2023–24 Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Ice Hockey Season

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.

Season

While Minnesota had only lost a handful of players in the offseason, the top half of the defense had been completely removed. The Gophers were also having to contend with the loss of top prospect Logan Cooley who signed professionaly during the offseason. The addition of two 1st-round draft picks was expected to offset some of the departures. The most stable part of the roster was in goal where Justen Close had returned for his fifth season.

The Gophers needed overtime to take down St. Thomas, but the defense soon righted itself and Close posted consecutive shutouts to get the team the #1 ranking early in the season. A scoring lull at the end of October resulted in three consecutive losses for Minnesota but afterwards the team recovered. From the beginning of November until the end of the season, Minnesota lost only one every four or five games. While the remade defense was nearly as good as it had been the year before, the offense took the biggest dip with the Gophers scoring 30 fewer goals. That, however, did not mean that the Gophers couldn't score, just that the team wasn't about to dominate the competition as much as they had in '23.

Minnesota's schedule was rife with ranked teams and that provided the team some leeway in their record. Even with 9 losses, the Gophers strength of schedule enabled the team to remain in the top-10 for most of the season. By the start of the postseason, Minnesota was 8th in the PairWise and guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament. Depending on their performance in the conference tournament, the team could receive anything from a 1st- to a 3rd-seed and they began their title chase against Penn State. The first game resulted in a win for the Gophers, while the team lost in the second game where Close saw 48 shots on goal, leading to a tie entering the third period. The Gophers won the game with just over a minute remaining in the game when Aaron Huglen tipped a Brody Lamb shot.

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.

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.

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.

Departures

Recruiting

Roster

As of January 30, 2024.

Standings

Schedule and results

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NCAA tournament

Regional semifinal

Regional final

Scoring statistics

Goaltending statistics

Rankings

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 or 25.
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

2024 NHL Entry Draft

† incoming freshman

References

External links

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Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey seasons
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