RandBall: Bob Motzko restored the Gophers’ luster. Now can he win a championship?

Sports fans tend to have long or short memories aligning with when it is convenient to have either, and Gophers men’s hockey fans are no exception.

The end of the Don Lucia coaching era, which saw the Gophers miss the NCAA tournament twice and get eliminated in the opening game the other two times in his last four seasons, tends to lead to a skewed view of the entirety of his tenure. Lucia did, after all, bring the Gophers back-to-back NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003, their first since 1979.

But it is fair to say that the shine was wearing off the program in those final Lucia years as fan interest dwindled. Bob Motzko, an assistant on those back-to-back championship teams before leaving for a successful run as St. Cloud State’s head coach, was brought in to restore that luster.

Motzko has certainly achieved that part of his mission: His Gophers have made four straight NCAA tournaments, losing twice in the region finals, once in the national semifinals and once, agonizingly, in the 2023 NCAA title game when the Gophers couldn’t hold a late lead against Quinnipiac.

With their built-in program advantages and long history of success, the Gophers are forever judged on national titles. The drought since their last one in 2003 is almost as long as it was between 1979 and 2002.

In a wide-ranging interview on Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast, Motzko talked about those expectations, his personal journey and more.

Here are some of the highlights from that interview:

Q: This program has some advantages that have been earned over decades. Those are benefits, but they also create challenges and expectations. Everybody wants you to win a national title every year. How do you deal with everything that comes with that?

A: When you take over a job like this, you’re gonna be in the conversation. We have been for four or five years [in the conversation] of winning a national title. That’s the one door we’ve got to kick open, but it’s just part of it. When you come to the office today, you don’t talk about that. You don’t worry about that. We need to make sure we’re in the NCAA tournament and taking care of things we have to control: building your culture, having your leadership take hold, then the details to your game. You just concentrate on climbing that mountain with your team. Every coach in every sport is doing the same thing.

Q: How do you know when you really like a team?

A: This group is special and we’ve known we’ve had it for a while. We’ve got great leadership. So you come to the rink and you’ve got kids who really care about your program. They care more about the success of the program and for each other. ... There’s times when it’s special, it’s different and, and I’ll even go back to two years ago. We had that, you know, with Brock Faber and Jackson LaCombe and Ryan Johnson, Matthew Knies and Logan Cooley and, you know, just, I’m just bringing up some of the big names and Jaxon Nelson, great leadership throughout. Well, it’s still with us, it’s still inside our program. This is a group of guys that truly, truly care for each other and there’s a great bond in there.

Q: I don’t hear about the impact of the NIL and the transfer portal in hockey as much as in basketball or football. Is that just my own ignorance or where do those things stand in your sport?

A: It’s sure not even in the same stratosphere as what’s happening in football and basketball, but it’s out there and having an impact. I always kind of think hockey is on like a five-year lag behind when things like that happen. ... But it’s coming. I might say that today and all of a sudden tomorrow, oh, it, it’s there.

Q: We’ve talked about a lot of things that bring pressure, expectations and fun to the job. You have also dealt with personal tragedy during your time as Gophers coach. I’m wondering: How are you doing?

A: You know, I appreciate the question. I really don’t ever speak about it personally, but I’m sure I’m in a club that you wish nobody’s in. You have two worlds: You have your world before and you have your world after. But I have hockey that is a constant for me, and to be surrounded by these young men and my staff that ground my world and help it go through. The other world is deep and dark and private and you find ways to battle and there’s so many of us out there that have done that. But I’m very fortunate that I have this in my life. I know my kids follow it and are part of it and along with my wife and it helps pull us through. That’s all you can do.

Q: Knowing you love sports as much as you do, I have to ask: What Minnesota team outside of your own do you pay attention to the most?

A: The Vikings. We had the terrible injury to our tackle, and then we went out and signed another guy. So hopefully that has bolstered our line. Our quarterback is all we’re all talking about it. Sam Darnold has been great, but with a few slipups recently. ... I think we’ve got a terrific coaching staff with the Vikings. We’re die-hards. I’ve lived through four Super Bowls and we’re gonna win one. We’ve got the right staff and obviously with some high-end talent in Justin Jefferson, and I love what our running back can do if we keep him healthy and our defense has been great. And I’m a die-hard Twins fan. I mean, that’s what you do. I even went to a Timberwolves game last year, jumped on the bandwagon for a hockey guy. And then look at the Wild and Kirill [Kaprizov] — it’s crazy what he’s doing right now. And of course, I really like their defenseman, you know, No. 7 Faber. He’s doing a pretty good job, too.