Junior goalie Jack LaFontaine of the Gophers was named the Big Ten's second star of the week on Tuesday. The Mississauga, Ontario, native was the MVP of the Mariucci Classic, beating Bemidji State 5-2 and St. Cloud State 4-1 on Dec. 28-29.

He had a 1.50 goals-against average, stopping 52 of 55 shots for a .945 save percentage.

• Senior Sarah Potomak and defenseman Madeline Wethington of the Gophers were named the WCHA forward and freshman of the week after helping Minnesota sweep Yale 6-3 and 4-1. Potomak had a goal and three assists in the series, Wethington had an assist and was a plus-three.

Hurt U tackle retires

The Gophers' Kyle Sassak, a 6-7, 315-pound offensive lineman from Michigan, has retired for medical reasons.

He didn't play at all last season after playing in two games in 2018. In a Twitter post Tuesday, the offensive tackle wrote he injured his shoulder for a third time early this past season.

• The Gophers had a team-record 3.21 GPA in the fall semester. "I couldn't be prouder," coach P.J. Fleck tweeted.

Megan Ryan

Etc.

• Team USA Minnesota, which was founded in 2001, has changed its name to Minnesota Distance Elite as of Jan. 1. The change was requested by the U.S. Olympic Committee, which informed the longtime training group of distance runners this past year that it could no longer use the words 'Team USA' in its name. Minnesota Distance Elite has developed an Olympian and 24 national champions in events from the 1500 meters to the marathon. It has qualified seven runners for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb, 29 in Atlanta.

• Junior righthander Max Meyer of the Gophers was named to Perfect Game's second All-America preseason baseball team.

• Matthew Johnson was named the Minnesota Morris athletic director — a job he has held since August 2018 on an interim basis.