Team USA will face Canada in the National Hockey League’s 4 Nations Face-Off Championship tonight, and they are bolstered by the presence of forward Jake Guentzel, an Omaha native and UNO Hockey alumnus. Guentzel scored two goals against Canada in Team USA’s 3-1 victory Saturday in pool play. A 10-year veteran, he won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his rookie year and led all scorers in that postseason with 13 goals. Thursday, he and Team USA look to beat Canada for the first ever 4 Nations Face-Off title. After the Canadian crowd booed the Star-Spangled Banner in Montreal on Saturday, the game kicked off with three fights in the first 9 seconds of regulation. Expect high tensions and plenty of pregame boos at the finale tonight in Boston.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is looking to add a few more honors to his already lengthy list of career achievements. Kalkbrenner, the winningest player in Creighton Basketball’s history and 3-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, has been named to multiple postseason award watchlists in the past few weeks. Midseason watchlists for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award have been published, and he can be found on all three.
The Naismith and Wooden Awards recognize the top player in college basketball, with the Wooden award considering a player’s academic performance and character in addition to their play. The Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award distinguishes the best center in college basketball. Kalkbrenner has deservedly made the top 10 each of the last three years. On top of all that, he’s on the shortlist for both Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. If he wins his fourth-consecutive honor for Defensive Player of the Year, he will join Patrick Ewing as the only player in conference history to achieve that feat.
John Tonje & Chucky Hepburn, two former basketball standouts from the metro, were also named to the Naismith Trophy midseason watchlist last week. Tonje graduated from Omaha Central and played four years at Colorado state. He then transferred to Missouri, and now Wisconsin, where he averages 19.7 points per game for the 11th-ranked Badgers. Hepburn began his career with Wisconsin and started every game of his career over his three-year stint with the Badgers after graduating from Bellevue West High School. He now plays for the 25th-ranked Louisville Cardinals and averages 15 points per game.
LOVB Omaha dropped both of their matches in the LOVB Classic last weekend after securing the second seed and a bye in the midseason tournament. Despite losing Saturday to LOVB Houston, Omaha still had an opportunity to secure $20,000 for their team in the third-place game against LOVB Austin but lost in four sets. The second half of Omaha’s season begins tonight as they meet LOVB Houston at 4:30 p.m. You can watch the match free on LOVB’s website or with DAZN.
The Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships are underway at CHI Health Center Omaha. More than 1,640 athletes are competing the boys’ and girls’ championships. According to Visit Omaha, the tournament will attract 65,000 fans with 75 percent of them coming from outside the metro area.
Upcoming Games
- LOVB Omaha vs. LOVB Houston | Tonight, February 20th | 4:30 p.m.
- Omaha Supernovas at San Diego Mojo | Tonight, February 20th | 9:05 p.m.
- UNO MBB vs. South Dakota | Saturday, February 22nd | 7:00 p.m.
- Creighton Baseball at Portland | Friday, February 21st | 2:00 p.m.
- UNO Baseball at #3 LSU | Friday, February 21st | 4:00 p.m.
- #23 Creighton WBB at DePaul | Sunday, February 23rd | 2:00 p.m.
- Creighton MBB vs. Georgetown | Sunday, February 23rd | 3:00 p.m.
