UMD sweep sends Gophers hockey tumbling in polls; time to panic?

Minnesota's men's hockey team is off to one of its worst starts in years.

Gophers veteran forward John Middlestadt fighting for the puck against UMD. | Picture credit: Kelly Lynn

Gophers men's hockey was swept by Minnesota-Duluth at home over the weekend, and they dropped from No. 12 to No. 18 in the latest United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) top 20 poll. Is it time to panic?

This season was expected to be a rebuilding year for Minnesota, but a 2-5-1 start is its worst since 2018-19, which was Bob Motzko's first as head coach. The Gophers' 1-4-1 record at home is their worst start in Minneapolis since the 1971-72 season. The calendar hasn't even hit November, and Minnesota already finds itself in quite a hole.

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The biggest thing the Gophers have going for themselves is their strength of schedule. They've already faced No. 8 North Dakota, No. 10 Minnesota-Duluth, No. 11 Boston College, and unranked Michigan Tech, which was fifth in the others receiving votes category of this week's poll. It's hard to find another college hockey team in the country that has faced stiffer competition.

Things will not get easier, as Minnesota is set to go on the road for a pair of games this weekend against No. 14 Wisconsin, which is 4-0-2 to start the season. The Gophers are 1-1 on the road so far this season, and it seems like they have to find a way to win at least one in Madison.

The Gophers' schedule lightens up to start November with a home series against Notre Dame, which has started the season 3-2-1, and Long Island University, which is 2-5. The gauntlet quickly returns with matchups against No. 4 Penn State and No. 6 Denver, before ending 2025 with a series at No. 17 Ohio State in December.

Minnesota has the talent, coaching staff and schedule to turn things around. There are plenty of opportunities for them to right the ship and get things back on track, but they've only won one game in regulation since the season-opener.

The Gophers have not missed the NCAA Tournament since 2018-19. Conference play has yet to even begin, but there are plenty of concerning trends through the first month of the season. Minnesota wasn't expected to have one of its best teams in recent memory this season, but it also wasn't expected to be on of the worst.

Minnesota will have a chance to get back on track with a game against the Badgers on Thursday night at the Kohl Center at 8 p.m. CT, and then game two will be at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.