countdown to baseball | gophers vs illini
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Related: While the Sabres had a disappointing end to the 2012-13 campaign, Vanek thrived as the team's leader in points (41) and goals (20, 10th in the NHL this season) in the 38-game season. The forward also finished tied for first on the team in assists with 21.
One of three additions on the day, Johnson joins the original roster of 15 that includes former Gophers forward (and current Florida Panthers center) Nick Bjugstad. The U.S. Men's National Team will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's World Championship May 3-19 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. NBC Sports Network will air all Team USA games at the tournament with a full broadcast schedule coming out next week. Johnson has played for six U.S. National Teams, highlighted by the 2010 U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team. He helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. He played on the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2007 IIHF Men's World Championship. Johnson skated in the 2006 and 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships, collecting a bronze medal in 2007. He helped Team USA win back-to-back gold medals at the 2005 and 2006 IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championships. The fifth-year NHL veteran was selected first overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In 328 career games, Johnson has tallied 131 points (27 goals, 104 assists). The NHL regular season continues to wind down with only one
game remaining for the majority of teams. Former Gopher Phil Kessel continued his offensive tear for the playoff-bound Maple Leafs on Thursday in Toronto's 4-0 win over Nick Bjugstad and the Florida Panthers. Kessel netted a pair of second period goals in the win to bring his season total to 19 (his 51 points rank sixth in the NHL this season with one regular-season game remaining). Kessel has eight points in his last four games as the Leafs finish up the regular season on Saturday at home against Montreal. Wheeler and the Jets Finish 20112-13 Campaign Blake Wheeler and the Winnipeg Jets' chances of making the playoffs were dashed even before the team's 4-2 loss to Montreal on Thursday night as both Ottawa and the New York Rangers locked up the Eastern Conference's final playoff slots with overtime wins. The only team in the NHL to have concluded its shortened
48-game schedule so far, the Jets went 6-1-1 to finish the season and finished
ninth in the East. Wheeler gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead in the second period with his 19th goal of the season to finish the season with 41 total points (Wheeler currently ranks 14th in NHL goals this season and 25th in points). Noteworthy
USA Hockey announced the first 15 players of the 2013 U.S Men's National Team on Thursday including former Gophers forward and current center for the Florida Panthers Nick Bjugstad. The U.S. National Team will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men's World Championship May 3-19 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. NBC Sports Network will air all Team USA games at the tournament with a full broadcast schedule coming out next week. Florida's first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Bjugstad signed with the Panthers following the 2012-13 college season and has played in nine professional contests with the NHL organization. No Gopher tallied more goals over the last three seasons than Bjugstad with 54 while the junior tallied 98 total points in 109 career games. In Bjugstad's final two seasons with the program, the Gophers earned two-straight MacNaughton cups as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular-season champions and two NCAA tournament berths including the team's run to the Frozen Four in 2011-12. After a 20-point freshman campaign in 2010-11, Bjugstad skated to his best season with the Gophers in 2011-12, earning Second Team All-America and All-WCHA First Team honors. The Blaine, Minn., native posted a career-high 42 points, 25 goals and 17 assists as a sophomore while the Gophers captured the team's first MacNaughton Cup since 2006-07 and returned to the NCAA Frozen Four for the 20th time in program history and the first time since 2005. Bjugstad returned to the Gophers as a junior in 2012-13 and served as an alternate captain for the squad while also earning All-WCHA Third Team accolades. The junior led Minnesota and finished tied for eighth in the nation with 21 goals and recorded 36 points in his final season with the Maroon and Gold. Eleven of his goals came on the power play - ranking Bjugstad third in the nation - while Minnesota was the nation's best team on the advantage this season. The Gophers, who added a second-straight MacNaughton Cup in 2012-13, also led the nation in scoring offense during Bjugstad's final two seasons with the program. Bjugstad has previous experience with USA Hockey, skating with the U.S. National Junior Team in 2011-12.
Tuesday night was a productive one for former Gophers in the National Hockey League (NHL). With the playoffs looming, Minnesota alums tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in NHL action -- headed by Thomas Vanek's three-point night in a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Vanek broke a scoreless tie at 12:49 with his 19th goal of the year -- this one-timer from the slot: Blake Wheeler also picked up a goal -- his 18th of the year -- in Winnipeg's 5-3 loss to Washington last night. After the Capitals took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, Wheeler's goal at 14:11 of the second period briefly evened the slate at 2-2 before Washington reclaimed the lead 37 seconds later.
Playoff Preview Still some regular-season action to go, but several teams with Gopher ties will be heading to the playoffs shortly...here's a quick look at who's in and who's still fighting to get in. Eastern Conference: Paul Martin has been out since March 28 with a broken hand, but Pittsburgh has clinched the Eastern Conference regular-season title and currently sits as the one-seed for the playoffs. Before his injury, Martin was having a tremendous season for the Penguins and is ninth in the NHL in time on ice per game. Also in the East, Toronto (Kessel) and the Islanders (Okposo) have clinched playoff berths. Wheeler and the Jets are still alive, sitting in ninth right now and trailing Ottawa (Jim O'Brien) and the New York Rangers by a point (both have played fewer games however). Western Conference: Nick Leddy and the Chicago Blackhawks started the season with a historic winning streak and have the one-seed locked up out West as regular-season conference champs. Also clinched already in the West are Vancouver (Ballard) and St. Louis (Leopold). Goligoski and the Stars are still in the hunt, currently sitting in 10th in the West behind seven-seed Minnesota (53 points), eight-seed Columbus (51) and Detroit (50). The Redwings have a game in hand over all three teams though.
University of Minnesota head women's basketball coach Pam Borton has prided herself on making contributions to the University community and communities throughout the state of Minnesota during her time as head coach, and this week Borton will not only give back to the community, but will also be honored for her community service efforts.
Borton's week begins tonight at the Ann Bancroft Foundation's 2013 dreamXchange at the McNamara Alumni Center starting at 5:30, where she will be paired with a past grant winner to partake in a Q&A session. It is the 16th annual benefit celebration of the Ann Bancroft Foundation, whose mission is to create a world where every girl has a chance to live her wild dream and reach her full potential. Borton was a recipient of the Ann Bancroft Foundation's Dream Maker Award in 2011, which paid tribute to her leadership and contributions in the effort to encourage the achievements of girls and women. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to AnnBancroftFoundation.org. Borton will also be honored by Minnesota Business Magazine Thursday night as one of the publication's "The (Real) Power 50," a list of the 50 most important people to know if you wish to conduct business in the state of Minnesota. Borton and the additional 49 award winners will be showcased in the event at The Westin Edina Galleria and will also be featured in the magazine's May 2013 issue. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to MinnesotaBusiness.com/mnbizpower50. The head coach concludes her busy week on Thursday, May 2, when she will serve as the keynote speaker for the Third Annual Wellness Rocks event at Seven in Minneapolis. All proceeds from the event go to the Cancer Survivor Wellness Fund. The Cancer Survivors Wellness Fund is a charitable fund administered by the Fairview Foundation. The purpose of the Cancer Survivor Wellness Fund is to help survivors transitioning from treatment to post-treatment by providing funding to support exercise and wellness programs. For those living with a cancer diagnosis, exercise and wellness have measurable improvements on cognitive and physical function, as well as reduced recurrence of disease. Exercise and wellness programs for survivors are an important step in preventative wellness and launch survivors on a lifelong journey of empowerment. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to CancerSurvivorWellnessFund.org.  LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- After the Individual Event Finals on Sunday, the team waited outside Pauley Pavilion with friends and family until freshmen Hanna Nordquist and Lindsay Mable finished up with their post-meet responsibilities and emerged to a plethora of cheers, hugs and congratulatory wishes. Hanna and Lindsay had just wrapped up three Top 5 finishes to cap a very successful weekend at the NCAA Championships for the Golden Gophers. Hanna just missed a national title on balance beam, as her score of 9.8875 tied for second place behind former Olympian Bridget Sloan of Florida, who won with a score of 9.900. Lindsay tied for fourth on floor exercise and tied for fifth on vault, receiving scores of 9.900 on both events. When the Gophers boarded the bus to head to dinner, they posed for the photo above, in which each gymnast held the name plate that was used on the score displays during the NCAA Championships. They each got to keep their name plate as a memento from the weekend. Minnesota then headed to Tony P's Dockside Grill in Marina del Rey for a celebratory dinner. As the restaurant name indicates, Tony P's is right on the water, and we knew the food would be fantastic when we pulled up and saw a full parking lot. It was another wonderful meal -- very "schway," if you ask the team (it's an inside joke, and sorry if that's misspelled, Hanna and Janell). I had the crab cakes entree, which gets two thumbs up, but I'm pretty sure the team was more excited about the chance to order dessert! This morning, everyone gathered in the lobby of the hotel at 6:30 a.m., and boarded the bus to head to LAX to catch an 8:15 a.m. flight back to the Twin Cities. We arrived in Minneapolis-St. Paul at 1:40 p.m., and the rain that was falling at the time has now turned to snow. *sigh* All in all, it was a memorable weekend -- an eighth-place team finish at the NCAA Championships; Meg Stephenson being named NACGC/W National Coach of the Year; Jenny Hanson, Louie Johnson and Jim Stephenson honored as Assistant Coaches of the Year; two First Team All-Americans turning in Top 5 finishes in three events. And those are just the highlights from inside the gym. The Gophers are so fortunate to have tremendous support from family, friends, and alumnae who travel great distances to watch them compete and clearly make it known who they're cheering for. It was difficult not to notice when the sizable group of Gopher fans broke into the Minnesota Rouser, whether at Pauley Pavilion or in the lobby of the team's hotel. The pride these people have for these extraordinary gymnasts is through the roof, and the team has a great appreciation for that fantastic support. It's tough to write about this season coming to an end, because it's been so special. But, at the same time, it feels like this is just the beginning of an exciting era for Minnesota women's gymnastics. In an interview with Gymnastike after yesterday's Individual Event Finals, Hanna Nordquist and Lindsay Mable echoed each other's belief that Minnesota qualifying as a team for the NCAA Championships is something people should come to expect. And, with the type of team the Gophers have returning for the 2014 season, why not think that way? Minnesota's 2013 season has been magical, and it's been so much fun to have the opportunity to write about this team's stellar performances along the way. Being able to travel with the team to Los Angeles was a blast, and so gratifying. Now, the team's attention will shift to making sure it does well in the remainder of the academic year before it begins to prepare for next season. Birmingham, Ala., is the final destination. Don't doubt for a second that this team has what it takes to make it there. Minnesota and its fans will hope to make it their sweet home, Alabama.    
Former Gophers forward Jeff Taffe notched his 500th AHL point over the weekend in a 4-2 Hershey Bears' loss to Binghamton on Saturday. The Second Team AHL All-Star finished second in the league's regular-season scoring race with 71 points (18 goals, 53 assists) in 73 games as Hershey clinched the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 4-2 win over Manchester on Sunday.
The Bears, who also feature former Gophers Nate Schmidt, Ryan Potulny, Ryan Stoa and Mike Carman on their roster, open the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs against one-seed Providence on Friday in a best-of-five series. Also in the AHL In addition to Hershey, Minnesota will have alumni in the following Calder Cup quarterfinals this season: Eastern two-seed Springfield (Jake Hansen) vs. seven-seed Manchester Western one-seed Texas vs. eight-seed Milwaukee (Zach Budish) Western three-seed Grand Rapids vs. six-seed Houston (Erik Haula) Two former Gophers also tallied their first professional goals over the weekend as Budish tallied in the Admirals' 3-0 win over Peoria on Sunday and Mark Alt scored for the Adirondack Phantoms in the team's home finale on Saturday. Goligoski Picks Up Two Points Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski scored his third goal of the season and added an assist as Dallas fell to Los Angeles 4-3 in overtime.  LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- The 2013 NCAA Championships wrap up this afternoon with the Individual Event Finals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, and the future of Minnesota women's gymnastics will be on center stage, as freshman Lindsay Mable competes on both vault and floor exercise and freshman Hanna Nordquist competes on balance beam. The pair of gymnasts have already earned NACGC/W First Team All-America honors simply by advancing to today's finals. Today is an opportunity for icing on the cake, as they attempt to be among the top eight on their events and make the podium. Mable is one of 24 qualifiers on vault, and she will be the sixth competitor on that event. She owns a season-high score of 9.950 on vault and scored a 9.900 on Friday to advance. Mable will be the 7th of 12 finalists to compete on floor, where she owns a season-high score of 9.975 and advanced to the final by tying for first in Semifinal #1 with a 9.900. Mable's 9.975 tied Minnesota's school record on floor exercise. Nordquist will be the second of nine competitors on balance beam. She owns a season-best score of 9.925 on the event, and she advanced to the finals by scoring a 9.900 on beam during Friday's team semifinal. To watch today's competition on ESPN3, click the following link: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/868466/ncaa-women-gymnastics-championships-presented-northwestern-mutual%20http://es.pn/NCAA-WGYM-0421 For Live Stats from today's competition, click the following link: http://www.uclabruins.com/livestats/w-gym/20130421.htm
 LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- With a day off between Friday's Team Semifinals and Sunday's Individual Event Finals, the Gophers took advantage of the beautiful California weather and spent a couple hours at Venice Beach on Saturday. The team boarded the bus at 10:00 a.m., and arrived around 10:20. Sun and sand were the immediate focus, and the Gophers found a spot near the surf to enjoy a perfect day. Some of Minnesota's players and staff members were even able to see a small seal that was on a rock formation near their location. The water was pretty cold to do more than just wade in it, so no one was brave enough to actually go for a swim. Some of the staff members and parents who joined the team there strolled along the boardwalk and checked out the vendors and performers who set up along the way. One of the coolest experiences was to watch on two occasions as a cloud of fog worked its way across the water toward our location on the beach. It was interesting to see the fog quickly make its way toward us, and each time it blew past us within minutes. I'm sure a Californian wouldn't think twice about it. But, to Minnesotans, it was an interesting experience. After sunbathing for awhile, many of the team members played some beach volleyball and threw a frisbee around before gathering for lunch at 1:00 p.m. The team then boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel to get ready for this afternoon's Super Six Team Finals, which they are watching as I write this in the Media Room at Pauley Pavilion. It was a great day trip, as part of a truly fun weekend with an amazing group of young women.   MOST RECENT POSTS
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