Norsemen Win Sixth Straight, Gophers Vie for Big Ten Title

The St. Cloud Norsemen and Granite City Lumberjacks notched Friday wins, while the Minnesota Twins could not get the job done in a spring training matchup against Atlanta. On Saturday, the Gopher men's hockey team will face Michigan in the Big Ten title game, and the St. Cloud State baseball and softball teams, St. Ben's softball team, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Minnesota Wild will all return to action.

RECAPS:

- The Norsemen opened the weekend with a dominant 8-2 win over Austin. Blake Mesenburg led St. Cloud with three goals. Ethan Benz added two. The Norsemen improve to 32-14-2-1 and the Bruins fall to 25-22-2-3. The teams will play game two in St. Cloud at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

- The Lumberjacks shut out Mason City 4-0 in game one of a best-of-three Division Finals series. Four different players lit the lamp for Granite City. Quentin Sigurdson made a perfect 18 saves in the win. The Lumberjacks are now just one win away from a trip to the Fraser Cup Championship Tournament. They'll get a chance when they take the ice for game two at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

- The Twins lost their second straight spring training game 3-1 against the Braves on Friday. The Twins fall to 0-2 and will get another chance to find their sea legs when they face the Red Sox on Saturday at 12:05 p.m.

PREVIEWS:

- The Gopher men's hockey team will look to earn another Big Ten title when they host the University of Michigan on Saturday. The Gophers are 24-11 and the Wolverines are 28-9-1. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The SCSU baseball team is headed to Sioux Falls on Saturday to play a doubleheader against Augustana. The games mark the start of NSIC play for the Huskies. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

- The SCSU softball team is in Missouri this weekend playing in the Missouri Western Hy-Vee Classic. On Saturday the Huskies (8-9) will have a doubleheader starting at noon against the University of Central Missouri, followed by Northeastern State University at 2:00 p.m.

- The CSB softball team is hosting Bethany Lutheran College in a home-opener doubleheader on Saturday. The Bennies are 9-1 following the BLC Invite and Spring Break Games. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

- The Timberwolves (41-30) will try to keep their momentum going when they host Milwaukee (44-26) on Saturday. The teams last met in October with Minnesota coming out on top 113-108. Pre-game coverage tips off at 3:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Wild (35-20-4) will host Chicago (22-30-9) on Saturday. Minnesota has beaten the Blackhawks three times this season with 5-1 and 4-3 decisions in January and a 5-0 shutout in February. Pre-game coverage starts at 12:45 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.