(Minneapolis, MN) — University of Minnesota men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Gophers to a 16-14-and-7 record. In his second season with the Gophers, the team played well after the holiday break, finishing second in the Big Ten. The season was cut short due to COVID-19, as Minnesota was getting ready for a semifinal match-up at Penn State in the Big Ten Hockey Tournament. This is the fifth Coach of the Year Award in Motzko’s 15-year college head coaching career and the first honor with the Gophers. He previously won the award four times with St. Cloud State, capturing W-C-H-A honors in 2006 and 2007, while taking home N-C-H-C Coach of the Year trophy in 2014 and 2018. In addition to Motzko’s award, the Gophers had two players earn all-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. They were sophomore Sammy Walker and junior Brannon McManus. Ben Meyers and Jared Moe were named to the all-Big Ten all-freshman team. And, Gopher senior Tyler Nanne was given the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Golden Gopher men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko spoke with MNN Sports Director Mike Grimm:
