The 2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season was the 103rd season of play for the program and 34th in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers represented the University of Minnesota in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at 3M Arena at Mariucci and were coached by Bob Motzko in his 6th season.
The Gophers won the game with just over a minute remaining in the game when Aaron Huglen tipped a Brody Lamb shot.[1]
The semifinal match against Michigan promised to be a barn-burner with two of the nation's #4 offense coming to town. Both teams had already punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament but that would not stop the old rivals from slugging it out with Minnesota looking for revenge against the team that robbed them of the past two Big Ten championships. Against all predictions, Michigan put up a solid defensive effort and for a team that allowed over 3 goals against per game, the Gophers were caught off-guard. Minnesota was unable to respond to the counterpunching style that Michigan was suddenly employing and they found themselves down by a pair entering the third period. It wasn't until Close was pulled for an extra attacker that the team managed to break through. Jimmy Snuggerud's 21st came with 90 seconds left on the clock but Minnesota was unable to get the equalizer and they were bounced out of the conference tournament.[2]
The Gophers ended tied for 6th in the PairWise and received a #2 seed for the tournament. They were sent to the West regional and faced Omaha in the first round. Though the Mavericks were technically the host team, both campuses weren't far away and the Gophers had plenty of fans in attendance. The raucous crowd watched a fairly even game with both teams starting slow before picking up the pace in the second period. Minnesota fell behind twice but Close prevented Omaha from pulling away. in the latter part of the game, Jaxon Nelson turned into the hero. He first tied the match on a one-timer from the slot and then scored the winning goal by deflecting a Bryce Brodzinski shot from the top of the crease. The final four minutes saw a furious comeback attempt from the Mavs but the Gopher defense collapsed around Close and they were able to eke out a 3–2 win.[3]
In the Regional Final, Minnesota faced Boston University, the #2 team in the nation who possessed the top prospect for the upcoming NHL Draft. Despite being the underdog, Nelson and Brodzinski again sparked the Gopher's offense and staked the team to a two-goal lead in the first period. However, BU could not be denied and the lead was cut in half before the end of the period. The Terriers' offense took over in the middle frame, scoring twice in just over 4 minutes to take the lead. Huglen tied the game near the mid point but BU pulled ahead for a second time before intermission. Both teams attacked throughout the third but neither could find the goal. Minnesota was forced to pull Close in their pursuit of the tying goal but that only served to allow two empty-net goals from Boston University and Minnesota's season came to a close.[4]
| Owen Bartoszkiewicz | Goaltender | Returned to juniors (Youngstown Phantoms) | ||
| Forward | Signed professional contract (Arizona Coyotes) | |||
| Defenseman | Signed professional contract (Minnesota Wild) | |||
| Defenseman | Graduation (signed with Buffalo Sabres) | |||
| Forward | Signed professional contract (Toronto Maple Leafs) | |||
| Defenseman | Signed professional contract (Anaheim Ducks) | |||
| Colin Schmidt | Forward | Graduation (retired) | ||
| Matt Staudacher | Defenseman | Graduate transfer to Northeastern |
| Nathan Airey | Goaltender | 20 | Cochrane, AB | ||
| Axel Begley | Defenseman | 19 | Mahtomedi, MN | ||
| Jimmy Clark | Forward | 19 | Edina, MN
| ||
| Nick Michel | Forward | 24 | Waconia, MN
| ||
| Forward | 18 | Mounds View, MN
| |||
| Defenseman | 19 | Chanhassen, MN
| |||
| Max Rud | Defenseman | 20 | St. Cloud, MN |
As of August 30, 2023.[5]
|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style=";" | |-!colspan=12 style=";" |
See main article: NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.
| Game summary | |
| Boston University began the game on offense, getting several shots on Justen Close in the first few minutes. Minnesota's defense kept the Terriers from getting a great chance for a goal and then started matching BU's effort level. After several near-misses, the Gophers finally got their first shot just before the 5-minute mark. Shortly afterwards, Boston University set up for an extended period in the offensive zone and had several scoring chances but Close kept the game scoreless. Minnesota responded with an attack of their own and Jaxon Nelson twisted his body to fire a sharp-angle shot into the far corner of the goal for the opening score. The pace slowed down afterwards and little occurred over the next several minutes. Coming out of the TV timeout, Minnesota won a defensive zone faceoff and moved the puck up the ice. BU was first on the rubber but they turned the puck over and the Gophers got two great shots on goal. A minute later, the Terriers got their own high-percentage shot after a turnover but Sam Stevens could not get the puck into the goal. The near-miss appeared to reawaken Boston University and the Terriers got back to the same pace they had at the start of the period. The Gopher defense soon recovered and shut down a pair of Terrier rushes. Near the end of the period, Aaron Huglen forced Case McCarthy into a turnover along the wall. The puck was quickly moved to Bryce Brodzinski who shot the puck past Mathieu Caron's glove. After the ensuing faceoff, Quinn Hutson brought puck up the right side into the Minnesota zone and directed the puck towards the Gopher cage. The slow-motion puck seemed to catch Close off-guard and somehow slipped beneath the netminder's pad and was directed into the goal. The Gophers attacked after the fluky goal and were nearly able to regain their 2-goal edge but Caron made several saves to keep his team within one. After the start of the second, BU wasted little time in getting to the offense. Macklin Celebrini grabbed the puck at the Minnesota blueline and skated to the right faceoff circle. He wheeled around a found a wide-open Shane Lachance at the left circle for a one-timer. Meanwhile, a Minnesota player ended up sliding into Justen Close and prevented the goaltender from getting into position. This allowed the shot from Lachance to easily sail into the net for the tying goal. The Terriers kept the pressure on and, four minutes later, Celebrini made another pass from the right side of the Gopher cage that ended up in the back of the net, this time to Jack Harvey. BU completely dominated the first seven minutes of the period but Minnesota finally got back into the game in the middle of the period. During an extended stay in the Terriers' end, Caron was forced to made several grade-A saves. The Gophers were able to make a line change and keep the pressure until a shot from from Brody Lamb from the right circle. After sliding to his left, Caron was out of the crease as the puck settled in the blue paint. Aaron Huglen found the biscuit at his feet and was able to slap it into the net. In the second half of the period, Jaxon Nelson got a clean break in on the BU cage. While Caron made the save, the puck stayed with Minnesota and the Terrier netminder was forced to make several more stops. BU slowly got back to their game afterwards and continued the see-saw nature of the game. With less than five minutes in the period, Lane Hutson got the puck inside the Minnesota blueline and, after evading a Minnesota defender, skated in an arc down the left side and fired the puck towards the goal. He was apparently trying to find Sam Stevens, who was set up in the goal crease, but the puck hit Close in the left pad and was redirected into the goal. Minnesota took over in the waning minutes and got a good chance on goal but Caron made the save. Minnesota took the initiative at the start of the third and Nelson had a chance to tie the score just 30 seconds in. BU evened out play afterwards and the two teams exchanged scoring chances. Neither team was able to establish a presence in the offensive zone for any length of time, however, and both teams were limited to end-to-end rushes. The Terriers finally got set up near the middle of the period but the Gopher defense kept them mostly to the outside. Minnesota counterattacked and got a few chances of their own but they too were checked closely by Boston University. In the later half of the period, Macklin Celebrini made a third miraculous pass from the right side but this time the shot was stopped by Close. As the play continued, the puck came back to Celebrini but the teenager caught an edge and Minnesota broke up the ice on a 2-on-1. Nelson passed the puck to Ryan Chesley but he fanned on the shot. About a minute later, Hughes got the puck near the Minnesota goal line and had a partially open net to shoot at but he couldn't overcome the steep angle. Both teams remained on an offensive footing and scoring chances were coming from all quarters. After BU iced the puck with about 2 two minutes to play, Close was pulled for an extra attacker. Minnesota could not get set up in the offensive zone and after their second attempt, Case McCarthy cleared the puck 200 feet into the Minnesota cage for a 2-goal lead. With no other option, Close was pulled again and minute later, Macklin Celebrini chipped the puck out of the zone to Sam Stevens and the second empty-net goal sealed the win for BU. |
| 39 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 14 | |||
| 39 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 18 | |||
| 39 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 42 | |||
| 39 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 8 | |||
| 39 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 6 | |||
| 39 | 2 | 26 | 28 | 20 | |||
| 39 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 6 | |||
| 37 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 21 | |||
| 37 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 | |||
| 38 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 14 | |||
| 35 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 12 | |||
| 33 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 4 | |||
| 39 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | |||
| 38 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 8 | |||
| 39 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 | |||
| 38 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 17 | |||
| 35 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | |||
| 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 135 | 225 | 360 | 256 |
|---|
| 38 | 2233:07 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 88 | 1052 | 4 | .923 | 2.36 | ||
| 3 | 129:54 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 0 | .865 | 3.23 | ||
| Empty Net | - | 11:12 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 39 | 2374:13 | 23 | 11 | 5 | 100 | 1097 | 4 | .916 | 2.53 |
|---|
See main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.
| Poll | Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (Final) | ||
| USCHO.com | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | – | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | – | 7 | |
| USA Today | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | – | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |
| Jimmy Snuggerud | Big Ten First Team | |
| Ryan Chesley | Big Ten Second Team | |
| Sam Rinzel | ||
| Rhett Pitlick | ||
| Sam Rinzel | Big Ten Freshman Team | |
| Oliver Moore | ||
See main article: 2024 NHL entry draft.
| 3 | 71 | † | Buffalo Sabres | |
| 4 | 112 | † | Ottawa Senators | |
| 5 | 144 | † | Detroit Red Wings | |
| 7 | 213 | † | Nashville Predators |