Minnesota Sports Roundup: Canucks edge Wild 2-1

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VANCOUVER - Vancouver forward Jannik Hansen's goal midway through the second period proved to be the game-winner in Vancouver's 2-1 victory over the visiting Wild last night in British Columbia.

Minnesota rookie goalie Darcy Kuemper halted 28 shots for the Wild after being called up from the AHL's Houston Aeros. Devin Setoguchi had Minnesota's lone goal on the power play. Minnesota saw its two-game winning streak come to an end and has just three points in its last seven games. The Wild are now 6-6-1 on the year and hosting Colorado tomorrow night.

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The Wild recalled goalie Darcy Kuemper from Houston of the AHL prior to last night's game in Vancouver. Kuemper started in net last night and made 28 saves in Minnesota's 2-1 loss to the Canucks. Kuemper is 10-and-6 with a 1.79 goals-against-average in 16 games with the Aeros this season. The Wild also reassigned defenseman Marco Scandella to Houston. Minnesota also activated defenseman Jared Spurgeon off of Injured Reserve and placed Matt Kassian on waivers. Spurgeon had been suffering from a lower body injury, while Kassian had yet to appear in a game for Minnesota this season.

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University of Minnesota men's hockey senior Zach Budish of Edina grew up playing hockey in the outdoor rinks around his hometown. So, it was fitting that he was the player chosen to unveil the commemorative outdoor sweater the No. 2-ranked Gopher hockey team will wear in their outdoor game at Chicago's Soldier Field on Sunday against 19th-ranked Wisconsin. Budish modeled the jersey in front of young kids playing on the outdoor ice at Lake of the Isles near downtown Minneapolis last night. The sweaters are throwbacks to the 1961 Gopher men's hockey team and will be auctioned off after Sunday's game with proceeds benefiting the "Defending The Blue Line" organization. The Gophers will play Wisconsin in Madison on Friday before taking a bus to Chicago for a Saturday practice and the Sunday tilt.

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The Big Ten Conference has officially set the game date for the upcoming Minnesota-Penn State men's basketball game. League officials were waiting to set the date and time of games for the first weekend in March to see how the standings were setting up. Now, the Big Ten has determined the dates and times of those games. The Golden Gophers will host the Nittany Lions on Saturday, March 2nd at 2 p.m. at Williams Arena. Nebraska will play at Illinois at 4:15 p.m. that day, while Indiana entertains Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on March 2nd. Purdue plays at Wisconsin on Sunday, March 3rd. Michigan hosts Michigan State on March 3rd, as well.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Utah Jazz tonight at Target Center in the final game before the NBA All-Star break. Minnesota snapped its four-game losing streak with Monday's 100-92 victory in Cleveland. Utah pulled off a surprisingly easy win over Oklahoma City last night in Salt Lake City. Former Minnesota standout Al Jefferson had 23 points and seven rebounds to power the Jazz to a 109-94 win over the Thunder. Paul Milsap had 18 points and 10 boards for Utah, which moved to 29-24. The T'wolves are now 19-30 on the season. Tipoff tonight is set for 7 p.m

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Rockets rookie Royce White of Minneapolis made his NBA Developmental League debut last night, playing for Houston's affiliate, the Grande Valley Vipers in Texas. The former Iowa State Cyclone and one-time Golden Gopher played 18 minutes, scoring seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. He added eight rebounds, four assists and one blocked shot. White has made headlines for the back and forth with the Rockets organization regarding his anxiety issues.

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Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training yesterday in Fort Myers and will go through their first official workout today. Twins pitching prospect Caleb Thielbar of Northfield is excited to be part of the team's 40-man Major League roster, which means he has a legitimate chance to make the big club coming out of spring training. The rest of the team reports to camp Friday with the first full team workout Saturday. The Twins open Spring Training play against the Baltimore Orioles on February 23rd in Sarasota, Florida. The home spring training slate for the Twins begins the following day with a game against Tampa Bay at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

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