Gophers hire St. Cloud State hockey coach Bob Motzko

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - St. Cloud State University men's hockey coach Bob Motzko will be the next head coach of the Gophers men's hockey team, the University of Minnesota announced Tuesday. 

Motzko will replace Don Lucia, who stepped down last week. Lucia is staying with the U of M as special assistant to Athletic Director Mark Coyle. 

Motzko served as an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2001 to 2005, helping the Gophers to back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. He has spent the last 13 years as head coach at SCSU. Under his leadership, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA tournament eight times, most recently in 2018. 

Motzko is expected to meet his new team on Tuesday at 1 p.m. He will be officially introduced at a press conference on Thursday.