Robert Giles Motzko (born March 27, 1961) is the head coach of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

men's hockey team in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, where he had previously served as Assistant Coach in 2001–05. He was previously the head coach of the

St. Cloud State Huskies The St. Cloud State Huskies are the athletic teams for St. Cloud State University. The university is primarily a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and currently sponsors 18 NCAA Division II teams. SCSU also sponsors a ...

from 2005 to 2018. During his time at SCSU, he was named the

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

Coach of the Year in 2006 and again in 2007. In 2014 he was named the inaugural NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year. In 2018 he won the Herb Brooks Coach of the Year for the second time. He guided the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

to six WCHA Final Five appearances (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013), three NCHC Frozen Faceoff appearances (2015, 2016 and 2018), eight NCAA Division I tournament appearances (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018), and one NCAA Division I Frozen Four appearance in 2013.

Playing career

Waterloo and Austin

Motzko played for the Waterloo Black Hawks and the

Austin Mavericks The Austin Mavericks are a defunct ice hockey team from Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1974, they played in the Midwest Junior Hockey League from 1974 to 1977. Lou Vairo coached the Mavericks to two league championships and one national championship ...

in the 1979–1980 season. That year, he had 16 goals, 10 assists, and 19 penalty minutes.

Dubuque Fighting Saints

In the 1980–1981 season, Motzko played for the

Dubuque Fighting Saints The Dubuque Fighting Saints are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and are based in the city of Dubuque, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River at the border intersects of Iowa, Illinois, and W ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

where he had 20 goals and 16 assists. That year, he helped the Saints win the Anderson Cup and the Clark Cup.

St. Cloud State

Motzko played for St. Cloud State University (SCSU) from 1983–1987. He was a two-year varsity letter winner for the SCSU hockey team from 1984–86.

Coaching career

St. Cloud State

Motzko began his coaching career in 1986–87 as an assistant coach for the legendary

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' ...

at SCSU – and also worked with former SCSU head coach

Craig Dahl Craig Dahl (born June 17, 1985) is a former American football safety who played nine seasons in the National Football League. He was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at North Dakota State. H ...

North Iowa

Motzko served as general manager and head coach of the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

North Iowa Huskies The North Iowa Huskies were a junior ice hockey team based in Mason City, Iowa. They were a member of the United States Hockey League from 1983 to 1999. They played their home games at North Iowa Ice Arena. They would move to Cedar Rapids and bec ...

from 1987 through 1991. In 1989, Motzko led the North Iowa squad to a United States Junior A national championship and was named that year's USHL Coach of the Year.

Miami University and Denver

In 1991, Motzko was named associate head coach at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, where he helped lead the RedHawks to a

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...

title and an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament berth in 1992–93. He served for one season as an associate head coach at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

from 1993–94, before returning to Miami University in 1994.

Sioux Falls Stampede

Motzko was named general manager and head coach of the USHL's

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

in 1998. He led the Stampede to a 77–31–6 record in the team's first two seasons in the USHL, and in 2000, he was named the USHL General Manager of the Year.

University of Minnesota

Motzko served as a men's hockey assistant coach at the

and was part of two NCAA Division I national championship teams in 2002 and 2003, and helped the Gophers win WCHA playoff crowns in 2003 and 2004.

Return to St. Cloud State

Motzko became the head coach at his alma mater, St. Cloud State, in 2005. In 2013 his contract was extended through the 2020–2021 season. On March 26, 2010, Motzko led the Huskies to their first NCAA Tournament win in the West Regional at

Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center (also known as "The X") is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four ...

. SCSU earned a 4–3 victory in double overtime against

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak in the tournament for SCSU. St. Cloud fell in the West Regional Championship game to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

the next night. In the 2012–2013 season, Motzko led SCSU to a WCHA regular season championship, the Huskies' first regular season conference title. Though they secured the #1 seed, the Huskies shared the MacNaughton Cup with the University of Minnesota. On March 30–31, 2013, Motzko led the Huskies to a pair of NCAA Tournament victories over Notre Dame (5–1) and

(4–1) at

Huntington Center (Toledo) The Huntington Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Toledo, Ohio. It was completed in 2009 and cost $105 million to build. It replaced the Toledo Sports Arena, which has since been demolished. It serves as the home of the ...

to advance to the first

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

in school history. St. Cloud fell to

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

in the Frozen Four on April 11, 2013, at

Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2 ...

. In the 2013–14 season, Motzko led the Huskies to the inaugural NCHC regular season championship. Unlike in the 2012–13 season, the Huskies held the Penrose Cup alone. On March 29, 2014, Motzko led the Huskies to a win over Notre Dame (4–3 OT)in the NCAA tournament West Regional at

to advance to the Regional Championship for the second straight year, but fell to the University of Minnesota 4–0. In the 2015–16 season, Motzko led the Huskies to a school record-tying 31 victories as well as the first NCHC conference tournament championship in school history, defeating the Duluth Bulldogs 3–1 in the Frozen Faceoff title game on March 19, 2016. The victory also gave Motzko and the Huskies their fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth, also tying a school record; they would fall to

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enrol ...

(5–4 OT) in the NCAA West Regional at

. In the 2017–2018 season, the Huskies won their second Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions. They also qualified for the national tournament as the overall #1 seed.

United States men's national junior ice hockey team

In 2017, Motzko becomes head coach of the US national junior ice hockey team. He led them to the United States fourth-ever gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Return to Minnesota

On March 27, 2018, Motzko was named the 15th head coach of the University of Minnesota, following

Don Lucia Don Lucia (born August 20, 1958) is an American former ice hockey head coach, who was named as inaugural commissioner of the second Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) on June 17, 2020. The CCHA, which is set to start play in the 2021– ...

's resignation.

Head coaching record

College

Personal life

Motzko, a native of

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...

, Bob and Shelley have had three children, a daughter, Ella, and two sons Mack and the youngest Beau. On July 24, 2021, Mack died at the age of 20 from injuries sustained in a single car accident in which he was a passenger in Orono, Minnesota. The family currently resides in

Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motzko, Bob 1961 births Place of birth missing (living people) Living people American ice hockey coaches St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey players St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey coaches Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey coaches Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey coaches