We all know what year will be #1 but what about the rest of the list?
Next up on our series of the Top 25 of the last 25 years of Minnesota Golden Gophers athletics is our ranking of the past 25 seasons of Golden Gopher Hockey from 2000-2025. There have been some historic seasons that ended with the Gophers on the top of the college hockey world. There have been some historic seasons that ended with heartbreak. There have been some seasons that were very much in the middle of the pack, and then a few that I think we all wish we could forget about. See how we ranked them 25 to 1 below, and let us know in the comments if you agree.
#25 2009-10 18-19-2 7th in WCHA
The only season in the last 25 years where the Gophers finished below .500. The Gophers started the season with a loss and a tie in Grand Forks and came home to be swept by Denver. Minnesota looked to possible salvage something taking three of four points from UMD at Mariucci in January but would finish 5-7 to finish in 7th place in the WCHA Standings, and then lose in three games in the First Round of the WCHA Playoffs in Grand Forks. Tony Lucia and Jordan Schroeder shared the team lead with just 28 points each.
#24 2010-2011 16-14-6 5th in WCHA
The third of three consecutive seasons of missing the NCAA Tournament and nearly got Don Lucia fired. Minnesota was decent on the road going 7-4-3, but for some reason stunk on home ice going 9-10-3. Minnesota could beat the good teams going 2-1-2 against the two teams that would face off at the Xcel Energy Center for the NCAA Championship in Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan, but stunk against the bad ones including being swept in the First Round of the WCHA Playoffs on home ice by Alaska Anchorage. Little remembered Bowling Green transfer Jacob Cepis led the team in scoring with 29 points.
#23 2017-18 19-17-2 5th in Big Ten
The final season of Don Lucia behind the Gopher bench did not end well. In nearly an opposite to the 2010-11 season the Gophers were near unstoppable on home ice going 13-5-1. But they were beyond brutal on the road going 4-12-1. Penn State absolutely owned Minnesota that season going 5-1 against the Gophers including winning four straight to end the season at Pegula Ice Arena and ending Lucia’s career behind the Gopher bench. But even after that Minnesota still looked like they would sneak in the NCAA Tournament. Heading into the final day of the college hockey season Minnesota had a 63 out of 64 chance of making the NCAA field. Guess what happened. UMD got in as the last at large berth after everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong for the Gophers and they trailed UMD by 0.001 in the Pairwise rankings. The ultimate gut punch. Scoring was an issue as Minnesota averaged just 2.7 goals per game. Rem Pitlick scored 31 points and Casey Mittelstadt in his lone year as a Gopher added 30. It would be the start of another three year run of missing the NCAA Tournament.
#22 2008-2009 17-13-7 5th in WCHA
Minnesota got off to a good start in the 2008-2009 season going 7-0-4 to start the year. They didn’t pick up their first loss until mid-November at Denver. Then the holiday break hit and something went wrong. Minnesota ended the regular season on a 5-9-2 slump sinking them to a 5th place finish in the WCHA. They would sweep St. Cloud State to reach the WCHA Final Five, but would lose in the Thursday night opener to Minnesota-Duluth ending their season. Ryan Stoa led the way with 46 points and 24 goals, but the team struggled to get any scoring from anyone not on the top line, and the string of three straight NCAA i Tournament misses began.
#21 2019-20 16-14-7 Tied 2nd in Big Ten
This season and the next one on the list are nearly identical. But due to COVID ending the season, this one has a few more bad memories and is lower on the list. The Gophers were about as average as a team can be. They split a majority of their conference series earlier in the year except for a crushing sweep at home by Penn State. Minnesota would head up to Grand Forks over Thanksgiving Weekend and get destroyed by the Fighting Hawks. A mid-season push against conference opponents saw them jump up in the standings but a 1-3-3 finish taking just two of their final 12 points against Penn State and Michigan was not a great omen headed into the playoffs as they still tied for 2nd, but in actuality were the #4 seed. The Gophers lost their Big Ten playoff opener at home to Notre Dame, but came back to win the next two to advance to the Semifinals at Penn State…..and then the season was over thanks to COVID. Sammy Walker led the Gophers with 30 points on the season. (Starting to see a trend with low point totals and low win totals aren’t we…)
#20 2018-2019 18-16-4 3rd in Big Ten
Year one of the Bob Motzko era in Minneapolis was pretty blah. Minnesota was wildly inconsistent in the first year under a new staff never having longer than a three game winning streak or a two game losing streak. The Gophers closed out the season on a roll winning their last three regular season games and then sweeping Michigan in the Big Ten First Round, but they would lose an OT heartbreaker 2-1 at Notre Dame in the semifinal after a controversial penalty was called on Tyler Sheehy just 35 seconds into OT for hooking…when replays showed all he did was lift the Irish player’s stick. Notre Dame would score and end Minnesota’s season. Rem Pitlick would lead the Gophers in scoring with 45 points.
#19 2015-16 20-17-0 1st in Big Ten
The last of the seasons where the Gophers did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They won the Big Ten Regular Season title, but missed the NCAA Tournament. How did that happen? Well going 6-11 in the non-conference including an embarrassing 1-7 against other Minnesota schools will do that. Minnesota went down to the last game in their regular season to clinch a 5th straight regular season conference title, and after losing the night before, the Gophers came back to defeat Wisconsin 4-1 at Mariucci Arena on Saturday night, the party was on. Minnesota still needed to win the Big Ten Tournament to get the auto bid to the NCAA Tournament after their awful non-conference season, and after defeating Ohio State in the semifinals it was the Michigan Wolverines standing in their way. It didn’t go well—-(also seems to be a trend in that game) and Michigan picked up a 5-3 win to end the Gophers season.
#18 2007-2008 19-17-9 7th in WCHA NCAA 1st Round
The 2007-2008 season was the last one before the Gophers went off the rails to miss three NCAA Tournaments in a row and the cracks were allready showing. It would be the opposite of the season we just discussed. Minnesota struggled mightily in WCHA play going just 9-12-7 to slide to a 7th place finish. But their 10-5-2 non-conference schedule kept them afloat in the pairwise and snuck them into the NCAA Tournament. They opened the season winning the Ice Breaker at the Xcel Energy Center with wins over RPI and Michigan, but also lost star Ryan Stoa to a torn ACL in the Michigan game. Minnesota headed to Minnesota State for the Opening Round of the WCHA Playoffs and it became one of the most epic playoff series in Gopher history. Minnesota lost Game one 1-0 in 2 OT, would win Game two 2-1 in OT, and then won Game three to keep their season alive 3-2 in 2 OT. They advanced to the WCHA Final Five in St Paul where in the Thursday night opener they knocked off St. Cloud State and then upset #1 seed Colorado College 2-1 in OT on Friday. Their luck would run out in a 2-1 loss to Denver in the Championship game, but it was enough to get them in the NCAA Field. There Boston College easily took care of them 5-2 en route to their NCAA Championship.
#17 2005-2006 27-9-5 1st in WCHA NCAA 1st Round
The Gophers were dominant in 2005-06. Minnesota cruised to their first of back to back MacNaughton Cups as WCHA Regular Season Champions. Ryan Potulny put up one of the most impressive seasons of the past 25 years with 38 goals and 63 points. The Gophers ha their lone year of Phil Kessel. Kellen Briggs was a star in goal. Minnesota easily swept Alaska Anchorage in the opening round of the WCHA Playoffs and then headed to the X for the Final 5. Small cracks started appearing in the armor as Minnesota lost an epic 8-7 OT game to St. Cloud State in the semifinals. The Gophers trailed 7-5 with less that two minutes to play before Danny Irmen and Potunlty scored to force OT. Minnesota then dropped a 4-0 third place game to Wisconsin the next afternoon. Minnesota was the #1 seed in the West Region and headed to Grand Forks for the NCAA Regionals the next weekend. Then two little words ruined it all. Holy. Cross.
#16 2014-15 23-13-3 1st in Big Ten NCAA 1st Round
The 2014-15 season was a season that game the early impression that the Big Ten was considerably weaker than the NCHC—and they were probably right. The Gophers dominated the Big Ten winning both the regular season and Tournament Championships, but due to some slips in the non-conference portion of the schedule including being swept by UMD, and losses to Northeastern and Merrimack, Minnesota was just a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament where they found themselves matched up with their in-state rival Bulldogs four the fourth time that season. UMD jumped out to a 3-0 early lead and Minnesota never had a chance and ended their season with a 4-1 loss. Mike Reilly led the team in scoring with 42 points—the only defenseman to lead Minnesota in points in the past 25 years.
#15 2024-25 25-11-4 1st in Big Ten, NCAA 1st Round
The most recent season of Gopher hockey was another one where the end of the season didn’t feel like it matched with the vibe of the season. The Gophers beat most of the weaker teams they needed to beat, but against good teams like Michigan State the Gophers looked outmatched at times. Minnesota did not get the consistent goaltending them needed with some shaky appearances from both transfer Liam Souliere and sophomore Nathan Airey, and the bad games showed up at the wrong time at the end of the year. After clinching a tie for the Big Ten title with the Spartans the Gophers would lose in three games to Notre Dame in the opening round of the Big Ten Playoffs after a horrible game from Souliere, and then would lose to UMASS in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in overtime.
#14 2016-17 23-12-3 1st Big Ten NCAA 1st Round
Another season where a dominant Big Ten regular season run didn’t help much at the end of the season. The Gophers ran though the rest of the Big Ten with a 14-5-1 record, but went just 9-7-1 in the non-conference getting swept by St. Cloud State and losing to Northeastern and Minnesota State. The post season would be an epic dumpster fire of tow and done as the Gophers lost in the Big Ten semifinals to Penn State 4-3 in Double OT, and then would face Notre Dame in their last season before joining the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament. They Gophers took a 2-0 lead but would give up three unanswered goals and be eliminated 3-2. Tyler Sheehy had an All-American year leading he Gophers with 53 points, but it just wasn’t enough.
#13 2023-24 23-11-5 3rd Big Ten NCAA 2nd Round
The 23-24 season would be one of change for the Gophers. Gone was Logan Cooley, Mathew Knies, Brock Faber, Jackson LaCombe, and more. But the Gophers still had a stud goalie in Justen Close and a group of offensive talent between Jaxon Nelson, Bryce Brodzinski, Rhett Pitlick and Jimmy Snuggerud. The Gophers were not dominant, but they were not patsies either. After a third place finish in the Big Ten the Gophers would sweep Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten Playoffs before another heartbreaking loss at home to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament—this time a 2-1 loss in the semifinal. The Gophers earned the #2 seed in the Sioux Falls Regional and knocked off Omaha 3-2 in the opening round, but would fall 6-3 in the Regional Final to Boston University. The Frozen Four would come back to St. Paul, but no Minnesota teams would join for the first time since 1991.
#12 2000-2001 27-13-2 3rd WCHA NCAA 1st Round
The next two seasons both were similar. They both were a year before a big breakthrough. They both ended in excruciation fashion with a painfully bad overtime goal in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000-01 the Gophers would take their first big step forward under Don Lucia. In his second year behind the bench the Gophers jumped to third in the WCHA and got off to a 6-0-1 start. After a bit of a midseason swoon the Gophers closed out the regular season on a 10-3 run. They swept Michigan Tech to get to the WCHA Final 5, but lost in the semis to St Cloud State and lost the third place game to Colorado College. The Gophers were given the #4 seed in the east regional and would face the #5 seed Maine in the opening round. The Gophers and Black Bears traded the lead through the third period, but Maine would tie toe game with 2.4 seconds left to force OT. They would win on a weak goal given up by Adam Hauser ending the Gophers season——but setting up a rather large redemption arc in 2002.
#11 2012-13 26-9-5 1st WCHA NCAA 1st Round
The 2012-13 season was a bit more dominant that the 2000-01 season but it did set up an even better season to come the following year. The Gophers were fairly dominant in the final season of the WCHA though they didn’t clinch a share of the title with St. Cloud State until a win over Bemidji in the final game of the regular season. One highlight of the year was an 8-1 demolition of #1 Boston College in the Mariucci Classic Championship Game. Minnesota would again end the season on a downhill trend after losing 2-0 to Colorado College in the WCHA Final Five Semifinal, and then entered the NCAA Tournament as the #2 overall seed. The Gophers would face Yale in the opening round of the tournament. The Bulldogs umped out to a 2-0 lead and Minnesota made a furious comeback to force overtime. But, that OT session would not last long as Yale scored the game winner just 9 seconds into OT. Ben Marshall turned over the puck directly behind the Gopher net, and the Bulldogs jumped on it and found a man right in front of Alex Wilcox for the game winner. Unfortunately it would not be the last quick OT loser for the Gophers…
#10 2003-04 27-14-3 4th WCHA
After back to back NCAA Championships, the Gophers finally hit the wall. Minnesota still had stars in Thomas Vanek and both Potulny brothers and Keith Ballard, but its tough to win with a freshman goalie. Kellen Briggs would be come a great Gopher goalie, but he had a bit of a learning curve as well. The Gophers got off to a very slow start beginning the season 2-7-1. Minnesota went from Preseason ranked #1 in the nation to out of the rankings in 6 weeks. Midseason the Gophers figured it out. They turned a 13-2-1 stretch to jump back into the national rankings and climb back up the WCHA standings. The Gophers closed out the regular season by sweeping St. Cloud State to clinch the #5 seed and the final home ice spot, and then did the same the following weekend in the WCHA Playoffs against the Huskies. Minnesota got lucky and with other upsets avoided the Thursday ight game at the Final Five and played UMD in the Semifinals. After a 7-4 win there they would knock off North Dakota 5-4 in the Championship Game to win the Final Five title. Minnesota earned the #1 seed in the Midwest regional and defeated Notre Dame in the opening game before they rematched against UMD once again in the Regional Final. There they could not get past the Bulldogs to try for the threepeat and UMD ended the Gophers run 3-1.
#9 2020-21 24-7 2nd Place Big Ten NCAA 2nd Round
The 2020-21 season was a weird one in the world that was COVID protocols and bubbles. There was no non-conference portion of the schedule and Arizona State played as a Big Ten affiliate for one season, but their games didn’t count in the standings. The Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers dominated the conference only schedule with the Badgers kicking the Gophers butts in Minneapolis in February that sent a message to this team. Minnesota ended the season on a 5-1 run and then entered the Big Ten single elimination tournament as the #2 seed. Minnesota knocked off Michigan State and Michigan in OT in the first to games before getting their revenge over the Badgers to win the Championship title 6-4. The Gophers earned the #3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and crushed Omaha 7-2 in the opener before running into the brick wall that was Minnesota State and their star goalie Dryden McKay. They shut out the Gophers 4-0 to end their season.
#8 2021-22 26-13 1st Big Ten Frozen Four
The Gophers started the season splitting most of their conference series before they finally figured it out at the end of the season. Minnesota closed out the regular season on a 9-1 tear their only loss at Notre Dame in overtime to clinch the Big Ten Regular Season title. They defeated Penn State 3-2 in the Big Ten semifinal before setting up an epic Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan at Mariucci. The Wolverines would get the 4-3 win as a Minnesota furious comeback could not find the tying goal. Minnesota was the #2 seed in the Northeast Regional and knocked off UMass in OT 4-3 in the opener before a dominant 3-0 shutout of Western Michigan to get to the Frozen Four. There the Gophers again ran into the brick wall that was Dryden McKay and Minnesota State and would fall 5-1.
#7 2004-05 28-15-1 3rd WCHA Frozen Four
The Gophers had to deal with the loss of Thomas Vanek and Grant Potulny and needed to find some scoring from different places. Tyler Hirsch would lead the team in scoring with just 44 points ad the Gophers went all in on defense. Kellen Briggs stepped up large in his sophomore season recording four shutouts. Minnesota won their last five regular season games of the year and then swept Minnesota State in the opening round of the WCHA Playoffs. They faltered at the Final Five losing to Colorado College and North Dakota but still entered the NCAA Tournament as the #4 overall seed, and #1 in the west playing at home. Minnesota would use the home crowd to their advantage pulling out a pair of tight games in overtime 1-0 over Maine and 2-1 over Cornell to send them back to the Frozen Four. At The Frozen Four the Gophers ran into North Dakota who would knock them out 4-2 to end their season.
#6 2006-07 31-10-3 1st WCHA NCAA 2nd Round
The most dominant non NCAA Championship season of the last 25 years, the Gophers were a machine in 2006-07. The Gophers lost their season opener 3-1 to Maine and then did not lose again until January 12th. Minnesota clinched the WCHA Title and the MacNaughton Cup with a win over Michigan Tech at home in their second to last game of the regular season, and then headed into the playoffs. But small cracks in the armor were spotted. It took the Gophers three games to get past Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA First Round, but the Gophers then headed to St. Paul for the WCHA Final Five. After defeating Wisconsin in the Semifinal, the Gophers faced North Dakota in the title game. The Gophers and UND traded goals and headed to overtime tied at 2. Then…well we all know what happened.
Minnesota picked up their Final Five title and headed to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the West region. They needed a huge third period comeback to knock off Air Force 4-3 in the opening round before North Dakota got their revenge. Chris Porter put a wrap around past Jeff Frazee in overtime to end the Gophers season 3-2.
#5 2011-2012 28-14-1 1st WCHA Frozen Four
The Gophers jumped from the start getting out to a 10-1 start to the season. The biggest win in that stretch was a 3-2 win over North Dakota where Kyle Rau scored his famous “dice roll” goal with 43 seconds left to knock off UND. Minnesota struggled midseason getting swept in the Mariucci Classic by Northeastern and Notre Dame before back to back road splits at North Dakota and Colorado College. After getting swept by Denver the Gophers jumped into first place in the WCHA sweeping Omaha and Bemidji State to set up a final weekend series at home against Wisconsin. Minnesota lost the opener 4-1 to the Badgers setting up a must win on Saturday to clinch the MacNaughton Cup. Wisconsin took a 1-0 lead before an Erik Haula shorthanded goal tied the game at 1 in the third period. A few minutes later the Gophers went on the power play and one of the most famous goals of the last 25 years came off the stick of Nate Schmidt.
Minnesota swept Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA First round before falling to North Dakota in the Final Five Semifinal 6-3. Minnesota was the #2 seed in the West Regional that was held at the X. Minnesota dominated over Boston University 7-3 in the opener before getting their revenge on North Dakota 5-2 in the Regional Final to advance to the Frozen Four in Tampa.
Unfortunately the run would end there as a dominant Boston College Team took out the Gophers 6-1 in the Frozen Four on their way to a NCAA Championship.
#4 2022-23 29-10-1 1st Big Ten NCAA Runner-up
The 2022-23 season was one that got away. It was the year. Minnesota had one of the most prolific scoring lines in program history with Logan Cooley, Mathew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud. They had three defensemen that would soon play in the NHL in Brock Faber, Jackson LaCombe, Ryan Johnson. They got to the NCAA Championship Game. And then….disaster.
Minnesota dominated the Big Ten this season going 19-4-1. They defeated Michigan State in the Big Ten Semifinal and then hosted Michigan yet again for the Big Ten Championship game at Mariucci. Yet again it was an epic that Minnesota would just fall short in losing to the Wolverines 4-3. Minnesota entered the NCAA Tournament as the #1 overall seed and headed to Fargo for the West regional. They easily dispatched Canisius and St. Cloud State to advance to the Frozen Four. They dominated Boston University 6-2 in the Semifinal setting up the Championship Game matchup against Quinnipiac. And then…. Minnesota had a 2-1 lead with three minutes left in the game, but went into a shell and could not hold off the Bobcats. They tied the game with 2:47 left in play in the third and the game would head to overtime. We all know what happened then. Minnesota lost the faceoff, fell asleep and just ten seconds later lost the game. Undoubtedly the biggest missed opportunity in the last 25 years.
#3 2013-14 28-7-6 1st Big Ten NCAA Runner-up
The Gophers were a dominant offense and defensive force in the 2023-14 season. They outscored opposing teams 3.5- 1.2 on the season. Kyle Rau, Justin Kloos and Travis Boyd all had big seasons along with Mike Reilly winning the first of his second straight All-American honors. Adam Wilcox was a brick wall in net and allowed just 1.97 goals per game with a save percentage of .932. The Gophers went 14-3-3 in the Big Ten season and cruised to the title. Minnesota was unbeatable at Mariucci Arena going 16-1-3 on the season. Minnesota lost in the Big ten semifinal to Ohio State, but still entered the NCAA Championships as the #1 overall seed. They hosted the West regional at the X and had no issues taking out Robert Morris and St. Cloud State to advance to the Frozen Four in Philadelphia.
In Philly the Gophers faced North Dakota in the Frozen Four semifinals. The teams had played some epic post season games before, but arguably none that would go down as famous as this one would. The goalies were dominant and kept the game scoreless through two periods. Minnesota finally struct first as Sam warning put in a rebound of a Kyle Rau shot with 10:41 left to go up 1-0. Only 31 seconds later North Dakota would tie the game at one. With 1:39 left in the game, Mike Reilly was called for holding, and things looked dire for the Gophers. For 90 seconds Adam Wilcox stopped shot after shot, trying to force overtime and give the Gophers a chance to pull it out. With 10 seconds left in the game the Gophers won a defensive zone faceoff and turned up ice. Rau took a shot but it hit off a North Dakota skate and bounced right to defenseman Justin Holl. Holl kicked the puck to his stick and took a shot that slid past UND goalie Zane Gothberg and former will be known as 0.6.
Minnesota would face Union two nights later for the National Championship…and it didn’t go well. The Dutchmen would win 7-4 and continue the Gophers NCAA drought.
#2 2002-03 28-8-9 2nd WCHA NCAA Champions
A year after winning their first NCAA Championship in 23 years, the Gophers decide twice is just as nice. While the Gophers lost two huge pieces in Johnny Pohl and Jordan Leopold from the year before, they added an Austrian by the name of Thomas Vanek who would help the team to the top once more. The Gophers opened the season with a series at New Hampshire with a tie and a loss—but they would get their revenge. A 2-1 OT win over Boston College to clinch the Mariucci Classic set the tone for the second half of the season. The Gophers swept Michigan Tech in the WCHA Playoffs and then took out Minnesota State and Colorado College to win the WCHA Final Five Crown. The Gophers earned the #4 overall seed and the #1 seed in the west help at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota stomped Mercyhurst and Ferris State by a combined 16-6 score and headed to Buffalo for a Frozen Four semifinals tilt vs Michigan for the second consecutive season.
For the second year in a row, the game once again went into overtime. Michigan was the aggressor and took a 2-0 lead on Minnesota midway through the second period. The Gophers finally got on the board when Troy Riddle knocked in a rebound of a Vanek shot to cut the lead to 2-1 after two periods. Gino Guyer tied the game early in the third period. Michigan had a chance to take the lead in the third period but Paul Martin made the biggest save by a non-goalie in Gopher history. He laid out blocking a shot on a wide open net and and that’s how it would head to OT. Vanek won the game for the Gophers with a spin out of the corner beating Wolverines goalie Al Montoya and sending the Gophers to the title game yet again.
Minnesota faced New Hampshire in the title game and took an early lead on a power play goal from Matt DeMarchi, before the Wildcats tied the game late in the first period. Midway through the third period Vanek made it 2-1 on a gorgeous goal where he outwaited two New Hampshire defenders and the goalie before sliding a backhand into the open net. Jon Waibel scored on a feed from Vanek two minutes later, and a Barry Tallackson pwoer play goal another two minutes later put the game on ice. Minnesota added an empty netter but would win their 5th NCAA Championship 5-1.
#1 2001-02 32-8-4 3rd WCHA NCAA Champions
There is no other choice for #1. The Gophers started the season 11-0-2 and flat out dominated teams. The Gophers did not lose until Thanksgiving weekend to St. Cloud State. After a less dominant middle of the season the Gophers closed out the regular season on a 8-1 run and finished in third place in the WCHA standings behind Colorado College and Denver. The Gophers swept North Dakota in the opening round of the WCHA Playoffs befoe heading to the Final Five at the X where they would defeat St. Cloud State in the semifinal before a loss to Denver in the Championship Game.
Minnesota entered the NCAA Tournament as the #2 seed in the West Regional in Ann Arbor. They defeated Colorado College 4-2 in their lone regional game and headed back home to St. Paul and the X for the Frozen Four. The Gophers would face Michigan in the Frozen Four semifinal. Minnesota jumped on the Wolverines and scored a goal in the first five minutes of all three periods. A Michigan clearing attempt bounced off Jeff Taffe’s skate and right to Grant Potulny who put the first goal of the game in the back of the net. Potulny would make it 2-0 in the second as he redirected a Jordan Leopold shot into the net. Taffe added a breakaway early in the third to put the Gophers up 3-0. Michigan stormed back late scoring a pair of goals in the last seven minutes of the game, but Adam Hauser and the Gophers hung on and got a 3-2 in to advance to the NCAA Championship game against Maine.
Keith Ballard gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead on a power play goal in the first period and the X exploded in noise. Maine would tie it up on the power play just under five minutes into the second period on a goal by Michael Schutte, and he should then hold up a finger to shush the partisan Minnesota crown at the X. Less than a minute later Johnny Pohl picked up a loose puck at the Gopher blue line and skated through the neutral zone, crossed the blue line and whipped a nasty wrist shot top corner to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead. Maine tied the game 1:17 into the third period, and then took the lead with 4:33 to play. Things looked dire for the Gophers and especially the fans who had memories of 1989 running through their heads.
The Gophers pulled their goalie with 58.3 seconds left and a faceoff in the maine end. Potulny won the draw and the puck got caught in the wash until it bounced back onto the stick of Matt Koalska. He ripped a wrist shot past the Black Bear goalie and took off for his infamous ”Polish Leap” into the Gopher bench as the game was tied with 52.4 secnds to play in regulation.
The game headed to overtime where both teams had great chances to end it. With 4:02 left Schutte who shushed the crowd was called or tripping on Koalska. It was the break the Gophers would need. With 3;14 to play the Gophers won an offensive zone faceoff. The puck went back to Leopold who ripped a slap shot that was blocked. Taffe got the rebound and passed it back to Leopold who shot again. Pohl corralled the first rebound and it was blocked. Then Potulny found the next rebound in front and became a legend.