"Doc" Romnes took over after the retirement of long-time coach, Larry Armstrong and put the team through its paces.

Early in the season, Minnesota welcomed in a junior team from Winnipeg as a tune-up for their slate of collegiate opponents.

They were able to get wins in the two matches against California to salvage their 10-day road trip, but the team was likely already out of the running for an NCAA tournament berth.

To make matters worse, just prior to the series with North Dakota, the team lost its starting goalie, Jack McEwan, due to academic ineligibility and would have to rely in Ken Austin for the remainder of the year.

[4] The team recovered to go 5–2 in the later portion of the season but that couldn't stop the Gophers from ending the year with a losing record for the first time in a decade.