Minnesota’s new top line was born out of necessity. Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center it had the look of a keeper.

Taylor Heise, Kendall Coyne Schofield and the latest addition, Michela Cava, combined for three goals and five points as Minnesota beat Boston 4-0 before an announced crowd of 4,669.

Cava replaces Abby Boreen, who has played out her second 10-day contract and will not be available for the remainder of the regular season.

“I thought they had good chemistry,” coach Ken Klee said. “I’ve watched Michela Cava play, and she doesn’t have a lot of points but she makes good plays every night. So, to me, if I can get Kendall and Taylor with a player who can get them the puck and make plays, they’re going to get chances.

“And I thought they did. A couple of really nice plays.”

Minnesota goaltender Nicole Hensley made 20 saves to pick up her first shutout of the season and lower her goals-against average to 1.79.

The victory moves Minnesota into a tie for first place with Toronto and Montreal in the Professional Women’s Hockey League standings.

The 29-year-old Cava, who played her final two collegiate seasons at Minnesota Duluth,  entered the game with one goal and one assist in 16 games. She said she felt comfortable playing alongside two of Minnesota’s most gifted players.

“We all use speed,” Cava said. “I felt like we supported each other really well. We were trying to move together, and got a lot of pucks to the net. It’s huge honor and awesome to play with the two of them.”

Boreen, who began the season on Minnesota’s reserve list while she attends pharmacy school, scored four goals in nine games and was one of Minnesota’s most effective forwards. Should Minnesota make the playoffs, the former Gophers star can sign one more 10-day contract.

In the meantime, she will be missed.

“She brings an element that we don’t have a lot of,” Klee said, “with that hard-nosed, gritty winger type of player. But at the time, when we were short two centers, it was the time to activate her.”

Coyne Schofield got the scoring started at 18:12 of the first period, taking a centering pass from Heise out of the right-wing corner and beating Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel on a wrist shot from the slot for her fifth goal of the season.

Cava scored at 6:43 of the second period. She corralled the puck near the Boston goal after a wide shot from the point caromed off the boards and banked it in off of Frankel from a sharp angle.

Grace Zumwinkle added a power-play goal at 14:43 of the third period, her team-leading eighth goal of the season. Heise closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:57.

Minnesota’s victory came in the second game of a four-game homestand that began with a 4-3 overtime win over Ottawa on March 5. The homestand will take Minnesota into a month-long break for the Women’s World Championship.

Minnesota will have only five regular-season games remaining following the break. Klee said there was no need to emphasize to the team how important this stretch of games will be.

“They know when you’re home you’ve got to win games,” he said. “Our last five, we play four out of five on the road. We’ve got a couple more games at home before the break and we just have to try to get as many points as we can.”

Offered Hensley; “We’re looking at a pretty long break, and obviously you want to go into that break with momentum. Enjoy today, but shift our focus to New York (on Saturday) here pretty quick.”

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Yoán Moncada pulled a double into the right-field corner during the second inning of an April 2 game against the Houston Astros last season at Minute Maid Park.

The Chicago White Sox third baseman doubled again — this time pulling a grounder that just stayed fair down the first-base line — in the sixth inning. Batting left-handed again, the switch-hitter capped the day by going the other way with a two-run home run to left field in the ninth.

Moncada had a strong start to the season, going 8-for-18 (.444) with two homers and four RBIs in the series against the Astros as he built off his All-Tournament Team performance for Cuba during the World Baseball Classic. Then came the back issues that led to two trips to the injured list.

“During the first half of that season, it was painful, stressful,” Moncada said through an interpreter Thursday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago in Bridgeport. “I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to do stuff and help the team but I couldn’t. It was a really tough time for me.”

He was out from April 11-May 12 with lower back soreness and again June 14-July 25 with lower back inflammation.

Moncada rebounded after returning from the second IL stint, slashing .280/.323/.430 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in August and .298/.344/.560 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in September.

“Once I started getting better and stronger, I felt much better and I felt good,” Moncada said. “That was why I was able to finish the way that I did and that’s how I feel right now.”

The 28-year-old is aiming to use that late-season bounce back as a springboard for 2024.

“He feels great, the back feels great, he’s motivated,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’s going to get to spring training early on the 31st of January or first of February, which is a great sign and he’s going to put himself in a position to have a great year. We need Moncada.

“He’s motivated to having a full season under his belt, which is good for him.”

Moncada slashed .260/.305/.425 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 2023. After appearing in 144 games in 2021, Moncada played 104 games in 2022 and 92 in 2023.

His offseason work has included strengthening his abs, back and legs to “get all that core really strong,” he said.

“The way I’m preparing myself for this coming season is to play 202 games,” Moncada said, when asked about attempting to play as close to 162 games as possible. “That’s an exaggeration, but that’s how I’m preparing myself.

“I want to be healthy. I want to be on the field every day.”

Moncada said he is motivated and excited because he’s healthy.

“That’s the only thing I want — if I’m healthy, I know I can do a lot of good things in the field,” Moncada said. “I’m excited right now to get to spring training and start working.

“I think God has saved something good for me. Hopefully we are going to see that. Hopefully I’ll be able to be healthy and really show and really display all I can do on the field.”

Moncada’s best season was in 2019, when he established career highs in several categories, including OPS (.915), doubles (34), home runs (25) and RBIs (79). He signed a five-year, $70 million extension in March 2020 — a deal in which the Sox hold an option for $25 million in 2025 with a $5 million buyout.

The solid defensive third baseman knows he’ll be fielding questions from reporters about the future.

“I would love to stay with the White Sox if they want me here,” Moncada said. “I’m very thankful for the White Sox for the opportunity they have given me after I was traded from the Red Sox (in December 2016). They’ve been treating me very well. I like the organization, I like the city, I like the fans. I would like to stay here.”

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CLASS 3A

Benilde-St. Margaret’s 73, Stewartville 42

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is one win away from going back to back as the Class 3A champion.

Michigan commit Olivia Olson finished with 32 points and seven rebounds for the top-seeded Red Knights (26-5), while Zahara Bishop added 18 points. It was all Benilde-St. Margaret’s from the jump, as the defending champs led 26-5 early.

Audrey Schindelar scored 16 points to lead fifth-seeded Stewartville (22-9).

DeLaSalle 82, Alexandria Area 69

DeLaSalle star guard Aneish Scott tallied 29 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the second-seeded Islanders into the Class 3A game.

DeLaSalle (27-3) will meet Benilde-St. Margaret’s at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Islanders beat the Red Knights 78-65 in December.

DeLaSalle shot 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep on Thursday, while turning the ball over just seven times. Jordyn Johnson added 20 points for DeLaSalle, who also beat Alexandria 74-64 in early December.

Hadley Thul had 29 points — on 9-for-11 shooting from the field — five rebounds and five assists for third-seeded Alexandria (25-5).

CLASS 4A

Hopkins 84, Maple Grove 78

For the 11th time in 13 years, Hopkins has reached the state title game.

Erma Walker scored 30 points on 14-for-16 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds to lead a Royals offense that shot 53 percent from the field. Liv McGill added 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the top-seeded Royals (27-3).

But Maple Grove’s offense kept the Crimson (25-5) in the contest throughout. Maple Grove shot 56 percent from the field and 53 percent from deep. The fourth-seeded Crimson had three players score 17-plus points, led by 21 points and seven rebounds from Jordan Ode. Claire Stern added 19 points and eight assists.

Hopkins led by 13 with six minutes to play, but Maple Grove pulled to within three with 63 seconds to play. But the Royals delivered a key stop with 38 seconds to play to essentially put the game on ice.

CLASS A

Goodhue 65, Mayer Lutheran 38

Elisabeth Gadient and Natalie Thomforde each scored 19 points to lead the top-seeded Wildcats to a quarterfinal victory.

Gadient also grabbed 15 rebounds, while Kendyl Lodermeier had 11 points and 11 boards for her own double-dobule.

Goodhue (26-5) held Mayer Lutheran to just 27-percent shooting from the floor, including 1 for 7 from distance. Danica Martin had 10 points and 15 boards for Mayer Lutheran (19-11).

Underwood 64, Southwest Minnesota Christian 52

Underwood went 11 for 23 from 3-point range as the No. 4 seed advanced to Friday’s semifinals.

Underwood (28-3) will meet top-seeded Goodhue in the Class A semis at 12 p.m. Friday.

Kallyn Grove went 3 for 3 from deep, highlighting her 16-point, 11-rebound performance. Elizabeth Lukken scored 18 points on a day where four Underwood starters scored in double figures.

Jocelyn Barron tallied 22 points and 14 boards for fifth-seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian (28-3).

Mountain Iron-Buhl 71, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 36

Jordan Zubich had 20 points and seven assists as second-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl successfully kicked off its state title defense.

Mountain Iron-Buhl will face third-seeded Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart in the Class A semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday after Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (28-3) downed Fosston 72-35 in the quarters.

Mountain Iron-Buhl buried 14 triples Thursday, while holding Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (24-7) to just 1 for 11 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Rangers (28-3) also forced 27 turnovers that led to 30 points.

Hopkins guard Lauren Hillesheim (12) looks for a shot during the second half of a Class 4A semifinal game of the State Girls Basketball Tournament at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Hopkins won 84-78. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

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Sam Darnold spoke to reporters for the first time on Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center.

He answered every question with the professionalism of a veteran. He expressed gratitude to the Vikings for signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal. He lauded the expertise of head coach Kevin O’Connell. He heaped praise on his new teammates even though he has yet to meet most of them.

There’s no doubt Darnold carries himself as a franchise quarterback off the field.  Now the next step for him is carrying himself like a franchise quarterback on the field.

That’s been an issue for him since being selected by New York Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He has a 21-35 record as a starter having also played for the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers. This will likely be Darnold’s last chance to prove himself.

Asked about how he’s approaching everything at this point in his career, Darnold replied, “Just excited to be able to compete.” His biggest competition could very well come next month if the Vikings decide to take a rookie quarterback in the draft.

“No matter what happens I’m going to compete,” Darnold said. “Just excited for the opportunity to do that.”

It helps that Darnold will get to work alongside O’Connell throughout the process. There’s also a connection between Darnold and new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. They were teammates back when Darnold was a New York Jets rookie, and that pre-existing relationship should help him hit the ground running.

“He’s amazing,” Darnold said. “It’s going to be fun to be able to work with him being able to talk about what we want to do fundamentally in this offense and kind of build on what I’ve been doing.”

The most growth Darnold has shown as a pro came last season when the 49ers made him their backup to Brock Purdy. The lessons that Darnold learned from head coach Kyle Shanahan were invaluable in his development. That showed up on the film in a very small sample size, and O’Connell acknowledged that he’s excited to keep the ball rolling.

“It’s something I’m very much looking forward to,” O’Connell said. “I think he still has his best football out in front of him.”

If he wins the starting job out of training camp, which he will have the inside track at doing, this will be the most talent Darnold has ever had around him. He will get to hand the ball off to running back Aaron Jones. He will get to throw to star receiver Justin Jefferson. He will have tight end T.J. Hockenson as a security blanket.

Not that he’s getting too far ahead of himself.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be put in before we can say anything about winning a lot of games,” Darnold said. “I know that, and I’m very willing to put that work in.”

Briefly

In a pair of depth moves, the Vikings signed defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, then receiver Trent Sherfield. Both players should work themselves into a role on their respective side of the field.

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