Motzko Picked to Lead Team USA Again

College Hockey News from CHN


April 21, 2017
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St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko has been selected as head coach for Team USA at the 2018 World Junior Championships.
Motzko led the U.S. to the gold medal at least year's World Juniors, held in Canada. This year's event, which takes place in December and January, will be in Buffalo, N.Y.
The U.S. defeated Russia and Canada in the semifinals and finals, respectively, both in shootouts, to capture the gold.
"Of course winning was outstanding, but if you back it up, how we got along as a staff and Jim Johansson's staff (at USA Hockey) — the summer camp, the preparation — it was very rewarding," Motzko said. "And of course we had a tremendous group of players."
The entire coaching staff will return as well, including Boston College assistant Greg Brown, new Northern Michigan head coach Grant Potulny, Air Force's Steve Miller, and Providence assistant Kris Mayotte.
"They jumped on board immediately," Motzko said. "They all want the opportunity to do this again, and the excitement started to build again."
Motzko is 251-183-43 in 12 seasons as head coach at St. Cloud, including seven NCAA tournament appearances and a Frozen Four in 2013.
As with most seasons, there will be a lot of turnover from last year's team, but Team USA will return its top two goaltenders, including Boston University's Jake Oettinger.
"We're going to lose some players," Motzko said. "But we had the depth to carry through. From 30,000 feet looking down at this pool, we think there's tremendous depth."






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