After eight years with Bob Motzko at the helm of the Gophers Men's Hockey program, Brett Larson has been called upon to turn things around.
And for the second time in his career, Brett Larson becomes Mostzko's successor.
"I went into Saint Cloud when he left, and came in here," Larson describes of his career journey following Motzko. "He did a great job and really is a really strong builder, building a foundation of this program, and we just want to take that torch now and take it to the next level."
Larson still is freshening up the team, and assembled a roster with 13 newcomers, and 13 returning players, including some top tier talent. That includes Brodie Ziemer and Austin Burnevik, who are set to headline the Gophers men's hockey team for the 2026–27 season as a rare pair of returning 20-plus-goal scorers.
"This is the first time we'll have two returning 20 goal scorers in quite a while," Larson explains. "I think since (Nick) Bjugstad and somebody else, I can't remember who exactly. But you know, Austin Burnevik scored 20 for us up at St.Cloud last year. Ziemer had over 20 this year. That's nice to have some firepower like that coming out of the gate."
The 20-goal scorer Larson couldn't recall was Erik Haula, who joined Bjugstad in 2012-2013 a the two players coming off 20-plus-goal seasons.
The Gophers will need all the help they can get early, as they open the season on the road against Michigan Tech and Minnesota-Duluth before returning home to face North Dakota.
"We've had a fun few weeks for sure," Larson says. "The guys, I've just been really impressed with the work ethic. The guys are so committed. They wanna obviously, you know, turn things around from a rough year last year and they know that. And they feel it and the buy-in and the excitement's been really high. It's been a lot of fun."
Motzko was let go after a very disappointing 2025-26 for the Gopher hockey program, traditionally one of the strongest in the nation. They finished 11-22-3, one of the worst in Minnesota history, missing out on the NCAA Tournament one year after a first round exit in the tournament.
