Minnesota–Wisconsin ice hockey rivalry

The Minnesota–Wisconsin ice hockey rivalry, often referred to as the Border Battle, is an intercollegiate ice hockey rivalry[1] between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers. An extension of the broader rivalry between the two schools, which includes the Paul Bunyan's Axe football game, the rivalry series is between two of the most successful in collegiate hockey. Including results from both men's and woman's play, the programs have combined for 23 NCAA titles and 59 Frozen Four appearances over their histories. The men's programs compete in the Big Ten Conference, while the women's programs have resided in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) since the National Collegiate Athletic Association first began to sponsor the sport for women.

Minnesota–Wisconsin ice hockey rivalry
SportIce Hockey

Men's ice hockey

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Series history

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Minnesota–Wisconsin men's ice hockey rivalry
First meetingJanuary 20, 1922
Minnesota 3, Wisconsin 0
Latest meetingNovember 1, 2025
Wisconsin 4, Minnesota 0
Statistics
Meetings total317
All-time seriesMinnesota leads, 188–105–25
Largest victoryMinnesota, 12–2 (1922)
Longest win streakMinnesota, 12 (1931–1965)
Longest unbeaten streakMinnesota, 24 (1922–1927)
Current win streakWisconsin, 2 (2025–present)

The rivalry has its origins in informal play beginning in 1922, before halting 12 years later. The rivalry[2] was revived in 1965 with Wisconsin resuming its sponsoring of the sport. In the 1981 season, the teams met for their first and only matchups to-date for the national championship. After three periods, the Badgers topped the Gophers by a score of 6 to 3 under head coach Bob Johnson. After competing together in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association since 1999,[3] both teams moved to their all-sports home, the Big Ten Conference, in anticipation of the 2013–14 season as part of widespread NCAA realignment in hockey.[4] While questions surrounded the continuation of many of the rivals' other historic series,[5] such as North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, their rivalry with each other continued uninterrupted. As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Minnesota leads the series 184–103–25.[6]

Rival accomplishments

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The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[7][8]

Team Minnesota Golden Gophers Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA National Titles 5 6
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances 23 12*
NCAA Tournament Appearances 42 28*
NCAA Tournament Record 62–43 40–25–2*
Conference Tournament Titles 16 13
Conference Championships 21 4
Hobey Baker Award Winners 4 2
All-Americans 66 41
All-time Program Record 1959–1102–211 1313–915–161
All-time Winning Percentage .631 .583
  • Wisconsin vacated results from the 1992 NCAA tournament

Game results

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Minnesota victoriesWisconsin victoriesTie games

Women's ice hockey

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Series history

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Minnesota–Wisconsin women's ice hockey rivalry
First meetingNovember 19, 1999
Minnesota 7, Wisconsin 4 (Per Wisconsin)
February 7, 1998
Minnesota 10, Wisconsin 0 (Per Minnesota)
Latest meetingNovember 1, 2025
Wisconsin 7, Minnesota 2
Next meetingTBD
Statistics
All-time recordWisconsin, 59–58–16 (per Wisconsin)
Tied, 59-59-16 (Per Minnesota)
Largest victoryMinnesota, 11–3 (2000) (Per Wisconsin)
Minnesota, 10-0 (1998) (Per Minnesota)
Longest win streakMinnesota, 14 (2012–2015)
Longest unbeaten streakMinnesota, 18 (2011–2015)
Current win streakWisconsin, 1 (2025–present)

Since women's ice hockey became an NCAA sport, the two have been the flagpole programs, with frequent Top-5 meetings[9] and matchups in the NCAA tournament and three national championships.[10] The rivalry[11] is fueled by the local nature of its players; in 2019, 24 players on the two rosters hailed from either Minnesota or Wisconsin.[12] After the Badgers prevailed in the 2019 national title, no team has been ranked lower than eighth nationally during any of their meetings. As of the end of the 2025–26 season, Wisconsin leads the series 60–59–16.[13]

Rival accomplishments

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The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[14][13]

Team Minnesota Golden Gophers Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA National Titles 6 9
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances 16 17
NCAA Tournament Appearances 23 20
NCAA Tournament Record 28–16 41–10
Conference Tournament Titles 8 11
Conference Championships 11 11
Patty Kazmaier Award Winners 3 7
All-Americans 40 33
All-time Program Record 832–200–65 782–173–69
All-time Winning Percentage .788 .797

Game results

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Minnesota victoriesWisconsin victoriesTie games

References

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  1. Baker, Katie (November 28, 2012). "Where Hockey Endures". Grantland. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  2. Rand, Michael. "Hockey rivalry takes uncivil form in series at Wisconsin". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  3. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (March 21, 2011). "Minnesota, Wisconsin to leave WCHA for Big Ten. What does it all mean?". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  4. Santaniello, Gary (November 2, 2017). "Big Ten Hockey, at Age 5, Learns That Rivalries Are Hard to Manufacture (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  5. Staff, Pioneer (March 21, 2011). "Minnesota, Wisconsin hockey programs to leave WCHA for Big Ten". Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  6. "MHK Media Guide 2024 25 (PDF)" (PDF). University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  7. "MHK Media Guide 2024 25 (PDF)" (PDF). University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  8. "202425 HKY Fact Book (PDF)" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  9. Berkman, Seth (March 10, 2017). "Wisconsin and Minnesota Await Latest Round in Ice-Melting Rivalry (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  10. "Rivals Minnesota, Wisconsin to play for women's hockey championship". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  11. Milewski, Todd D. "Ahead of rivalry series, Wisconsin Badgers pass Minnesota for top spot in national women's hockey rankings". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  12. Whitmore, Will. "Women's Hockey: Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry best in college sports". The Badger Herald. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  13. 1 2 "2019 20 WHKY Recordbook FINAL (PDF)" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  14. "Archives". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2020.