Category: Niklas Backstrom

The University of Minnesota athletic department is looking for access to corporate jets from multiple Minneapolis-St. Paul area companies.

New football coach Jerry Kill is committed to improving the academic performance of his Gophers football players.  Some let their classroom work slip after former coach Tim Brewster was dismissed.  However, it’s not expected that the Gophers will lose large numbers of players because of school work between now and their first game at USC in September.

In pro basketball history there are nine players who have had double-double streaks of 50-plus games.  The only one not retired and in the Hall of Fame is the Wolves’  22-year-old Kevin Love.  The others are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Walt Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Moses Malone and Bill Russell.

Trevor Mbakwe, who was All-Big Ten second team and the conference’s leading rebounder, said on KSTP TV’s Sports Wrap show last Sunday he’s probably not going to enter the NBA draft and will return to Minnesota for his senior season.

Mbakwe had 18 double-doubles during the season, the best total in the Big Ten and fifth highest in Gophers’ history.  Mychal Thompson holds the school record for most double-doubles in a season, 21 in 1975-76.

If Minnesota coach Tubby Smith leaves to take another job, candidates to replace him should include head coaches Tony Bennett (Virginia), Tim Miles (Colorado State) and Brian Dutcher, assistant coach at San Diego State.

Smith said redshirt freshman forward Oto Osenieks is the type of outside shooter his team needs.  “Oto lights it up in practice,” Smith said.

The Fischler Report, an authoritative hockey source, speculates that next year’s NHL Winter Classic will be played in Philadelphia or New York.  Minneapolis-St. Paul seems likely to host the New Year’s Day game within the next couple of years but maybe not in 2012.

The Wild’s Jose Theodore and Niklas Backstrom have both started 25 games in goal.  Theodore enjoys playing guitar and his favorite athlete is Muhammad Ali. Backstrom likes music, too, and his favorite artists are Metallica, U2, Iron Maiden, Bruce Springsteen and The Giant Leap.

The Gophers hockey team is 5-0-2 in its last seven games and has scored 31 goals, an average of 4.41 while giving up 17 goals, 2.42.  During the undefeated streak Cade Fairchild leads the team in points with 11 and assists, 10.  Nick Bjugstad leads in goals with six.  The Gophers host Alaska-Anchorage starting tonight in the WCHA playoffs.

Hamline University senior center Mary Wilkowski is the MIAC Player-of-the-Year.  Wilkowski led the conference in scoring with an average of 21.3 points per game. She also ranked second in the league in rebounding (8.9 per game), field goal percentage (.560), minutes per game (35.92) and fifth in free throw percentage (.833).  She was an all-conference player all four seasons at Hamline.

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New Gophers coach Jerry Kill has made a positive impression since being hired in December, winning praise from high school coaches, business leaders and media.

Kill and his staff will participate in the Minnesota Football Clinic, March 31-April 2.  The clinic is a partnership between the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Gophers.  More clinic information is available on the association’s website.

Kill lost a recruiter with a national reputation this week when running backs coach Thomas Hammock left for Wisconsin.

Coach Jacques Lemaire’s New Jersey Devils have won eight straight games, the longest win streak in the NHL.  No word on whether the former Wild head coach, 65, will return to lead the Devils next season.

The Wild has no games tomorrow and Sunday, the only two-game break during a busy 17 day period.  The Wild is on national TV Monday with a Versus game against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center.

As of yesterday morning Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom’s 1.23 goals against average and .955 save percentage were the best in the NHL since the All-Star break (late January) among goalies with more than one start.

The NHL trade deadline is Monday afternoon, 2 p.m. our time.

Michigan senior Whitney Taney, the former Edina prep champion, won her third career Big Ten Athlete of the Week tennis award earlier this month.

Timberwolves center Darko Milicic ranks third in the NBA in blocked shots per game, 2.2.

Timberwolves president Chris Wright is the honorary chairperson for Minnesota FoodShare’s 2011 March Campaign.  Each March, Minnesota FoodShare conducts a drive to raise more than half the food distributed annually through 300 food shelves across the state.

Gustavus head men’s basketball coach Mark Hanson became the 65th coach in NCAA Division III history to reach 400 wins when the Gusties defeated Saint Mary’s last Saturday.  After a win over St. Olaf this week, his all-time record is 401-176.  He is the 31st active coach to achieve 400 wins.  It’s believed that Hanson is the 14th fastest coach to reach 400 victories in Division III history.  He is the sixth MIAC coach to earn 400 wins.

 

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