Michigan–Minnesota men's ice hockey rivalry

The Michigan–Minnesota men's ice hockey rivalry is a college ice hockey rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey and Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey programs. The first meeting between the two occurred on January 22, 1923 and is an extension of the long-standing conference rivalry between the two.

History
Shortly after the end of World War I, college ice hockey began to expand into the Midwest. both Michigan and Minnesota began fielding unofficial team in the early-1920s with the latter officially recognizing the sport in 1921. The following year Michigan began sponsoring ice hockey as well and the two were the only three Big Ten teams to support such programs (the other being Wisconsin). Minnesota was the dominant western team during the 20s and 30s, routinely winning the championship. however, Michigan served as the team's main foil during this period, winning three titles themselves.

Both teams continued to operate through the duration of World War II but it was Michigan who came to the fore afterwards. Led by former star player Vic Heyliger, the Wolverines won six National Championships in nine years, defeating Minnesota in the 1953 NCAA tournament. During this period, both teams were founding members of the MCHL, however, a disagreement over recruitment caused the conference to collapse in 1958. In the aftermath, Michigan, Minnesota and Michigan State formed an informal Big Ten conference but that was rendered superfluous when the previous MCHL members all reconvened and formed the WCHA. in 1959.

Michigan flagged in the late 60s and in the wake of their deprivation, Minnesota surged to the top. The Gophers won three titles in the 70s as the rivalry cooled. In 1981, Michigan was one of four teams to leave the WCHA, ending the conference rivalry between the two. Minnesota remained one of the top teams in college hockey for the next 20 years while Michigan slowly rebuilt the program. By the early 90s both were routinely making NCAA tournament appearances and eventually met for one of the most iconic games in NCAA history. The two faced off in the 1996 quarterfinals and Mike Legg scored the infamous Michigan goal. The Wolverines won the game and went on to win their 8th national championship that year. The rekindling of the rivalry also coincided with the founding of the College Hockey Showcase, a series between the four Big Ten teams that had previously been rivals in the WCHA. During the 17 years that it was held, Michigan and Minnesota dominated the series.

The two would meet again in the 1997 tournament but it was not until 2002 that Minnesota was finally able to defeat Michigan in the tournament. The Gophers beat Michigan in the Frozen Four before going on to win their fourth national title. Minnesota then repeated the performance the following season for their fifth championship.

In 2011, after the return of Penn State's ice hockey program, the Big Ten announced that they would finally be sponsoring ice hockey as a conference sport. Michigan and Minnesota once more became conference rivals and soon rose to the top of the league. In ten seasons, the two have met in the conference championship game four times with Michigan winning three of those meetings.

Game results
Full game results for the rivalry, with rankings beginning in the 1995–96 season.