John Hill Named Minnesota Assistant Hockey Coach
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June 13, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn The University of Minnesota has announced the hiring of John Hill as assistant coach for the Golden Gopher men's hockey team. Hill, the head coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage the last four seasons, replaces Bob Motzko who left Minnesota to become an assistant coach at St. Cloud State University. Hill, 44, was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 1999-2001 and at Colorado College from 1995-99 under Head Coach Don Lucia.
"I am extremely happy to welcome John back to the Golden Gopher hockey program," Lucia said. "His experience and knowledge of the game will undoubtedly be invaluable to our team now and in the future. I was looking for a coach that had tremendous experience, was passionate about the game and was an outstanding recruiter, and John has proven himself to be exceptional in every phase."
"When John was at Minnesota, he helped build our program to put us at the threshold of winning back-to-back national championships. His experience as a head coach in the WCHA will be a real asset to our team. John did a fabulous job at Alaska Anchorage in rebuilding the Seawolves program. With his experience and knowledge of our program, I expect a seamless transition as he returns to Minnesota."
In four seasons at Alaska Anchorage, Hill posted a record of 39-89-21 in a program that has not enjoyed a winning season since 1992-93. After rebuilding the program, the Seawolves enjoyed some success the last two seasons. UAA upset Wisconsin 2-1 in the best-of-3, first-round WCHA playoff series in 2004, snapping a streak in which the Seawolves had lost all 22 of their previous league playoff games dating back to 1993. UAA advanced to the WCHA Final Five and won the play-in game over Colorado College, 4-1. Last season, Alaska Anchorage nearly upset Wisconsin again, falling 2-1 in Game 3 on a controversial game-winning goal by the Badgers.
As a player, Hill captained Alaska Anchorage in 1983-84 and compiled 121 points (60-61-121) during his four-year career as a Seawolf. Hill began his coaching career as a part-time assistant at UAA in 1988 before moving on a year later to become head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League"s Dubuque Fighting Saints. From 1991-95, Hill served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Alaska Anchorage before joining Lucia at Colorado College in 1995.
Born in Hampton, Va., and a graduate of Bartlett High School in Anchorage,
Hill and his wife, Patsy, will reside in the Twin Cities.
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