| Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
 | |
| University | University of Minnesota |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| First season | 1921–22 |
| Head coach | Bob Motzko 7th season, 136–71–17 (.645) |
| Assistant coaches |
|
| Arena | Mariucci Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Student section | The Ice Box |
| Colors | Maroon and gold[1] |
| Fight song | Minnesota Rouser |
| Mascot | Goldy Gopher |
| NCAA Tournament championships | |
| 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003 | |
| NCAA Tournament Runner-up | |
| 1953, 1954, 1971, 1975, 1981, 1989, 2014, 2023 | |
| NCAA Tournament Frozen Four | |
| 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 | |
| 41 total appearances; last 2024 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| 1961, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2021 | |
| Conference regular season championships | |
| 1953, 1954, 1970, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023 | |
| Current uniform | |
 | |
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers are one of the most prominent and storied programs in college hockey, having made 41 NCAA Tournament appearances and 23 trips to the Frozen Four. They have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003.[2] The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale,[3] and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940.[4][5]
The Gophers are currently coached by Bob Motzko, who joined the team in 2018, having previously served as assistant coach on the 2002 and 2003 national championship teams.[6] They have played at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis since 1993. The team's main historical rivalries are with the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Dakota, although several other schools claim Minnesota as their archrival.
For much of the team's history, there has been a strong emphasis on recruiting native Minnesotan high school and junior hockey players, as opposed to out-of-state, Canadian, or European players. This helped high school ice hockey grow in Minnesota, particularly starting with Hall of Famer John Mariucci, who refused to recruit players from Canada. Minnesota high school ice hockey programs grew from 26 in 1945[7] to over 150 in 1980.[8] Hall of Famer and hockey legend Herb Brooks, who coached the Golden Gophers to three national championships in the 1970s, famously drew on Minnesota talent for his 1980 Miracle on Ice gold medal Olympic team, which included 9 of his former Golden Gophers players. Head coach Doug Woog championed home-grown talent even more, only recruiting Minnesota players in the late 1980s and 1990s. While current rosters occasionally feature players from outside the state, the team continues to heavily recruit Minnesota hockey players to the present day.[9]
- ^ "Colors and Type | University Relations". Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "NCAA Champions". GopherSports.org.
- ^ McLaughlin, Don (1929-03-16). "Minnesota Sweeps Marquette Series; Justify Title Rights" (PDF). Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ^ Quale, Otto (1940-03-05). "National AAU Title Tops Unbeaten Year" (PDF). Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ^ MacDonald, Gordon (1998). "A Colossal Embroglio: Control of Amateur Ice Hockey in the United States and the 1948 Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). OLYMPIKA: The International Journal of Olympic Studies. VII. International Centre for Olympic Studies: 43–60. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
- ^ "Bob Motzko takes over Gophers hockey, says he'll 'work tirelessly to make those people proud'". Star Tribune.
- ^ "Timeline (1883-Present)". Vintage Minnesota Hockey - History.
- ^ "Legends of Hockey – The Legends – Honoured Builder – Mariucci, John – Biography". Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ Hewitt, Josh (2009-04-09). "The State of Hockey: Minnesotans Proud to Take the Ice". Bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2024-02-06.