MINOT, ND – This week is the end of the regular season for Class 11AA and 11A football teams.

 

 

Class 11AA
#1 West Fargo Sheyenne def. #2 Mandan, 28-17
#3 Fargo Shanley def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 70-14
#5 Minot High def. West Fargo, 24-10
Bismarck Century def. Bismarck High, 23-0

 

Class 11A
#1 Grand Forks Red River def. Dickinson, 46-0
#3 Jamestown def. #5 Fargo North, 49-21
Watford City def. West Fargo Horace, 21-19

 

 

Class B
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Velva (3-0) 25-17, 25-23, 25-16
Newburg-Westhope def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (3-0) 25-13, 25-20, 25-22
Glen Ullin-Hebron def. Beulah (3-1) 25-23, 23-25, 25-29, 25-15

 

College Womens Volleyball
MSU-Moorhead def. Minot State (3-0) 25-18, 25-11, 25-21

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MINOT, ND – The State Cross Country meet is this weekend in Jamestown. The Class B races are today with Class A on Saturday. Bowman County has won the Class B boys title the past two seasons. Rugby is the three time defending Class B girls champion. Brynn Hanson of Des Lacs-Burlington will try to win her second consecutive individual girls title. Williston is the defending champion in both boys and girls Class A.

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NORTHWOODS LEAGUE-MINOT

 

MINOT, ND – The new Northwoods League expansion team hosted a public event on Thursday at Corbett Field to announce their official team name. The Magic City has spoken, and after beating out the other 4 finalists, The Minot Hot Tots will be bringing the heat for their inaugural season in 2023! The team is named after a North Dakota staple, tater-tot hotdish. Not only is tater-tot hotdish one of the most popular dishes in North Dakota, but it is also said that the word “hotdish” comes from the Norwegian word “varmrett”, which translates to “warm dish”. The name ties back perfectly to Minot’s heritage and is something relatable to people in the community.

 

“We are all about food, family, fun, and bringing people together,” said Monica Blake, Minot Hot Tots General Manager, and Managing Partner. “It was really important to us to choose a name that fits our values and also ties back to the Minot community. This name accomplished both of those requirements.” The new team logo features a tater-tot cartoon figure holding a baseball bat behind his back that doubles as a serving spoon that has just scooped up some cheesy tater-tot hotdish. The primary team colors are red, blue, and yellow. Some North Dakotans might recognize these colors together, as they are the same colors as the North Dakota state flag.

 

“So fitting, a fun name and a name that has significance in the upper Midwest” said Jarid Lundeen, local Minot resident and Hot Tots minority owner. “It’s all about fun and bringing families in the Minot community together for great baseball, but more importantly bringing an element of community and an element of excitement! Love the name, so excited for inaugural season.”

 

During the event, the team revealed three secondary logos as well. One of those logos features the same tater-tot figure standing in a pan of hotdish that is shaped like home plate. This is a nod to the popular nickname for home plate, the dish. Fans can check out the rest of the logos on the team’s website, hottotsbaseball.com.

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WILD-CANUCKS

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored 3:02 into overtime to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night for their first victory of the season. Kaprizov had his fourth goal of the season and added two assists as Minnesota wrapped up its season-opening, four-game homestand with its first points of the season. Mats Zuccarello added two goals and Sam Steel scored his second of the season. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 23 saves for Minnesota.

 

“To get a win like that, you just believe, or hope and believe that’ll push us forward to do what we do,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “We still lost our composure in a lot of areas in tonight’s hockey game, which is uncharacteristic, but I guess probably expected when we’re squeezing so tight. Hopefully, this allows us to loosen up a bit.”

 

Bo Horvat scored for the third straight game, Dakota Joshua had a goal and assist and Nils Aman scored his first NHL goal for Vancouver, which let another lead slip away. Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks. Vancouver had multi-goal leads in each of its first four games, blowing each and coming away with just one point in an overtime loss at Columbus in its previous game. It let another third-period advantage slip away. “We’ve either been leading or we’ve been tied with less than seven minutes to go in every one of the games and we haven’t come up with a win, and that’s very frustrating,” Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “So, we know what we’re capable of doing and when we do turn it around, it’ll turn around for a long time, and just want to do it quick.”

 

While the Canucks have had trouble holding leads this season, the Wild had trouble getting in front. Zuccarello’s first goal of the game gave Minnesota its first lead of the new year 4:37 into the first period. The lead lasted just 3:21 as Horvat scored his fourth goal of the season on a give-and-go, tapping in a centering pass from Tanner Pearson. Aman, drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round in 2020, added his first in his fifth career game. Joshua sent Aman in alone on Fleury with a behind-the-back pass and Aman beat Fleury with a wrist shot. “Always fun to score,” Aman said. “Get a nice pass from Joshua and had some speed, so just trying to get to the net and it went in. But it sucks to lose.” Steel tied the game before the first intermission. Joshua’s goal was the lone tally in the second and held up until Zuccarello scored his second of the game on the power play, deflecting a pass from Kaprizov past Demko.

 

A team with Stanley Cup aspirations after last season’s franchise-record 53 wins and 113 points, the Wild have suffered defensive lapses during their disappointing start. Thursday’s game started the same way, but Minnesota recovered. Fleury, the 37-year-old netminder who re-signed with Minnesota on a two-year deal in the offseason, has allowed 14 goals on 75 shots and was pulled in his previous start. He was at his best from the second period on, allowing one goal on the final 18 shots he faced. The Wild, who went 31-7-2 at home last season, had allowed 20 goals in the first three games of their opening homestand. “It’s good to see guys laugh a bit, smile,” Fleury said. “We have such a good team and chemistry. Everybody kind of got tense, right? Not being ourselves. Nice to be relaxed and smile and having fun playing the game. Working on it. It’s good. It’s good to see the laugh. We just have to keep building on it.”

 

SHORT RETURN

Minnesota forward Jordan Greenway made his season debut after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but he left midway through the first with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. Evason said Greenway will undergo tests, but the forward won’t play Saturday. Evason said it is not the same injury that required surgery. Vancouver also lost defenseman Riley Stillman to an undisclosed injury. Boudreau didn’t have an update on Stillman after the game.

 

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host Buffalo on Saturday in home opener.

Wild: Play first road game at Boston on Saturday.

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VIKINGS-O’CONNELL WINNING

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than one-third of the way through their first season under coach Kevin O’Connell, the Minnesota Vikings have the only two-game lead among the NFL’s eight divisions. The question about how close this team is to seriously contending for the Super Bowl — with a roster mostly similar to the one that missed the playoffs the last two years — remains unanswered. With their strong start ahead of an unusually large middle of the pack in the NFC, though, the Vikings have at least set themselves up for some meaningful football down the stretch. This much is clear: Good vibes and hidden strengths go a long way toward success in this sport. “At the end of the day, we just find a way,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said after the 24-16 win at Miami on Sunday gave Minnesota a 5-1 record entering its bye week.

 

The Vikings have a plus-33 point differential in the final 4 minutes of either half. That’s the best margin in the NFL through six weeks, according to Sportradar. Last season, they were dead last at minus-73. In 2020, they were third-worst in the league at minus-53. The previous coaching staff under Mike Zimmer spent plenty of practice time on those vital scenarios, but there’s clearly a winning spirit present with this group that has been missing in Minnesota in recent years. The Vikings have won four straight games, all by one score.

“It comes down to those margins and how can we be good on some plays and situations that maybe don’t always get talked about on Monday morning, but they’re winning plays and winning philosophies for us,” O’Connell said. “Those margins become even smaller, and we’re going to have to be that much better.” O’Connell and his staff have implemented a curriculum of sorts called “Situational Masters,” one of several pieces of the program he learned and copied from the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams under coach Sean McVay.

Ryan Cordell, who serves as game management coordinator, and Mike Pettine, the assistant head coach, lead the weekly sessions highlighting applicable sequences from around the league that can determine the difference between winning and losing. “You have to be trained to know the situation,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.

 

The Vikings praised cornerback Cameron Dantzler II for his foresight to slide after stripping the ball away from Chicago’s Ihmir Smith-Marsette with a seven-point lead with a little more than one minute left. The Bears were out of timeouts, so ensuring the Vikings kept possession — instead of giving it back after a touchdown or, worse, a fumble during the return — guaranteed they could end the game on their terms. “You see guys like actually watching other games and learning from them before we even talk about it, which is cool,” Thielen said. The Vikings have outweighed their No. 25 ranking in the NFL in yardage differential with several other influential factors. They have taken just 185 penalty yards, the fewest in the league. The Rams (24) are the only team with fewer penalties against them than the Vikings (25). Their turnover margin (plus-four) is the second-best in the NFL. They’re also seventh in the league in third-down defense, allowing a 34.7% conversion rate.

 

Whether this promising early-season performance by the Vikings is attributable to strategic advancements by the staff, increased confidence for the players that comes from a rejuvenated environment around the practice facility, or simply a healthy dose of good luck, they’re on the right track under the new regime. Not to be overlooked, either, is the impact of new executive director of player health and performance Tyler Williams, another arrival from the Rams. The sports science techniques being applied by Williams and his staff have paid off with a remarkably low number of soft-tissue injuries. The only starter who has missed a game is safety Harrison Smith, who had a concussion. The Vikings have also navigated a long trip to London and a hot visit to Miami.

 

The kicking game is another critical piece that can quietly make the difference between an average team and a championship contender, and the Vikings under new special teams coordinator Matt Daniels have been thriving on just about every unit. They lead the league with an average starting field position differential of 7.5 yards better than their opponent, a telling measure of effective kick coverage and returns. Rookie punter Ryan Wright had 10 punts for a net average of 43.9 yards that included a 73-yard boomer from his own end zone that sent Dolphins speedster Tyreek Hill backpedaling for a 2-yard loss on the return. Wright was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. “One critical error can literally dictate the win or loss of a game. So for us, the mindset going into it is to have a positive impact on the football game every single time we step out there,” Daniels said.

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MLB-PLAYOFFS

 

HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit an early three-run homer, Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and the Houston Astros edged the New York Yankees 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge just missed a two-run homer in the eighth when his drive was caught just in front of the short wall by right fielder Kyle Tucker. The ball would’ve landed in the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, Statcast showed — with the roof open at Minute Maid Park, the wind might’ve knocked down Judge’s bid. The Astros improved to 5-0 this postseason. A night after Justin Verlander fanned 11 to begin the best-of-seven series, Bregman’s third-inning homer was all the offense Houston needed. The Astros improved to 5-0 this postseason.

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NFL-THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

 

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Marco Wilson and Isaiah Simmons scored touchdowns on two pick-6s late in the first half and used that stunning change in momentum to lift the Arizona Cardinals over the New Orleans Saints 42-34. The Cardinals snapped an eight-game home losing streak that was the franchise’s longest since 1958. The game was tied at 14 when Saints quarterback Andy Dalton threw the game-changing interceptions on consecutive drives that were barely a minute apart just before halftime.

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NFL-TRADE

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have acquired star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers for a haul of draft picks. The Panthers announced the deal that sends McCaffrey back to the Bay Area where he starred in college at Stanford in Thursday night. They said it will be finalized when McCaffrey passes a physical. A person familiar with the deal said on condition of anonymity that the Panthers will receive picks in the second, third and fourth rounds of the 2023 draft, as well as a fifth-rounder in 2024.