TAMPA, Fla. — Bob Motzko has become the first Minnesota coach in 70 years to win the Spencer Penrose Award.
Motzko, who has directed the Golden Gophers to a second consecutive Frozen Four as the top overall seed, was named the 2022-23 winner of the award honoring the Division I men’s coach of the year on Wednesday.
The only other Minnesota coach to win was John Mariucci in 1953, the third year of the award.
The Gophers are 28-9-1 entering a Frozen Four semifinal game Thursday against Boston University. They won the Big Ten by 19 points and Motzko was the Big Ten coach of the year.
Motzko is in his fifth season at Minnesota after starting his college head coaching career with 13 seasons at St. Cloud State.
Boston University’s Jay Pandolfo was the runner-up.
