College Sports

Gophers men’s hockey team adds defenseman Finn McLaughlin, who flipped his commitment from Denver

The Gophers men’s hockey program announced Friday that it has signed defenseman Finn McLaughlin, a Canmore, Alberta, native who has played on USHL championship teams the past two seasons. McLaughlin, 19, flipped his commitment from Denver to the Gophers. A 6-2, 203-pound left-shot defenseman, McLaughlin won USHL titles with the Fargo Force in 2024 and […]

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1 month ago

June 7, 2025

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A 6-2, 203-pound left-shot defenseman, McLaughlin won USHL titles with the Fargo Force in 2024 and Muskegon Lumberjacks this season. Over 110 USHL games with Youngstown, Fargo and Muskegon over the past three seasons, McLaughlin has eight goals and 29 assists. McLaughlin is eligible for the 2025 NHL draft.

McLaughlin should help bolster a Minnesota blue line that saw first-round draft picks Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore, plus second-rounder Ryan Chesley leave early for the NHL after the 2024-25 season.

McLaughlin’s father, Kyle, skated as a defenseman for St. Cloud State in the 1990s. Finn McLaughlin played for Canada until 2023 when he switched to Team USA, playing for the under-18 team in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2024 and for the under-19 team in the World Junior A Challenge.

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Blake Wheeler, Who Once Ruptured A Testicle, Officially Retires After 16 NHL Seasons

Right-winger had his best years in Winnipeg, including a pair of back-to-back 91-point seasons PublishedJuly 19, 2025 6:39 PM EDT•UpdatedJuly 19, 2025 6:39 PM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link He didn’t sign with an NHL team last season, so there was speculation that he may be hanging them up, but not former Winnipeg Jets […]

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19 minutes ago

July 20, 2025

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Right-winger had his best years in Winnipeg, including a pair of back-to-back 91-point seasons

PublishedJuly 19, 2025 6:39 PM EDT•UpdatedJuly 19, 2025 6:39 PM EDT

He didn’t sign with an NHL team last season, so there was speculation that he may be hanging them up, but not former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler is making it official: he’s retiring.

Wheeler appeared on an episode of the radio show Jets at Noon this week and revealed that he had decided to call it a career after 16 NHL seasons and 1,172 games played.

“More or less, right after last year knew I was all done,” Wheeler said, per Global News. “I just haven’t felt like a rush to make a formal announcement or anything. But yeah, after my injury and kinda the way things ended last year, I just didn’t have anything left in the tank for it. So yeah, I was at peace with it almost immediately after last year, and yeah, I’m just enjoying being a dad and kinda slowing things down a little bit, and being around my family.”

Wheeler, a native of Plymouth, Minn., played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and then played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Despite being selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2004 NHL Draft, Wheeler signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent in 2008. In 2011, he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers and played the tail end of their season before the team moved to Winnipeg.

After 16 NHL seasons, Blake Wheeler has officially announced his retirement. (Photo by Andreea Cardani/NHLI via Getty Images)

Wheeler had his best years in Winnipeg, including a pair of back-to-back 91-point seasons, and was named the team’s captain for the 2016-17 season.

In 2023, he signed with the New York Rangers, but missed a chunk of the season with a leg injury. He appeared in one game for the Blueshirts during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which proved to be his final NHL game.

Congrats to Wheeler on a heck of a career. I think he’s going to go down as one of the most underrated Americna-born players. He was on the 2014 Olympic team and was a Hockey Guy’s Hockey Guy.

I mean, who could forget when he ruptured a testicle and stayed in the game?

Now that’s peak Hockey Guy-ism.

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NHL all-time record scorer Ovechkin calls for Russian return to global sports | National News

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39 minutes ago

July 20, 2025

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College Sports

Two ASU Future Commits Invited to USA Hockey Camp

Don’t let anyone tell you that hockey doesn’t belong in the desert, because Tempe, Arizona is quickly becoming a hotbed. Shortly after getting its first-ever first-round draft pick in Cullen Potter, the Sun Devils keep piling up the high-end commits. This time, two ASU commits were invited to USA Hockey’s Selection Camp for the Hlinka […]

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1 hour ago

July 20, 2025

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Don’t let anyone tell you that hockey doesn’t belong in the desert, because Tempe, Arizona is quickly becoming a hotbed.

Shortly after getting its first-ever first-round draft pick in Cullen Potter, the Sun Devils keep piling up the high-end commits.

This time, two ASU commits were invited to USA Hockey’s Selection Camp for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which occurs every summer.

It’s a prestigious tournament that features the world’s most talented players under the age of 18, and some of the biggest names in the NHL have participated in it over the decades.

Ben Kevan, an ASU commit and second-round NHL Draft pick, participated in last year’s Cup.

This season, defenseman Henry Chmiel, who boasts a large frame for someone his age, will take the ice.

At just 17 years old, he stands 6 feet tall and weighs 212 pounds.

He’s coming off an exceptional career at Shattuck St. Mary’s, a program that’s developed high-end NHL players for years.

This past season at Shattuck, he posted five goals and 20 assists in 55 games.

Chmiel is expected to spend next season in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 USHL Futures Draft.

Continuing the trend of young, big-bodied skaters, Jimmy Egan will also be participating.

Currently, Egan stands at 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, and he’ll be playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League next season.

As part of the NCAA-CHL agreement, players are allowed to start their careers in major junior before transitioning to the college ranks.

It’s the perfect trajectory for a young player, especially someone who’s dominated practically everywhere he’s played.

This past season, Egan tore up the U16 AAA ranks with Sioux Falls Power, racking up 45 points in 26 games.

Once Sioux Falls’ season ended, he suited up for three games with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, though he didn’t score.

Granted, the Lancers were the worst team in the league by far, and Egan’s chances of succeeding were slim.

That’s why, after the season, he committed to playing in Brandon for the 2025-26 campaign before making the jump to college.

It’s a new day for Arizona State hockey, and it’s become a destination for young players who not only want to enjoy the desert weather but also get a high-end education and develop into NHL players.

When you walk through the desert, that’s not a mirage you’re seeing — that’s an ice rink. And it’s leading you to a program that’s building a perennial contender for years to come.

Please follow us on X when you click right here and let us know you’re thoughts on ASU hockey!

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Livvy Dunne calls out New York Times over infamous ‘Sex Sells’ headline

In November 2022, The New York Times published a story, “New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells.” The article concerned the growth of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in women’s college sports and how some female college athletes, based on their large social media followings and conventional attractiveness, were being rewarded […]

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2 hours ago

July 20, 2025

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In November 2022, The New York Times published a story, “New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells.” The article concerned the growth of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in women’s college sports and how some female college athletes, based on their large social media followings and conventional attractiveness, were being rewarded for “traditional feminine desirability over athletic excellence.”

The lead image of the article was of LSU gymnast Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, wearing her gymnastics leotard while standing behind a balance beam. With a massive social media following and millions in NIL money, Dunne had become the face of this new era. And the placement of “Sex Sells” in the headline next to her photo was hard not to notice.

“…the new flood of money — and the way many female athletes are attaining it — troubles some who have fought for equitable treatment in women’s sports and say that it rewards traditional feminine desirability over athletic excellence,” wrote reporter Kurt Streeter. “And while the female athletes I spoke to said they were consciously deciding whether to play up or down their sexuality, some observers say that the market is dictating that choice.”

Dunne, who has previously criticized the story and its presentation to her, expressed similar thoughts during a recent appearance on What’s Your Story? podcast.

“They came to our gymnastics facility at LSU, took pictures of me. They said, ‘wear your team-issued attire, put on a leotard,’ and they took a picture of me standing in front of the beam, like any gymnast would, and then they blew it up on the screen and put the headline, ‘Sex Sells,’” Dunne said. “Okay, well, you just came into the facility and took pictures of me in our team-issued attire and blew it up on a screen… So I was like, ‘okay, well, this is crazy.’ And there was obviously a lot of backlash to the New York Times because of that.”

The former LSU gymnast also shared that after mocking the Times on social media, that led to Sports Illustrated reaching out and offering her a spot in their swimsuit edition.

“I decided I was going to put that same picture that they posted and captioned ‘sex sells’ on my Instagram story and write ‘@The New York Times, is this too much?’ Because, come on, you know what you’re doing. You just put a picture of me in a leotard for clicks and then caption it ‘sex sells,” Dunne said.

“And then people loved that. They were like this is so great because no, it’s not too much. You’re in your team-issued attire, which is a leotard for gymnasts. There was a lot of positive feedback from that. So, Sports Illustrated reached out to my agent. I was so excited about that. That was always a dream of mine. There’s some legends and some amazing athletes that have been in Sports Illustrated.”

These comments echo comments she made in 2023 on the Full Send Podcast, when she called the article “BS,” and claimed the reporter asked her “weird” and “odd” questions.

“It was complete BS. I mean, they called me on the phone in November and they told me that they were going to write about my accomplishments and stuff, and I was like, ‘OK, for sure. That’s awesome. The New York Times. That’s huge,’” she said.

“The interviewer called me and he was asking me very odd questions. It was worded quite weird,” she explained. “He was like, ‘So, how does it feel to be a small petite blonde gymnast doing so well with NIL.’ I was just like, ‘Why does it matter that I’m petite and blonde?’ You can just ask me about NIL without you having to use these weird ways of saying it.”

Dunne also made several videos in response to the New York Times article after it was published.

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College Sports

Big inning allows Huskies to rally for win – Duluth News Tribune

LA CROSSE — The Duluth Huskies used an eight-run sixth inning to turn around their game at the La Crosse Loggers and eventually win it 10-9 on Friday night. The Huskies were down 7-2 through five innings before their breakout, which began with four straight hits, including a two-run triple from Nate Novitske. Novitske came […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LA CROSSE — The Duluth Huskies used an eight-run sixth inning to turn around their game at the La Crosse Loggers and eventually win it 10-9 on Friday night.

The Huskies were down 7-2 through five innings before their breakout, which began with four straight hits, including a two-run triple from Nate Novitske. Novitske came in on an RBI groundout to make it a one-run game. Trey Craig’s two-run double gave the Huskies the lead and Nate Vargas followed with a two-run homer.

The Loggers pulled a run back in the bottom half of the inning and closed to within one in the eighth, but Huskies closer Danny Hesse worked around a leadoff single to finish off the win.

Vargas led the Huskies, going 3-for-4. He also homered in the second inning. Noah Furcht and Jake Downing recorded two hits apiece.

Proctor native Nick Terhaar allowed two runs on three hits in the fifth inning but was the pitcher of record when the Huskies rallied and earned the win.

Duluth (12-4 second half) will face the Loggers in La Crosse again on Saturday.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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College Sports

The Granite State’s Trailblazer: Taylor Wenczkowski’s Journey Through Women’s Hockey

Photo via Boston Fleet Taylor Wenczkowski is the only player (to date) to have played in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) who was born in New Hampshire. She spent all of her hockey career in New Hampshire and Boston. She has cemented herself in Boston women’s hockey and has taken a step back to […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Taylor Wenczkowski is the only player (to date) to have played in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) who was born in New Hampshire. She spent all of her hockey career in New Hampshire and Boston. She has cemented herself in Boston women’s hockey and has taken a step back to coach and uplift the next wave of trailblazers on the collegiate level for Princeton University’s Women’s ice hockey team.

GROWING UP IN NH/JWHL

Wenczkowski was born in Rochester, New Hampshire. She grew up playing boys hockey in New Hampshire up until her sophomore year of high school, due to the limited options in girls hockey. She said that there has been a substantial growth over the last ten years. She grew up just twenty minutes away from the University of New Hampshire and started attending their games when she was eight years old. She looked up to UNH alumni Sam Faber and Kacey Bellamy. Over time, she fell in love with the school and the hockey program. In her final season at UNH, she was named captain, and as she described it, it was a dream come true.

PHF

Wenczkowski played for the Boston Pride of the PHF/NWHL and won two championships with them. “My first year was really unique as it was the bubble season, but it was really special to be a part of a growing and improving league that allowed me to live out a childhood dream of playing professional hockey.” The back-to-back Isobel Cup champion scored the game-winning goals in both years and cemented herself in Boston Pride history.

PWHL

Wenczkowski only spent one year with the Boston Fleet (known as PWHL Boston at the time), but she was a cherished member and was honored to be a part of the inaugural season. “It’s special to see how many people came out to support us and to see the growth of all of women’s sports.” In her final season playing professional hockey, she scored two goals in eight games during the playoffs for the Fleet.

COACHING/AFTER PLAYING

The chapter on playing professional hockey may have ended for Wenczkowski, but her coaching career has taken off! After her first year with PWHL Boston, she got offered an opportunity to coach at Princeton University. She started to coach during college, her first role was a head coach internship for a U16 team. She started her company, “TW Hockey Academy,” where she runs camps and clinics from the age of four until the collegiate level. “It’s so rewarding to teach the game of hockey and help others achieve their goals.”

HOPES FOR THE FUTURE AND A MESSAGE TO YOUNG PLAYERS

“I hope to see women’s hockey at the pro level continue to sell out NHL arenas and eventually have all the teams playing in front of 20,000 fans every single game…”

“For younger players, my advice is, you need to enjoy the game and have fun. If you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed, it may hinder your performance. There’s no point in sacrificing yourself and so much time if you aren’t absolutely loving what you do.”