2024-25 Review:

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers finished the 2025-26 season with a 25-11-4 record, which was good enough to share the regular season Big 10 title with Michigan State. They did not fare as well in the Big 10 Tournament nor the NCAA Tournament losing in the first round of each to Notre Dame and The University of Massachusetts, respectively.

Key Departures:

The Golden Gophers lose their top 3 scorers from the 2024-25 season, including Jimmy Snuggerud. After finishing the season with 24 goals and 27 assists in 40 games, Snuggerud moved on to finish out the NHL season with the St. Louis Blues, who drafted him in the 1st round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Snuggerud finished the remainder of the NHL season with 1 goal and 3 assists in 7 regular season games in addition to 2 goals and 2 assists in 7 playoff games. The other two tops scorers include Connor Kurth (18 goals, 21 assists), who is moving on to play in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization and Matthew Wood (17 goals, 22 assists) is moving on to play in the Nashville Predators organization.

Next Men Up:

The Golden Gophers did not bring in any players from the CHL this past summer, electing to bring in true freshmen along with a couple transfers from other NCAA schools. 18 year old Jacob Rombach leads the way, coming from the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. Rombach scored 18 points and had a +29 +/-. the 6'6" defenseman was drafted 35th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. The Golden Gophers also added a pair of 2025 NHL drafted forwards in Mason Moe and L.J. Mooney.

The Road Ahead:

The Golden Gophers have become a much younger team with their new additions and the departure of some of their prominent veterans. Time will tell if this will be a competitive year for the team, but at worst, I can see this being a season of development, with the team becoming stronger each of the next couple of years, and becoming a top contender for a national title. The Golden Gophers began their season last night with a 6-3 victory against Michigan Tech. Their next game is tonight, also against Michigan Tech. Puck drop is expected at 7PM Central time.

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2025-26 Preview: Michigan State University <b>2024-25 Review:</b>