WNBA MN Lynx to Open 2016 Season at Target Center on May 14

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The 2015 WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx today announced the team’s schedule for the upcoming 2016 season. The Lynx will kick off their 18th season in the WNBA at Target Center vs Phoenix on Saturday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. The 2016 home opener will feature a historic ring ceremony and championship banner raising for the 2015 WNBA Champions. The 2016 campaign includes 34 regular-season games from May 14 through Sept. 17. The league will break from July 23 to Aug. 24 to allow players to compete for their respective countries in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Full-season memberships, which include tickets to all 17 home games and priority playoff seating, are still available by visiting www.Lynxbasketball.com/Membership or by calling 612-673-8400.

The 2016 campaign includes six nationally broadcast games on ESPN2: May 14 vs Phoenix, May 31 at New York, June 14 vs. Indiana, July 5 vs. Chicago, Aug. 28 vs. Seattle and Sept. 13 at Chicago.

Minnesota’s 17-home schedule includes 12 weekend games (5 Friday, 5 Saturday, 2 Sunday), three on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. The team’s annual camp day game will tip off on Wednesday, July 20 at 12 p.m. as the Lynx host Atlanta. The Lynx have two three-game homestands (June 29-July 5; Aug. 28-Sept. 4) and have one four-game road trip (Sept. 6-16) and one three-game trip (May 18-25).

Announced earlier today, the WNBA Board of Governors approved changes to playoff seeding and qualification procedures as well as the postseason format, effective with the 2016 season. The reconfigured postseason structure dovetails with a new, more balanced format for the regular-season schedule.

Under the new, more balanced regular-season format, teams will face their five in-conference opponents in the following manner:

• Four games against one team (two home and two away)

• Three games apiece against the four remaining teams (two home and one away versus two teams; one home and two away versus the other two teams)

• Each team’s opponent breakdown was selected at random and will be rotated annually to ensure a fair balance of the schedule.

Games against the six teams in the opposite conference will be as follows:

• Three games against each team (two home and one away versus three teams; one home and two away versus the remaining three teams)

• The opponents for the two formats have been selected at random and will be reversed annually.

Highlights of the home half of the schedule include a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals when the Indiana Fever return to Target Center on Friday, May 27 at 7 p.m. and a rematch of the past two years' Western Conference Finals with the return of Diana Taurasi when the Phoenix Mercury come to town on Saturday, May 14 and Tuesday, June 7.

Minnesota’s preseason schedule will be announced at a later date.

Key Facts about the 2016 Lynx Regular Season Schedule
- By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: May (2 home, 4 away = 6 total), June (5 home, 5 away = 10 total), July (6 home, 3 away = 9 total), August (1 home, 1 away = 2 total), September (3 home, 4 away = 7 total).

- By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Monday (0 total), Tuesday (3 home, 5 away = 8 total), Wednesday (2 home, 2 away = 4 total), Thursday (0 home, 1 away = 1 total), Friday (5 home, 3 away = 8 total), Saturday (5 home, 1 away = 6 total), Sunday (2 home, 5 away = 7 total).

- Minnesota's home schedule will feature four different starting times: 13 games tip off at 7:00 p.m., two Sunday games will commence at 6:00 p.m., one Wednesday game will start at 12:00 p.m. and one Saturday game will start at 6:30 p.m.

- The Lynx will begin the regular season at home against Phoenix on Saturday, May 14, the 11th time in franchise history they've started at home. Minnesota's road opener in Chicago on Wednesday, May 18.

- Minnesota has a pair of three-game homestands: June 29-July 5 (which includes games vs. New York, San Antonio and Chicago) and Aug. 28-Sept. 4 (vs. Seattle, Washington and Connecticut). The most home-friendly portion of the Lynx schedule is a 14-game stretch from late June to early September, when they play 10 of 14 games at Target Center (June 29-Sept. 4).

- The most consecutive road games this season for the Lynx is one string of four: Sept. 6-16 (Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, Indiana) and one string of three: May 18-25 (Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix). The Lynx also have one string of two consecutive road games: June 10-11 (Atlanta, Washington).

- Minnesota will play games on back-to-back nights twice this season: June 10-11 (at Atlanta, at Washington) and Sept. 16-17 (at Indiana, vs. Atlanta).


Lynx 2016 Opponent Breakdown
Los Angeles (H: 6/24; A: 6/21, 9/6); Phoenix (H: 5/14, 6/7; A: 5/25); San Antonio (H: 7/2; A: 7/12, 9/11); Seattle (H: 7/22, 8/28; A: 5/22, 6/19); Dallas (H: 6/4, 7/9; A: 7/17).

Atlanta (H: 7/20, 9/17; A: 6/10); Chicago (H: 7/5; A: 5/18, 9/13); Connecticut (H: 9/4; A: 7/7, 8/26); Indiana (H: 5/27, 6/14; A: 9/16); New York (H: 6/29, 7/15; A: 5/31); Washington (H: 9/2; A: 6/11, 6/26).

Minnesota Lynx 2016 Regular Season Schedule

May	Sat.	14		Phoenix	6:30 p.m.	*
	Wed.	18	at	Chicago	11:30 a.m.
	Sun.	22	at	Seattle	4:00 p.m.
	Wed.	25	at	Phoenix	7:00 p.m.
	Fri.	27		Indiana	7:00 p.m.
	Tue.	31	at	New York	8:00 p.m.	*
June	Sat.	4		Dallas	7:00 p.m.
	Tue.	7		Phoenix	7:00 p.m.
	Fri.	10	at	Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
	Sat.	11	at	Washington	7:00 p.m.
	Tue.	14		Indiana	7:00 p.m.	*
	Sun.	19	at	Seattle	4:00 p.m.
	Tue.	21	at	Los Angeles	12:30 p.m.
	Fri.	24		Los Angeles	7:00 p.m.
	Sun.	26	at	Washington	4:00 p.m.
	Wed.	29		New York	7:00 p.m.
July	Sat.	2		San Antonio	7:00 p.m.
	Tue.	5		Chicago	7:00 p.m.	*
	Thu.	7	at	Connecticut	7:00 p.m.
	Sat.	9		Dallas	7:00 p.m.
	Tue.	12	at	San Antonio	11:30 a.m.
	Fri.	15		New York	7:00 p.m.
	Sun.	17	at	Dallas	3:30 p.m.
	Wed.	20		Atlanta	12:00 p.m.
	Fri.	22		Seattle	7:00 p.m.
Aug.	Fri.	26	at	Connecticut	7:00 p.m.
	Sun.	28		Seattle	6:00 p.m.	*
Sep.	Fri.	2		Washington	7:00 p.m.
	Sun.	4		Connecticut	6:00 p.m.
	Tue.	6	at	Los Angeles	7:30 p.m.
	Sun.	11	at	San Antonio	3:30 p.m.
	Tue.	13	at	Chicago	7:00 p.m.	*
	Fri.	16	at	Indiana	7:00 p.m.
	Sat.	17		Atlanta	7:00 p.m.

UMC Football to Hold Signing Day Party

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston football program will host an official Football Signing Day Party Wed., Feb. 3 starting at 6 p.m. at the Crookston Eagle’s Club. Coach Mike Fritze and his staff will officially announce the 2016 signing class and will talk about each player and the overall signing class. In addition, they will show a highlight reel of the 2016 signing class. Hor d’oeuvres will be provided at the event, as well as a cash bar for those 21 and over.

UND's Gardner honored as NCHC Rookie of the Week

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota freshman center Rhett Gardner has been named National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Week, it was announced this afternoon by the conference office.

Gardner scored a pair of goals each night against Colorado College last weekend, as North Dakota took five of six NCHC points from the Tigers. Three of his four goals came in the third period.

The Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, native opened the scoring in the first period of Saturday's 5-5 overtime tie, then later scored the game-tying, extra-attacker goal with just 32 seconds left in regulation. He also won 15 of 21 faceoffs, including a perfect 7-for-7 in the third period and overtime, and was a plus-2.

Gardner added two more goals in the third period of Saturday's 5-1 victory, including a short-handed empty netter. He went 11-6 on faceoffs and posted another plus-2 rating.

It was the first NCHC weekly award of Gardner's career and the fourth Rookie of the Week award won by a Fighting Hawk this season. Classmate Brock Boeser has received the award three times. In 24 games this season, Gardner has nine goals and one assist with a plus-7 rating. HIs nine goals are tied for second among NCHC freshmen with Miami's Jack Roslovic, trailing only Boeser's 15.

St. Cloud State senior forward Joey Benik was named NCHC Offensive Player of the Week, Miami senior Matthew Caito was the NCHC Defenseman of the Week, and Denver junior Evan Cowley was named NCHC Goaltender of the Week.