Gophers men's hockey jumps 3 spots to No. 1 in the national poll

Minnesota posted back-to-back shutouts against Michigan for the first time in 80 years.

Gophers hockey celebrates after a shutout win over Michigan. / Credit: Brad Rempel, University of Minnesot

The Golden Gophers men's hockey team is racing towards the holiday break and they very well could start 2025 as the No. 1 team in the nation.

After back-to-back shutout wins over No. 6 Michigan this past weekend, Minnesota vaulted up the rankings from No. 4 to No. 1 in the latest USCHO.com poll. The Gophers are 15-2-1 overall and a perfect 8-0-0 in Big Ten play.

Minnesota ripped the Wolverines 6-0 on Friday and followed up with a 2-0 victory on Saturday. It was the first time the Gophers have blanked Michigan in consecutive games since January 1943.

Liam Souliere had the 22-save shutout on Saturday. The graduate transfer has a 1.37 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage in eight starts this season.

Nathan Airey made 32 saves for the shutout in Friday's game. It was the sophomore goalie's first collegiate shutout and it improved his record this season to 9-0-1.

As good as the goaltending was, head coach Bob Motzko found himself applauding the overall defense.

"Our D-corps is our strength right now and really I mean they're elite," Motzko said Saturday. "It's really an elite group and we're pretty fortunate. You know, a lot of the bite was just after whistle stuff and you know, chippy stuff, but you've got to play through that. The object is to win the game, not win the fight after a whistle and our guys showed great resolve with that."

The table is now set for an incredible showdown between No. 1 Minnesota and No. 3 Michigan State Dec. 13-14 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. Michigan State dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the poll after splitting a pair of games with Wisconsin.

The Gopher women remain No. 3 in the USCHO.com poll. They routed St. Thomas in a pair of games Friday-Saturday and are now on holiday break until Jan. 1.