The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#0: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -6).  So this is a Week where my rankings of teams differs from their standing outside the WMNSS.  Sorta.  Because they lost the first Game of a two-Game series at Ohio St. on Friday, they've been deposed from their #1 ranking this Week down to third.  But the screening Week for The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey for 2022 goes from Saturday to Friday, so technically, they had an undefeated Week, coming back to defeat the Buckeyes Saturday, 4-2, then starting a two-tilt set vs. #12 Notre Dame at Mariucci with a 4-1 victory last/Friday night.  After playing the Fighting Irish again tonight/Saturday night, they host Penn St. Thursday and Friday.  It's quite possible Minnesota reclaims the #1 ranking either by this Monday or next Monday.

#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1).  Meanwhile, also in Columbus on Saturday, the Gopher women technically lost in a Shootout to the Buckeye women's hockey team.  But because they beat the Buckeyes the previous evening in regulation, on Monday they switched places with Ohio St. to become the #1 team in top-flight college hockey.  That's a great accomplishment, but I here at the WMNSS predominantly rank teams by their record during the Week.  And coupling that Shootout Loss with an Overtime Win versus Minnesota-Duluth last/Friday night at Ridder Arena (Taylor Heise with the Game-winner), this squad had a 1-1 screening Week, with neither result being all that clean.  And yet ... well, a #1 ranking isn't something to poo-poo, so I compromised: I kept the Gopher women below the men, but I bumped up the men into non-negative numbers to make the women ice hockey team look less bad.  You're welcome.

They finish up their series with the Bulldogs this/Saturday afternoon, then play the annual U. S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Museum Women's Face-Off Classic against St. Cloud St. (they play the Huskies for the third time this season already) Monday night in Andover.

#-2: Vikings (Re-Entry!).  The Vikes are continuing a troubling pattern.  They started their Game against The Bastard Chicago-By-Way-Of-St. Louis Cardinals like gangbusters, striking for Touchdowns with ease.  But then they started to slow down in the Second Quarter, and in the Third, their Offense slowed to a stop, allowing the opponent to not only come back but take the lead.  And finally, in the Fourth Quarter, the Offense rekindles itself and finds its way back to paydirt again, and the Defense comes alive with Sacks and Turnovers.  They found a way to win, and they are 6-1.  But truly elite teams don't get into lulls and don't have to come back from deficits.  Are they better than the Eagles, or the Bills, or the Chiefs?  I don't think so.

They're at Washington D. C. Sunday.  The Commanders are shit, and yet they're 4-4.  I expect Minnesota to win, but I am certain they'll make this damn Game close.

#-3: Gopher football (Last Week: -7).  They shut out Rutgers Saturday afternoon.  Great news, but it's becoming clearer than ever that they are capable of killing teams with less talent than them but are likely getting killed by teams with better talent.  Welcome to the middle, Gopher Nation.  At Nebraska this/Saturday afternoon.

#-4: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -2).  Their winning streak ended at four after Saturday night's four-Set loss at then-fifth-ranked Wisconsin, and then they swept Michigan at the Sports Pavilion last/Friday night.  Like I usually say, let's see how they are in the NCAA Tournament.  At Illinois Sunday, home to Maryland Friday.

#-5: Wild (Last Week: -4).  Alright, things are out of sync with this club right now.  They have a regulation Win over Montreal, a Shootout victory over Chicago, a 2-1 Loss in Detroit, and a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the X to the second-Year Seattle Kraken.  According to Brandon Mileski of The Common Man Progrum, all the Wild's energy guys are injured, which means they have started contests flat.  Tenna B also says that Head Coach Dean Evason is carrying 7 Defensemen and 11 Forwards, which means one D-Man is playing way out of position, and that fucks everything up.  Got a bad feeling about this team right now.

The team has the weekend off.  Then they have a SoCal back-to-back (Los Angeles Tuesday, Anaheim Wednesday) and finish a Week-long, three-Game road trip with a return date Friday against Seattle.

#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5).  Alright, things are out of sync with this club right now, too.  They go winless this screening Week with road Losses to San Antonio and Phoenix and a home Loss late last/Friday night to Milwaukee on ESPN.  One crazy revelation reared its head in the setback to the Suns: The bench players (with Anthony Edwards) were markedly better than the starting five.  Meanwhile, Chris Finch's current strategy of going big by putting Rudy Gobert in the pivot and pushing Karl-Anthony Towns out to the 4 is backfiring like crazy right now.  The early part of the season is used to work things out, but I hope Finch & Co. figure it out quick.

Busy Week.  They finish a four-Game homestand with dates with Houston, New York and the Suns.  On Friday they go to Memphis.

#-Infinity: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  It was always going to be a very tall task going on the road in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament and trying to upset Michigan St., far and away The Best Team In The Conference and, according to two polls, ranked sixth in the nation.  It's just sad that they surprised the Spartans with a Goal 4 1/2 Minutes in by McKenna Buisman, but couldn't hold onto the lead; Jordyn Wickes tied it up in the 55th Minute and then scored the Game-winner in the 67th.

It's only her second Year as Head Coach here, but Erin Chastain most likely has not gotten the U. into the NCAA Tournament yet.  Just sayin'.