Through games of last Sunday the Gophers ranked No. 2 in the country in blocks per game, 6.2, trailing Mississippi, 8.3. Minnesota leads the Big Ten in blocks and has three of the top five shot blockers in the conference, Damian Johnson, Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson.
At mid-season Sports Illustrated picks O.J. Mayo as the NBA Rookie of the Year. In its latest issue the magazine also chooses Kevin Garnett as Defensive Player of the Year.
Local sports fan Dennis McGrath described Wednesday night’s St. Thomas-Bethel game as “probably the most exciting basketball game I’ve ever seen.” The Tommies, ranked No. 1 in the country, remained undefeated at 22-0 with a 75-72 win, rallying from a double digit deficit. Coach Steve Fritz’s team is 17-0 in the MIAC, while Bethel, Augsburg, Carleton, Gustavus and Saint John’s all have 11-6 records.
The Minnesota Minute Men have announced 10 candidates for the 25th annual Mr. Hockey Award given to the outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state as selected by a panel of NHL scouts, Division I coaches and media. The winner will be announced on March 15 at the Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet in St. Paul. The candidates are Dan DeLisle (Totino-Grace), Marshall Everson (Edina), Ben Hanowski (Little Falls), Tyler Lapic (New Prague), Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie), Anders Lee (Edina), Danny Mattson (Academy of Holy Angels), Zach Palmquist (South St. Paul), Tyler Pitlick (Centennial) and Max Tardy (Duluth East). Banquet ticket information is available by contacting Loren Feldkamp at (763) 422-9708 or mrhockeybanquet@aol.com. Individual tickets for the event are $25.
The Wild has the opportunity to continue its success against Eastern Conference teams tomorrow night in a home game against Ottawa. The Wild is 11-2-1 against the Eastern Conference this season while out scoring opponents 42-26. Ottawa defenseman Brian Lee is a native of Moorhead, Minn. He has seven points in 27 games for the Senators.
The Gophers’ Jordan Schroeder is the top scorer among college freshmen hockey players at 1.25 points per game. He and Dartmouth’s Doug Jones, 1.09, are the only freshmen averaging a point or more per game. The Gophers (12-9-5) have lost four in a row for the first time since 2000 and play Alaska Anchorage (10-12-4) at home tonight and tomorrow night.