Minnesota–Wisconsin ice hockey rivalry
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The Minnesota–Wisconsin ice hockey rivalry is an intercollegiate ice hockey rivalry[1] between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers. An extension of the broader rivalry between the two schools, which includes the Paul Bunyan's Axe football game, the rivalry series is between two of the most successful in collegiate hockey. Including results from both men's and woman's play, the programs have combined for 23 NCAA titles and 59 Frozen Four appearances over their histories. The men's programs compete in the Big Ten Conference, while the women's programs have resided in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) since the National Collegiate Athletic Association first began to sponsor the sport for women.

Men's ice hockey

Series history

Minnesota–Wisconsin men's ice hockey rivalry
First meetingJanuary 20, 1922
Minnesota 3, Wisconsin 0
Latest meetingOctober 27, 2023
Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 2
Statistics
Meetings total309
All-time seriesMinnesota leads, 182–103–24
Largest victoryMinnesota, 12–2 (1922)
Longest win streakMinnesota, 12 (1931–1965)
Longest unbeaten streakMinnesota, 24 (1922–1927)
Current win streakWisconsin, 3 (2023–present)

The rivalry has its origins in informal play beginning in 1922, before halting 12 years later. The rivalry[2] was revived in 1965 with Wisconsin resuming its sponsoring of the sport. In the 1981 season, the teams met for their first and only matchups to-date for the national championship. After three periods, the Badgers topped the Gophers by a score of 6 to 3 under head coach Bob Johnson. After competing together in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association since 1999,[3] both teams moved to their all-sports home, the Big Ten Conference, in anticipation of the 2013–14 season as part of widespread NCAA realignment in hockey.[4] While questions surrounded the continuation of many of the rivals' other historic series,[5] such as North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, their rivalry with each other continued uninterrupted. As of the end of the 2020–21 season, Minnesota leads the series 176–99–24.[6]

Rival accomplishments

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[6][7]

Team Minnesota Golden Gophers Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA National Titles 5 6
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances 21 12*
NCAA Tournament Appearances 37 26*
NCAA Tournament Record 55–38 40–23–2*
Conference Tournament Titles 15 13
Conference Championships 18 3
Hobey Baker Award Winners 4 2
All-Americans 65 40
All-time Program Record 1831–1049–201 1231–825–152
All-time Winning Percentage .627 .592
  • Wisconsin vacated results from the 1992 NCAA tournament

Game results

Minnesota victoriesWisconsin victoriesTie games

Women's ice hockey

Series history

Minnesota–Wisconsin women's ice hockey rivalry
First meetingNovember 19, 1999
Minnesota 7, Wisconsin 4
Latest meetingMarch 17, 2023
Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 2
Next meetingMarch 17, 2023
Statistics
Meetings total120
All-time seriesMinnesota, 57–47–16
Largest victoryMinnesota, 11–3 (2000)
Longest win streakMinnesota, 14 (2012–2015)
Longest unbeaten streakMinnesota, 18 (2011–2015)
Current win streakWisconsin, 1 (2023–present)

Since women's ice hockey became an NCAA sport, the two have been the flagpole programs, with frequent Top-5 meetings[8] and matchups in the NCAA tournament and three national championships.[9] The rivalry[10] is fueled by the local nature of its players; in 2019, 24 players on the two rosters hailed from either Minnesota or Wisconsin.[11] After the Gophers prevailed in the 2019 national title, the last four matchups featured No. 1 versus No. 2.[12] The most recent matchups featured #2 Minnesota visiting the top-ranked Badgers,[13] as Wisconsin took both of the two game set. As of the end of the 2020–21 season, Minnesota leads the series 53–44–13.[14]

Rival accomplishments

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[15][14]

Team Minnesota Golden Gophers Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA National Titles 6 7
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances 14 12
NCAA Tournament Appearances 19 13
NCAA Tournament Record 26–11 25–8
Conference Tournament Titles 7 8
Conference Championships 10 8
Patty Kazmaier Award Winners 3 5
All-Americans 40 33
All-time Program Record 680–143–56 602–141–58
All-time Winning Percentage .805 .788

Game results

Minnesota victoriesWisconsin victoriesTie games

References

  1. Baker, Katie (2012-11-28). "Where Hockey Endures". Grantland. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  2. Rand, Michael. "Hockey rivalry takes uncivil form in series at Wisconsin". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  3. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (March 21, 2011). "Minnesota, Wisconsin to leave WCHA for Big Ten. What does it all mean?". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  4. Santaniello, Gary (2017-11-02). "Big Ten Hockey, at Age 5, Learns That Rivalries Are Hard to Manufacture (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  5. Staff, Pioneer (March 21, 2011). "Minnesota, Wisconsin hockey programs to leave WCHA for Big Ten". Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  6. 1 2 "MHK Media Guide 2019 20 (PDF)" (PDF). University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  7. "201920 HKY Fact Book (PDF)" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  8. Berkman, Seth (2017-03-10). "Wisconsin and Minnesota Await Latest Round in Ice-Melting Rivalry (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  9. "Rivals Minnesota, Wisconsin to play for women's hockey championship". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  10. Milewski, Todd D. "Ahead of rivalry series, Wisconsin Badgers pass Minnesota for top spot in national women's hockey rankings". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  11. Whitmore, Will. "Women's Hockey: Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry best in college sports". The Badger Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  12. "More than a Border Battle: No. 2 Gophers face No. 1 Badgers in key women's hockey series". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  13. Myers, Jess (January 23, 2020). "Here we go again as No. 2 Gophers visit top-ranked Badgers". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  14. 1 2 "2019 20 WHKY Recordbook FINAL (PDF)" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  15. "Archives". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
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