Minnesota sports this week: 11 things to KARE about

MINNESOTA, USA — Though we are in the second week of April, it still feels like March Madness continues thanks to the cold weather and crazy sports calendar. 

We have sports like baseball ramping up while basketball and hockey teams set their sights on the postseason and other teams taking home national championships this week.

We’ll try to tackle it all in this week’s edition of 11 things to KARE about in Minnesota sports.

Wolves enter the final week of the regular season in a dog fight

To say the Western Conference playoff race is tight entering the final week of the regular season is an understatement. Just two games separate the No. 3 seed and the No. 8 seed with just games left for those teams, including the Wolves. Entering the week, the Wolves sit in the No. 7 spot.

But there’s a lot that can change this week. Chris Finch’s squad has just four games remaining on their schedule with the regular season wrapping up on Sunday against Utah (on KARE 11!). The big game to watch will be Thursday at Memphis. The Grizzlies and Wolves enter this week with identical records. There will definitely be a playoff feel when those two teams hit the floor.

The Wild get a huge win ahead of another big game

The Wild looked like they were in freefall heading into Sunday’s tilt against the Stars as they had fallen into the final wild card spot in the Western Conference with red-hot Calgary looking to leapfrog Minnesota into that spot. But the Wild righted the ship on Sunday when Marco Rossi knocked in a goal in overtime to give John Hynes’ squad two points and a little bit of breathing room in the playoff race.

The Wild will host lowly San Jose on Wednesday before Friday’s massive tilt in Calgary against the Flames. A win at the Saddledome all but assuredly would put the Wild into the playoffs as they look to potentially catch another red-hot team, the St. Louis Blues.

The Twins hit the road after a disappointing end to the first home series

Halfway through Sunday’s game against the Astros, things were looking pretty good for the Twins as they led 7-1 and looked well on their way to a series win over Houston. But then the wheels fell off and Rocco Baldelli’s squad walked off the field after a 9-7 loss in 10 innings. A brutal way to end the homestand.

Now, the Twins head to Kansas City for a four-game series. With the hometown nine struggling to eclipse 15,000 in attendance for the last two games of the Astros series, some wins at Kauffman Stadium might be necessary for the viewing public to care and start showing up at the ballpark.

Joe Mauer gets his statue

Since his retirement, we’ve seen Joe Mauer get into the Twins Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame and now we see his immortality display on the plaza at Target Field. 

Prior to Sunday’s game against the Tigers, the Twins will unveil the statue honoring the St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall graduate. It just adds to his long-lasting legacy with the Twins organization and another way his mark will be made on Target Field.

RELATED: ‘Tribute to that player’: Sculptor of Twins greats gives rare look into making of Joe Mauer Statue

The Saints just want to play ball

If you are trying to follow along with the Saints this season, it’s been a journey filled with rainouts, postponements and cancellations. Last week’s week-long series against Columbus was marred with rainouts along with a pair of walk-off losses for the Twins’ AAA minor league affiliate.

Good news is on the way, however. The Saints open a series with Omaha this week and it looks as if the weather will allow fans to head to CHS Field and check out the action. The team’s roster is filled with high-end prospects such as pitcher Zebby Matthews and outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez.

The Loons keep their unbeaten streak alive

How about Minnesota United FC? The Loons continue a strong start to the season that included Saturday’s 2-1 win against NYCFC at Yankee Stadium. Minnesota continues to do enough on offense with some help on the back end as well.

The Loons are back on the East Coast this weekend when they take on Toronto.

Bueckers finishes at the top

Sunday marked Paige Buecker’s final collegiate game at UCONN and it couldn’t have gone better for the Hopkins alum. She added 17 points and won her first national championship defeating South Carolina, and brought the Huskies their first national championship since 2016. It was the one accomplishment left for Bueckers when it came to the college game.

Her sights quickly shift to the professional level. The WNBA Draft is April 14 in New York. Dallas has the No. 1 pick and is expected to take Bueckers.

Cosgriff calls it a career

Speaking of Bueckers, her high school coach has announced his retirement. Long-time girls’ basketball coach Brian Cosgriff told his team on Monday he is retiring after a decades-long career leading some of the state’s best. He spent the majority of his career as the head coach at Hopkins where he had the Royals rolling as one of the state’s best and producing players such as Bueckers.

He most recently coached at Minnetonka where he led the Skippers to a state title in 2024. A heck of a run for the guy they call ‘Cos.’

The college hockey world descends upon St. Louis

The men’s hockey Frozen Four takes place this weekend at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. No Minnesota teams will be taking the ice but with just about any hockey-related event, there are Minnesota connections. 

The one to watch closest is Denver defenseman Zeev Buium. The Wild selected the Hobey Baker finalist with their first-round pick in 2024. It’s expected Buium will join the Wild once the Pioneers’ season ends. That could mean Thursday night or Saturday night depending on how Denver fares in its journey to win consecutive national championships.

Team USA goes for World Championship glory in women’s hockey

You haven’t heard much from the Frost lately and that’s because the PWHL is on pause as the top women’s hockey players in the world head to Prague for the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Team USA features four Minnesota natives and six members of the Frost along with Gopher star Abbey Murphy. 

The Americans are going for their first gold since 2023. This is also the final World Championships before the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano/Cortina. Team USA begins tournament play on Wednesday in its final major international tournament before the Olympics.

Mya Hooten heads to nationals

The Gopher gymnastics team’s season came to an end on Saturday when they finished fourth in the Utah Regional Final. However, Mya Hooten’s career continues on. She qualified individually for the floor routine and heads to Texas this week for nationals.

The action kicks off on Thursday. This is Hooten’s second national tournament appearance. The Gophers have only had one individual national championship and it came back in 1990.