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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.…

This list was so hard to cut down to just 25 We kick off our Top 25 of the last 25 years of Minnesota Golden Gophers athletics with The Top 25 Gopher Hockey Players from 2000-2025. Cutting down this list to just 25 players was insanely hard. You have All-Americans who did not make the final list. You have school record holders who did not make the final list. You have some of the players who had some of the best statistical seasons in Gopher hockey history not make the list. It was incredibly competitive. I’m sure many of you will disagree on both the order of this list, and think some that were left off deserve spots over those that were placed on it. Let us know in the comments how you feel. A reminder that this list only takes into consideration their Gopher hockey career. No national team or professional results were considered. Additionally if a player played for a different collegiate squad prior or after the Gophers, that was also not considered. Just because the list was so long, here are few honorable mentions that did not quite make the final 25 for one reason or another. Honorable Mention: Sammy Walker- C 2018-2022 Walker was great for the Gophers playing in 144 total career games and scoring 48 goals and adding 62 assists in the maroon and gold. He was consistent recording between 26 and 30 points all four seasons, but never had that huge breakout year fans clamored for. Kellen Briggs- G 2003-2007 Briggs played in the second most games in Gopher history at 132, is the all-time career wins leader with 84, ranks #5 all-time with a 2.45 GAA and is tied for the most shutouts in program history with 13. How did he not make the Top 25 over a few other goalies who did? His save percentage lacked behind some of the others ahead on this list at just .906, and while it may not necessarily be his fault, the furthest Briggs ever took the Gophers was to the Frozen Four semifinals. He was consistently good for four years, but it just wasn;t enough to sneak into the Top 25. Phil Kessel- F 2005-06 Jordan Schroeder- F 2008-2010 Both Kessel and Schroeder did great things for the Gophers in limited time. But the key here is limited time. Kessel scored 18 goals and recorded 51 points in his lone season with Minnesota while Schroeder averaged a point per game with 73 points in 72 career games as a Gopher. Has they each played one more year at Minnesota, they were on this list, but because the Gophers have so many three and four year players with amazing careers wearing the M, they just won’t quite get into the Top 25. There will be one exception to this as you will see. Blake Wheeler- F 2005-2008 Nate Schmidt- D 2010-2013 These two would go on to even greater things in the NHL once leaving Minnesota, but both had good Minnesota careers. Both have memorable goals as a Gopher—which is a different list yet to come. Wheeler played 127 games, scored 42 goals, added 54 asists and averaged .75 points per game. Schmidt played just 13 games in freshman season before breaking out with great sophomore and junior years. Again, great Gopher careers, but this list is that stacked that they don’t make the Top 25. Jackson LaCombe- D 2019-2023 The final cut. LaCombe was #26 on my list and was a painful cut. In four seasons with Minnesota he played 140 games and recorded 99 career points. A second team All-American in 2021 he nearly helped the Gophers to a NCAA title in 2024. Both a decent offensive defenseman and a great defensive defenseman. He’s now showing off in the NHL as well. The Top 25: #25 Adam Hauser- G 2000-2002 Hauser was a goalie that was both maligned and loved in Minnesota history. He played four seasons for the Gophers and is their all-time goalie games played leader at 151, but only his junior and senior seasons count for this list. Luckily for him and for Minnesota fans he got better every single season. He won 49 games his final two years with a 2.41 goals against average which would be 4th best in Gopher history if that was just…

A huge pick-up for P.J. Fleck and co. For the third straight year, the top-ranked recruit in Minnesota is staying home. Four-star athlete and Jackson native Roman Voss announced Monday that he will sign with the Golden Gophers, opting for his home state team over the Alabama Crimson Tide. He is expected to play tight end at Minnesota. All Glory To God. Home https://t.co/YCWXCvyGQX— Roman Voss (@romanvoss2) June 23, 2025 Get to know Roman Voss Height: 6’4”Weight: 225 Power 4 Scholarship Offers: Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami (Fl.), Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin 247 Sports Composite Rating: .9212 247 Sports Scouting Report Hyper-athletic two-way star at the Minnesota 2A level who likely projects to tight end or linebacker at the next level. Above-the-rim athlete on the hardwood at an estimated 6-foot-4, 225 pound billing, which directly translates in the explosive movement patterns we see on Fridays. Primarily works at quarterback and safety, but has also flashed in limited reps at receiver. Dynamic with the ball in his hands, will make defenders miss in a variety of ways and has unique post-cut burst for a player his size. Routinely bounds through low tackle attempts and will wow with the occasional hurdle. On the defensive side of the ball has proven to be a missile in the open field and can cover in isolation against smaller receivers. Dominated small-school competition and led JCCS to a perfect record before a season-ending ankle injury in the state quarterfinals. Could find his positional home on either side of the ball, but likely winds up as a move tight end due to his superb instincts with the ball in his hands. Should be viewed as a potential difference maker on Saturdays with the athletic traits to merit NFL Draft consideration. Hudl Highlights

Who are the new transfer additions to Gopher football for 2025 and what can we expect from them? PJ Fleck and his staff have navigated the tricky waters of the transfer portal as well as any staff in the country. With a limited NIL budget and a number of highly sought-after underclassmen, Fleck has managed to keep the majority of his key guys while finding transfers who fill critical holes in the roster. This season has been no exception. The Gopher roster lost one player who would have started and been a key contributor when Phillip Daniels decided to transfer to Ohio State and play for his homestate Buckeyes. They also lost three players who transferred to another P4 program, all three of whom would have contributed but not likely started for the Gophers. Coleman Bryson to North Carolina, Martez Lewis to Northwestern and wide receiver Terrance McWilliams is heading to Louisville. The other 15 names who entered the transfer portal were not likely to contribute at Minnesota and transferred to a lower level school where they will get more opportunity. Some names you may recognize... Jordan Nubin - to Kent State Kristen Hoskins - to North Dakota Hayden Schwartz - not yet committed Tyler Williams - not yet committed Martin Owusu - to Fresno State The point is, there was not a mass exodus of talent and expected contributors. Even players who would garner significant paydays elsewhere decided to take what Minnesota has to offer and stayed here. The biggest underclassman losses were due to the NFL Draft, which is a good problem to have. However, the staff also brought in a significant number of incoming transfers, many of whom are expected to contribute. But these names are unfamiliar to most of us, so it is time to get to know the portal additions to the Gopher roster. QUARTERBACK This position appears to be Drake Lindsay’s but some depth is needed. Zach Pyron was briefly here as a winter portal addition from Georgia Tech, but after spring practices he decided that this wasn’t the best fit for him and he is back in the portal. Emmett Moorehead - Old Dominion - Moorehead is not expected to compete with Lindsay for the starting quarterback role, but he is here to provide experienced depth. He made four starts for Boston College as a redshirt freshman, played in four as a sophomore and then transferred to ODU where he did not play, due to a knee injury. RUNNING BACK Much like last season, Minnesota needed to hit the portal to bring in depth at running back. Darius Taylor is expected to be the main guy, but this offense always needs fresh leg. AJ Turner - Marshall - As a sophomore for the Thundering Herd last season, Turner averaged just under 10 carries per game but finished the season with an 8.3 yard per carry average. He’s a big-play back who will be a significant contributor behind Taylor Cam Davis - Washington - This will be the 7th season for Davis and I would expect he will see the field throughout the season, but primarily as a role or situational player. Johann Cardenas - Redshirted last season for Vanderbilt and Cardenas should be coming to Minnesota with four years to play. He was a good high school running back out of Texas who had offers from a number of other P4 schools. There is upside here, maybe not a part of the pair and a spare rotation. WIDE RECEIVER This position has a lot of production and snaps to replace. So the portal was utilized heavily after approximately 75% of all receiver production has graduated. Javon Tracy - Miami (Ohio) - Had a breakout sophomore season for the Redhawks, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards. Tracy is the most likely candidate to contribute immediately. Logan Loya - UCLA - Playing college football for his sixth season, Loya is coming to Minnesota hoping to make an impact for his final year. He had 29 receptions, 348 yards and four touchdowns last season. Malachi Coleman - Nebraska - redshirted in 2024 after starting six games as a true freshman in 2023. Coleman was a…