Austin native Motzko named national Coach of the Year; Lamb, Wiese prep for Frozen Four
Apr. 5—When Bob Motzko was in Rochester a month ago, he spoke excitedly about how he has taken a different outlook on this season, his fifth as head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team.
"I think as you get older — like I'm getting older — you appreciate it to no end because it doesn't come around all the time, when you get a group like this," the 62-year-old Austin native said. "You never have a bad group, but when you get one like this, it has an edge to it.
"... We know we're very fortunate, we have a very good team, great leadership and we're pretty deep in all areas. Teams like this don't come around very often."
Motzko's Gophers have spent a majority of this season ranked No. 1 in the country.
They take a 28-9-1 record into the NCAA Division I Frozen Four, which begins at 4 p.m. CDT today when No. 1-ranked Minnesota meets No. 5 Boston University at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay (ESPN2). The winner will face either No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. Saturday in the national championship game.
Before that begins, though, Motzko took a brief — very brief — moment Wednesday afternoon to step away from Minnesota's Frozen Four preparation and accept the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the Division I men's hockey national Coach of the Year.
Motzko is just the second coach ever from the University of Minnesota to win the award, joining the legendary John Mariucci. Motzko has been a finalist for the Penrose Award the past two years, and has led Minnesota to five consecutive Big Ten Conference championships (the Gophers have won six consecutive overall).
Motzko was also named the Big Ten Coach of the Year this year, the third time he has won that honor.
He has the Gophers at the Frozen Four for a second consecutive season — they lost in the national semifinals a year ago to Minnesota State I University, Mankato — and the 23rd time in program history.
Motzko isn't the only southeastern Minnesotan with a stake in the Frozen Four this week. Two freshmen on the Gophers roster grew up starring for programs in the area.
Byron native Brody Lamb and Owatonna's Zach Wiese have been quite valuable to this Gophers team in their respective roles.
Lamb was the Minnesota high school Player of the Year in 2021, when he led Dodge County to its first-ever state tournament and a spot in the Class A state championship game. Lamb has four goals and eight points so far as a freshman, but he has scored in two big spots in recent weeks.
He scored the first goal of the Big Ten championship game against Michigan on March 18 at Mariucci Arena. Six days later he scored a big insurance goal early in the third period during the Gophers' 9-2 win against Canisius in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers led that game just 3-2 going into the third, but Jimmy Snuggerud and Lamb scored in the first 2:35 of the third to begin a six-goal onslaught in the final period.
Motzko could see Lamb's scoring breakout coming a month ago.
"He was comfortable (right away)," Motzko said on March 4, when the Gophers visited Rochester. "He's an athlete. I'm sure there was an acclimation period for him. I know he's not scoring like he wants to, but it's there. He's just knocking on the door, and it's almost every night now.
"We have a couple of young guys who, I like to call it, they're starting to pop right now, and it's coming at a great time."
Wiese's role has been almost entirely behind the scenes — the former Owatonna and Rochester Grizzlies goalie serving as Minnesota's third goalie this season — he has been valuable to his fellow Gophers goalies as well as the team's skaters. Wiese is nearly always the first player on the ice for practice and the last one off, facing as many shots as the Gophers' ultra-talented forwards and defensemen want to take.
That he's on the Gophers' roster is quite an accomplishment. He played Tier III junior hockey — not a conventional path to Division I college hockey — for the Rochester Grizzlies, backstopping them to the NA3HL national championship a year ago, when he was named the league's Goalie of the Year.
Wiese has dressed for all 38 of the Gophers' games this season and he'll be on the bench in Tampa this week.
"Zach fits right in," Motzko said last month. "He's a great kid, he's an athlete. The guys have a ton of respect for him. We have a ton of respect for him. It's a tough role he's in, but he's handling it well.
"Look at our (No. 1) goalie, Justen Close. Justen Close is one of the best in the country and was in that exact same role. ... That's all you can ever do with young guys, give them the promise that 'if you do your work, you never know.' We love having him here; there's not a thing we ask of him that he doesn't do."
