The University of Minnesota Men's Hockey team is back this weekend, facing off against Minnesota State Mankato in a home-and-home series.
To discuss the new season, Gopher Men's coach Bob Motzko joined News Talk 830 WCCO's Vineeta Sawkar to share his thoughts on his 2022-23 team.
The Gophers started their season against Lindenwood last weekend, picking up two victories in back-to-back nights at Mariucci Arena.
"We had it all. We had some bright spots," Motzko said.
Lindenwood is new to Division I hockey, located in the St. Louis area, and Motzko shared that he is happy the area got a college team.
As for their first matchup against them, the Gophers scored 10 goals in six periods of play, and Motzko said he was happy to see his team take the ice. That included players like the much anticipated Logan Cooley, who collected four points in the two games.
But even with the outpouring of offense, Motzko wasn't satisfied, saying he knows his team needs to do some things before they are in midseason form.
"We gotta play a little brand of hockey. We were just trying to play offense. We were cheating to get to the offense," Motzko said. "We were extending our shifts trying to get the season going, and we got to breathe a little bit and back up to play a better brand of hockey."
The Gophers will now face off against the team that knocked them out of the Frozen Four last April, and Motzko had nothing but praise for the team that has been a thorn in the Gopher's side.
"Mike Hastings' teams are [always] going to be at the top of this conference. They are going to be at the top of college hockey. This is a monster challenge for us," Motzko said.
However, he noted that they aren't just going to roll over when they hit the ice.
"We don't dodge anything in scheduling, we're going to play these top teams, and we're just going to get a diet of it right now. We have to mature quickly," Motzko said, adding that "we will."
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