The St. Thomas men’s hockey team improved to 11-7-3 on the season after completing a sweep of Ferris State in a weekend series at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.

Saturday’s 8-4 victory came far easier than Friday’s come from behind 5-3 triumph, though the Tommies trailed 2-0 in both contests.

Ferris State’s edge on Saturday didn’t last nearly as long as it did on Friday. The Bulldogs opened the second game of the series with goals at 4:39 and 11:34 of the opening period before St. Thomas proceeded to light the lamp eight consecutive times to wrest control of the weekend away from the visitors.

The Tommies exploded for four goals in just over six minutes to take a 4-2 edge into the first intermission. Jake Bracchini began the onslaught with a power-play goal at 13:22 before Hayes Hundley made it 2-2 at 17:53.

But the hosts weren’t done there. Lucas Wahlin put UST up 3-2 38 seconds later before Attila Lippai finished off the period with a goal at 19:49 to make the score 4-2 at the break.

The second period was all Tommies, with Nick Williams, Alex Gaffney and Nathan Pilling all getting in on the scoring along with Bracchini’s second of the game. The rout was on at 8-2 heading into the third.

Ferris State got two back in the concluding interval, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the contest ended in a four-goal difference favoring St. Thomas as goaltender William Ingemann made 15 saves. Lucas Van Vliet led the hosts with three assists, with Chase Cheslock, Gaffney and Braccini each earning two assists apiece.

Friday: Tommies 5, Bulldogs 3

St. Thomas opened the series by rallying from third period deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to win 5-3.

Ferris St. led 2-0 following the final intermission on the strength of single tallies in the first and second period.

That all changed in the third as Braccini and Mason Poolman scored at 15:20 and 12:43 of the period, respectively, to pull the hosts even at 2-2.

That didn’t last long, however, as the Bulldogs again seized the lead at 3-2 on a goal just 26 seconds after Poolman’s score.

But Luc Laylin drew UST level with a goal at 4:28 or the third before Hundley gave the Tommies the lead at last with just 41 seconds remaining in regulation. Pilling added one final goal 15 seconds later on an empty netter after the Bulldogs had pulled goaltender Hobie Hedquist in favor of the added skater.

Tommies netminder Carsen Musser made 21 saves in the game. Gaffney and Van Vliet led the team with two assists apiece.

Next up

St. Thomas has just one game on its slate next weekend, a trip to Mankato to take on Minnesota State. The Tommies and Mavericks drop the puck at 6:07 p.m. Saturday in a game televised on CCHATV.

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Abbey Murphy netted a hat trick along with four assists as the Minnesota women’s hockey team obliterated Sacred Heart 14-2 on Saturday afternoon in Fairfield, Conn. Teammate Nelli Laitinen also recorded three goals to go with two assists in the contest.

The Gophers (16-4) became more powerful as the game went on, scoring twice in the opening period and five more in the middle frame before scorching the net for seven goals in the final stanza of the lopsided affair.

Sacred Heart (5-14-1) did manage a scant amount of offense in the form of a lone tally in each of the second and third periods. Goaltenders Hannah Clark and Sophia Johnson split time in the Minnesota nets.

Thirteen Gophers in all managed at least one point in the game. Anabella Fanale logged two goals, while Jamie Nelson logged four assists and Josefin Bouveng had three assists. Six separate Minnesota players had one goal apiece, while four Gophers had two assists each.

Next up for Minnesota is a home-and-home series with Minnesota State next weekend, beginning with a trip to Mankato for a 6 p.m. Friday game. The teams will follow up with a Saturday contest at Ridder Arena at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be televised on BTN+.

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MIAMI (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 33 points, Naz Reid had 20 of his 29 in the second half and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Miami 125-115 on Saturday night and snap the Heat’s four-game winning streak.

Julius Randle finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which outscored Miami 19-4 in the opening 4 1/2 minutes of the final quarter to turn a four-point lead into a 109-90 edge. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Norman Powell scored 21 for the Heat, who are 3-5 in their last eight home games. Davion Mitchell and Nikola Jovic added 14 for Miami, while Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins each had 12.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) looks for an opening past Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Edwards had 20 points in the first half, making this the fourth game this season — and second in a row — where he had that many by intermission. The last time he had 20 by halftime in two straight games was Feb. 13-16, 2023.

The Heat saw Powell leave with 6:11 left in the first quarter with right leg soreness; he returned midway through the second quarter around the time Jaime Jaquez Jr. left after stepping on Randle’s foot while playing defense and spraining his right ankle.

Jaquez did not return.

Minnesota had dropped three of its last four games coming into Saturday, including perhaps the Timberwolves’ most frustrating loss of the season — a 126-102 defeat on Wednesday in Atlanta.

The Wolves responded well to the adversity with a renewed commitment to details from the opening tip Saturday.

“That was exactly what we needed against a really good team that’s been playing very well with a style of play that’s really hard to guard,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “I thought our gameplan discipline in the beginning of the game set the tone for us for the game. You could tell when that happens how mentally we’re ready to play and locked in and focused.”

Finch said Donte DiVincenzo set the tone on that front, citing his defensive work against Powell in the game’s opening minutes. Minnesota won DiVincenzo’s minutes by 24 points.

Naz Reid scored 29 points, burying four triples to go with two blocked shots off the bench.

“Naz was great. Kept finding space,” Finch said. “We did a good job of finding him, took advantage of mismatches, finished well in and around the paint. Played a really complete game out there, too. He was really good.”

The Wolves improved to 15-1 this season when holding opponents to 112 points or less. Minnesota shot 54%; the Heat fell to 2-8 when allowing opponents to shoot 50% or better.

Up next for the Wolves is a 5 p.m. tip-off Sunday evening at the Washington Wizards.

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned at home watching on television.

Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday.

The Buccaneers (8-9) need New Orleans (6-10) to beat or tie Atlanta (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (31) reacts after a defensive stop during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

If the Falcons win, the Panthers (8-9) will secure their first division championship since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago.

The Buccaneers hold a two-team tiebreaker over the Panthers. But Carolina holds the three-team tiebreaker over Tampa Bay if Atlanta also finishes 8-9.

Before the Buccaneers faced New Orleans in October, Mayfield accused the Saints of dirty play and said: “I do not like them.”

Now, Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes hinge on the Saints beating the Falcons on the road on Sunday.

The Buccaneers were 0-8 in games where Mayfield threw an interception before overcoming his ninth pick in the last eight games.

After McLaughlin’s 38-yard field-goal try was blocked with just over five minutes remaining, Carolina got within 16-14 on Bryce Young’s 8-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.

Mayfield tossed a short pass to Otton for a 20-yard gain on third-and-4 to extend Tampa Bay’s drive and run off more time. The Panthers got the ball back at their 3 with 18 seconds and no timeouts left. The game ended on a desperate series of laterals that resulted in a fumble.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) is tackled by Carolina Panthers safety Nick Scott (21) and safety Tre’von Moehrig (7) during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Mayfield connected with Otton on an 18-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead as the Bucs scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the third straight game. It was Otton’s first TD of the season.

Down 10-0, the Panthers turned Christian Rozeboom’s interception into a quick score. Rozeboom returned the pick 20 yards to Tampa Bay’s 19. Young then connected with Tommy Tremble on an 8-yard TD pass to cut it to 10-7.

Jacob Parrish picked off Young late in the second half and the Buccaneers got a 36-yard field goal from McLaughlin to take a 13-7 halftime lead.

McLaughlin kicked a 48-yard field goal early in the fourth to extend Tampa Bay’s lead.
Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 54-yarder short on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone. The Bucs settled for McLaughlin’s 29-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead.

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