LOVELAND, COLO. – When Bob Motzko was introduced as Gophers men's hockey coach on March 29, 2018, he didn't shy away from the expectations that go hand-in-hand with the job.
"Every coach here going back to Glen Sonmor has played for a national championship," he said from a podium at TCF Bank Stadium. "This is one of the greatest programs in college hockey, and it's part of the fabric of our state."
Three years later, Motzko will try to weave his own strand into that Minnesota hockey fabric, as he takes his Gophers to the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Top-seeded Minnesota will meet No. 4-seeded Nebraska Omaha at 9 p.m. Saturday in the semifinal of the West Regional at the Budweiser Events Center. A victory would put the Gophers into Sunday's regional final against the winner of game between Minnesota State Mankato and Quinnipiac. It also would give the program something it hasn't had since 2014 — an NCAA tournament win.
In his third year as Gophers head coach after 13 seasons at St. Cloud State, Motzko has a team that's fashioned a 23-6 record, finished second in the Big Ten regular season by scant percentage points to Wisconsin and won the conference tournament. He believes his team has the ingredients to be a factor in the national tournament, a record 38th NCAA appearance in the program's 100th season. Minnesota is back in the tournament for the first time since 2017.
"It's expected here," Motzko said. "We knew we'd get back there. It's really all that matters. We're there now, we earned our way in, and we are excited."
Against Nebraska Omaha (14-10-1), the Gophers will face a team that been steeled by a steady diet of NCHC opponents, including six contests against league champion and top-ranked North Dakota. The Mavericks beat the Fighting Hawks twice.
Omaha doesn't look like a typical No. 4 seed, and the college hockey world just saw No. 4 seed Bemidji State eliminate No. 1 seed Wisconsin 6-3 in the East Regional on Friday.