Minnesota's season came to an end in the first round of the conference playoffs with a 4-1 loss to North Dakota in an intense, hard-hitting contest Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Gophers season ended with an 18-19-2 record as they miss the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five for just the second time in the history of the event and first time since 1998. Fifth-ranked North Dakota will advance to its eighth straight Final Five and is now 22-12-5 overall. It was just the second time in the last 33 years that Minnesota has lost in the opening round of the playoffs.