Bob Motzko spoke with reporters on Monday after being named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota hockey team is getting ready to host Michigan for a Big Ten championship on Saturday, and the Gophers swept a trio of league awards on Tuesday.
Ben Meyers is the Big Ten Player of the Year, Brock Faber is the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and Bob Motzko was named the Coach of the Year. Meyers and Faber were also named First Team All-Big Ten.
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Gophers Coaches Show: Bob Motzko previews Big Ten men’s hockey tournament
University of Minnesota men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko joins Jim Rich on the Gophers Coaches Show to talk about the Gophers winning the Big Ten regular season title, and preview the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament.
Matthew Knies and Jackson LaCombe were named Second Team All-Big Ten, and Justen Close, Blake McLaughlin and Sammy Walker earned Honorable Mention honors.
"Our guys have just rolled with any punch that got thrown at them, they just roll with it and keep going," Motzko told Big Ten Network. "It’s just been an excellent group of young men to be around. You just count your blessings when you have seasons like this with leadership like this and the group of kids we have."
Meyers, a Delano native and 2022 Olympian, leads the Gophers with a career-high 16 goals and 36 points in 30 games. He has 10 points, including five goals, in four games since returning from playing for Team USA in the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Meyers has points in 21 of 30 games this season, and 11 multi-point games.
Meyers joins Adam Wilcox and Tyler Sheehy in being named Big Ten Player of the Year.
Faber has two goals and 11 assists in 28 games, getting his career-high 13th point in last Saturday’s semifinal win over Penn State. He was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year last season and in 55 career games, has 25 points and 68 blocked shots.
Motzko earns his second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor as the Gophers are 24-11 on the season, and 18-6 in league play. Motzko is 82-48-11 in four seasons with Minnesota.
The Gophers host Michigan for the Big Ten title Saturday, entering the night on a nine-game win streak. The winner gets the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is a lock to play in the NCAA Tournament regardless of Saturday’s result.