NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Foligno and Blake Coleman scored first-period goals, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Wild lost in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last spring in five games to Colorado. After giving coach John Hynes a contract extension last month, Minnesota is targeting a third straight postseason berth.
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A catfish is removed from the ice before the start of an NHL hockey game between the Nashville Predators and the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates his goal with left wing Filip Forsberg (9) and right wing Matthew Wood (71) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) blocks a shot on goal by Nashville Predators center Adam Edstrom (84) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild left wing Blake Coleman, second from right, scores a goal past Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild left wing Blake Coleman (20) celebrates his goal with right wing Ryan Hartman (38) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Kirill Kaprizov also had a goal for Minnesota, which is playing 21 of its first 31 games on the road this season. Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves.
Roman Josi scored for Nashville, which went 0 of 4 with the man advantage.
Filip Forsberg matched an NHL record with an assist on Josi's goal, giving him at least a point in 11 straight season openers. Forsberg now has 15 points in 11 openers, tying the mark held by Viktor Kozlov (1997-98, 2008-09) and Vincent Lecavalier (2002-03 and 2013-14).
The Predators had an offseason of change with Chris MacFarland hired away from Colorado to take over as general manager and president of hockey operations. Nashville has missed the playoffs three of the past four seasons, and MacFarland made a few changes trying to retool and avoid a rebuild.
Foligno scored from the high slot off a rebound at 9:35 of the first, and Coleman made it 2-0 at 13:48 with a power-play goal. Minnesota nearly had a 3-0 lead, but Yakov Trenin's goal at 15:05 was wiped off when Nashville won its challenge for goaltender interference for Ryan Hartman making contact with Juuse Saros, who had 27 saves.
Nashville pulled within 2-1 when Josi scored on a slap shot at 9:23 of the second.
Kaprisov helped seal the win tipping in Quinn Hughes' shot through traffic over Saros' stick arm at 4:42 of the third.
Minnesota hosts Boston on Saturday night for the Wild's home opener.
The Predators host Dallas on Saturday night.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
A catfish is removed from the ice before the start of an NHL hockey game between the Nashville Predators and the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates his goal with left wing Filip Forsberg (9) and right wing Matthew Wood (71) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) blocks a shot on goal by Nashville Predators center Adam Edstrom (84) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild left wing Blake Coleman, second from right, scores a goal past Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Minnesota Wild left wing Blake Coleman (20) celebrates his goal with right wing Ryan Hartman (38) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s governor appointed a special prosecutor Thursday to oversee an investigation into a woman’s allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had signed an executive order appointing the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, which had initially been closed without charges in 2024.
The woman's allegations got a rush of new attention when she filed a civil lawsuit last month. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation Monday, but has been battered by criticism that he'd abandoned the original investigation too quickly.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time."
Hochul said the attorney general would oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued," Hochul said. "This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”
Messages left for Van Houten were not immediately returned late Thursday. Hochul, James and Van Houten are all Democrats.
Hochul's announcement came shortly after dozens of students and community members spent hours demanding transparency and accountability from university leaders at a forum sponsored by Cornell's student government. The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions about its response and the larger issue of how sexual assaults are handled on college campuses.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, reported the alleged assault to campus police in November of 2024, then discussed it with the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell's disciplinary process.
The lawsuit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others, alleges that she was plied with drugs and alcohol, then subjected to sex acts by a group of men while she was partially or entirely incapacitated. One of the men sent a social media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening, and inviting people to take part, according to the lawsuit.
Lawyers for two of the men she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One said his client hadn’t touched the woman. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
When he reopened the investigation earlier this week, Van Houten said he would review new information in the woman's lawsuit. But he also issued a statement defending his initial decision not to prosecute, maintaining the woman’s first account to police didn’t include allegations that she was drugged against her will, incapacitated beyond the ability to consent, or forced into sex.
Under pressure from the public and politicians, including Hochul, Cornell agreed Wednesday to bring in outside lawyers to independently investigate how it handled the woman’s allegations.
Over more than 2 1/2 hours Thursday, students and other members of the Cornell community expressed anger, frustration and grief over the school's handling of sexual assault allegations in general, with several speakers sharing their own experiences of sexual violence.
Many criticized Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff and the university’s administration, calling for greater transparency and accountability in the handling of the case, stronger sexual assault prevention efforts and changes to Greek life.
Jane Wang, a sophomore, said at the forum that when she reported being sexually assaulted on campus a year ago, she was met with a slew of paperwork and little guidance or follow-up. After an initial email chain about starting the investigation, she got few updates and had to prod for answers, she said. The process left her feeling an “overall sense of helplessness within a broader institution.”
“My main message for Cornell here is that we can’t be treating these cases only with care and attention after it catches national news,” Wang said, calling for the university to improve the “seriousness and timeliness” of its response to sexual assault allegations.
There was no immediate response to a message seeking comment about the forum and Wang's case sent to the university late Thursday.
Cornell has said it took a series of actions after the woman identifying as Jane Doe reported being raped at the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024.
It announced publicly that it had opened an investigation, condemned the alleged behavior, indefinitely suspended the fraternity, and convened a university task force to study ways to more effectively protect students against sexual assault.
It also conducted a monthslong investigation, which ended with some students being disciplined or expelled, though it has declined to provide specifics, citing student privacy rules. The university issued a statement Monday saying it supported reopening the criminal investigation.
“I think what happened here is an American problem,” said Hayden Watkins, an undergraduate and executive vice president of the Student Assembly, which hosted the forum.
“People kind of put Cornell on this pedestal because we are an elite institution,” he added. “But if it’s happening at places like Cornell, it’s happening on college campuses all across the country.”
Associated Press reporter Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Student Assembly President Eeshaan Chaudhuri speaks during a hearing on sexual assault on campus at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Cornell University students and ACLU student chapter members Jane Wang, left and Sophia Riley Sim, speak about sexual violence on campus during a student assembly meeting at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, listens as Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Students walk across the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Students walk across the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is the the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
