Gophers hockey reaches new low with embarrassing home loss against LIU

Minnesota lost to a team that has been a Division I program for only six years.

Gophers forward John Mittelstadt battling for the puck against Long Island. | Picture via: Matt Krohn

The University of Minnesota lost to Long Island University (LIU) in a men's hockey game on Friday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci with a final score of 6-2.

The Sharks just became a Division I program before the 2020-21 season, and last year was their first with a winning record. This weekend was their ever matchup with the Gophers, and they just handed one of the most storied programs in college hockey a loss in their own building

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Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak last weekend with an impressive sweep at home against Notre Dame. A 3-0 win on Friday and 4-1 win on Saturday generated some reason for optimism, but that has seemingly been thrown out the window after tonight's result.

Brodie Ziemer struck first in the first period with his fifth goal of the season. LIU proceeded to score four unanswered goals. Two came in the first period, one in the second period and then one more three minutes into the final period.

Long Island University's (Division I) hockey arena compared to the University of Minnesota's.

The Sharks won 6-2 in Minneapolis tonight.

WOW pic.twitter.com/8EtTTQ9KxA

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) November 15, 2025

Minnesota had one last push, and Javon Moore scored his second goal of the season, but it was too little too late. Despite leading the Sharks 37-21 in shots on goal, the Gophers lost 6-2.

Long Island is one of five Division I men's hockey programs that compete as an independent, without a conference. First-year head coach Brendan Riley is only nine regular-season games into his coaching career. This game was meant to be one final tune-up for the Gophers.

This is undoubtedly one of the worst home losses for Gophers men's hockey and one of the worst losses under head coach Bob Motzko. 2025-26 was meant to be a rebuilding season, but Minnesota is now 4-8-1. They were not expected to struggle this much, and they were not expected to lose to Long Island University. Minnesota will have a chance to split the series with another game on Saturday night at 5 p.m. CT, but it's hard to imagine that this weekend will be viewed as anything short of a failure.