MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota opens the 2025 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championships at the Fargo Regional Mar. 27 in the postseason presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union. Playing as the No. 2 seed at the regional inside Scheels Arena, the Golden Gophers will face No. 3 UMass in the nightcap of the opening day with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. live on ESPN2, while audio coverage is provided through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK. Top-seeded Western Michigan and CCHA-winner Minnesota State will face each other in the first game at the Fargo Regional at 4 p.m. The winners of each contest will battle for a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four on Saturday, Mar. 29 at either 3 or 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota was upset in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament by No. 7 seed Notre Dame during a best-of-three series at 3M Arena at Mariucci Mar. 7-9. The Irish claimed a 3-2 win in the series opener before the Gophers answered back by winning 4-2 Saturday to force a decisive game three, in which the visitors were victorious, 4-1. Despite scoring a power-play goal in all three games, converting 37.5 percent (3-for-8) for the weekend, Minnesota failed to reach the semifinals for just the second time in 12 years of the tournament. Sam Rinzel and Jimmy Snuggerud each posted four points to pace the Gophers’ offense, while Matthew Wood scored a goal in all three outings, including two on the man advantage.
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The Gophers are making their fifth-straight appearance and 42nd all-time in program history, in the NCAA Tournament and own a 62-42 record (.596) in their previous trips dating back to 1953. The five-year streak is the longest tournament streak for Minnesota since it reached eight-consecutive tournaments from 2001-08. Last year’s opening win over Omaha at the 2024 NCAA Sioux Falls Regional was the program’s 62nd all-time victory in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any college hockey program. Under the guidance of head coach Bob Motzko, the Maroon and Gold hold a mark of 7-4 in the postseason event, including at least one win in each of the last four years and two of the program’s 23 appearances in the NCAA Frozen Four.
PRODUCTION AT THE TOURNAMENT
The current Gophers’ roster has combined to produce 32 total points over the last four years at the NCAA Tournament, coming via 11 different skaters. Aaron Huglen leads the group with six points, while Luke Mittelstadt is close behind his teammate with five points. Mason Nevers scored Minnesota’s opening goal in the 2021 NCAA Tournament for his first collegiate goal and added a second that same night for his first career multi-point game in a 7-2 win over Omaha. Mittelstadt followed a similar trend to Nevers as the junior tallied the lone game-winning goal of his career in the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four victory over Boston University during the first multi-goal performance of his career. Five of Mittelstadt’s nine-career goals have been scored in March or April as his game reaches a new level in the postseason.
B1G-RECORD SEVENTH CONFERENCE TITLE
Minnesota claimed a Big Ten Conference Championship for a league-record seventh time as it finished tied with Michigan State with 50 points in 2024-25, marking the 30th overall title in school history. It’s the first time in the 12-year history of the conference that two teams have shared the regular season title, while the Gophers won for the third time in a four-year stretch. The Spartans join the Maroon and Gold as the only teams to win more than one title, coming in back-to-back seasons, and every school except Michigan has won at least one regular season championship.
PICKING UP POSTSEASON HONORS
Minnesota sophomore Sam Rinzel was named the Big Ten Conference Men’s Hockey Defensive Player of the Year, headlining the 2024-25 postseason awards. He was joined by Jimmy Snuggerud as All-B1G First Team selections, while Ryan Chesley, Connor Kurth, Liam Souliere, and Matthew Wood were chosen to the All-B1G Honorable Mention Team. Aaron Huglen rounded out the seven postseason honorees as he was given the B1G Sportsmanship Award. Rinzel is the fourth skater representing the Maroon and Gold, sixth all-time recipient, to earn the top defensive honor from the league and first since Brock Faber won the award in back-to-back years from 2021-22 to 2022-23. It’s the 10th season in the 12-year history of the conference that the Gophers have claimed at least one major postseason accolade. Minnesota has the most first-team selections (20) and total All-B1G honorees (66) in league history.
HOBEY BAKER MEMORIAL AWARD FINALIST
Jimmy Snuggerud has already cemented his place in Gophers’ history as one of three B1G players to ever earn a spot on the All-B1G First or Second Team three times and now is a top 10 finalist for the highest honor in college hockey. The junior captain currently leads the Maroon and Gold’s offense with 49 points, ranking third in the conference and eighth nationally, and is just one shy of his career-high freshman total of 50. He’s delivered a career-best 22 goals, with a conference-leading 19 coming in league play during the 2024-25 campaign, and recorded points in 29 of 39 games with 16 multi-point performances. Snuggerud is the fifth Gopher to be a top 10 finalist over the past five seasons, joining Logan Cooley (2022-23), Matthew Knies (2022-23), Ben Meyers (2021-22), and Jack LaFontaine (2020-21).
HISTORY WITH THE REGIONAL FIELD
Minnesota owns a 44-20-6 (.671) all-time record against the other three teams participating in the NCAA Fargo Regional. The Maroon and Gold are a perfect 5-0-0 mark versus UMass and won the only postseason matchup. Minnesota is 1-1-0 all-time against Western Michigan with the lone win coming in the national tournament. The Gophers had to defeat both UMass, a 4-3 overtime victory against the defending national champions, and Western Michigan, a 3-0 shutout, at the 2022 NCAA Worcester Regional on their way to the first of back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances. No stranger to facing former WCHA rival Minnesota State, Minnesota holds a record of 38-19-6 versus the Mavericks in program history, but are 0-2-0 in games at the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-1 loss during the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four in Boston, Mass.
SNUGGERUD STOCK RISING
After a four-point performance versus Wisconsin, Jimmy Snuggerud was named the B1G First Star of the Week (Feb. 4) for the third time this season and sixth time during his career, the most of any non-goaltender in B1G history. He also landed HCA Co-Player of the Month honors for the month of January. The junior posted two goals and two assists in the series opener against the Badgers (Jan. 31), extending his career-long goal streak to six games and the team owns a 12-3-1 record when he scores a goal this year and 33-10-3 in his three-year career. Snuggerud became the third player in Gophers’ history to score 20 or more goals in three-consecutive seasons to begin a career, joining M Club Hall of Famers John Mayasich and Dick Dougherty, who both hit the milestone more than 70 years ago in 1953-54. His 133 career points ranks 44th all-time among scorers in Maroon and Gold history.
STARRING ROLE FOR RINZEL
Now a two-time All-B1G selection, Sam Rinzel added an even more impressive honor to his resume when he was named the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year for 2024-25. He’s taken his game to another level during his sophomore campaign, setting career highs in goals (10) and points (31). The Chanhassen, Minn., native paces the conference and sits sixth nationally for points and eighth in goals by a defenseman this year. Rinzel has become a power-play threat during the season scoring three times, two of which went down as game-winning goals, and totaled 12 points on the man advantage. He has put together eight outings with multiple points, including a pair of multi-goal efforts, and landed B1G First Star of the Week honors (Oct. 29).
KURTH KICKS UP HIS OUTPUT
Connor Kurth was named the B1G Second Star of the Week (Oct. 15) thanks to his career-best, four-point outing in the Gophers’ season opener against Air Force in Las Vegas where he scored a goal in all three periods. He used 12 points in six games during the month of October to set the tone for a career year as the junior has more than doubled his offensive output from his first two NCAA campaigns. The Lindstrom, Minn., product has career bests in goals (17), assists (21), and points (38) after putting up 32 combined points as a freshman and sophomore. Ranking second nationally in plus-minus at plus-31, he leads Minnesota with six outings of three or more points this year, while 36 of his 38 total points have come in wins or ties.
WATCH WHAT WOOD CAN DO
No stranger to putting up points in college hockey, Matthew Wood has kept that trend going since donning the Minnesota uniform to land on the All-B1G Honorable Mention Team behind 17 goals and 21 assists for a career-high 38 points this season. He burst onto the scene opening night behind a three-assist effort versus Air Force (Oct. 11) and registered five multi-point performances in his first six appearances. He is riding a four-game goal streak with 11 points in the last 10 games, and his goal versus Notre Dame (Mar. 9) was the 100th point of his collegiate tenure. The Nanaimo, B.C., native has put together 12 outings with multiple points for the year, including a pair of two-goal efforts, while scoring all three of his power-play tallies in the past eight appearances. Wood has shined late in the season throughout his NCAA career, registering a point in all 12 appearances during the month of March, totaling 19 points.
CHESLEY COMPLEMENTS FROM BLUE LINE
It only took six games to start the campaign for Ryan Chesley to set a new career best goal output, potting four in the first month on his way to eight this season and a second-consecutive postseason honor from the B1G with an honorable mention nod in 2024-25. The captain from Mahtomedi, Minn., ranks 14th among NCAA defensemen in goals and surpassed his point total from his first two college seasons combined with 20 for the year thanks to four multi-point performances. He buried the first shorthanded goal of his career at Wisconsin (Nov. 8) and tallied a career-high three points in a home win over Mercyhurst (Jan. 4). For the second-consecutive season, Chesley is pacing the Gophers in blocked shots with 68, which sits 18th nationally and second in the conference.
HITTING THE 25-WIN MARK
The Gophers secured another 25-win campaign after picking up a victory over Notre Dame in the B1G quarterfinals in early March. It marked the 32nd time in program history, and third time over the last five years, where Minnesota has won at least 25 games during a season. The sustained success of the Gophers has been a point of emphasis as the program has reached at least 20 wins 42 times in 52 years dating back to 1973-74, a year when the Maroon and Gold claimed the first of its five national championships.
WE ARE THE STATE OF HOCKEY
According to data from College Hockey Inc., 249 NCAA Division I men’s hockey players hail from the state of Minnesota, nearly a quarter of all student-athletes, and more than double the next closest state. That total is bolstered by the Gophers lineup as 22 of their players this season will skate in their home state, including five of their eight newcomers. Even more impressive is the fact that 20 of the 22 Minnesotans on the team are from within 70 miles of campus.
DEFENSEMAN ‘U’
Minnesota was the lone college hockey program in the country with double-digit blue liners in the NHL last year. A total of 12 former Gopher defensemen took the ice in the NHL during the 2023-24 season, accounting for more than 750 games played. Highlighting the group was Brock Faber as he finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy given to the NHL’s rookie of the year. Nick Leddy and Erik Johnson both reached the 1,000-game milestone, becoming the eighth and ninth former Gopher to hit the mark.
