University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 6
3M Arena at Mariucci
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
11-21-3, 7-15-2
3
vs
3
Michigan State
25-7-2, 16-6-2
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
Michigan St.
2
1
0
0
0
3
Minnesota
1
2
0
0
0
3
Team Stats
MSU
MIN
Shots
34
35
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
2
Penalty Mins
6
4
Faceoffs Won
41
28
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Defense
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Men's HockeyForward
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
Photo by: Matt Krohn
'U' Sends Seniors out in Style with Shootout Win
3/6/2026 11:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Gophers tie No. 2/3 Spartans Friday in regular-season finale
MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gophers men's hockey team sent out their senior class in style with a shootout victory over No. 2/3 Michigan State in a 3-3 tie from 3M Arena at Mariucci Friday night in the final game of the 2025-26 regular season.
Minnesota (11-21-3 overall, 7-15-2 B1G, 27 points) erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime against the B1G-champion Spartans (25-7-2 overall, 16-6-2 B1G, 51 points). LJ Mooney and Javon Moore scored in the 1-on-1 and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo denied two MSU attempts for the Gophers' third-straight shootout win.
Senior goaltender Zach Wiese earned the starting nod for the Maroon and Gold in his first official game action since arriving on campus and immediately made a save before exiting to an ovation from the Gopher faithful. After Di Pasquo took over in goal, the visitors moved to a power play that was quickly erased by Minnesota thanks to a pair of pad stops.
At the 6:11 mark, Mooney forced a turnover at the defensive blue line and Mason Moe pushed the attack up ice before dropping a pass to Brodie Ziemer. The sophomore pulled a patented toe-drag around the MSU defender and wired a shot past the netminder, giving the Gophers an early 1-0 edge.
The Spartans pulled even three minutes later, knocking home a rebound out of midair with 9:20 to play in the first frame. With time winding down on the scoreboard, the visitors scored again with just 33 seconds remaining to take a 2-1 edge at intermission.
MSU made it a two-goal margin less than five minutes into the second stanza, tapping home a loose puck at the back post. The Gophers battled back and used a faceoff win from Erik Påhlsson in the offensive zone to gain possession, eventually closing the gap to 3-2. Teddy Townsend was knocked to the ice but managed to get the puck over to Beckett Hendrickson and the sophomore tucked in a wraparound try at 6:35.
Seconds after making it a one-score contest, Minnesota went to its first man advantage as the energy level picked up inside 3M Arena at Mariucci. The opportunity was wiped away despite quality chances on target, leading to continued zone time where Finn McLaughlin jumped into the play for a bid from the left circle. A penalty to the Gophers gave MSU another power play and the penalty kill delivered again with blocked shots and timely saves by Di Pasquo.
Momentum from the successful stop led to the Maroon and Gold finding the equalizer with 2:51 left in the frame. Ziemer started the attack, chipping a puck ahead to Moe at center ice. He found fellow freshman Mooney, who fed a pass back to Moe where he cut to the slot and buried a shot over the MSU goalie's pad. The Gophers were able to generate a 2-on-1 in the final minutes of the frame only to have Townsend's shot narrowly missed and it remained a 3-3 game heading into the third.
The final frame was a battle up and down the ice with neither side able to break through and sent the matchup into overtime, tied 3-3. An undisciplined penalty by MSU in the extra session gave the Gophers a 4-on-3 chance to seal the game but could not find the winner. The game went into a shootout where the home side sent the fans home happy, winning 2-1.
Noteworthy
Ziemer stretched his team-leading goal total to 23 to go with his 13th assist and now has 36 points overall to finish the regular season at more than a point-per-game pace behind 19 tallies in the past 23 appearances ... The Chaska, Minn., product opened the scoring for the sixth time in a game in 2025-26 and has found the back of the net in 14-consecutive series on his ninth multi-point game this year ... He never went more than two games in the regular season without adding his name to the scoresheet ... Hendrickson put away his seventh tuck this year and scored for the second time over his last three appearances, registering 19 total points ... Inserted into the top line due to an injury, Moe made the most of his opportunity and picked up the secondary assist on the opening goal for his sixth helper before scoring his sixth goal, reaching 12 points overall ... It was the rookie's first collegiate game with multiple points ... Mooney secured his ninth multi-point effort of the campaign thanks to a pair of assists, increasing his team-best total to 23 and followed a similar trend to Ziemer by not going more than two games without a point ... The freshman now has 30 points for the year, the third Gopher to reach that mark ... For the first time since scoring a goal against Wisconsin on Jan. 30, Townsend recorded a point on his second helper ... Påhlsson continued his strong play of late and tallied his second assist in a three-game stretch and his eighth assist in total ... Di Pasquo ended the night by making 30 saves in 63 minutes, while Wiese stopped the only shot he faced in the first period ... The Gophers honored their five members of the senior class following the game Friday in Brody Lamb, John Mittelstadt, Luke Mittelstadt, Cal Thomas, and Zach Wiese along with student managers Gabe Rasmussen and Nate Warner ... The celebration also took place during the first intermission as members of the 1976 NCAA Championship team returned to campus.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"It was a heavyweight tilt tonight and you saw it. It prepares us now as we get onto the playoffs, and we have a chance again," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "Our young guys in big atmospheres like that; I can't emphasize enough how that's hardening our young group to play in big time games."
Next Up: Away vs. No. 6 Penn State - B1G Tournament Quarterfinals (Mar. 11)
Minnesota begins its postseason run presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union when it travels to face the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions in the opening game of the 2026 B1G Tournament. Fans can stream the contest live on B1G+ at 6 p.m. (CT) or tune into audio coverage through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Minnesota (11-21-3 overall, 7-15-2 B1G, 27 points) erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime against the B1G-champion Spartans (25-7-2 overall, 16-6-2 B1G, 51 points). LJ Mooney and Javon Moore scored in the 1-on-1 and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo denied two MSU attempts for the Gophers' third-straight shootout win.
Senior goaltender Zach Wiese earned the starting nod for the Maroon and Gold in his first official game action since arriving on campus and immediately made a save before exiting to an ovation from the Gopher faithful. After Di Pasquo took over in goal, the visitors moved to a power play that was quickly erased by Minnesota thanks to a pair of pad stops.
At the 6:11 mark, Mooney forced a turnover at the defensive blue line and Mason Moe pushed the attack up ice before dropping a pass to Brodie Ziemer. The sophomore pulled a patented toe-drag around the MSU defender and wired a shot past the netminder, giving the Gophers an early 1-0 edge.
The Spartans pulled even three minutes later, knocking home a rebound out of midair with 9:20 to play in the first frame. With time winding down on the scoreboard, the visitors scored again with just 33 seconds remaining to take a 2-1 edge at intermission.
MSU made it a two-goal margin less than five minutes into the second stanza, tapping home a loose puck at the back post. The Gophers battled back and used a faceoff win from Erik Påhlsson in the offensive zone to gain possession, eventually closing the gap to 3-2. Teddy Townsend was knocked to the ice but managed to get the puck over to Beckett Hendrickson and the sophomore tucked in a wraparound try at 6:35.
Seconds after making it a one-score contest, Minnesota went to its first man advantage as the energy level picked up inside 3M Arena at Mariucci. The opportunity was wiped away despite quality chances on target, leading to continued zone time where Finn McLaughlin jumped into the play for a bid from the left circle. A penalty to the Gophers gave MSU another power play and the penalty kill delivered again with blocked shots and timely saves by Di Pasquo.
Momentum from the successful stop led to the Maroon and Gold finding the equalizer with 2:51 left in the frame. Ziemer started the attack, chipping a puck ahead to Moe at center ice. He found fellow freshman Mooney, who fed a pass back to Moe where he cut to the slot and buried a shot over the MSU goalie's pad. The Gophers were able to generate a 2-on-1 in the final minutes of the frame only to have Townsend's shot narrowly missed and it remained a 3-3 game heading into the third.
The final frame was a battle up and down the ice with neither side able to break through and sent the matchup into overtime, tied 3-3. An undisciplined penalty by MSU in the extra session gave the Gophers a 4-on-3 chance to seal the game but could not find the winner. The game went into a shootout where the home side sent the fans home happy, winning 2-1.
Noteworthy
Ziemer stretched his team-leading goal total to 23 to go with his 13th assist and now has 36 points overall to finish the regular season at more than a point-per-game pace behind 19 tallies in the past 23 appearances ... The Chaska, Minn., product opened the scoring for the sixth time in a game in 2025-26 and has found the back of the net in 14-consecutive series on his ninth multi-point game this year ... He never went more than two games in the regular season without adding his name to the scoresheet ... Hendrickson put away his seventh tuck this year and scored for the second time over his last three appearances, registering 19 total points ... Inserted into the top line due to an injury, Moe made the most of his opportunity and picked up the secondary assist on the opening goal for his sixth helper before scoring his sixth goal, reaching 12 points overall ... It was the rookie's first collegiate game with multiple points ... Mooney secured his ninth multi-point effort of the campaign thanks to a pair of assists, increasing his team-best total to 23 and followed a similar trend to Ziemer by not going more than two games without a point ... The freshman now has 30 points for the year, the third Gopher to reach that mark ... For the first time since scoring a goal against Wisconsin on Jan. 30, Townsend recorded a point on his second helper ... Påhlsson continued his strong play of late and tallied his second assist in a three-game stretch and his eighth assist in total ... Di Pasquo ended the night by making 30 saves in 63 minutes, while Wiese stopped the only shot he faced in the first period ... The Gophers honored their five members of the senior class following the game Friday in Brody Lamb, John Mittelstadt, Luke Mittelstadt, Cal Thomas, and Zach Wiese along with student managers Gabe Rasmussen and Nate Warner ... The celebration also took place during the first intermission as members of the 1976 NCAA Championship team returned to campus.
Coach Motzko's Comments
"It was a heavyweight tilt tonight and you saw it. It prepares us now as we get onto the playoffs, and we have a chance again," Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko said. "Our young guys in big atmospheres like that; I can't emphasize enough how that's hardening our young group to play in big time games."
Next Up: Away vs. No. 6 Penn State - B1G Tournament Quarterfinals (Mar. 11)
Minnesota begins its postseason run presented by Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union when it travels to face the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions in the opening game of the 2026 B1G Tournament. Fans can stream the contest live on B1G+ at 6 p.m. (CT) or tune into audio coverage through the Gopher Radio Network 103.5 FM/AM-1130 KTLK.
Highlights: Gophers 2, Michigan 4
Friday, February 27
Highlights: Gophers 4, Michigan 2
Thursday, February 26
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 3
Saturday, February 14
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 2
Friday, February 13