Gophers Men’s Hockey Swept for Fifth Time as Disastrous Season Continues

Minnesota has opened 2026 with six consecutive losses.

Apr 15, 2025; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Prior to the game between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks, Bob Motzko is announced as the head coach for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship by John Vanbiesbrouck (right). The ceremony was held at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

A disastrous season for Gophers men's hockey continued this weekend in East Lansing, getting swept by the Spartans 3-1 on Friday night and 3-2 on Saturday. Minnesota has been swept in three straight series since coming back from break, and five times this season.

Final score. Back at home next weekend. pic.twitter.com/zCXP6dNda2

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) January 25, 2026

Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State are all ranked in the top-10 nationally, and currently the top three teams in the Big Ten standings this year. Struggling shouldn't come as a surprise, but losing all six games by a combined score of 8-22 is alarming.

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The last time Minnesota finished below .500 was the 2009-10 season, when they had an 18-19-2 record. The last time before that came in 1998-99, when they went 15-19-9 in Doug Woog's last season as head coach. That was his second straight campaign below .500.

At 8-16-1, the Gophers have only 10 regular-season games left on their schedule. They would have to win 9 of their last 10 games to head into the Big Ten tournament with a record above .500. This season's team isn't just a down year, it's one of the worst teams in modern program history.

Minnesota has never dipped below 15 wins since legendary head coach Herb Brooks was hired in 197-73. The worst season since moving into 3M Arena at Mariucci came in 1997-98 with a 17-22 record. With another challenging series looming against No. 5 Wisconsin next weekend at home, it could get worse before it gets better.

This season is arguably the best in Big Ten hockey history since the conference was created before the 2013-14 season. Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin are all ranked within the top 10 nationall, and look like potential National Championship contenders. The Gophers are 4-10 in conference play above Ohio State and Notre Dame in the standings, but nowhere near contention for a regular-season crown.

It feels like Gophers head coach Bob Motzko has built enough goodwill to have job security through one bad season, but things seem to only be getting worse. He has led Minnesota to a pair of Frozen Fours and five straight seasons with 20 or more wins. A coaching change would feel like a rash decision that a program only makes with a clear replacement waiting, and that doesn't seem to be the case. The criticism is only going to get louder if the losses continue to pile up.