Four years ago Sunday Bob Motzko was named the head coach of the Minnesota Gophers hockey team. It was his birthday. Sunday four years later he received an all expenses paid trip to Boston for his birthday as his Gophers team defeated Western Michigan 3-0 to win the Worcester Region, and advance back to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 2014. The Gophers reward? A rematch against the team that knocked them out of last season’s tournament in Minnesota State in an All-North Star State semifinal.
Both teams came out a bit tentative to start the first period as they tried to feel one another out.