Rosemount teammates, next-door neighbors and lifelong friends Connor Schubert and Channing Goodwin accomplished a “dream” by helping punch the Irish’s ticket to state.

Schubert and Goodwin lifted the Irish to a 3-2 win over St. Thomas Academy in the Class 2A, Section 3 final at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul on Tuesday night.

Schubert scored the first two goals, and Goodwin’s empty-netter with a minute to play propelled the Irish past the Cadets. The linemates shot pucks in the garage growing up in Rosemount and delivered the city its first trip to state since 1992 (Tier II tournament).

Rosemount head coach Ricky Saintey said it was hard to put into words what the win means to the community.

“The Rosemount guys that are on our staff, that are giving back to our youth and that are here supporting, that’s what it means to me,” Saintey said. “This is not for me. This is for every single one of those people that believed in Rosemount and stayed in Rosemount.”

Sophomore goaltender Drew Sherman said the team has called the section final a “hump game” since bantams.

A combative, charged pregame atmosphere set up a physical first period, but that intensity boiled over for the Irish. Senior forwards Quinton VeDepo (elbowing) and Cade Sherman (tripping) received minor penalties, giving the Cadets four minutes with a man advantage.

St. Thomas Academy failed to capitalize, managing just two shots on goal across its two power-play opportunities. Sherman said killing off both early penalties gave the team “a ton of momentum.”

Schubert slotted one past Cadets freshman goaltender Owen Ryan with just five seconds to play in the opening period, giving the Irish a 1-0 lead. It was Schubert’s 18th goal of the season in a period that saw just nine combined shots on goal.

Cadets senior forward Oliver Marvin netted just his fourth goal of the season to even it up 1-all with 8:19 to play in the second.

Rosemount ratcheted up its pressure in the final five minutes of the period but could not put one past Ryan, despite recording 12 shots on goal after totaling just six in the first.

In the locker room during the second intermission, Schubert said Saintey told the team whoever got the first goal was going to win.

An early penalty on Cadets senior forward Peter Murray 83 seconds into the third, gave the Irish a prime opportunity. A snipe from the point by Schubert beat Ryan on the near side as the power-play goal put Rosemount ahead for the second time.

Schubert said he saw a lane open as the puck was sliding toward him and let it rip, placing it perfectly past the goalie. Saintey said you cannot leave a player like Schubert open because he’s a “big player in a big moment.”

St. Thomas Academy pulled Ryan with a minute and a half to play, with its season on the line. Goodwin won the faceoff 15 seconds later and fired a bending shot the length of the ice into the empty net, giving the Irish a 3-1 edge.

Goodwin said he was just trying to get the puck out of the zone, and a “lucky bounce” saw it curve into the back of the net.

The Cadets answered via senior forward Cole Braunshausen but could not find an equalizer in the final 34 seconds.

Saintey said the final 90 seconds felt like an “eternity,” but the mindset was to stay poised, and his team managed the situation.

Saintey said he did the math, and it had been 12,698 days since Rosemount had been to the state tournament. When the final horn sounded, he said all he could do was raise his arms in appreciation.

“I’ll tell you right now, whatever just happened is pretty awesome,” Saintey said.

Other section tournament games on Tuesday:

Class A, Section 2 semifinals

No. 1-seed Delano beat No. 5-seed Orono 7-3 at the St. Louis Park Rec Center, while No. 2 Blake beat No. 6 Minneapolis 4-2 in the evening’s later game.

Lance Halonen had a hat trick, Jacob Perlich had a pair of goals, and Daniel Halonen and Brady Kangas also scored for Delano. Rory Kvern scored twice and Ryan De Lange had a goal for Orono, which got 13 saves from Max Lewin. Evan Geyen stopped 20 shots in goal for Delano.

Landon Bell scored twice in the first to open the scoring for Blake, which also got goals from Jimmy Hughes and Charlie Moore. Will Ackerman and Owen DeYoung scored for Minneapolis. Blake’s Jake Iwan had 20 saves, while Minneapolis’ Ivan Kelly made 26 saves.

The two meet 7 p.m. Thursday at the St. Louis Park Rec Center in the section final.

Class A, Section 4 semifinals

Top-seed Mahtomedi beat No. 4-seed Hastings 5-1 at Aldrich Arena. Henry Sampair and Will Seevers scored in the second to put the Zephyrs in front 2-0. Mahtomedi’s Devin O’Donnell and Julian Cisek made it 4-0 in the third before the Raiders got a goal from Brecken Fullerton. However, Brayden Fuerst ended the scoring for the Zephyrs, who also got 17 saves from Jackson Chesak. Charlie Stoffel made 25 saves for Hastings.

On the other side of the bracket, second-seed Chisago Lakes beat No. 6 Tartan 8-3 in Tuesday’s other semifinal, a back-and-forth affair that saw Tartan come back from two deficits to eventually lead before Chisago Lakes scored six straight goals.

Colton Horak had a hat trick — his second and third goals coming after Tartan’s lead — and Jacob Kletti scored twice for Chisago Lakes. Austin Slettom, Zach Carlson and Quinlan Ryan also scored for the Wildcats. Carter Parent, Kieran Moylan and Benny McClellan scored for Tartan, which got 38 saves from Nathan McGuire.

Jacob Schaeppi had 26 saves for Chisago Lakes, which will meet Mahtomedi in the section final at 7 p.m. Thursday at Aldrich Arena.

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By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who survived a gunshot wound to the head while patrolling with the National Guard in Washington last year, was presented the Purple Heart medal during Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Trump honored Wolfe and his colleague, U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom during his speech, before pausing so Gen. James Seward, head of the West Virginia National Guard, could pin the medal on Wolfe’s civilian suit.

“With God’s help, Andrew has battled back from the edge of death—and we’re talking about the edge—on his way to a miraculous recovery,” Trump said.

“Nice to see you,” he added, looking up at Wolfe in the gallery.

West Virginia National Guard Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is awarded a Purple Heart during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump recalled his mother’s determination that he would recover, even as others doubted it would be possible to survive his severe injuries. She buried her head in her son’s chest as the president spoke.

Wolfe and Beckstrom, members of the West Virginia National Guard, were shot in an ambush on Nov. 26 while deployed to Washington as part of Trump’s executive order to battle what he said was rampant crime. Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day.

Evalea and Gary Beckstrom, the mother and father of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, receive a Purple Heart on behalf of their daughter during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, as West Virginia National Guard Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe watches at left. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Trump also spoke directly to Beckstrom’s parents in the gallery.

“Your daughter was a true American patriot and she will be greatly missed,” Trump told Evalea and Gary Beckstrom.

The tributes prompted several minutes of bipartisan applause.

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Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was wounded in the attack, has been charged in connection with the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody. Authorities say he drove across the country from his home in Washington state to execute the attack.

Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, officials said. The Biden administration program evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country.

Trump, who halted asylum decisions in response to the shooting, said during his speech that the gunman “shouldn’t have been in our country.”

Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved warned Monday on his radio show about third-ranked Michigan’s “spurt-ability.”

He looked prophetic come Tuesday.

The Wolverines displayed that ability to go on quick runs, with a 19-5 burst to effectively put away a 77-67 win over Minnesota at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines (26-2, 16-1 Big Ten) clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship with a victory, while Minnesota (13-15, 6-11) ended a two-game winning streak.

“I’m such a competitive guy,” Medved said postgame on KFAN. “I’m not a guy — I don’t sit there and believe in moral victories and all that. (But) I’m really proud of my team, man. … This team that we are playing against, analytically, is as good as any team I’ve seen in college basketball in the last 15 years. They just showed a ton of heart, man. If it wasn’t for that one stretch, we were right there.”

Michigan was a 22 1/2-point favorite, but Minnesota was within 51-47 with 10 minutes left. However, the Wolverines made five 3-pointers over the next four minutes.

The Wolverines coughed up 14 total turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Gophers, and that helped Minnesota keep it closer.

The first half started with 10 lead changes before Michigan went on a 11-0 run to go up 30-20. But Minnesota didn’t roll over, outscoring Michigan 8-2 to make it 32-28 at the break.

Minnesota, which remained down to six total players, continued to rely on zone defense and it kept Wolverine’s leading scorer Yaxel Lendenborg scoreless in the opening 20 minutes. He was averaging 14.6 per game and finished with three points.

The much-taller Wolverines had a 39-18 rebounding edge, but the Gophers were only outscored 26-24 in the paint.

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By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address is tilting heavily on domestic issues, but he’s also making the case for his foreign policy efforts to Americans who are increasingly uneasy about his priorities.

The president counts brokering a fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza, capturing autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and pressing fellow NATO members to increase defense spending among his biggest wins.

At a moment when polls show the American public increasingly concerned about the economy, Trump’s assignment Tuesday evening also is to cut through thickening skepticism that he’s staying true to his “America First” philosophy after a year in which his focus was often far from home. It’s a wariness shared by some who once counted themselves among Trump’s closest allies.

But Trump is poised to make the case that he’s taking the right approach balancing domestic policy concerns while using America’s military might when needed.

“As president, I will make peace wherever I can — but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must,” Trump will say, according to excerpts of his address released by the White House.

Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults said they disapprove of how Trump is handling foreign policy, while 56% say Trump has “gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to surveys from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted earlier this month and in January.

Here are a few things to look out for in Trump’s major address, which is now underway:

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Will he take action against Iran?

The growing unease comes as Trump weighs whether to carry out new military action on Iran. He last week warned Iran that “bad things will happen” soon if a deal is not reached over its nuclear program.

Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet again Thursday in Geneva with Iranian officials as U.S. warships and fighter jets mass in the Mideast.

The administration appears flummoxed that Iran has not blinked to the mounting pressure.

“He’s curious as to why they haven’t — I don’t want to use the word capitulated — but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff said of Trump in a weekend Fox News appearance.

Trump could use the moment to explain to Americans why military action could be needed, just eight months after he claimed that U.S. strikes had “obliterated” three critical Iranian nuclear facilities and left “the bully of the Middle East” with no choice but to make peace.

The pathway to a deal seems murky as the authoritarian clerics who rule Iran say they will only discuss the nuclear issue. The U.S. and Israel also want to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for regional armed proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

Trump struggles to end the war in Ukraine

Tuesday also marks the four-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On the campaign trail, Trump boasted that he would be able to end Russia’s war on Ukraine in one day, but he has struggled to fulfill his pledge.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are negotiating in U.S.-mediated talks but are at loggerheads over key issues, including Russian demands that Kyiv concede Ukrainian territory still in its control and who will get the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe.

Russian troops have moved only about 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) into eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region in the past two years.

Despite the slow pace, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains his maximalist demands, saying Kyiv must pull its forces from four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed but never fully captured.

Trump argues it’s inevitable that Russia will win control of the Ukrainian territory and has pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a deal to save lives.

“Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelenskyy is going to have to get moving,” Trump said last week.

Trump appears eager for a peace deal before the U.S. midterm elections despite the challenges. Zelenskyy says the White House has set a June deadline for the war’s end and will likely pressure both sides to meet it.

Ukraine, Russia and the rest of Europe will be listening closely to hear what Trump has to say about ending the war.

Another victory lap on Maduro and focus on Western Hemisphere

Trump, early in his address, alluded to last month’s capture of the Venezuelan leader in an audacious military operation, saying the U.S. “just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil.” The Trump administration had previously said it was orchestrating the effort to sell a total of about 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that had been stranded by a partial blockade imposed by the administration.

Maduro and his wife were whisked to New York where they are being held to face trial on federal drug conspiracy charges.

In the aftermath, Trump has called on U.S. oil executives to rush back into Venezuela as the White House tries to quickly secure $100 billion in investments to fix the country’s neglected infrastructure and fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum.

Trump’s action against Maduro, coupled with an increasingly aggressive posture in the Western Hemisphere aimed at eliminating drug trafficking and illegal migration, are a concern for many in the region — although they also have won support from some smaller countries.

Trump has likened the strategy to the Monroe Doctrine, with its rejection of outside influences and assertion of U.S. primacy throughout what the administration considers to be “America’s backyard.”

U.S. forces, under Trump’s orders, have carried out dozens of military strikes on alleged drug-running vessels in the Caribbean, seized sanctioned oil tankers and tightened the embargo of Cuba as part of what the president is referring to as the “Donroe Doctrine.”

“We are also restoring American security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere — acting to secure our national interests and defend our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference,” Trump will say according to the speech excerpts released by the White House.

Tariff strategy following Supreme Court ruling

The president ahead of the address ridiculed the six justices, including two conservatives he appointed in his first term, who last week struck down his use of a 1977 legal authority he had cited for most of the tariff hikes he imposed over the past year on friends and foes alike.

In his speech, he took a more measured tone, calling the decision “an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.”

Trump on Monday threatened countries around the world to abide by any tariff deals they have already agreed to.

Any country that wants to “play games” with the Supreme Court decision, Trump posted on social media, will be met with “a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to.”

Over the weekend, Trump announced he would increase to 15% a new global tariff aimed at replacing many of the import taxes ruled illegal by the Supreme Court last week.

He’s already signed an executive order enabling him to bypass Congress and impose a 10% tax on imports from around the world, starting Tuesday. Those tariffs are limited to 150 days unless they are extended legislatively.

“The good news is almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made,” Trump said. He added, “The legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them and therefore they will continue to work along the same successful path we had negotiated before the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement.”

Associated Press writers Colin Binkley, Jonathan J. Cooper and Matthew Lee contributed reporting