when the NHL All-Star Game is, you don’t have to wonder much longer. There is no All-Star Game this season. Instead, the league is opting to host the 4 Nations Cup over the next 12 days happening in Canada.
Here’s how it works: Four nations are participating – United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. The four teams, which consist of NHL players, will play a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams meeting for the championship. Five different Wild players will participate. Brock Faber and Matt Boldy are suiting up for Team USA. Team Sweden features Filip Gustavsson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin.
Team USA’s first game comes on Thursday. The championship game is Feb. 20.
5. Baseball season is near
Yes, you read that right. We’re talking baseball. Pitchers and catchers report for the Twins on Feb. 13. The Twins have yet to make any major moves but did make some smaller moves this past week, signing lefthanded reliver Danny Coulombe and outfielder Harrison Bader. These are more depth moves. It’s nothing to write home about. But knowing baseball is coming can be a help through these brutally cold February days.
6. Gopher women’s hoops still battling for a spot in The Dance
The Gopher women’s basketball team is sitting on the bubble according to most when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament. So are a few other teams in the Big 10. The Gophers saw a couple of those teams this past week and had mixed results. Minnesota fell to Iowa at home on Thursday but came back and defeated Indiana on Sunday as Amaya Battle hit 1,000 career points in the win.
This week presents a major challenge as the Gophers head on the road to take on defending Big 10 regular season champ Ohio State.
7. Gopher wrestling just keeps rolling
The Gopher wrestling team sits at No. 7 in the national rankings and is on a six-match winning streak. That’s something worth celebrating.
Their latest triumph came on Sunday against Purdue when the Gophers rolled to a 28-6 victory over No. 28 Purdue. Olympian and national champion wrestler Gable Steveson is rolling through the competition in his final collegiate season. This is a program to watch as we head into March.
8. Mankato men’s hockey takes first place with sweep
It was a big weekend in Mankato as Minnesota State men’s hockey locked in for a big battle for first place in the CCHA against Augustana. And the Mavericks came through.
They swept the Vikings at home this past weekend, including a 2-1 win on Saturday. Goaltender Alex Tracy came through with 28 saves as the Mavericks seized first place in the CCHA with four games remaining in the regular season. It’s an amazing turnaround after seeing long-time head coach Mike Hastings leave and the program looking like it was on its way down.
9. It’s section final week for girls’ high school hockey
It’s a big week for girls’ high school hockey as 16 spots in the upcoming state tournament are up for grabs around the state. Section final week is upon us and it looks to be exciting week with some great games.
Section finals begin Tuesday and run through Friday. A potential section final in Class 2A to watch for is in Section 6AA between Edina and Benilde-St. Margaret’s. In 1A, Dodge County going up against Albert Lea should be a game to watch.
10. A big coaching move in high school football
Though we’re months away from two-a-days and even games for high school football here, there was a monumental coaching change that happened this past week. Cretin-Derham Hall announced it would be bringing in former Lakeville South head coach Ben Burk as their new leader.
It’s a shocking move for a number of reasons. Burk had the Cougar program rolling, won a state championship and at one point had a 23-game winning streak. He’s also moving from one of the biggest schools in Class 6A to go down and coach a 5A program in Cretin-Derham Hall. He does have the opportunity, however, to bring the Raider program that was once one of the best in the entire state back to its glory days.
11. Alexandria’s Wendy Kohler keeps moving on up
It seems like every week we have high school coaches and players on this list who have passed significant milestones in their respective careers. This week is Alexandria girls’ basketball coach Wendy Kohler.
Kohler recently picked up win No. 720. That makes her the second winningest coach in Minnesota high school girls’ basketball history. She passed former Rochester Lourdes coach Myron Glass with that win. She trails current New London-Spicer head coach Mike Deier, who has nearly 1,100 wins in his career.