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Blackhawks leave Minnesota empty-handed again entering holiday break

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Blackhawks leave Minnesota empty-handed again entering holiday break


ST. PAUL, Minn. — Most NHL arenas have been houses of horror for the Blackhawks in recent seasons, but none more so than the Xcel Energy Center.

The Hawks’ 4-3 loss Monday marked their eighth consecutive defeat in Minnesota, where they haven’t won since the 2018-19 season. The Hawks have lost 14 of 15 games against the Wild in any location since 2020.

Wild defenseman Brock Faber, who narrowly lost out on the Calder Trophy to Hawks star Connor Bedard last season, scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period. The Hawks weren’t able to penetrate the Wild’s 1-1-3 neutral-zone trap very often after that.

The Hawks enter the NHL’s three-day Christmas break with a 12-21-2 record, having dropped back-to-back games since their three-game winning streak.

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‘‘When the game is on the line . . . we’ve got to be willing to go and play offensively,’’ interim coach Anders Sorensen said. ‘‘We sat back a little bit too much there. I thought we did that in the home games we played, but these past two road games, not so much.’’

Sorensen’s system changes have made the Hawks more aggressive to start games, but he agreed that the team subconsciously tends to fall back on conservative habits at times in crucial later-game situations.

So how can they break those habits?

‘‘Talk about it, work on it, show it,’’ Sorensen responded. ‘‘It’s going to be a process, for sure.’’

One bright spot was young forward Frank Nazar bouncing back from a rough outing Saturday against the Flames with a strong performance. Sorensen gave Nazar a season-high 16œ minutes of ice time, and the Hawks generated an 11-5 advantage in scoring chances with him on the ice.

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Nazar also notched his first NHL point of the season with an assist on Nick Foligno’s goal in the second period, although the Wild responded within a minute to tie the score. That continued an ongoing Hawks problem with conceding quick-response goals.

‘‘[I] felt a lot better out there,’’ Nazar said. ‘‘I came back after that [Flames] game wanting to do better and not happy with myself, so [I tried] to do my best today.’’

Bedard, who scored the Hawks’ first goal, now has 11 points in nine games under Sorensen. He’s creeping back toward a point-per-game pace with 30 points in 35 games this season.

Swedish roots

Goalie Arvid Soderblom, the Hawks’ lone Swedish player at the moment, never crossed paths with Sorensen before joining the Hawks’ organization. Soderblom grew up in Gothenburg, which is on the west coast of the country, whereas Sorensen grew up and coached in Sodertalje, a city near Stockholm on the east coast. The cities are about a four-hour drive apart.

Nonetheless, Soderblom has heard that the hockey community throughout Sweden is excited about Sorensen becoming the NHL’s first Swedish-born head coach.

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‘‘Of course, you see it has been recognized at home, and people are happy for him,’’ Soderblom said. ‘‘It’s great for Swedish hockey . . . to show that it’s possible. There’s a lot of great coaches in Sweden, so hopefully he can show the way and we can have some more coaches over here.’’

Kubalik’s decline

Looking back at the 2020 Calder Trophy voting results is a mind-blowing exercise.

The top two finishers were Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, who since have won Norris Trophies. In third was ex-Hawks forward Dominik Kubalik, who now is playing in Switzerland. Behind Kubalik — in fourth place — was Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, who also has turned into a world-class star.

Kubalik’s fall out of the NHL has been as steep as his rise into it. He erupted for 30 goals in 68 games for the Hawks in 2019-20, but he was so awful on the Senators last season that he couldn’t even get an NHL contract as a 28-year-old this past summer.

Notes

The Hawks won’t play again until Friday at the Sabres, who finally snapped their 13-game losing streak with a 7-1 blowout Monday of the Islanders.

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• It seems likely the Hawks will keep Nazar and defenseman Kevin Korchinski in the NHL for the time being, rather than sending them back to the AHL.

Sorensen said Monday, with regard to Korchinski specifically, that he’s ‘‘playing well, so we’ll keep playing him here.’’





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Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota

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Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota


Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.

Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.

Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.

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Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.

The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.

The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.

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The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.

The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.

Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.

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Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters

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Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters


A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.

The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.

In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.

Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”

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The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.

All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”

Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.

Don Lemon reporting from an anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn.@TheDonLemonShow via YouTube

This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

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According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.

The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”

Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.

Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, Cities Church protest arraignment, St. Paul, Minn., February 2026
Nekima Levy Armstrong in St. Paul, Minn., on Feb. 13.Carlos Gonzalez / Star Tribune via Getty Images

In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”

Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.

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Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator

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Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator



A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook. 

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Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown. 

Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19. 

The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan. 

The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition. 

Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records. 

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In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025. 

Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.  



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