Minnesota Gophers men's hockey team will open NCAA tournament against UMass in Fargo Regional

Gophers men's hockey will open NCAA tournament against UMass in Fargo

The Gophers, who last played on March 9, will be playing in a regional in North Dakota for the second time in three seasons.

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

March 23, 2025 — 10:42pm

Fargo again? U betcha.

That's the destination for the Gophers men's hockey team for the regional round of the NCAA tournament. Minnesota is the No. 2 seed in the Fargo Regional and will play No. 3 seed Massachusetts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN2) at Scheels Arena. Top-seeded Western Michigan will meet Minnesota State Mankato in Thursday's other semifinal at 4 p.m. (ESPNU). The winners play Saturday at either 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU for a berth in the Frozen Four.

This marks the second time in three years that the Gophers will play in the Fargo Regional. In 2023, they beat Canisius and St. Cloud State to reach the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., where they fell to Quinnipiac 3-2 in overtime in the national championship game.

The Gophers (25-10-4) aren't exactly entering the NCAA tournament on a roll. They fell to last-place Notre Dame in three games in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals and had two weeks off while other teams played for conference tournament titles. The Gophers, who shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Michigan State, have an 8-7-2 record since Jan. 10. They are making their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance under coach Bob Motzko.

Massachusetts (20-13-5) finished in sixth place in Hockey East and went 1-1 in the conference tournament, falling 3-2 in overtime to Boston University in the quarterfinals. The Minutemen are 5-2-3 in their past 10 games. The Gophers and UMass met in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Worcester Regional with Minnesota winning 4-3 on Ben Meyers' goal 8:31 into overtime. The Gophers beat Western Michigan 3-0 two days later to reach the Frozen Four in Boston.

UMass junior forward Cole O'Hara is tied for fourth nationally in scoring with 51 points on 22 goals and 29 assists. Goalie Michael Hrabal has a 2.32 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

Top-seeded Western Michigan (30-7-1) won its first NCHC Frozen Faceoff, defeating North Dakota 4-2 in the semifinals and rallying from a three-goal deficit to beat Denver 4-3 for the title on Alex Bump's goal 22 seconds into the second overtime. The Broncos, who also won the NCHC regular-season title, are 17-3 in their past 20 games.

Alex Bump, a sophomore from Prior Lake, leads Western Michigan scoring (23-23-46) and is one of five Broncos with 30 or more points. Freshman goalie Hampton Slukynsky of Warroad has a 2.04 GAA and .918 save percentage.

Minnesota State (27-8-3) won both the CCHA regular-season and tournament crowns, beating St. Thomas 4-2 at home on Friday to claim the Mason Cup. The Mavericks take an 11-game unbeaten streak into the national tournament.

Former Gopher Rhett Pitlick (13-27-40) leads the Mavericks in scoring, while junior goalie Alex Tracy leads the nation with a 1.43 GAA and .945 save percentage.

Boston College is the No. 1 overall seed and will play in the Manchester, N.H., Regional on Friday and Sunday. The Eagles will face Bentley, the No. 4 seed in the region. In the other game, No. 3 seed Denver, the defending national champion, faces No. 2 seed Providence.

Michigan State is the No. 2 overall seed and will play in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday and Saturday. The Spartans open against Cornell, the No. 4 seed in the region. No. 3 seed Ohio State meets No. 2 seed Boston University.

Maine is No. 3 overall and will play in Allentown, Pa., on Friday and Sunday. The Black Bears draw No. 4 seed Penn State in the first round, while No. 3 seed Quinnipiac meets No. 2 seed Connecticut.