University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 29
Denver, CO (Ball Arena)
8:00 PM
University of Minnesota
7-9-1
6
at
5
Denver
9-5-1
1
2
3
OT 1
F
Minnesota
1
2
2
1
6
Denver
1
0
4
0
5
Team Stats
MIN
DEN
Shots
25
52
PPG
2
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
3
Penalty Mins
6
6
Faceoffs Won
31
47
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
2
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
5
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Moore's OT Heroics Push 'U' to Upset of No. 4 Denver
11/29/2025 11:45:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Six goal scorers Saturday in U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame win at Denver
DENVER - Javon Moore delivered the overtime winner as the Minnesota men's hockey team knocked off No. 4 Denver, 6-5, in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Saturday night at Ball Arena. The freshman scored with 35 seconds left in the extra session, capping a memorable night in which three rookies found the back of the net and the Golden Gophers earned their second top-five upset in eight days.
Minnesota (7-9-1 overall, 3-3-0 B1G) never trailed the Pioneers (9-5-1 overall, 5-1-0 NCHC), who entered the matchup winning six of their previous seven, but still had to withstand a frantic comeback in the third period to secure the victory. Goaltender Luca Di Pasquo finished the night by making a career-high 47 saves.
The Gophers opened with energy, jumping ahead just 1:48 into the contest. Tate Pritchard buried a rebound off a long-range Moore shot, finishing a play that began with a crisp outlet pass from Cal Thomas. Denver responded with a sustained push, but Di Pasquo held firm during a heavy stretch of pressure. Minnesota killed the night's first penalty before a second late-period infraction allowed Denver to even the score. The Pioneers converted on their 25th shot of the frame, tying the game on a one-timer with 23 seconds left in the first.
Minnesota regrouped to start the second stanza and generated an early push before the home side forced the Gophers into a defensive stand. Di Pasquo responded again with a series of key saves, giving Minnesota the chance to regain momentum. That opportunity came when Brody Lamb took a feed from Beckett Hendrickson, cut to the slot, and ripped a shot through traffic to restore the lead at 2-1.
Moore nearly extended the margin moments later when his speed through the neutral zone caused two Pioneer skaters to collide. The surge resulted in Minnesota's first power play, and the Gophers capitalized when Brodie Ziemer buried a low blocker-side wrister at the 18:52 mark, giving Minnesota a 3-1 advantage heading into the third.
What followed was a wild, six-goal final period. Early chances for both sides hit iron, including bids from Lamb and Luke Mittelstadt, before Denver struck at 4:11, converting a rebound to pull within one. The Maroon and Gold answered quickly as Hendrickson forced a turnover behind the net and fed Jimmy Clark for a quick finish, pushing the lead to 4-2 at 5:49. Denver countered less than a minute later with a redirected shot and later tied the game, 4-4, midway through the frame.
With under five minutes left in regulation, Axel Begley drew a penalty, and Minnesota went to just its second man advantage. While falling to the ice, Ziemer sent a behind-the-back pass to LJ Mooney, who hammered home the go-ahead goal with 3:22 remaining. Denver refused to fade and scored again with an extra attacker on the ice and just 23 seconds showing on the clock to force overtime.
In the extra session, Di Pasquo delivered a crucial stop to settle the Gophers. Then, inside the final minute, Moore collected a neutral-zone pass from Thomas, sliced around a defender, and fired home the decisive shot from the left circle, securing a thrilling 6-5 upset and a signature win for the Maroon and Gold.
Noteworthy
Di Pasquo turned away a career-best 47 shots, his third time making 30 or more saves in the last five outings, including a 24-save first period ... Lamb put home his team-leading eighth goal before adding a pair of assists for his fifth multi-point outing of 2025-26, reaching 16 points overall ... The senior captain got his first chance to skate against his father Jeff's alma mater, who played 139 games for the Pioneers from 1983-87 ... After Moore had his four-game point streak snapped last Saturday, the freshman returned to the scoresheet with his sixth helper and third goal, and has seven points over his last six outings ... It was the Carver, Minn., native's second multi-point outing in his last three contests ... Ziemer matched Lamb's team-leading goal total, lighting the lamp for the eighth time, fifth on the power play to tie for seventh in the NCAA ... The sophomore added an assist to hit 14 points ... Mooney put together his third game with multiple points as his goal and assist Saturday stretched the freshman's point streak to four games ... For the first time since Oct. 25, Pritchard found the back of the net and tallied his first road goal of the year to reach three goals and five points overall ... Clark scored his third goal of the campaign, all of which came over the past six appearances, to also reach 10 points ... Thomas secured his first point since Oct. 18 during a two-assist night, recording his third and fourth assists this season ... Hendrickson continues to chip in offensively as he picked up his third multi-point effort this year, and became the fifth Gopher to reach double digits on his seventh and eighth assists ... Minnesota converted both of its power-play opportunities, while holding the Pioneers to 1-for-2 on the man advantage ... The Gophers had dropped each of their last five appearances in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game since defeating Denver in 2004 ... The Pioneers are the first Minnesota opponent to post 50 or more shots on goal since Wisconsin had 50 on Mar. 16, 2020.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Crazy things happen in the sport, and we'll take it," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "Our goaltender, not many times you're going to give up five goals, you think he was the best player; and he was our best player tonight. In Denver, they're one of the best teams we've seen this year. And we grew up in this game."
Next Up: Away at Ohio State (Dec. 4-5)
Minnesota closes its first half of the schedule with a Big Ten Conference road trip to Columbus, Ohio, for a matchup against the Buckeyes. Both games will be televised on Big Ten Network and streaming on the Fox Sports app along with radio coverage through the Gopher Radio Network 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.
Minnesota (7-9-1 overall, 3-3-0 B1G) never trailed the Pioneers (9-5-1 overall, 5-1-0 NCHC), who entered the matchup winning six of their previous seven, but still had to withstand a frantic comeback in the third period to secure the victory. Goaltender Luca Di Pasquo finished the night by making a career-high 47 saves.
The Gophers opened with energy, jumping ahead just 1:48 into the contest. Tate Pritchard buried a rebound off a long-range Moore shot, finishing a play that began with a crisp outlet pass from Cal Thomas. Denver responded with a sustained push, but Di Pasquo held firm during a heavy stretch of pressure. Minnesota killed the night's first penalty before a second late-period infraction allowed Denver to even the score. The Pioneers converted on their 25th shot of the frame, tying the game on a one-timer with 23 seconds left in the first.
Minnesota regrouped to start the second stanza and generated an early push before the home side forced the Gophers into a defensive stand. Di Pasquo responded again with a series of key saves, giving Minnesota the chance to regain momentum. That opportunity came when Brody Lamb took a feed from Beckett Hendrickson, cut to the slot, and ripped a shot through traffic to restore the lead at 2-1.
Moore nearly extended the margin moments later when his speed through the neutral zone caused two Pioneer skaters to collide. The surge resulted in Minnesota's first power play, and the Gophers capitalized when Brodie Ziemer buried a low blocker-side wrister at the 18:52 mark, giving Minnesota a 3-1 advantage heading into the third.
What followed was a wild, six-goal final period. Early chances for both sides hit iron, including bids from Lamb and Luke Mittelstadt, before Denver struck at 4:11, converting a rebound to pull within one. The Maroon and Gold answered quickly as Hendrickson forced a turnover behind the net and fed Jimmy Clark for a quick finish, pushing the lead to 4-2 at 5:49. Denver countered less than a minute later with a redirected shot and later tied the game, 4-4, midway through the frame.
With under five minutes left in regulation, Axel Begley drew a penalty, and Minnesota went to just its second man advantage. While falling to the ice, Ziemer sent a behind-the-back pass to LJ Mooney, who hammered home the go-ahead goal with 3:22 remaining. Denver refused to fade and scored again with an extra attacker on the ice and just 23 seconds showing on the clock to force overtime.
In the extra session, Di Pasquo delivered a crucial stop to settle the Gophers. Then, inside the final minute, Moore collected a neutral-zone pass from Thomas, sliced around a defender, and fired home the decisive shot from the left circle, securing a thrilling 6-5 upset and a signature win for the Maroon and Gold.
Noteworthy
Di Pasquo turned away a career-best 47 shots, his third time making 30 or more saves in the last five outings, including a 24-save first period ... Lamb put home his team-leading eighth goal before adding a pair of assists for his fifth multi-point outing of 2025-26, reaching 16 points overall ... The senior captain got his first chance to skate against his father Jeff's alma mater, who played 139 games for the Pioneers from 1983-87 ... After Moore had his four-game point streak snapped last Saturday, the freshman returned to the scoresheet with his sixth helper and third goal, and has seven points over his last six outings ... It was the Carver, Minn., native's second multi-point outing in his last three contests ... Ziemer matched Lamb's team-leading goal total, lighting the lamp for the eighth time, fifth on the power play to tie for seventh in the NCAA ... The sophomore added an assist to hit 14 points ... Mooney put together his third game with multiple points as his goal and assist Saturday stretched the freshman's point streak to four games ... For the first time since Oct. 25, Pritchard found the back of the net and tallied his first road goal of the year to reach three goals and five points overall ... Clark scored his third goal of the campaign, all of which came over the past six appearances, to also reach 10 points ... Thomas secured his first point since Oct. 18 during a two-assist night, recording his third and fourth assists this season ... Hendrickson continues to chip in offensively as he picked up his third multi-point effort this year, and became the fifth Gopher to reach double digits on his seventh and eighth assists ... Minnesota converted both of its power-play opportunities, while holding the Pioneers to 1-for-2 on the man advantage ... The Gophers had dropped each of their last five appearances in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game since defeating Denver in 2004 ... The Pioneers are the first Minnesota opponent to post 50 or more shots on goal since Wisconsin had 50 on Mar. 16, 2020.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"Crazy things happen in the sport, and we'll take it," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "Our goaltender, not many times you're going to give up five goals, you think he was the best player; and he was our best player tonight. In Denver, they're one of the best teams we've seen this year. And we grew up in this game."
Next Up: Away at Ohio State (Dec. 4-5)
Minnesota closes its first half of the schedule with a Big Ten Conference road trip to Columbus, Ohio, for a matchup against the Buckeyes. Both games will be televised on Big Ten Network and streaming on the Fox Sports app along with radio coverage through the Gopher Radio Network 1130 KTLK-AM/103.5 FM.
Highlights: Gophers 5, Ohio State 6
Friday, December 05
Highlights: Gophers 6, Ohio State 3
Thursday, December 04
Highlights: Gophers 6, Denver 5
Saturday, November 29
Highlights: Gophers 1, Penn State 2
Saturday, November 22