The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is home to the Golden Gophers hockey team. The Gophers are part of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Golden Gopher team has a victorius hictory under their belt by winning the hockey Championship in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, and 2003.
In the past few years, the Gopher hockey recruiting emphasis has been on Minnesota high school players instead of out of state or out of country players. The Golden Gopher team prides itself with talent from their home state. This helps with keeping a sense of hometown, ‘Minnesota nice' feel that the dedicated fans bring to the spirit of the game. Minnesota Gopher Hockey fans are passionate about their team.
The current Mens Gopher hockey coach is Don Lucia. Under his coaching the Gophers have made it to the NCAA tournament the past 7 seasons. Other past coaches include Doug Woog and of course the legendary Herb Brroks from the 1980 Olympic team.
Currently, the Gophers Hockey team plays at the Mariucci Arena near the stadium villiage area of the U of M East Bank. Before the Mariucci Arena was home to the Gophers they played at the following:
• Minnesota State Fairgrounds Hippodrome (1923-1934)
• St. Paul Auditorium (1932-1950) (occasionally)
• Minneapolis Arena (1925-1950) (primary arena)
• Williams Arena/Old Mariucci Arena (1950-1993)
• Mariucci Arena (1993-present)
Upon the completion of the new Gopher Football TCF Stadium in Fall of 2009, it will mark a new leaf in the Gopher sports history. All major complexes for Gopher Hockey, Gopher Basketball, and Gopher Football will be in the same area of the University of Minnesota campus.
Gopher Hockey tickets are hard to come by, but local ticket brokers like Gopher Basketball Tickets.com has tickets to all Mariucci games and a lot of away games as well. The hottest games sell out fast as the Gopher Hockey team has a very loyal fan base. Be sure to buy Gopher Wisconsin Badger and Gopher Fighting Sioux tickets early -the Gopher hockey border battles are intense! Go Gophers!
