MINOT, ND – The Our Redeemer’s Knights and Velva Aggies finish the regular season tonight in Velva. The Aggies are 11-7 on the season and have won three of their last four games. The Knights are 7-10 and have lost three of their last four. Live coverage tonight begins around 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, onine at khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.

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MINOT, ND – Bismarck Century remains atop both Class A Basketball Polls. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

 

 

         (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (17)    19-0          90           1
2. Minot High                        17-2          70           2
3. Fargo Davies                   17-2          56           4
4. Mandan                            15-4          26           3
5. Fargo North                      12-6         23           T5

 

Others receiving votes: Grand Forks Red River (12-6)

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            (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (15)        16-2         87          1
2. Fargo Davies (3)                  17-1         73          2
3. Grand Forks Red River        18-1         56          3
4. Minot High                             16-3         35          4
5. West Fargo                           16-3         14         T5

 

Others receiving votes: Bismarck Legacy (15-4), Bismarck High (15-4)

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WDA HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

 

MINOT, ND – The West Region Boys Hockey Tournament begins today at MAYSA Arena here in Minot and runs through Saturday.

 

 

West Region Tournament – MAYSA Arena in Minot
First Round
#1 Minot High vs #9 Bottineau-Rugby, 11 am
#4 Jamestown vs #5 Mandan, 1:15 pm
#2 Bismarck Legacy vs #7 Bismarck High, 5 pm
#3 Bismarck Century vs #6 Dickinson, 7:15 pm

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STATE WRESTLING

 

MINOT, ND – The State Wrestling Tournament begins today at the Fargo Dome. The Individual portion is today and Friday with the Team Dual competition set for Saturday.

 

 

Team Dual State Tournament – Fargo Dome
First Round – (Sat. 10 am)
(E1) West Fargo Sheyenne vs (W4) Minot High
(W2) Bismarck High vs (E3) West Fargo
(W1) Williston vs (E4) Grand Forks Central
(E2) Fargo Davies vs (W3) Bismarck Century

Bismarck High has won three consecutive state dual titles and seven of the last eight.

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Team Dual State Tournament – Fargo Dome
First Round – (Sat. 10 am)
#2 South Border vs Velva
#3 New Salem-Almont vs Pembina County North
#1 Lisbon vs Hettinger-Scranton
#4 Central Cass vs #5 Northern Lights

Lisbon has won four consecutive state dual championships.

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Team Dual State Tournament – Fargo Dome
First Round – (Sat. 10 am)
(E1) Central Cass vs (W4) Bismarck Century
(W2) Bismarck Legacy vs (E3) Fargo
(W1) Minot High vs (E4) Grand Forks
(E2) Carrington vs (W3) Bismarck

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MINOT STATE HOCKEY – POLLS

 

MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – A pair of home wins for the Minot State women’s hockey team, and an off weekend for the Beaver men, kept both teams locked in place in the current ACHA national polls. The Minot State men (26-2-0 overall) remained No. 1 in the ACHA Division I men’s poll, while the Beaver women (20-8-1 overall) held strong at No. 2 in the ACHA Division I women’s poll after scoring 8-2 and 4-1 wins over Lindenwood (Mo.) on Friday and Saturday. The Minot State men return to action this weekend playing at in-state rival the University of Mary on Saturday night at 7 p.m., then hosting Jamestown at the Maysa Arena on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Jimmies are currently ranked No. 8 in the ACHA Division I men’s poll. The Minot State women are on the road to close out the regular season against a tough foe in Midland as the Warriors are ranked No. 3 in this week’s poll. The Beavers play in Fremont, Nebraska on Saturday at 4 p.m., and at noon on Sunday.

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ACHA TEAM CANADA-BEAVERS

 

TROY, Mich. (MSU) – The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) named five Minot State hockey players – the most for any team – to the 26-player roster for ACHA Team Canada that will compete in the 2023 World Cup of University Hockey, held April 14-19, 2023, in Carța, Romania. Leading the way are a trio of Beaver forwards, Carter Barley, Drew Carter, and Joey Moffatt, while Minot State defensemen Eric Soar and Brayden Pawluk join them on the Team Canada roster.

 

Barley is a junior from St. Andrews, Manitoba who leads the No. 1-ranked Beavers (26-2-0 overall) with 51 points, which includes team-highs of 18 goals and 33 assists. Moffatt is a freshman from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba who is second on the team in scoring with 17 goals, 24 assists, and 41 points in his debut collegiate season. Carter is a graduate student from Kelowna, British Columbia who had 15 goals and 17 assists, Soar is a senior from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan who has two goals and 13 assists this season, and Pawluk is a junior from Teulon, Manitoba and has five goals and 10 assists.

 

Head coach for Team Canada is Mike Petrusma, head coach for the Calvin Knights (Mich.), while Jeremy Law, head coach at Missouri State, and Geoffrey Beauparlant, head coach at West Chester (Pa.) will be the assistant coaches. Team Canada will play in Group B alongside host nation Romania, Poland, and Czech Republic.

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ACHA TEAM USA – BEAVERS

 

TROY, Mich. (MSU) – The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) announced that Minot State’s Jay Buchholz and Christian Kadolph have been selected as part of the 23-player roster for ACHA Team United States that will compete in the 2023 World Cup of University Hockey, held April 14-19, 2023, in Carța, Romania. Buchholz is a sophomore forward from Fargo, North Dakota who has 13 goals and 22 assists this season for the No. 1-ranked Beavers (26-2-0 overall), while Kadolph is a freshman defenseman from Brainerd, Minnesota who has seven goals and 11 assists in his debut collegiate season. Head coach for the team is Gary Astalos, head coach at Adrian College (Mich.), with Mike Rivera, head coach at Central Oklahoma, and Frank DiCristofaro, head coach at Indiana Tech, will serve as assistants. Team United States will play in Group A against Hungary, Sweden, and Slovakia.

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MINOT STATE BASEBALL-CANCELLED GAME

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (MSU) – The Minot State baseball team got Wednesday off and returns to action on Friday as the Beavers game at Washburn (Kan.) was canceled because of bad weather and poor field conditions. The Beavers (3-1 overall) are in the middle of a two-week road trip to Kansas. Minot State opened its season at Emporia State last weekend, winning 3-of-4 games. With the cancelation, Minot State’s next game will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Newman (Kan.), a single-game contest to start a four-game series. The Beavers and Jets will play a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday, then wrap up the weekend with a single game on Sunday scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

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WILD-AVALANCHE

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Denis Malgin scored for the second consecutive night, Nathan MacKinnon got his fifth goal in five games since the All-Star break and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2. Andrew Cogliano also scored for Colorado, and Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves. Georgiev had allowed 11 goals in the previous three games. Kirill Kaprizov scored his 31st goal and Joel Eriksson Ek added his 21st of the season for Minnesota, which has lost five of six since the All-Star break and been outscored 19-10 in the process. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 16 shots for the Wild who host the Dallas Stars on Friday.

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VIKINGS-FLORES

 

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Brian Flores interviewed for at least four jobs this offseason, even one for head coach. No matter how big the rebuild might be in Minnesota, his two sons weren’t deterred: Vikings defensive coordinator was surely the best fit for their dad. “They didn’t care about any of the other opportunities. They’re big Justin Jefferson fans, so when we accepted the position, there was a lot of Griddy-ing going on in my house,” Flores said, referencing Jefferson’s signature touchdown groove. “And I had my own version that nobody wants to see here.” Flores can name his tune and his dance — plus, probably, his price — if he finds a way to fix a defense that was one of the easiest in the NFL to move the ball against in 2022. “You get a gut feeling — I think we’ve all kind of had those — that this was the place for me and my family,” said the 41-year-old Flores, who’s married with three children. His daughter even took her first steps inside U.S. Bank Stadium at a team event the week of the Super Bowl he coached in with New England five seasons ago.

 

One year removed from his messy firing as Miami’s head coach and the fallout that led to a still-pending lawsuit, Flores appeared quite comfortable with the current state of his career at an introductory news conference Wednesday at Vikings headquarters next to head coach Kevin O’Connell. Flores was hired on Feb. 6. “I’m where my feet are. I’m very excited to be here. I think any other opportunities that present themselves in the future, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” said Flores, who interviewed for Arizona’s head coach vacancy and defensive coordinator openings with Atlanta and Cleveland. Flores filed a class-action lawsuit last year alleging racial discrimination by the Dolphins and the NFL, a case still tied up in the court system. Flores, who is Black, was joined as plaintiffs by Steve Wilks and Ray Horton. He said Wednesday he couldn’t comment specifically about the lawsuit.

 

Flores built his resume over 15 seasons and four Super Bowl titles with the Patriots organization, the last eight as a defensive assistant. The Patriots won it all four years ago with Flores as a first-time defensive play-caller, and they jumped from 17th to seventh in the league in opponent passer rating while tying for fifth with 28 takeaways. “I want the closest resemblance to my personality as the head coach of this team to be articulated in how we play,” O’Connell said, “and I think Brian coming in here will give not only the similar football backgrounds and philosophies, but also just the mindset of being ultra-competitors.” Flores spent three years as coach of the Dolphins and was a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022 for Pittsburgh. He has replaced Ed Donatell, fired by O’Connell after their only season together.

 

O’Connell also formally interviewed Sean Desai, Mike Pettine and Ryan Nielsen for the job of reviving a defense that ranked second-worst in the league in yards allowed and fourth-worst in points allowed. O’Connell clearly wasn’t on the same page with Donatell down the stretch about how much the Vikings needed to adjust their rush and coverage strategy. “I left out of here feeling like there was a shared vision,” Flores said. “He’s aggressive offensively. I’m aggressive defensively. That kind of philosophy was aligned.”

 

With safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Patrick Peterson, inside linebacker Eric Kendricks and outside linebackers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith, the Vikings have a core that’s accomplished and savvy but expensive and aged. Those five players have been picked for the Pro Bowl a combined 21 times, but only Hunter (27) is under 30. There’s almost no way the entire quintet will remain for 2023, with the possibility that more than one would be cut for salary cap relief. Peterson and the other two starting cornerbacks, Duke Shelley and Chandon Sullivan, will all be free agents next month. Hunter, Kendricks and Smith, in particular, were either not the right fits or slow to transition to the new scheme after Donatell installed a 3-4 base system that was heavier on zone pass coverage and lighter on blitzing than the Vikings were previously in the 4-3 scheme run by head coach Mike Zimmer. Flores prefers a 3-4, but has operated a defense

more like Zimmer’s than Donatell’s, with more man-to-man coverage and frequent extra pass rushers.

 

The lack of contribution to the defense from recent drafts has become a glaring problem. From 2017 through 2021, at the direction of general manager Rick Spielman, they drafted a total of five defensive players in any of the first three rounds. Only two are still with the team: cornerback Cameron Dantzler and outside linebacker Patrick Jones. Dantzler, a third-rounder in 2020, has been hampered by injuries and finished the season as a backup. Jones, a third-rounder in 2021, played in 26% of the snaps on defense in 2022.