State boy’s hockey tournament features some newcomers

NINA MOINI: Well, we are tiptoeing towards springtime here in Minnesota. And with the change in seasons comes the final stretch to the playoffs in professional basketball and hockey, plus March Madness and college basketball. Over in soccer, the Loons have launched their season, and the Twins are in spring training, with their future ownership of that team up in the air. All this gives us a lot to talk about with our sports contributor. Eric Nelson is on the line now. Thanks for being here as always, Eric.

ERIC NELSON: Nina, happy Monday. Glad to be on board.

NINA MOINI: Happy Monday. So why don't we start with the Timberwolves? So they had a pretty good night, right, against the Phoenix Suns. Tell me about that.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, they were outstanding in the desert against the Suns last night. They won it 116 to 98. And the face of the team, the superstar Anthony Edwards, erupted for 44 points.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

ERIC NELSON: And he continues to get better and better when he's playing. He's had some issues with technicals this season and sitting out games. But he was back last night. And the other key is Julius Randle, who had not played in about a month with an injury. He came back.

NINA MOINI: OK.

ERIC NELSON: And he chipped in 20 points. So that was a huge thing for the Timberwolves, to get Randle back in the lineup. Donte DiVincenzo has also been banged up. He's now back. He had 24 points, including eight 3 balls. So for the Timberwolves, an impressive win because they had lost earlier on the road trip at Utah. They had lost in Los Angeles to the Lakers, to LeBron and Luka.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: So they're able to come back and finish the trip with a victory. And they come back to Minneapolis. And they'll face the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night at Target Center. And Nina, the NBA's Western Conference, where the Timberwolves are located, I mean, it is ultra competitive. So right now, Minnesota is the eighth seed but has a chance to move up if the T-Wolves can get a winning streak going. So there's a lot of good teams in the West.

NINA MOINI: All right. And we're also happy that we have now Wally Langfellow on the line as well. So you guys can be your complete unit together. Stronger together. And Wally, would you want to talk a little bit about the boys state hockey tournament, which is getting underway Wednesday? That's always an exciting time of year. What are you watching for?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, some newcomers this year, which is kind of fun. In class A, the usuals, Warroad and Hermantown, nowhere to be found. They were both eliminated in section play. Hermantown, who has been to the championship, in the championship, probably for about the last eight or nine years, got eliminated by Hibbing.

And so Hibbing moves into and gets the number one seed in the tournament. And they will open up against Luverne. For Hibbing, it's their first trip to the state tournament. This goes all the way back to 2012-- 2011 rather, so good times, good day for Hibbing. And now it's Hibbing/Chisholm. They' are a combined co-op of boys hockey tournament team.

And then in class AA-- by the way, that Hibbing-Luverne game is at 6 o'clock on Wednesday. Class AA, Moorhead is the number one seed. They are 25 wins, two losses, and one tie on the season. They play Lakeville South Thursday night at 6:00 PM.

The defending state champions from Edina, they're in it. They're the number five seed. And they will play on Thursday-- or when? Thursday night as well. They play Thursday night at 8 o'clock. So they'll have their hands full. They play a very good team from Rogers.

So it's going to be a great tournament this year. And it's always fun to see new teams. As I said, Hibbing's been there before, but to have Hermantown out and Hibbing in is a big deal in Class A, for sure.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, Hermantown is great. So many strong teams, so that's interesting. So the hockey playoffs, though-- pro hockey-- the Wild, they're ranked third right now in the Western Conference. So how have they been looking in recent games, Eric?

ERIC NELSON: Well, Nina, they had been scuffling. But yesterday was a good day for the Minnesota Wild, who, by the way, are clearly in the playoff picture, I think, courtesy of a hot start to the season. It would take a collapse for this team not to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Right now, Minnesota has 74 points, the third place in the NHL Central Division. But there are only two in front of Colorado. So they have to keep going and keep winning.

Now, on Sunday, Minnesota blanked Boston 1-0 in Saint Paul. As a goalie, Filip Gustavsson was outstanding, stopping all 28 shots he faced.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

ERIC NELSON: It's his fourth shutout this season. And the only goal of the game was Frédérick Gaudreau for Minnesota in the second period. And the Wild had lost three in a row. Minnesota also in some trade news over the weekend, acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from Nashville. He was on the ice yesterday against Boston. And this is Nyquist's second stint with the Wild in his career.

But because of that hockey tournament Wally was talking about, the pros get kicked out of their building for a few days. So Minnesota's in Seattle tomorrow night against the Kraken. I'm sure that's your favorite name, Nina. That's a mythical sea monster, by the way.

NINA MOINI: Cool. I didn't know.

ERIC NELSON: Yeah. And then they stay in the Pacific Northwest to face Vancouver Friday night in British Columbia. And then Sunday, Minnesota comes back to the X against Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby making his only appearance of the season in Saint Paul, and he's been playing hockey for 25 seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is an all-time legend.

NINA MOINI: All right. So we talked about hockey. We talked about basketball. I'm going to stick with you, Eric. Let's talk about the Twins a little bit. So they're having some drama, potential buyer backed out last week. What's the latest on the sale of the team?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, from 34,000 feet, it looks like things are back to square one. But I'm sure there's something percolating behind the scenes. Justin and Mat Ishbia pulled out of the bidding. They're connected with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. Now they reportedly have an interest in the Chicago White Sox. So there's a chance that Joe Pohlad and that family could wind up keeping the teams. The Twins are valued at between $1.5 and $2 billion on the open market.

Remember, in 1984, Carl Pohlad bought the Twins for $44 million. So franchise values keep going up in pro sports. Minnesota is using Allen & Company. That's an investment banker that commonly facilitates the sale of sports teams.

Now, if things remain in a holding pattern, and the Pohlads stay in control, they're probably going to operate even thriftier than usual. And I think the Twins' reputation is they clip coupons. And this is not going to excite the fans in Twins territory. They want someone to come in and commit and write the big checks to the free agents.

NINA MOINI: Right.

ERIC NELSON: So in my opinion, the Twins do have plenty to offer a new ownership group. They have a top 10 Major League Baseball venue in Target field a solid fan base that will support the team if they believe ownership is committed.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: I think this franchise can be a sleeping giant. I really believe that.

NINA MOINI: OK. Well, we'll see what happens. That's kind of been dragging on and on. Wally, how about the Loons? They had their home opener over the weekend, and it was a strong start. What happened there?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, they won 1-0 in a very cold environment over at Allianz Field. And so that evens their record on the season. They lost their opener to the LA Galaxy the week before. But they pick up a win. They are now 1 and 1 on the season.

But before they get too far into this season, I think that the fans have to remember and realize that soccer is a different animal, that they have these in-season tournaments, much like the NBA has an in-season tournament at the beginning of the year. Actually, the NBA kind of stole the idea from the soccer world.

So just as they get started here, and just as this MLS season gets rolling, they'll have another one of these in-season tournaments coming up. And so it's a little different than following an American sport, such as basketball or baseball or football for that matter. But they are 1 and 1 in the MLS regular season so far and, as I said, the win on Saturday giving them a shutout, winning 1 to 0. And they call it a clean sheet in soccer. That's the terminology they use for keeping the other team off the scoreboard.

NINA MOINI: Learn something new every time with you guys. And there's lots going on. Thank you so much.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.

ERIC NELSON: Absolutely, Nina. Have a great week.

NINA MOINI: You, too. Those are our sports contributors. They're the best, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. I'm Nina Moini. Happy Monday to everyone. Hope everyone has a great start to the week. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now. And we'll see you back here tomorrow at noon.