Minnesota’s Bob Motzko Is Named CCM/AHCA Division I Men’s Coach of the Year
For leading the University of Minnesota Gophers into the 2023 Frozen Four, Bob Motzko has
been chosen the winner of the 2023 Spencer Penrose Award as Division I Men’s Ice Hockey
CCM/AHCA Coach of the Year by his peers. The honor is the first for Motzko and just the second
for the University of Minnesota in the 73-year history of the award. The last Gopher head coach to
earn this honor was the great John Mariucci in 1953.
The 2022-23 Gophers bring a 28-9-1 record into Thursday’s semifinal game (5:00 p.m. ET) against Boston University as they look for their first national championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.
The season has been a strong one for Minnesota, who entered the NCAA’s as the overall #1 seed. The Gophers captured the Big Ten regular season title by a whopping 19 points over runner-up Michigan. They rank second in the NCAA in scoring margin (+1.97) and offense (4.21 GPG). Motzko has built an 112-59-12 record with the Gophers and has an overall record of 388-251-61 in 18 years as an NCAA head coach. He landed his third Big Ten Coach of the Year honor during the current campaign.
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. 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.
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 seven times, winning the award twice in the WCHA (2006, 2007), twice in the NCHC (2014, 2018) and now three times in the Big Ten (2020, 2022, 2023).
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. Assisting Motzko this season were Steve Miller, Ben Gordon and Brennan Poderzay. and . The runner-up for this year’s Spencer Penrose Award was Jay Pandolfo of Boston University. The award will be presented at the 2023 AHCA Convention at the Naples Grande Hotel in Naples, FL, on theevening of Wednesday, April 26.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site
of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments. The CCM AHCA COACH of the YEAR AWARDS are sponsored by CCM
HOCKEY and chosen by members of the AMERICAN HOCKEY COACHES ASSOCIATION. CCM is the legendary hockey brand dedicated
to the endless pursuit of performance by delivering game-changing, head-to-toe innovative hockey equipment to players worldwide.
| Winners of the Spencer Penrose Award CCM/AHCA Division I Men's Coach of the Year |
|
| 1951 | Edward Jeremiah, Dartmouth |
| 1952 | Cheddy Thompson, Colorado College |
| 1953 | John Mariucci, Minnesota |
| 1954 | Vic Heyliger, Michigan |
| 1955 | Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Harvard |
| 1956 | William Harrison, Clarkson |
| 1957 | Jack Riley, Army |
| 1958 | Harry Cleverly, Boston University |
| 1959 | John "Snooks" Kelley, Boston College |
| 1960 | Jack Riley, Army |
| 1961 | Murray Armstrong, Denver |
| 1962 | Jack Kelley, Colby |
| 1963 | Tony Frasca, Colorado College |
| 1964 | Tom Eccleston, Jr., Providence |
| 1965 | Jim Fullerton, Brown |
| 1966 | Amo Bessone, Michigan State Len Ceglarski, Clarkson |
| 1967 | Edward Jeremiah, Dartmouth |
| 1968 | Ned Harkness, Cornell |
| 1969 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1970 | John Maclnnes, Michigan Tech |
| 1971 | Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Harvard |
| 1972 | John "Snooks" Kelley, Boston College |
| 1973 | Len Ceglarski, Boston College |
| 1974 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1975 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 1976 | John Maclnnes, Michigan Tech |
| 1977 | Jerry York, Clarkson |
| 1978 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 1979 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1980 | Rick Comley, Northern Michigan |
| 1981 | Bill O'Flaherty, Clarkson |
| 1982 | Ferny Flaman, Northeastern |
| 1983 | Bill Cleary, Harvard |
| 1984 | Mike Sertich, Minnesota-Duluth |
| 1985 | Len Ceglarski, Boston College |
| 1986 | Ralph Backstrom, Denver |
| 1987 | John "Gino" Gasparini, North Dakota |
| 1988 | Frank Anzalone, Lake Superior |
| 1989 | Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence |
| 1990 | Terry Slater, Colgate |
| 1991 | Rick Comley, Northern Michigan |
| 1992 | Ron Mason, Michigan State |
| 1993 | George Gwozdecky, Miami |
| 1994 | Don Lucia, Colorado College |
| 1995 | Shawn Walsh, Maine |
| 1996 | Bruce Crowder, UMass Lowell |
| 1997 | Dean Blais, North Dakota |
| 1998 | Tim Taylor, Yale |
| 1999 | Richard Umile, New Hampshire |
| 2000 | Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence |
| 2001 | Dean Blais, North Dakota |
| 2002 | Tim Whitehead, Maine |
| 2003 | Bob Daniels, Ferris State |
| 2004 | Scott Sandelin, Minnesota-Duluth |
| 2005 | George Gwozdecky, Denver |
| 2006 | Enrico Blasi, Miami |
| 2007 | Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame |
| 2008 | Red Berenson, Michigan |
| 2009 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 2010 | Wayne Wilson, RIT |
| 2011 | Nate Leaman, Union |
| 2012 | Bob Daniels, Ferris State |
| 2013 | Norm Bazin, UMass Lowell |
| 2014 | Rick Bennett, Union |
| 2015 | Mike Hastings, Minnesota State |
| 2016 | Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac |
| 2017 | Jim Montgomery, Denver |
| 2018 | Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame |
| 2019 | Greg Carvel, Massachusetts |
| 2020 | Brad Berry, North Dakota Mike Schafer, Cornell |
| 2021 | Mike Hastings, Minnesota State |
| 2022 | Mike Hastings, Minnesota State |
| 2023 | Bob Motzko, Minnesota |
