Minnesota Scene: Natalie Darwitz among five 2018 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

Natalie Darwitz, a three-time Olympic medalist and former Gophers standout, will be among the five-member 2018 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class, USA Hockey announced Thursday.

Darwitz won Olympic silver medals in 2002 and 2010, and a bronze in 2006. She was also a three-time IIHF Women's World Championship gold medalist.

At Minnesota, Darwitz set a school record with 246 points.

She is now women's hockey coach at Division III Hamline.

The other inductees are Red Berenson, Hago Harrington, David Poile and Paul Stewart.

Berenson coached 33 seasons at Michigan, where he won two national titles. He was an All-America forward for the Wolverines before becoming a six-time NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup champion.

Harrington, who died in 1959, was a standout Massachusetts high school player before making the NHL in 1925. Poile is the longest-tenured general manager in NHL history after serving 15 seasons with Washington and 21 with Nashville. Stewart is the first American to referee more than 1,000 NHL games.

The Hall of Fame is located in Eveleth, Minn. The induction ceremony will be Dec. 12 in Nashville.

The three top teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division II preseason volleyball poll are all from the NSIC. For the third year in a row, Concordia (St. Paul) is the top team after winning its ninth national title in the past 11 years last season.

Southwest Minnesota State, the NSIC tournament champion a year ago, returns Player of the Year Taylor Reiss and is ranked second. Minnesota Duluth was picked third.

The American Association's 2019 All-Star Game will be held at CHS Field, home of the St. Paul Saints, the league announced. It was first held there in 2016. The date of the game will be announced at the end of this season.

• Max Murphy hit a two-run homer and had three RBI to lead the Saints to a 7-5 victory over visiting Gary.

Minnesota United has exercised its 2018 contract option on rookie forward Mason Toye and loaned him to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the United Soccer League. "This is a great opportunity for him to start to play more football week in and week out," Loons coach Adrian Heath said. Toye, 19, was selected seventh overall by the Loons in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft from Indiana University.

• The Minnesota State Mankato women's soccer team was picked to win the NSIC in the preseason coaches' poll.

• St. Thomas, the two-time defending MIAC men's soccer champion, is No. 6 in the in the first United Soccer Coaches rankings.

• April Bockin scored two goals and had an assist as the Gophers beat Kansas State 3-1 Wednesday night in a women's soccer exhibition in Manhattan, Kan.