2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season

2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers
men's ice hockey season
2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers; men's ice hockey season
Conference	Big Ten
Home ice	3M Arena at Mariucci
Record
Overall	10–18–1
Conference	6–12–0
Home	7–10–1
Road	2–8–0
Neutral	1–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Bob Motzko
Assistant coaches	Steve Miller; Ben Gordon; Brennan Poderzay
Captain(s)	Brody Lamb; Luke Mittelstadt; Cal Thomas
	Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey seasons; « 2024–25 2026–27 »

The 2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season is the 105th season of play for the program and 36th in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers represent the University of Minnesota in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, play their home games at 3M Arena at Mariucci and are coached by Bob Motzko in his eighth season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Matthew Bryant	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (retired)
Ryan Chesley	Defenseman	United States	Signed professional contract (Washington Capitals)
Aaron Huglen	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Mike Koster	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Connor Kurth	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Nick Michel	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Oliver Moore	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Mason Nevers	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Idaho Steelheads)
Sam Rinzel	Defenseman	United States	Signed professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Jimmy Snuggerud	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (St. Louis Blues)
Liam Soulière	Goaltender	Canada	Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)
Matthew Wood	Forward	Canada	Signed professional contract (Nashville Predators)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Luca Di Pasquo	Goaltender	United States	21	Livonia, MI; transfer from Michigan State
Graham Harris	Forward	United States	22	Excelsior, MN; transfer from Augsburg
Tanner Ludtke	Forward	United States	20	Elko, MN; transfer from Omaha; selected 81st overall in 2023
Finn McLaughlin	Defenseman	Canada	19	Canmore, AB
Mason Moe	Forward	United States	18	Eden Prairie, MN; selected 90th overall in 2025
L. J. Mooney	Forward	United States	18	West Mifflin, PA; selected 113th overall in 2025
Javon Moore	Forward	United States	19	Minnetonka, MN; selected 112th overall in 2024
Tate Pritchard	Forward	United States	20	Savage, MN
Jacob Rombach	Defenseman	United States	18	Blaine, MN; selected 35th overall in 2025
Teddy Townsend	Forward	United States	19	Eden Prairie, MN

Roster

As of September 1, 2025.^[1]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
3	Tate Pritchard	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2004-11-19	Chanhassen, Minnesota	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
4	John Whipple	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2006-01-20	Morristown, New Jersey	USNTDP (USHL)	DET, 144th overall 2024
5	Jacob Rombach	Freshman	D	6' 6" (1.98 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	2007-04-01	Blaine, Minnesota	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	NSH, 35th overall 2025
7	Beckett Hendrickson	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2005-06-24	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	BOS, 124th overall 2023
9	August Falloon	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	2004-02-23	St. Cloud, Minnesota	Tri-City Storm (USHL)	—
11	Tanner Ludtke	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2004-11-27	Elko, Minnesota	Omaha (NCHC)	UTA, 81st overall 2023
15	Max Rud	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-09-17	St. Cloud, Minnesota	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
17	Brody Lamb (C)	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-08-30	Byron, Minnesota	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	NYR, 104th overall 2021
18	L. J. Mooney	Freshman	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	157 lb (71 kg)	2007-03-08	West Mifflin, Pennsylvania	USNTDP (USHL)	MTL, 113th overall 2025
19	John Mittelstadt	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-10-27	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	—
20	Luke Mittelstadt (C)	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-01-22	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Madison Capitols (USHL)	MTL, 197th overall 2023
22	Cal Thomas (C)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2003-05-08	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Chicago Steel (USHL)	UTA, 171st overall 2021
23	Jimmy Clark	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-09-24	Edina, Minnesota	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	MIN, 213th overall 2023
24	Finn McLaughlin	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	2006-02-28	Canmore, Alberta	Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)	—
27	Javon Moore	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	2005-12-07	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	OTT, 112th overall 2024
29	Nathan Airey	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-04-24	Cochrane, Alberta	Cranbrook Bucks (BCHL)	—
30	Zach Wiese	Senior	G	5' 10" (1.78 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-01-02	Owatonna, Minnesota	Rochester Grizzlies (NA3HL)	—
31	Luca Di Pasquo	Junior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	2003-09-24	Livonia, Michigan	Michigan State (Big Ten)	—
33	Axel Begley	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2003-12-16	Mahtomedi, Minnesota	Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL)	—
34	Graham Harris	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-06-04	Excelsior, Minnesota	Augsburg (MIAC)	—
44	Teddy Townsend	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2005-09-02	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
55	Leo Gruba	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	2003-12-14	Lake Elmo, Minnesota	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
72	Erik Påhlsson	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2004-04-09	Landskrona, Sweden	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	NSH, 213th overall 2024
74	Brodie Ziemer	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	2006-02-22	Carver, Minnesota	USNTDP (USHL)	BUF, 71st overall 2024
79	Mason Moe	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2007-03-26	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	USNTDP (USHL)	NJD, 90th overall 2025

Standings

2025–26 Big Ten ice hockey Standings
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	3/SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#2 Michigan	20	15	4	1	4	0	1	43	86	55	30	24	5	1	141	71
#1 Michigan State	18	13	5	0	2	2	0	39	62	38	28	22	6	0	103	55
#6 Penn State	17	10	7	1	0	2	0	33	59	55	28	18	9	1	100	80
#13 Wisconsin	19	11	8	0	3	0	0	30	76	72	29	18	9	2	110	89
Minnesota	19	6	12	1	0	2	1	22	49	60	30	10	18	2	83	100
Ohio State	17	6	11	0	1	2	0	19	52	69	27	10	16	1	80	93
Notre Dame	17	1	15	1	0	2	0	6	42	77	29	5	20	4	79	118
Championship: March 21, 2026 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated February 14, 2025

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 3	7:00 pm	Michigan Tech*	#8	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	Fox9+	Airey	W 6–3	9,580	1–0–0
October 4	7:00 pm	Michigan Tech*	#8	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	Fox9+	Di Pasquo	L 3–5	8,972	1–1–0
October 9	8:00 pm	#11 Boston College*	#12	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN	Airey	L 1–3	8,145	1–2–0
October 10	6:00 pm	#11 Boston College*	#12	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	B1G+	Airey	T 2–2 ^OT	9,279	1–2–1
October 17	7:00 pm	at #8 North Dakota*	#13	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry)	Midco	Airey	L 2–5	11,634	1–3–1
October 18	6:00 pm	at #8 North Dakota*	#13	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry)	Midco	Di Pasquo	W 5–1	11,710	2–3–1
October 24	7:00 pm	#19 Minnesota Duluth*	#12	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	My9	Di Pasquo	L 0–3	9,630	2–4–1
October 25	7:00 pm	#19 Minnesota Duluth*	#12	3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	My9	Airey	L 1–4	9,694	2–5–1
October 30	8:00 pm	at #14 Wisconsin	#19	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry)	BTN	Di Pasquo	L 2–5	7,007	2–6–1 (0–1–0)
November 1	6:00 pm	at #14 Wisconsin	#19	Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin (Rivalry)	B1G+	Airey	L 0–4	10,016	2–7–1 (0–2–0)
November 7	7:00 pm	Notre Dame		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	B1G+	Di Pasquo	W 3–0	9,529	3–7–1 (1–2–0)
November 8	7:00 pm	Notre Dame		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	B1G+	Di Pasquo	W 4–1	8,947	4–7–1 (2–2–0)
November 14	7:30 pm	Long Island*		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota		Di Pasquo	L 1–5	8,708	4–8–1
November 15	5:00 pm	Long Island*		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota		Airey	W 6–3	8,704	5–8–1
November 21	7:00 pm	#5 Penn State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	FS1, TSN2	Airey	W 3–2	9,094	6–8–1 (3–2–0)
November 22	7:00 pm	#5 Penn State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9+	Airey	L 1–2	9,336	6–9–1 (3–3–0)
November 29	8:00 pm	vs. #4 Denver*		Ball Arena • Denver, Colorado (U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game)	Fox9+	Di Pasquo	W 6–5 ^OT	12,228	7–9–1
December 4	6:30 pm	at Ohio State		Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio	BTN	Di Pasquo	W 6–3	4,297	8–9–1 (4–3–0)
December 5	5:00 pm	at Ohio State		Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio	BTN	Airey	L 5–6 ^OT	4,484	8–10–1 (4–4–0)
January 2	7:00 pm	at Bemidji State		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota (Exhibition)	Midco Sports+, Fox9+	Airey	T 3–3 ^SOL	4,231
January 9	5:00 pm	at #9 Penn State		Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania	BTN+	Di Pasquo	L 0–3	6,192	8–11–1 (4–5–0)
January 10	5:00 pm	at #9 Penn State		Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania	BTN	Airey	L 2–5	6,334	8–12–1 (4–6–0)
January 16	7:00 pm	#1 Michigan		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9	Di Pasquo	L 1–5	9,948	8–13–1 (4–7–0)
January 17	6:00 pm	#1 Michigan		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9	Di Pasquo	L 2–3 ^OT	9,852	8–14–1 (4–8–0)
January 23	6:00 pm	at #2 Michigan State		Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	BTN+	Di Pasquo	L 1–3	6,555	8–15–1 (4–9–0)
January 24	5:00 pm	at #2 Michigan State		Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan	BTN	Di Pasquo	L 2–3	6,555	8–16–1 (4–10–0)
January 30	7:00 pm	#8 Wisconsin		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	BTN+, Fox9	Di Pasquo	W 4–1	10,113	9–16–1 (5–10–0)
January 31	6:00 pm	#8 Wisconsin		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota (Rivalry)	BTN+, Fox9	Di Pasquo	W 8–4	10,652	10–16–1 (6–10–0)
February 6	7:00 pm	Ohio State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9	Di Pasquo	L 2–6	9,381	10–17–1 (6–11–0)
February 7	8:00 pm	Ohio State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN	Di Pasquo	L 1–2	8,707	10–18–1 (6–12–0)
February 13	6:00 pm	at Notre Dame		Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	Peacock
February 14	5:00 pm	at Notre Dame		Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	Peacock
February 26	5:30 pm	at Michigan		Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan	BTN
February 27	5:00 pm	at Michigan		Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan	BTN
March 5	7:00 pm	Michigan State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9
March 6	7:00 pm	Michigan State		3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN+, Fox9+
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source:^[2]

Rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27 (Final)
USCHO.com	8	12	13	12	19	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	–	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
USA Hockey	7	12	14	12	18	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	–	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.^[3]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

^ "2025–26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Men's Hockey Schedule". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

External links

[1] "2025–26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved September 1, 2025.

[2] "2025-26 Men's Hockey Schedule". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved September 7, 2023.

[3] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	St. Paul Hippodrome (1923–1934) St. Paul Auditorium (1932–1950) (occasionally) Minneapolis Arena (1925–1950) (primary arena) Williams Arena (1950–93) 3M Arena at Mariucci (1993–present)
Head coaches	I. D. MacDonald (1921–23) Emil Iverson (1923–30) Frank Pond (1930–35) Larry Armstrong (1935–47) Doc Romnes (1947–52) John Mariucci (1952–55, 1956–66) Marsh Ryman (1955–56) Glen Sonmor (1966–71) Ken Yackel (1971–72) Herb Brooks (1972–79) Brad Buetow (1979–85) Doug Woog (1985–99) Mike Guentzel (1996) Don Lucia (1999–2018) Bob Motzko (2018–present)
Seasons	1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Conference affiliations	WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–2013) Big Ten (1958–1981, 2013–present)
Rivalries and trophy games	Minnesota Duluth North Dakota St. Cloud State Wisconsin Mariucci-Bessone Trophy with Michigan State Mariucci-Renfrew Trophy with Michigan
Culture & lore	Mariucci Classic North Star College Cup
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders John Mayasich (298 Points) John Mayasich (144 Goals) Kellen Briggs (84 Wins)
National championships	1974 1976 1979 2002 2003
Runner-Up Finishes	1953 1954 1971 1975 1981 1989 2014
Frozen Four appearances	1953 1954 1961 1971 1974 1975 1976 1979 1981 1983 1986 1987 1988 1989 1994 1995 2002 2003 2005 2012 2014 2022 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances	1953 1954 1961 1971 1974 1975 1976 1979 1980 1981 1983 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015 2017 2021 2022 2023 2024
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA 1961 1971 1974 1975 1976 1979 1980 1981 1993 1994 1996 2003 2004 2007
Notable players	Aaron Broten Neal Broten Kellen Briggs Mike Crowley Tim Harrer Jordan Leopold John Mayasich Pat Micheletti Todd Richards Robb Stauber
Hobey Baker Award winners	Neal Broten (1981) Robb Stauber (1988) Brian Bonin (1996) Jordan Leopold (2002)
University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN