Denver announced Monday that the school has been awarded the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, as the Pioneers hockey team will host Minnesota at Ball Arena in downtown Denver over Thanksgiving weekend 2025.
“The University of Denver is honored to host the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game and excited to rekindle a rivalry between two of the most storied programs in all of college hockey on the heels of Denver’s 10th national championship,” said Josh Berlo, Denver vice chancellor for athletics and Ritchie Center operations, in a statement. “The eyes of the college hockey world will be on Denver and Ball Arena over that holiday weekend.”
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The exact date and time of the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game will be announced following the NHL schedule release.
The Denver hockey program will serve as the host of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game for the third time in its history and will be playing in the contest for the fourth time. DU previously hosted the games at Magness Arena on Oct. 11, 2008 against Notre Dame (5-2 win) and Dec. 29, 2012 versus Boston University (6-0 win).
“Those of us with the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum are very excited to have two of College Hockey’s premier programs face off in our Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena in 2025,” said Doug Palazzari of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. “We wish to thank both schools for agreeing to take part in this prestigious event.”
DU and UM have played against one another in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game once before, as the Pioneers traveled to St. Paul to face the Golden Gophers at Xcel Energy Center in their inaugural participation of the event on Oct. 9, 2004 (DU lost 5-2).
Denver (NCHC) and Minnesota (Big Ten) are two of the winningest college hockey programs in history. The teams have combined for 15 national championships, 42 Frozen Four appearances and featured a total of 25 NHL Draft picks on their respective rosters during the 2023-24 season.
“Our team is excited to participate in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game against another great college hockey program in Minnesota and at a great venue for our sport at Ball Arena,” said DU coach David Carle. “Getting a chance to play at our home NHL rink in January 2023 against Colorado College was a highlight for our program and players that season. I know our team and all Pioneers are excited to do it again against another quality opponent in the Golden Gophers.”
Denver and Minnesota will be meeting for the first time since the teams played against one another as members of the WCHA. The squads last faced off on March 1-2, 2013 when the teams split a series in Minneapolis, with DU winning 2-0 in the series opener before UM won 5-1 in the most recent meeting.
The Gophers will be making their first trip to the Mile High City since Feb. 10-11, 2012 when the Pioneers swept the WCHA series at home with wins of 5-3 and 5-4 in overtime.
DU is 13-3-1 in the last 17 meetings against Minnesota since the start of the 2007-08 campaign and has a 41-39-5 all-time mark against them in the city of Denver. The Pioneers have an overall record of 73-94-12 all-time against the Gophers in a series that dates back to Jan. 1, 1951 and are 4-2-1 against their former WCHA foe in seven neutral-site contests.
Denver will be playing its second-ever game at Ball Arena, home the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche since the building first opened in 1999. The Pioneers defeated in-state rival Colorado College 2-0 in their first regular-season game at the arena on Jan. 27, 2023 in front of a crowd of 17,952—the highest attended indoor hockey game in the state of Colorado in DU history.
“We are excited to be partnering with the University of Denver to host the 2025 United States Hockey Hall of Fame game at Ball Arena,” said Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland. “The state of Colorado has a rich tradition of college hockey and what better way to showcase that than with one the most successful programs in NCAA history, the University of Denver, taking on another powerhouse, the University of Minnesota. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame weekend is always a special event and the Avalanche and Ball Arena are proud to be a part of the festivities.”
“On behalf of the Denver Sports Commission, we’re excited to partner for this exciting event between two of the top programs in college hockey history,” said Matthew Payne, executive director of the Denver Sports Commission. “Denver is a hotbed for hockey and has been named ‘Hockey Capital USA.’ We are looking forward to hosting not only the dedicated Pioneer faithful but the thousands of Minnesota supporters and visiting hockey fans from across the country to the Mile High City.”
