Even with the NHL on its three-week break for the Olympics and the Timberwolves off for the NBA’s All-Star weekend, there was still a lot of local sports action over the weekend. Here’s the top 10 stories, in case you missed it.
10. Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said quarterback Christian Ponder will be back with the team next season.
9. Alex Illikainen, a junior forward from Grand Rapids, set his high school’s scoring record. Illikainen is one of the top targets in the class of 2015 for Richard Pitino and the Gophers.
8. The Gophers men’s basketball team picked up a huge Big Ten win in a come-from-behind victory over Northwestern.
7. The Gophers men’s hockey team throttled Michigan in a weekend sweep at Mariucci Arena.
6. Minnesota’s women’s hockey team stretched its unbeaten streak to 18 games with a weekend sweep over the Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin.
5. Rachel Banham scored 32 points to lead the Gophers women’s basketball team to a 82-64 win at Northwestern. It was career win No. 300 for head coach Pam Borton.
4. The U.S. men’s hockey team earned the No. 2 seed in the Olympics after defeating Slovenia, 5-1 on Sunday to finish 2-0-1 in the qualifying round.
3. Wolves star Kevin Love scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds in 33 minutes as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game.
2. 37 pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers, Florida as the Minnesota Twins kicked off Spring Training on Sunday. We have a full preview right here.
1. Warroad’s T.J. Oshie became an Olympic hero in about 10 minutes after he scored four shootout goals to lift Team USA over Russia at the Olympics.
