The Gopher hockey team (see above) plays RPI in the Ice Breaker Invitational starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 12. Also in the tournament and playing earlier that night are Michigan and Boston College. Tickets for the two-day tourney are available at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone at (651) 989-5151 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Although he is an older player at almost 35, the Vikings were willing to sign defensive tackle Pat Williams to a three year contract extension because of both his ability and durability. He has started 33 consecutive games for the team since coming here from Buffalo. After last season he and sidekick defensive tackle Kevin Williams both played in the Pro Bowl. In Vikings history the only pair of defensive tackles to earn that honor together were Alan Page and Gary Larsen (1969 and 1970).
Gopher kicker Jason Giannini missed three field goals in Saturday’s win over Miami of Ohio. A junior with game experience, Giannini is expected to perform better and coach Tim Brewster said on WCCO radio yesterday he’s considering a change in kickers.
The Gophers started their 2007 schedule as the only team in the country to have both rushed and passed for over 2,000 yards in each of the past eight seasons (1999-2006). During that period the Gophers averaged 227.8 yards rushing and 230.8 yards passing per game. Minnesota has rushed for 246 and 306 yards and passed for 188 and 271 yards in its first two games, putting the Gophers on pace to extend the streak to nine seasons.
Minneapolis area native David Gilreath, who started his high school career at Washburn and finished at Armstrong, is returning kickoffs for Wisconsin as a true freshman. He ran one kickoff back for 37 yards last Saturday against UNLV.
Defenseman John Scott, 6-8, 247, and left wing Derek Boogaard, 6-7, 254, are the two biggest players on the Minnesota Wild training camp roster. Right wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard, 5-10, 162, is the smallest. The Wild open training camp on Friday.
The Wild will scrimmage on Sunday, September 16 at the White Bear Lake Sports Center (1328 Highway 96) starting at 11 a.m. Dominic Nardini, a Bantam from White Bear Lake, was the winner of last season’s Hockey Day Minnesota “How I Show My Sportsmanship” essay contest and won the right to have the sports center host a Wild preseason scrimmage this season. There is no admission charge for the scrimmage and it’s open to the public.
Rob Leer’s company, Leer Communication & Consultants, is the media relations liaison for the Minnesota Ballpark Authority that is overseeing the construction and management of the new baseball stadium. Leer is a former sports and investigative reporter for KSTP TV.
Tennis fans across the country get excited watching the U.S. Open but the big stars seldom play in cities like Minneapolis because they aren’t interested in exhibitions or they want appearance fees that are too much for promoters to accept. Star players could help tennis by coming to communities like ours.