Gophers coach Tim Brewster said fullback Jon Hoese, whose father’s funeral is today, will play in tomorrow’s game against South Dakota. Brewster said he becomes emotional recalling what a loyal fan and “awesome guy” Terry was. The game ball from last week’s win over Middle Tennessee State was given to Terry.
Safety Kim Royston, who broke his leg last spring, will miss his second game of 2010 tomorrow against South Dakota, but Brewster continues to monitor Royston’s comeback. “We’ll see the week of the SC game (September 18) where he’s at on Tuesday,” Brewster said.
“I can’t say at this point but I will next week.” That’s how Brewster answered the question of whether he could say what the status for the Southern California game will be for indefinitely suspended safety Kyle Theret and offensive tackle Dom Alford. Both players missed last week’s game and won’t play against South Dakota.
South Dakota’s starting strong safety is Minnesota native and former Gophers scholarship player Shane Potter.
The Coyotes, who lost their opener 38-7 to Central Florida last week, are members of the five-team Great West Conference that includes Cal Poly, North Dakota, Southern Utah and UC Davis.
Gophers junior guard Devoe Joseph made 55 percent of his field goals including 50 percent of his three point attempts in the three game exhibition series against Canadian schools that ended Sunday. He led the Gophers in scoring with a 17.3 average, while senior guard-forward Blake Hoffarber was second at 13 points per game.
Freshman forward Maurice Walker led in rebounds with 7.7 per game while junior forward Trevor Mbakwe averaged 7. The Gophers won all three games averaging 87 points while opponents averaged 65.7.
MIAC football teams continue with nonconference games this Saturday and then conference play opens on September 18. The league’s most anticipated games come in October involving Saint John’s coach John Gagliardi, St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso and Bethel coach Steve Johnson. Saint John’s hosts St. Thomas on October 2 before traveling to Bethel the following Saturday. Bethel will be at St. Thomas on October 23 to complete the round-robin of the three MIAC favorites. The regular season ends on November 13.
The Wild, who open training camp September 18, will make team veteran Mikko Koivu and free agent acquisitions Matt Cullen, John Madden and Eric Nystrom available to the media today. Koivu, the team’s captain, signed a seven-year contract extension on July 15 that begins with the 2011-12 season and continues 2017-18. Cullen and Nystrom signed three-year contracts on the opening day of free agency (July 1) and Madden signed a one-year contract August 6.
Bleacher Report includes a Herb Brooks book by former Minneapolis Tribune writer John Gilbert on its list of hockey books NHL fans should read. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/453189-hockey-books-all-nhl-fans-should-read?utm_source=nhl.com#page/5