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The No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey program defeated Notre Dame 6-3 at Compton Family Ice Arena on Friday night.
The Gophers scored three power-play goals in the victory, with two of them coming off the stick of Sam Rinzel.
Jimmy Snuggerud also picked up his 100th point of his Gophers career in the road win. The achievement came on an assist for Rinzel's first goal of the game.
Minnesota moves to 11-2-0 overall and 5-0-0 in Big Ten play on the season while the Irish drop to 5-8-0 and 1-6-0 in conference play.
The Irish struck first with a goal at the 1:51 mark but it didn't take long for the Golden Gophers to respond. Just four minutes after the goal, Brody Lamb found the back of the net to tie the game up at one.
Both teams headed into the first intermission tied 1-1, as the Gophers carried power-play time into the second period. It only took 38 seconds for Minnesota to score off the power play, which came from Rinzel, as his shot was tipped by an Irish player's stick and over the goaltender to put the Gophers up 2-1.
Oliver Moore built up Minnesota's lead to 3-1 with 5:24 remaining in the second period and the Irish answered back to make it a one-score contest. With 1:36 to play in the second, the Irish were assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a kneeing penalty. Minnesota jumped on the opportunity and scored off Rinzel's second goal of the game, putting the Gophers up 4-2 with 24 seconds left in the period.
Not even two minutes into the final period, Aaron Huglen chalked up a goal for the Gophers to put the lead to three. Notre Dame scored to make it 5-3 with only 2:32 remaining but the Gophers slammed the door shut on any comeback, as Connor Kurth scored an empty-netter to close out the game, 6-3.
Minnesota goaltender Nathan Airey remained perfect with the win, moving to 7-0-0 on the season. He made 25 saves in the contest.
"I liked a lot of things tonight." Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "A lot of good second efforts, good netfront presence, and our power play was good. Our whole focus now is we have to be better tomorrow."
The Gophers and Irish will wrap up the series on Saturday, with puck-drop scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
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Wild sign Stanley Cup champion to PTO
The third overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft feels he has more in the tank. According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have signed veteran defenseman Jack Johnson to a professional tryout agreement. Johnson, 38, is coming off a one-year agreement with the team he’s spent the most years of his career with, the Columbus Blue Jackets. His performance did little to inspire confidence in his playing abilities, as he only managed six assists in 41 games while averaging 12:52 of ice time per game. Johnson was arguably the worst defenseman on the Blue Jackets last season, finishing with the second-lowest CorsiFor% at even strength (44.8%), and the lowest (by a considerable margin) on-ice save percentage at even strength (85.5%). In Johnson’s defense, it’s notable that he is only two years removed from a relatively productive season with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored three goals and 16 points in 80 games, averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time during the 2023-24 campaign. It could be because he was surrounded by better talent in Denver, but Johnson managed a far better 49.1% CF% and 92.7% oiSV%. Still, it’s hard to imagine where Johnson fits into the Wild’s defense, even if he has a strong training camp and preseason. Minnesota boasts one of the better defensive units in the league, which is even more impressive considering Jonas Brodin isn’t expected to start the season on time. Assuming a healthy unit, the Wild’s seventh defenseman would theoretically become Zach Bogosian or David Jiříček. Unlikely to accept a demotion to the American Hockey League at this stage of his career, Johnson may be using his PTO with the Wild as a means to find an opportunity with a different organization, as many players do with this style of agreement.
Jordan Love's thumb surgery comes at inopportune time for Packers
The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
Jets QB Justin Fields had 'alarming' practice against Giants
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields found out he has a long way to go following his performance at Tuesday's joint practice with the New York Giants. Per Connor Hughes of SNY TV, Fields started hot at the practice before struggling during the move-the-ball period. "Very interesting practice for #Jets QB Justin Fields," Hughes posted on X. "He finished 7 of 12 with a TD. 5 of 5 to start practice. Then 0 for 4. Finished 2 of 3 with the really impressive TD to Jeremy Ruckert in red zone (starter 18 yard line). "The offensive performance was a bit alarming in move-the-ball period of practice. Fields Co. had three attempts to get down field. They didn’t gain a first down. Only gained yards twice (two short Breece Hall runs). Three sacks. That needs to be fixed. #Giants defense toyed with NYJ during that period." Some Jets fans online thought Hughes was using hyperbole to characterize the practice, but he doubled down on his judgment of the offense. Fields looked strong on his first and only drive in the Jets' 30-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. He went 3-of-4 passing for 42 yards and rushed two times for 14 yards and a touchdown. However, the Giants defense at the joint practice is a much better unit than the short-handed one the Packers trotted out for the first preseason game. Fields' issues seen with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers, with holding the ball too long and not being able to pass consistently downfield, were a factor against the Giants. Following Saturday's game, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said Fields was getting better but had a lot to improve on. Tuesday's practice was a humbling reminder that Fields needs to become a consistent passer if the Jets are going to move the ball on good defenses in the regular season.
Oklahoma QB denies sports gambling allegations after suspicious screenshots emerge
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has faced questions about some alleged screenshots from his Venmo account, and the school is reportedly investigating the situation. Screenshots and videos that were widely circulated on social media Monday claimed to show multiple Venmo transactions linked to Mateer that contained the phrase “sports gambling.” The two main transactions in question were on Nov. 20, 2022, which was when Mateer was a freshman at Washington State. The alleged transactions that referenced “sports gambling” were between Mateer and a Venmo account for Richard Roaten, who is believed to be one of Mateer’s former Washington State teammates. While some have questioned whether the screenshots could have been altered, there were also videos that appeared to show people actively scrolling through the account that is believed to belong to Mateer. According to a Tuesday report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Mateer has denied to Oklahoma officials that he has ever been involved with gambling. The school is still planning to investigate further, however. Mateer issued a statement on his X account denying being involved in sports gambling, explaining that the descriptions seen on his Venmo account are "inside jokes" with his friends. "The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false," Mateer wrote. "My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. "I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches, and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling." Oklahoma also issued a statement saying it has “no reason to believe” there is going to be an NCAA investigation. Rules prohibit student athletes or team staff from betting on any sports that have NCAA championships. One of the alleged screenshots connected to Mateer had a reference to “UCLA vs. USC” in addition to “sports gambling.” Penalties for an athlete who has been found to have gambled on prohibited sports can include a loss of eligibility. Mateer had his first full season as a starter last year at Washington State. He completed 64.6% of his passes for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also rushed for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns. Mateer entered the transfer portal after last season as one of the top players available, and he had a disrespectful gesture when announcing his commitment to the Sooners.
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