
Like most Minnesotans during this COVID-19 pandemic, Bob Motzko went through an adjustment period over the past two weeks.
"You have it in your head that it's two weeks, three weeks,'' the Gophers men's hockey coach said Thursday. "Then all of a sudden, 'OK, all of April, we're going to be quiet again.' It's been OK, but now we're going to get put to the test.''
Indeed, with Gov. Tim Walz's stay-at-home order through April 10 – and other measures to combat the coronavirus lasting even longer – people will face more challenges. That includes Motzko and how he manages his team.
The abrupt ending to the college hockey season came March 12, two days before the Gophers were to play Penn State in a Big Ten tournament semifinal in State College, Pa. Instead of keeping alive their slim hopes to make the NCAA tournament, the Gophers were shut down after a promising second half of Motzko's second season in charge. The coach felt for his three seniors but saw a spark from his team.
"They're very encouraged,'' he said. "The way it all ended was of course a shock, but because it happened everywhere, it was bigger than us. Everybody came to a halt, and that put the seriousness to it.''
As is his practice when a season ends, Motzko gave his team the past two weeks off to decompress, heal and recharge. Now, with individual meetings with his players on tap – via FaceTime instead of face to face – Motzko faces new challenges in managing his squad in uncertain times.
"From our standpoint, it's been trying to get organized on how we're going to communicate with our guys, staying in contact as a staff, divvying up the players so they can hear our voices,'' he said. "For the most part, we've been very encouraged with our conversations with our players. … They're looking to us for answers, but like everybody, we don't have an answer for them except this will pass. We're going to get through this.''
One answer Motzko received was from sophomore forward Sampo Ranta, the team's second-leading goal-scorer. Before he returned last week to his native Finland, Ranta, a third-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2018, told Motzko he planned to return for his junior season. Though it's only March and things can change through the summer, Motzko doesn't expect any early departures.