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Rather than focus exclusively on the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects, we’re taking a look at the best players from across the State of Hockey every week.
From college to the pros, check out our recap of all the week’s events in Minnesota hockey, as we check in with college players, Wild prospects and State of Hockey alums.
Let’s take a look at our three stars of the week in the latest edition of the State of Hockey Tracker.
FIRST STAR
Patrick Newell, F, St. Cloud State (NCHC)
The Huskies haven’t found themselves desperate for goals too often this season. St. Cloud State has the nation's second-best offense at 3.82 goals per game, and has a goal differential of plus-47. Still, with four minutes to go in the third period Saturday, the Huskies needed two to preserve their unbeaten record at home with Colorado College up 4-2. Newell led the comeback, firing a shot on goal from the half-wall that was redirected by junior Jack Ahcan to make it 4-3 at 16:09 of the third period. He was back at it less than a minute later, scoring after a shot through traffic trickled past goaltender Alex Leclerc to tie the game at 17:05. He wasn't done. Newell came gliding into the slot with just over a minute to play in overtime, one-timing senior Robby Jackson's pass from below the goal line past Leclerc to lift the Huskies to a 5-4 win. St. Cloud State, which is off this weekend, now leads second-place Minnesota Duluth by 13 points in the NCHC standings with just a month remaining in the regular season.
https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1094427389742837760
SECOND STAR(S)
Kendall Coyne-Schofield, F, Minnesota Whitecaps (NWHL)
Coyne-Schofield was flying again at the NWHL All-Star Skills Challenge on Saturday. The Minnesota Whitecaps forward won the fastest skater competition with a time of 13.9 seconds, beating her time of 14.346 seconds from the NHL's competition last month. Coyne-Schofield finished seventh at the NHL All-Star Game, and would have moved up at least one more spot with this latest skate.
https://twitter.com/NWHL/status/1094375442419802113
THIRD STAR
Justin Baudry, D, Bemidji State (WCHA)
The senior defenseman was one of four players league-wide to rack up five points over the weekend, finishing with two goals and three assists in a tie and win over Ferris State. Baudry assisted on the Beavers first goal in a 3-3 overtime tie with Ferris State on Friday, then had a hand in four straight goals in a 6-1 win Saturday.
AROUND THE RINK
-- Goals have been hard to come by this season for Wild prospect Sam Hentges (a seventh-round pick in 2018). The Huskies freshman has just two goals since his hat trick at Boston College back in October. He got back on the board with a spectacular goal Saturday, splitting the Tigers' defense with a slick move, then batting the puck past Leclerc from his knees midway through the first period.
https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1094395287035031552
-- Ahcan finished the series with four points (all assists), the most he's had since racking up five points during the Huskies' road sweep of Alaska back in October.
-- Wild prospect Damien Giroux (a fifth-round pick in 2018) had his first two-goal game since mid-December on Saturday in the Saginaw Spirit's 6-3 win over the London Knights.
-- It was a particularly rough weekend for Gophers goaltenders Eric Schierhorn and Mat Robson, who allowed a combined 13 goals on 90 shots over the weekend, as Minnesota fell 7-2, 6-2 to Penn State.
