Gophers men's hockey team dominates Big Ten honors; Motzko wins coach of the year

When the Gophers take the ice Saturday night against Michigan in the Big Ten hockey tournament championship game, they'll be doing so with a highly decorated team.

The Big Ten on Tuesday announced its individual award winners and all-conference honors, and the regular-season champion Gophers had a big haul, with center Ben Meyers named the Player of the Year, defenseman Brock Faber named the Defensive Player of the Year and Bob Motzko named the Coach of the Year. The awards were voted on by the conference coaches and a media panel.

In addition, Meyers and Faber made the All-Big Ten first team, forward Matthew Knies made the second team and all-freshman team, defenseman Jackson LaCombe made the second team, and goalie Justen Close and forwards Sammy Walker and Blake McLaughlin earned honorable mention. Walker was named the team's Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Meyers leads the Gophers with 16 goals and 36 points in 30 games and has five goals and five assists in four games since returning from duty with Team USA in the Beijing Olympics. Faber, also an Olympian, has two goals and 13 assists for a team that ranks in the top 10 nationally in fewest goals allowed. Knies has 10 goals and 17 assists and also played in the Olympics.

Motzko earned the Big Ten's coaching honor for the second time in three years after guiding the Gophers to their first regular-season title since 2017. The Gophers are 24-11 and have posted a 12-3 record and active nine-game winning streak since goalie Jack LaFontaine left the program in early January to sign with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.