Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey

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 Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale. and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AUU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940. Under current head coach Don Lucia, the Gophers have earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in eight of the last nine seasons, including five number 1 seeds and three appearances in the Frozen Four. The team's main 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 recent history, there has been a strong recruiting emphasis on Minnesota-born high school and junior hockey players, as opposed to out-of-state, Canadian, or European players. In fact, under coach Doug Woog, every single recruit grew up playing hockey in Minnesota. This practice has been a source of pride for the team and its fans, because it can claim that its success is the result of home-grown talent.

Arenas

 * Minnesota State Fairgrounds Hippodrome (1923–1934)
 * St. Paul Auditorium (1932–1950) (occasionally)
 * Minneapolis Arena (1925–1950) (primary arena)
 * Williams Arena/Old Mariucci Arena (1950–1993)
 * Mariucci Arena (1993–present)

Season-by-season results
''This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Golden Gophers. For the full season-by-season history, see Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey seasons''

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Records as of March 29, 2008.

Records by opponent
Conference opponents

Major non-conference opponents ˠ Denotes former conference opponent.

Career

 * Most goals in a career: John Mayasich, 144 (1951–55)
 * Most assists in a career: Larry Olimb, 159 (1988–92)
 * Most points in a career: John Mayasich, 298 (1951–55)
 * Most penalty minutes in a career: Matt DeMarchi, 473 (1999–03)
 * Most points in a career, defenseman: Todd Richards, 158 (1985–89)
 * Most wins in a career, Kellen Briggs, 84 (2003–07)
 * Most shutouts in a career, Kellen Briggs, 11 (2003–07)

Season
Players
 * Most goals in a season: Tim Harrer, 53 (1979–80)
 * Most assists in a season: Aaron Broten, 59 (1980–81)
 * Most points in a season: Aaron Broten, 106 (1980–81)
 * Most penalty minutes in a season: Pat Micheletti, 154 (1984–85)
 * Most points in a season, defenseman: Mike Crowley, 63 (1995–96)
 * Most points in a season, rookie: Aaron Broten, 72 (1979–80)
 * Most wins in a season:
 * Most shutouts in a season: Robb Stauber, 5 (1987–88)
 * Most power play goals in a season (since 1975): Tim Harrer, 27 (1979–80)

Team (since 1950)
 * Most wins in a season: 35 (1985–86)
 * Most WCHA wins in a season: 28 (1987–88)
 * Most overtime games in a season: 16 (2007–08)
 * Longest overall unbeaten streak: 22 (10/13/2006–1/12/2007)

Game
Player
 * Most goals in a game: John Mayasich, 6 (vs Winnipeg, 12/10/1954)
 * Most assists in a game: 11 players, 5 (last time: Gino Guyer vs Mercyhurst, 3/27/2003)
 * Most points in a game: John Mayasich, 8 (at Michigan, 1/14/1955)
 * Most penalty minutes in a game: Mike Crupi, 27 (at Michigan, 1/13/1967)

Team
 * Most goals in a game: 16 (at Brown, 12/21/1979 & at Maine, 1/4/1986)
 * Most goals in a period: 8 (at Michigan, 1/5/1979 & at CC, 3/1/1947)
 * Most assists in a period: 14 (vs Maine, 1/4/1986)
 * Most penalty minutes in a game: 109 (at UMD, 3/14/1998)
 * Most penalty minutes in a period: 81 (at UMD, 3/14/1998)

Honored members
Retired Numbers: The Gophers have retired only one number. On November 15, 1998, the team retired John Mayasich's number 8. Mayasich, a two-time All-American, played four seasons with the Gophers (1951–1955) and holds team records for goals and points scored both in a game and for a career. Despite playing as a member of the silver medal 1956 and gold medal 1960 Winter Olympic U.S. hockey teams, he never played professionally.

Hobey Baker Award: Four players from the University of Minnesota have won the Hobey Baker Award, awarded annually to "the outstanding collegiate hockey player in the United States." Neal Broten (1978–1981) became the award's first recipient in 1981. Robb Stauber (1986–1989) won the award as a sophomore in 1988, becoming the first goaltender to be so honored. Brian Bonin (1992–1996) won the award in 1996 after nearly winning it the previous season. In 2002, Jordan Leopold (1998–2002) became the first University of Minnesota player to win both the Hobey Baker Award and an NCAA Championship in the same season.

All-time coaching records
Note: (*) indicates former Gophers player

In their eighty-five season history, the Gophers have had a total of fourteen head coaches, including three interim coaches. John Mariucci took a one-year leave of absence during the 1955–1956 season to serve as head coach of the U.S. men's hockey team that won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Halfway through the 1971–1972 season, Glen Sonmor left the Gophers to become the general manager and head coach for the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association. Doug Woog was suspended for two games during the 1996–1997 season for concealing an illegal payment to a former player after his scholarship ended. During this time, assistant head coach Mike Guentzel served as the team's head coach. In 2009, Assistant Coach John Hill coached 2 games while Don Lucia was out for medical reasons.