Hockey

On January 13^th, the Minnesota Wild were in need of salvation. With a lukewarm 18-19-5 record, the Wild seemed destined to join the Twins, Vikings and Timberwolves in Minnesota pro sports purgatory by missing out on the playoffs in the 2014-2015 season. And then an angel named Dubnyk arrived from Arizona. The Wild acquired 28-year old Saskatchewan native Devan Dubnyk from the Arizona Coyotes a week before the All-Star break. Dubnyk, a journeyman goaltender, has been Minnesota hockey's personal savior since heading north, resurrecting Mike Yeo’s underachieving squad from the depths of mediocrity and restoring the faith of Wild fans. Since January 15th, Dubnyk has started every game for the streaking Wild. Through March 7th, he's gone 18-3-1 with a .940 save percentage and a 1.60 GAA, while pitching 5 shutouts from between the...

The 2015 Minnesota State Boys' Hockey Tournament wrapped up on Saturday night in St. Paul. Lakeville North won the AA Championship, capping off a perfect 31-0 season with a 4-1 victory over Duluth East in the final. In Class A, East Grand Forks won its second straight title, defeating Hermantown 5-4 in the championship game. (This was the 6th straight loss for Hermantown in the final. Ouch....

The State of Hockey will crown its high school champions this Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Two teams — one from Class A and one from Class AA — will emerge from the 8-team brackets victorious, entering the history books as the 2015 titleholders in Minnesota's favorite winter sport. Here is a graphic showing the schools who've won the most state boys' hockey championships in Minnesota history (Click to Enlarge): This year, in the Class AA bracket, six perennial powers and two up-and-comers will battle for the title. Defending champions Edina, along with...

This past Sunday, the Golden Gopher women narrowly missed a chance to win their third consecutive NCAA Hockey Championship, falling to Clarkson University 5-4 in an unexpected heart-breaker. This upcoming Saturday, the Gopher men will begin their pursuit of tournament glory, taking on Robert Morris at the Xcel Center in the opening round of the 16-team NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships. The Gophers skated to an impressive (26 - 6 - 6) record this season, earning the inaugural Big Ten Conference regular season title, and the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their opponent, the Robert Morris University Colonials, finished with a (19 - 17 - 5) record playing in the Atlantic Hockey Association. It's hard to believe, but it's been eleven years since the Gophers last hoisted the NCAA Championship trophy. Back in in 2002...