MINOT, ND – The Minot High boy’s hockey team began the season on the road in Devils Lake on Monday. The Magicians tallied three goals in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Each team found the back of the net in the second period as Minot High led 4-1. The Magicians added two more goals in the third to tally a 6-2 win over the Firebirds. Minot High tallied 51 shots on goal with Devils Lake placing 24 shots on goal. The Magicians are off until next Tuesday when they travel to Bismarck Century.

———————————————————-

 

UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL-HONOR

 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (UND) – North Dakota senior guard Kacie Borowicz walked away with this week’s Summit League Women’s Basketball Peak Performer of the Week accolade, League officials announced Monday. Borowicz put together a pair of strong performances at Montana State and Montana that saw her average 27.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 2.0 spg. In North Dakota’s 77-66 loss at Montana State, Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks with 20 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. She also dished out a team-best four assists and pulled down four rebounds against the Bobcats. In a tough 82-77 loss to Montana, the senior once again paced North Dakota with a career-high 35 points. The Roseau, Minn., native buried 3-of-5 from behind the arc and also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and added three steals. Borowicz has scored 20-plus points in three games on the season and currently leads the League and ranks 14th nationally in points per game (23.5).

———————————————————

 

UND MEN’S HOCKEY

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UND) – Freshman forward Jackson Blake has been named NCHC Rookie of the Week following a torrid offensive weekend against Miami, conference officials announced on Monday. Blake was dynamic in a weekend split with the RedHawks, striking for a trio of goals and adding an assist for four points. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native recorded multiple points in both contests, stretching his season total to six games with at least two points.

 

In Friday’s opening 7-1 win, Blake struck for a pair of goals to help the Fighting Hawks tally their largest margin of victory this season. The

rookie extended the lead to 3-0 with a power play goal in the second period, his fourth on the man advantage this season, before polishing off the triumph with the seventh goal of the night to finish with his first multi-goal game in the green and white. On Saturday, Blake helped NoDak rally from a 3-0 deficit for the second time this season, sparking the rally with an assist on Riese Gaber’s power play goal in the middle frame to cut the lead to 3-1. Just over five minutes into the third, the freshman completed the comeback with his third goal of the weekend and seventh of the year on a great 2-on-1 play with Gaber to knot the game at 3-3.

 

For the season, Blake currently sits tied for third in the NCAA and is tied for the NCHC lead among rookies with seven goals, while his 15 points rank fifth in the country and second in the league for freshmen.

————————————————-

 

NDSU FOOTBALL-HONORS

 

ST. LOUIS (NDSU) – North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller, wide receiver DJ Hart and left guard Nash Jensen earned Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week honors announced by the league office Monday following NDSU’s 42-21 win over North Dakota.

 

Miller, a junior from Solon, Iowa, was named MVFC co-Offensive Player of the Week after a career-high 16 carries and 93 yards with a school record-tying five rushing touchdowns. It is the only five-touchdown game in the Football Championship Subdivision this season. Miller shared the award with Northern Iowa quarterback Theo Day, who passed for a career-high 380 yards and six TDs in a 58-14 win over South Dakota.

 

Hart, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., is the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 24.3 yards on three kickoff returns with a career-high 156 all-purpose yards against UND. He went 28, 47 and 27 yards on his three returns but finished with 73 return yards after penalties negated 29 yards. Hart led the Bison with two receptions for 83 yards including a career-long 76-yard passing play.

 

Jensen, a senior from Maple Grove, Minn., was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week after earning a 95% grade with no penalties and no sacks or quarterback hits allowed. NDSU rushed for 363 yards and six touchdowns against UND while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. The Bison put up a season-high 522 yards of total offense with 35:25 time of possession.

 

These are the first MVFC player of the week awards for Hart and Jensen. It is the second award for Miller, who was a Newcomer of the Week in the spring season of 2020-21. No. 3 seed North Dakota State (9-2) is scheduled to host either Southeast Missouri State (9-2) or Montana (7-4) in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Saturday, Dec. 3.

—————————————————-

 

WOLVES-HEAT

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and Anthony Edwards scored 10 of his 22 in the third quarter as the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the shorthanded Miami Heat for a 105-101 victory Monday night. Down to eight players due to injuries and rest on the second night of a back-to-back, Miami led by 15 in the first half before Edwards sparked a third-quarter run and Minnesota finally started to knock down 3-pointers to erase the deficit. Jaden McDaniels added 18 points for the Timberwolves and Jordan McLaughlin hit a career-high four 3s, three in the third period, as Minnesota won its fourth straight game. “Coach lit a fire under us at halftime, and we came out and I felt like we saw the ball go in the hoop a little more,” Towns said. “And I think everyone could see the intensity of ours pick up, especially defensively.”

 

Kyle Lowry led the Heat with 21 points and Max Strus had 19. Bam Adebayo, playing in back-to-back games while dealing with a knee injury, had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Miami, which has lost four in a row. Jimmy Butler missed his third straight game with a knee injury for the Heat, who were also without Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent.

 

The Wolves have won four in a row improving their record to 9-8. The Timberwolves play at Indiana on Wednesday.

——————————————————

 

VIKINGS

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The NFL this season is as competitive as ever, with all-time record rates of close games and comeback wins. Only a scant few teams are either out of contention or way ahead of the pack. That also means a collective increase in the amount of flaws across the league. The Minnesota Vikings had theirs dreadfully exposed and exacerbated in a 40-3 defeat by the Dallas Cowboys. “Sometimes these games are good to wake you up a bit and realize that you’ve got to bring it every single week,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. You’ve got to bring it. You’ve got to find a way to bring your best football. It doesn’t matter if you’re sore, tired, injured, nicked up. You’ve got find a way to mentally play your best football.”

 

The Vikings (8-2) still lead the NFC North by four games with seven left and have a two-game cushion for the No. 2 seed in the conference that would come with two home playoff games. They also now have the dishonor of being cumulatively outscored by their opponents (231-229) over the season, a negative point differential that’s the worst in NFL history for a team that has won eight or more of its first 10 games.

 

The most troubling development Sunday was the frequency quarterback Kirk Cousins found himself under pressure by a four-man rush, beginning with his very first attempt to pass that Micah Parsons spoiled with a strip-sack turnover. Cousins took a career-most seven sacks, two of them against left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who went back in the concussion protocol after the second one. He was all but ruled out by coach Kevin O’Connell to play in the next game against New England on Thursday night. “This is one of our best players with a long-term future here, and we’re going to make sure that C.D. is absolutely … ready to roll when that time comes,” O’Connell said. The deficit grew so big, so fast the Vikings had to ditch most of their ground game, but Dalvin Cook averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Though he skewed the total with an 81-yard touchdown run against the Bills, Cook’s two highest rushing averages this season have come in the last two games.

 

WHAT NEEDS HELP

With the offense running a cram session in pass protection improvement this week, the defense could stand to shore up the front line against the run with the recent absence of defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson looming large. The Cowboys converted eight third downs in the first half, seven by rush. They also sprung running back Tony Pollard open for six receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns, finding a mismatch against linebacker Jordan Hicks for a 68-yard passing score.

 

STOCK UP

Highlighting an individual player whose value actually rose in such a team-wide failure is hardly relevant, but backup nose tackle Khyiris Tonga had four tackles — one for loss — and a pass defensed during fourth quarter mop-up time.

 

STOCK DOWN

The best answer here is the entire team, coaching staff included. The Vikings were thoroughly outschemed and outplayed in every phase of the game. “Any time you lose of course it’s tough to digest, but on the bright side we’re still an 8-2 football team and we still have everything in front of us,” nickel cornerback Chandon Sullivan said.

 

INJURY REPORT

Darrisaw will be replaced in the starting lineup this week by Blake Brandel, but beyond that, the offense remains as healthy as any unit in the league. The defense could use a few reinforcements, though. Cornerback Akayleb Evans missed the Cowboys game with a concussion, forcing fellow rookie Andrew Booth Jr. to make his first career start with Cameron Dantzler Sr. out until the Dec. 11 game at Detroit. Evans was listed as a limited participant on the estimated injury report Monday, providing some hope of him playing Thursday. Booth, however, was listed as a non-participant with a knee injury. Tomlinson did not practice last week and sat out for the third straight game, but he was listed as a limited participant.

 

KEY NUMBER — 183. That was Minnesota’s net yardage against Dallas, the fifth-lowest total in the NFL this season and the team’s worst output in more than two years. The Vikings had 175 yards on Sept. 20, 2020 in a 28-11 loss at Indianapolis.

 

UP NEXT

The Patriots are also second in the league behind the Cowboys in points allowed, presenting another significant challenge for Cousins and company in the first Thanksgiving Day home game in Vikings history. The bright side? Less time to dwell on such a lopsided defeat. “After something like this you want to play as soon as possible,” Hicks said.