Scout Bio
Bob Motzko prepares for his fifth season as head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey program in 2022-23 returning the Maroon and Gold to national prominence entering its 102nd season of competition.
In his first four years with the Maroon and Gold, Motzko has built an 84-50-11 record with the Gophers and enters his 18th year as an NCAA head coach with a 360-242-60 all-time record. He landed his second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor during the 2021-22 campaign as he guided Minnesota to the NCAA Frozen Four behind a Big Ten championship and a 26-13 overall record and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the CCM/AHCA Men's Hockey Division I Coach of the Year.
Big Ten Player of the Year and Gophers captain Ben Meyers led the late-season charge a year ago as the team won the final eight games of the regular season. NCAA Regional wins over UMass and Western Michigan earned the Gophers their first Frozen Four berth in eight years. Meyers was named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist and selected to the All-America First Team, while Brock Faber earned the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The 2020-21 season saw the Gophers claim the Big Ten tournament title and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Minnesota started the year on a 10-game winning streak for the second time in program history and eventually earned a No. 1 national ranking in both polls for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Minnesota was led by Mike Richter Award-winning goaltender Jack LaFontaine, one of three All-Americans for the Gophers along with Sampo Ranta and Jackson LaCombe (all three also were First Team All-Big Ten selections).
In his first season behind the Minnesota bench in 2018-19, Motzko coached Rem Pitlick to First Team All-America and First Team All-Big Ten honors, while his second campaign with the Gophers saw him earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors although the season ended prematurely due to COVID-19.
A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2001 to 2005, a stretch where the Gophers captured back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. He worked with Hobey Baker Award winner Jordan Leopold, as well as six All-Americans, and was on the bench when the Maroon and Gold claimed back-to-back WCHA tournament titles in 2003 and 2004.
Following his four years assisting the Gophers, Motzko spent 13 seasons building St. Cloud State into a championship program. The Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times under his leadership, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2013. While in St. Cloud, Motzko helped develop Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc and eight All-Americans.
He previously coached at Miami (OH) and Denver, helping Miami win the CCHA title as associate head coach in 1993. He also served as an assistant under Herb Brooks at his alma mater for one season.
During his college head coaching career, Motzko has been recognized as a conference coach of the year six times, winning the award twice in the WCHA (2006, 2007), twice in the NCHC (2014, 2018) and now twice in the Big Ten (2020, 2022).
USA Hockey has twice tasked Motzko with leading the U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF World Junior Championships. In 2017, Motzko led Team USA to an unbeaten run at the tournament, which culminated in a gold medal, the fourth all-time for the Americans. Motzko returned as head coach for the National Junior Team in 2018, leading the squad to a bronze medal.
Twice he has led teams in the United States Hockey League (USHL) as head coach and general manager. He spent four years with the North Iowa Huskies, leading his 1989 team to the Junior A national championship earning the league's coach of the year award. He also led Sioux Falls for the team's first two seasons of existence and was named the league's GM of the Year in 2000 for his work with the Stampede.
Motzko graduated from St. Cloud State in 1987 as a two-time men's hockey letter winner.