St. Cloud State Hockey Coaches
Men's Hockey CoachWomen's Hockey Coach
Bob Motzko
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| Bob Motzko |
Along the way, SCSU upset nationally ranked Colorado College in the first round of the WCHA playoffs in Colorado Springs thus collecting SCSU's first invite to the WCHA Final Five since 2001-02. At the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Motzko's crew gained a first round win over Minnesota Duluth and then posted a legendary 8-7 win over top ranked Minnesota in the Final Five semi-finals before a tournament record 19,353 fans. In the title match, North Dakota scored top honors with a 5-3 win, but SCSU certainly had served notice that the Huskies were back.
For his efforts, Motzko was named the WCHA Coach of the Year - marking just the second time that this elite league award was brought home to St. Cloud. At the national level, Motzko was a finalist for the AHCA's Spence Penrose Award and he was named the national coach of the year by Inside College Hockey.
Although he was just in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Motzko's success should come as no surprise as his coaching resume reflects excellence and a life-time of dedication to the sport of hockey.
For Motzko, the move to St. Cloud State last fall was a return to his roots. A 1987 graduate of the University, Motzko was a two-year varsity letterwinner for the Huskies from 1983-85.
A native of Austin, Minnesota, Motzko also began his coaching career with the Huskies. In 1986-87, Motzko joined the staff at SCSU along with legendary head coach Herb Brooks and then first-year assistant coach Craig Dahl - who Motzko replaced as head coach in 2005-06.
"The opportunity provided by Craig (Dahl) and SCSU back in 1986, is the reason I am a college hockey coach today," Motzko said.
Motzko's coaching career continued to grow after his season with the Huskies. In 1987, he was named head coach and general manager of the USHL's North Iowa squad. Motzko went on to spend four seasons at North Iowa and led the Huskies to the 1989 U.S. National Junior "A" championship.
In 1991, Motzko returned to the college coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Miami of Ohio. He served with the RedHawks from 1991-93 before moving to the University of Denver as an associate head coach from 1993-94. He returned to Miami as an associate head coach in 1994, and remained in that position until 1999.
At Miami, Motzko helped the RedHawks win that school's first CCHA league title, gain two NCAA tournament bids and four conference playoff appearances. Motzko also recruited several top level players to Miami includiing NHLers Dan Boyle, Kevyn Adams, Todd Rohloff and Randy Robitaille. Miami athletes during Motzko's tenure included three Hobey Baker finalists and six first team All-Americans.
Motzko made his return to the USHL in 1999, after being named head coach and general manager of the new Sioux Falls Stampede. In two years at Sioux Falls, Motzko helped the Stampede to an impressive 77-31-6 overall record. He was named the USHL General Manager of the Year after the Stampede finished 37-17-4 and advanced to the USHL playoffs in the inaugural year of the franchise.
At Sioux Falls, Motzko helped move 26 players on to college programs around the nation - including former SCSU standouts Mike Doyle, Dave Iannazzo and Joe Jensen.
The call of college hockey brought Motzko back to campus in 2001, as he was named an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota. With the Gophers from 2001-2005, Motzko played a key role in Minnesota's success. Some of the highlights included two NCAA Division I championships in 2002 and 2003 and WCHA playoff titles in 2003 and 2004.
At Minnesota, Motzko was part of a program that produced one Hobey Baker Award winner, three first team All-Americans, two second team All-Americans and many All-WCHA award winners. He helped recruit three eventual first-round NHL draft picks at Minnesota and he worked with the nation's leading scorer (Johnny Pohl) in 2002, and the nation's leading rookie scorer (Thomas Vanek) in 2003.
Throughout his career, Motzko has had the opportunity to work with several of the top coaches in college hockey. This list includes Brooks, Dahl, Minnesota's Don Lucia, former Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni, Denver's George Gwozdecky, and Air Force's Frank Serratore.
Motzko and his wife, Shelley, are the parents of one daughter (Ella) and two sons (Mack and Beau). They reside in St. Cloud. He originally hails from Austin, Minn. and is a 1979 graduate of Austin High School.
Jeff Giesen
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| Jeff Giesen |
Jeff "Goose" Giesen begins his first season in 2006-2007 as the head women's hockey coach at St. Cloud State University.
A native of Blaine, Minn., Giesen becomes the third head coach since the inception of the women's program in 1998. He replaces Jason Lesteberg, who served as head coach at SCSU from 2002-2006.
"Obviously we have gotten to know Jeff well over the last several years," said Kurtz. "We feel that first and foremost he is committed to bringing in student-athletes that will excel on the ice and in the classroom. He has also demonstrated the ability to evaluate and recruit student-athletes that will help take our program to the next level."
Giesen served as the SCSU assistant women's hockey coach from 2003-2006, working with the Huskies' defensive players and recruiting. He came to SCSU from Saint John's University, where he was an assistant coach from 1992-98 and an associate head coach from 1998-2003. The Johnnies prospered during Giesen's tenure, winning Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles in 1996, 1997 and 2003, as well as playoff titles and NCAA Division III national tournament appearances in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003. The Johnnies, whose head coach is former St. Cloud State assistant John Harrington, finished third in the national tournament in 1997.
In addition to his experience at Saint John's, Giesen has worked extensively with the USA Hockey Development program. His most recent work was with the girls 15/16 camp in Lake Placid this past summer. Giesen has also worked with the girls' 17/18 camp in Lake Placid, along with numerous USA Hockey boys' programs.
In 2005, Giesen served as the assistant coach for the women's WCHA All-Stars who played against the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team. He assisted Wisconsin women's head hockey coach Mark Johnson at the Xcel Center on Sept. 30th, and in Duluth at the DECC on Oct. 1st. Of note, Giesen has now had the opportunity to coach under two 1980 Olympic Hockey Gold Medalists, Harrington at Saint John's and Johnson with the WCHA All-Stars.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to start my head coaching career at a school that's meant so much to me over the past 19 years," said Giesen. "I appreciate the support that SCSU provides the women's hockey program and look forward to helping SCSU become one of the top teams in the WCHA, the most successful conference in the nation."
The Huskies are coming off their most successful season in school history after posting an 18-18-1 overall record and a 13-14-1 record in the WCHA.
A 1993 graduate of St. Cloud State University and a true student of the game, Coach Giesen and his wife Karla reside in St. Cloud, Minn., with their daughter Delaney.
