Gophers men’s hockey team opens NCAA Tournament against UMass in Fargo Regional

The University of Minnesota men’s hockey team was selected as a No. 2 seed for the national tournament (No. 5 overall seed) and will head to the NCAA Fargo Regional to begin its chase for a sixth national championship. The Golden Gophers will face the No. 3-seed Minutemen of UMass in the first game inside Scheels Arena on March 27 at 7:30 p.m. live on ESPN2.

Minnesota heads to its 42nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, the most of any college hockey program, extending a streak of five years at the postseason event. The Maroon and Gold own a 62-42 record (.596) in their previous trips to the national stage dating back to 1953 with its 62 wins the most in tournament history.

The Gophers enter the national stage behind a 25-10-4 mark this season and a record seventh Big Ten Conference regular season championship in the 12-year history of the league. Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist Jimmy Snuggerud paces the offensive attack with 49 points, while Connor Kurth and Matthew Wood have each tacked on a career-best 38 points. From his spot along the blue line, sophomore Sam Rinzel was named the Big Ten Conference Men’s Hockey Defensive Player of the Year thanks to a career-best 10 goals.