Bob Motzko’s initial trip to the NCAA Frozen Four as head coach at Minnesota came three years ago, when the Gophers beat UMass and Western Michigan at the regional level to reach college hockey’s biggest weekend.

His second Frozen Four trip with the Gophers came two years ago, when Minnesota won a pair of games in Fargo and advanced, eventually reaching the national title game. Gophers fans are hopeful that combining those two examples from recent history will mean another chance for Minnesota to play in April.

The Gophers, seeded fifth nationally, will open NCAA tournament play on Thursday at Scheels Arena in Fargo, facing UMass at 7:30 p.m. CT, televised by ESPN2. The early game of the Fargo Regional will see Western Michigan play Minnesota State Mankato at 4 p.m. The Fargo regional semifinal winners play on Saturday with a trip to the Frozen Four at stake.

For Minnesota (25-10-4 overall) it is the fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA’s 16-team tournament field. They fell to Boston University in the Sioux Falls regional final a year ago. Friday’s game versus UMass will break a long layoff for the Gophers, who last played a game on Sunday, March 9, when they were upset by Notre Dame in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament. The Gophers had an automatic bid to the NCAA field after winning a share of the Big Ten regular season title.

For UMass (20-13-5), it is the fourth NCAA tournament appearance of the decade. The Minutemen blanked St. Cloud State to win their first and only national title in 2021.

Minnesota State also had an auto bid, having won the CCHA regular season and tournament titles. The Mavericks (27-8-3) are led offensively by former Gophers forward Rhett Pitlick, who transferred to the southern Minnesota school in September. MSU is making its sixth appearance in the last seven NCAA tournaments (the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic) and the first under head coach Luke Strand, who took over the program in 2023.

They will face a red hot Western Michigan team coached by Rochester, Minn., native Pat Ferschweiler which is coming off winning the NCHC regular season and tournament titles. The Broncos (30-7-1) are led offensively by former Minnesota prep stars Alex Bump (Prior Lake) and Grant Slukynsky (Warroad) and backstopped by Grant’s younger brother Hampton, who was named Minnesota’s top prep goalie two years ago.

The other three regionals have top-seeded Boston College facing Bentley and Providence facing defending national champion Denver in Manchester, N.H., on Friday; second seed Michigan State – which won Big Ten regular season and tournament titles – facing Cornell and Boston University facing Ohio State in Toledo, Ohio on Thursday; and Maine facing Penn State, then UConn facing Quinnipiac in Allentown, Pa., on Friday. Bentley, a small private school located in suburban Boston, and UConn are making the first-ever NCAA tournament appearances for either program.

The national semifinals and title game will be played April 10th and 12th at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Gophers, who are seeking their 24th all-time Frozen Four trip, have won five NCAA titles, the most recent in 2003.

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