Minnesota Sports Roundup: Wild play in front of 13,000

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ST. PAUL -- It wasn't quite the sellout that some thought it might be, but still more than 13,000 fans watched the Minnesota Wild scrimmage last night at the Xcel Energy Center.

Team Red beat Team White 4-1. Jared Spurgeon scored twice for the winning, while Jake Dowell and Nick Palmieri also tallied goals. The lone Team White goal was pocketed by Steven Kampfer. The teams played a practice overtime session after regulation time ended and Team Red scored a goal there, too. In addition, the teams went through a practice shootout, where Spurgeon found the net again. Minnesota opens the regular season on Saturday night at home against Colorado. Head coach Mike Yeo says they need to get sharper for that game.

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Thirteen Minnesota high school hockey players have been suspended for something that happened off the ice, but officials at Maple Grove High School aren't saying exactly what. School officials say two of the players will sit out four games and the rest two, beginning with tonight's (Thu) game at Blaine. More than half of the teams roster will be off the ice. Maple Grove has a 7-2 record in the Northwest Suburban Conference, has won its last six games, and has a 9-7 overall record.

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The top-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team entertains No. 6 North Dakota for a WCHA series this weekend. Both teams are near the top of the league standings. The match-up of long-time rivals this weekend will be even more heightened because it will be the final regular season conference games these two storied programs will ever play. The Gophers are leaving the WCHA for the Big Ten after this season, while UND is leaving the WCHA for the newly-formed National Collegiate Hockey League. Officials from both schools have suggested they'd like to schedule occasional non-conference regular season games in the future. Games are set for Friday and Saturday night at Mariucci Arena.

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Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who has missed the past five games to be with his wife who is in the hospital, stopped by the team's practice yesterday. Adelman will remain away from the team with no timetable given for his return, but he wanted to see the squad. He did not meet with reporters. Forward Derrick Williams says it was good to see the head coach. Dante Cunningham says Adelman has the support of his players as he goes through this health situation with his wife. The team is not releasing information about Mary Kay Adelman's health.

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The Timberwolves try to end a four-game losing streak tonight when they welcome the Clippers to the Target Center. The four losses in-a-row happened to be across a four game road trip. Minnesota is 16-19 on the year. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee is expected to miss the rest of the season following a pair of surgeries this week. Lee had surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee on Monday and then had a procedure performed on his right hip today. The 22-year-old UCLA product averaged 4.9 points in 19 games for the Timberwolves this season.

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The ninth-ranked University of Minnesota men's basketball team takes on fifth-ranked Michigan tonight at Williams Arena. Minnesota suffered an 88-81 setback at Indiana on Saturday to drop to 3-1 in Big Ten play. The Gophers are 15-2 overall. The Wolverines come in having lost their first game of the year Sunday at Ohio State. Michigan is 16-1 overall and 3-1 in conference. This game will be the marquee game of the night in college basketball. The game is a complete sellout with a 6 p.m. tip-off.

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The University of Minnesota women's basketball team arrive in West Lafayette, Indiana late yesterday afternoon in preparation for its game tonight against No. 12 Purdue. The Golden Gophers are 13-4 overall and 2-1 in the league. Tipoff is 6 pm.

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The Bears have officially hired Marc Trestman as their new head coach. The St. Louis Park native spent the last five years as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Trestman also has plenty of NFL experience as an assistant coach for nine different teams, including two stints with the Vikings. He replaces Lovie Smith, who was fired after the Bears missed the playoffs for the second straight season despite a 10-6 record in 2012. Trestman was named Coach of the Year in the CFL in 2009 and led the Alouettes to back-to-back Grey Cup championships in 2009 and 2010.

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Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, a native of Zumbrota, had been widely considered the leading candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job before the Eagles went with Oregon head coach Chip Kelly Wednesday. Bradley reportedly was to meet with the Jacksonville Jaguars about their head coaching job as late as today. Bradley played college football at North Dakota State.

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Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who held the same position with the Vikings, interviewed for the Arizona Cardinals head coach job on Wednesday. Bevell is from nearby Scottdale. He was also a finalist for the Chicago Bears job given to Marc Trestman.

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