Gophers Close 2025 at Ohio State Dec. 4-5

MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gophers men's hockey team plays their final games of the 2025 calendar year Dec. 4-5 when they travel to Ohio State for a Big Ten Conference series against the Buckeyes.

Both games of the final series before an extended holiday break will be aired live on Big Ten Network. The opening battle is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) Thursday before the finale at 5 p.m. (CT) on Friday evening from Value City Arena. Audio coverage will air on the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.

LAST TIME ON THE ICE
Javon Moore buried the overtime winner to lift Minnesota past No. 4 Denver, 6-5, in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Saturday night at Ball Arena. The freshman's strike with 35 seconds left in the extra session capped a standout night that saw three rookies score as the Gophers claimed their second top-five upset in eight days. Minnesota never trailed and twice held a two-goal margin but had to survive a late Denver push in the third period to close out the win. Luca Di Pasquo backstopped the effort with a career-high 47 saves and Brody Lamb matched his career best behind three points to lead the offense.

YOUNG GOPHERS MAKING MAJOR IMPACT
Minnesota's rookies have made a significant impact, posting 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists through the season's first two months. The group combined for six points in Saturday's upset of Denver, including three goals and the overtime winner, and contributed offensively in 13 of 17 games. LJ Mooney leads the class with 13 points, including eight on the power play. Javon Moore's seven points over his past six outings has pushed his total to nine, while Mason Moe and Tate Pritchard have six and five points, respectively. Teddy Townsend and Jacob Rombach recorded their first collegiate points against Long Island (Nov. 15) and Finn McLaughlin tallied an assist in his NCAA debut versus Michigan Tech (Oct. 3).

OVERTIME HERO EARNS MOORE B1G STAR
Javon Moore played the role of overtime hero for the Maroon and Gold in its upset at the fourth-ranked Pioneers last Saturday, scoring with just 35 seconds left in the extra session. The freshman's first collegiate game winner capped a two-point night and earned him B1G Second Star of the Week honors. A native of Carver, Minn., Moore has seven points and is a plus-5 over his last six outings, including a pair of multi-point efforts that sparked top-five upsets of Penn State and Denver.

MOONEY MAGIC
LJ Mooney's breakaway goal to close the sweep of the Fighting Irish on Nov. 8 highlighted the speed and skill of the Gophers' rookie. It was the first multi-point night of his young career, and he has followed that up with a pair of two-point performances versus Long Island (Nov. 15) and Denver (Nov. 29) during his four-game point streak. The West Mifflin, Pa., native has at least one point in eight of nine series played, totaling four goals and nine assists, including tying for the team lead of eight points on Minnesota's 10 total power-play goals.

LUCA A SHUTOUT STAR
Luca Di Pasquo stopped 52-of-53 shots he faced to lead the Gophers to a series sweep of Notre Dame and was named the B1G Second Star of the Week (Nov. 11). The Livonia, Mich., native recorded his first shutout with the Maroon and Gold, third of his career, and also added an assist in the third period for the first point of his NCAA career. The junior continued that trend by making 33 saves in the series finale against the Irish before backstopping Minnesota with a brilliant, 47-save performance to secure an upset over No. 4 Denver (Nov. 29). Di Pasquo has made 30 or more stops in three of his last five outings after his career high versus the Pioneers.

SPECIAL TEAMS ROLLERCOASTER
Special teams have played a defining role in Minnesota's early-season highs and lows. After striking seven times on the power play over their last four outings, the Gophers have risen to 23rd nationally, but remain just 62nd on the penalty kill, ranking second-to-last in efficiency. Their 5-on-4 unit has surged for seven goals in the last 13 chances, with Brody Lamb, LJ Mooney, and Brodie Ziemer on the ice for all 11 power-play goals this season following Mooney's first and Ziemer's fifth of the year in a 2-for-2 effort at Denver. The margin is stark: when Minnesota keeps opponents off the board on the man advantage, it holds a 5-1-0 record, but the Gophers are just 2-8-1 when allowing a power-play goal. Historically, Minnesota has averaged 17.5 power-play goals against over the last four seasons, including a program-record low of 15 allowed in 2021-22. Through 17 games this year, the Gophers have already conceded 17.

CLARK CALLING THE SHOTS
With six points over his last nine appearances, Jimmy Clark has found ways to produce in the offensive zone for the Maroon and Gold. The junior is tied for fifth on the Gophers with 10 points thanks to his second multi-point outing of the season versus Notre Dame (Nov. 8) and goals in three of the last four Saturday outings, including the second power-play marker of his tenure that proved to be the game winner against the Sharks (Nov. 15).

AN INSIDE LOOK AT OHIO STATE
After a 4-2-0 start, the Buckeyes have hit a difficult stretch over the past month, dropping seven of their last eight games against a demanding schedule. Three of those losses came in overtime, including both games of last weekend's series at Arizona State. Ohio State owns the B1G's lowest power-play percentage, though their 21.3 percent mark still ranks 26th nationally, and their penalty kill has handled 82.8 percent of opposing chances. Adam Eisele leads the team with seven goals and shares the scoring lead at 11 points alongside Felix Caron and Jake Karabela. In net, Kristoffer Eberly has started 12 of 14 games, posting a 5-7-0 record with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage, highlighted by a shutout of Sacred Heart on Oct. 25.

HISTORY WITH THE BUCKEYES
Minnesota has dominated the all-time series over Ohio State, holding a 47-11-6 record (.781) after winning the season series 3-1-0 last year. The Gophers are 18-3-1 in meetings between the two teams going back to the start of 2020, including a 7-2-1 mark in games played at Value City Arena. A season ago, Connor Kurth and Luke Mittelstadt each had five points versus the Buckeyes and Liam Souliere went 3-0-0 in goal and posted a 1.53 goals-against average after stopping 79-of-84 shots he faced. Mike Koster scored a pair of power-play goals in the Saturday matchup to help split the series at OSU during a 6-1 victory on Jan. 11, 2025.

USA PRELIMINARY WJC ROSTER
Three players with ties to the program were named to the Team USA preliminary roster for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship. Current Gophers LJ Mooney and Brodie Ziemer, along with signed prospect Jacob Kvasnicka, will take part in the team's camp from Dec. 15-23 in Duluth, Minn. The final roster is expected to be announced on Dec. 24 with the tournament taking place Dec. 26, 2025 - Jan. 5, 2026. The Maroon and Gold have been represented by at least one player at the event in 46 of the 49 years it has been played, including 11 players that have claimed a gold medal. Head coach Bob Motzko will lead Team USA at the championships for the third time in his career as he coached the U.S. to gold in 2017 and bronze in 2018. He will be joined on the bench by Gophers' associate head coach Steve Miller, director of operations Jacob LeRoy, and athletic trainer Jeff Winslow.

GAUNTLET RUN FROM START TO FINISH
Minnesota's 2025-26 regular-season slate will once again be among the nation's toughest. Of the Gophers' 35 scheduled games, 25 come against teams that were ranked in the USCHO preseason poll, with eight more against opponents that received votes. Through nine weeks, the schedule is the most difficult in the country and will remain a challenge through the meat of Big Ten Conference play where the league has the top three teams in the national polls. Minnesota is no stranger to difficult schedules, having battled the nation's No. 4 strength of schedule in 2023-24 and the No. 2 schedule the year before. Even last year's "dip" to the No. 19 toughest schedule still placed the Gophers among the most battle-tested teams in the country.

RAISED ANOTHER BANNER
Minnesota raised a championship banner to its rafters last week after securing a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship a year ago, its league-record seventh title in program history and the 30th overall crown for the Gophers. It marked the first shared regular-season championship in the 12-year history of the conference and Minnesota's third title in the last four seasons. Michigan State joined the Maroon and Gold as the only programs with multiple championships, while every Big Ten school except Michigan has claimed at least one title.

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Players Mentioned

Jimmy Clark

Luca Di Pasquo

Mike Koster

Connor Kurth

Brody Lamb

Finn McLaughlin

Luke Mittelstadt

Mason Moe

LJ Mooney

Javon Moore

Tate Pritchard

Jacob Rombach

Liam Souliere

Teddy Townsend

Brodie Ziemer