Men's Hockey Coaches
Bob Motzko
Head Coach
Alma Mater: St. Cloud State, 1987
Hometown: Austin, MN
Phone: 320-308-4806
E-mail: menshockey@stcloudstate.edu
Eric Rud
Assistant Coach
Eric Rud will begin his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Huskies in 2009-10.
A graduate of Colorado College, Eric Rud served as an assistant coach at Colorado College during the 2004-05 season. He helped the Tigers win a share of the WCHA title with a 31-9-3, 19-7-2 WCHA record last winter. CC also went on to win its NCAA regional and gained a berth in the 2005 NCAA Frozen Four.
Prior to his tenure at Colorado College, Rud was an assistant coach with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the USHL from 2002 to 2004. He was responsible for recruiting many members of the Cedar Rapids team that won the 2005 USHL league title.
Originally from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Rud was voted the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and earned all-league honors in his final two campaigns at CC. He helped lead the Tigers to the Frozen Four as a junior and senior - including an appearance in the NCAA championship game in 1996. As a college player, Rud appeared in 168 consecutive games as the Tigers won WCHA regular season titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and posted a 111-43-14 record during that run from 1993-97.
As a sophomore, Rud became the first CC defenseman in 10 years to score a hat trick and he was also selected to the WCHA Final Five All-Tournament team. He played in the 1994 and 1995 US Olympic Festivals, and was a standout player with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers prior to his collegiate playing days. At Des Moines, Rud gained league MVP honors and helped the Buccaneers win a national title.
Rud graduated from CC with a bachelor's degree in psychology. He went on to play professional hockey with the San Antonio Dragons (IHL), Quebec Rafales (IHL), Florida Everblades (ECHL), Kansas City Blades (IHL), Utah Grizzlies (IHL) and the Idaho Steelheads (WCHL). At Idaho, Rud served as an assistant coach/player from 2000-02. In his professional career, Rud played in 319 games with 34 goals and 97 assists to his credit.
In 2009, Rud served as head coach of the USA U18 Select Team at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia. In 2008, Rud served as head coach of the USA U17 Select team at the Five Nations Tournament in Prievidza, Slovakia. Rud is a Level 4 USA Hockey Certified Coach.
Rud and his wife Amy reside in St. Cloud with their three children.
To contact Eric Rud, please call 320-308-4806 or e-mail the SCSU hockey office at menshockey@stcloudstate.edu.
Mike Gibbons
Assistant Coach
Mike Gibbons will begin his third season as an assistant coach at SCSU in 2009-10.
Gibbons will return to college hockey after serving since 1997 as the head boys’ hockey coach at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minn. In his coaching career that spans more than 25 years, Gibbons has had the opportunity to coach at all levels of the game including high school, juniors, college and professional.
Gibbons is a graduate of Bemidji State University, where he was a standout collegiate player for the Beavers from 1975 to 1979. He gained All-America notice in 1978 and 1979 and helped BSU win a national title in 1979. He went on to receive his Master’s degree from Bemidji State in 1989. He started his coaching career at Bemidji State as an assistant in 1981. Gibbons then served as the BSU head coach during the 1982-83 season, during which time he was named the NHCA Conference Coach of the Year and the College Division National Coach of the Year.
Gibbons moved to Northern Michigan University in 1983, and served as an assistant coach with the Wildcats’ hockey program until 1988. He went on to serve as an assistant coach at WCHA powers Colorado College (1988 to 1990) and the University of Denver (1990 to 1994). After leaving Denver, Gibbons worked for one year as the head coach for the Langley Thunder in the BCJHL.
From 1995 to 1997, Gibbons moved into the professional ranks as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Bandits – the Anaheim Ducks’ top affiliate in the AHL. Gibbons returned to Minnesota to take over as head coach at Eastview High School, when that school started up its boys’ hockey program in 1997. Since that time, Gibbons has gone on to earn Minnesota State High School League Section 5 Coach of the Year honors in 2001, 2003 and 2004.
In 2006, Gibbons served as an assistant coach for the USA Junior National Team, which placed fourth at the World Junior Tournament in Vancouver, B.C. In 1993, he was a co-coach with Scott Owens for the USA Select Team and he has coached numerous USA Hockey Select 17 teams during his career.
Gibbons and his wife Nancy have three children, Sean, Kelly and Shannon.
To contact Mike Gibbons, please call 320-308-4806 or e-mail the SCSU hockey office at menshockey@stcloudstate.edu.
Mike Ayers
Volunteer Goalie Coach
Mike Ayers will begin his first season as a volunteer goalie coach for the Huskies in 2009-10. He played college hockey at the University of New Hampshire from 2000 to 2004, where he was the Wildcats top goaltender during his junior and senior seasons.
At New Hampshire, Ayers was the 2002 Hockey East goaltending champion and was named a Hockey East All-Star in 2002 and 2003. A 2003 All-American and Walter Brown Award winner at New Hampshire, Ayers led New Hampshire to NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2002 and 2003. He left UNH with records in wins, shutouts, games played and minutes played. He was recently named to Hockey East's 25th anniversary team.
He went on to play professional hockey with several stops in the AHL and ECHL. In 2004-05, he played for Dayton (ECHL). In 2005-06, Ayers played for Syracuse (AHL), and later played for Sonderjvske (Danish Elite League) in 2006-07, Lesand Stars (Sweden) in 2007 and the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL in 2007-08.
His coaching experiences include work with the USA Hockey Select Festivals in St. Cloud and Rochester, N.Y. and he served as the goaltending coach for the Iowa Chops of the AHL in 2008-09. He is a member of USA Hockey's Warren Strelow Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. and is also a USA Hockey Regional scout for Minnesota. He currently works with the MVP Goaltending school in Minnesota.
Ayers was born and raised in Hingham, MA, a suburb twenty minutes south of Boston. He attended Thayer Academy during his high school years before playing for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League. Mike received a scholarship to play at the University of New Hampshire and graduated from there in 2004. Ayers has since moved to Minnesota with his wife, Melissa, and dog, Maddi.
Matt Chapman
Coordinator of Business and Hockey Operations
Matt Chapman begins his fourth season as Coordinator of Business and Hockey Operations for the men's hockey program at SCSU in 2009-10, and his second season as the Coordinator of Business and Hockey Operations for the women's hockey program at SCSU. A graduate of Bethel University in 2006, Chapman majored in Athletic Training and he is a certified athletic trainer. At Bethel, Chapman served as the men¹s basketball trainer during the 2005-06 season. He played one year of hockey at Bethel, and he is from Bloomington, Indiana. Chapman attended Culver Military Academy, where he played soccer, hockey, baseball and track.
Chapman and his wife Alicia reside in St. Cloud.
Jeremiah Minkel
Equipment Manager
Jeremiah Minkel is a 15-year veteran in the SCSU equipment room. He begins his 11th season as the team's equipment manager on a full-time basis at SCSU in 2009-10. He serves as the director of equipment operations for both the men's and women's hockey teams at SCSU, and he also oversees the entire SCSU hockey equipment room staff. His duties include equipment procurement, locker room organization for both home and away games and complete maintenance of the team's equipment. He is widely recognized as one of the top skate technicians in the WCHA, and his work has helped several SCSU players advance to the NHL - including Tampa Bay's Ryan Malone, Colorado's Tyler Arnason, Toronto's Jeff Finger, Carolina's Tim Conboy, Philadelphia's Andreas Nodl and Atlanta's Joe Motzko. A graduate of SCSU, Minkel hails from nearby New London, Minn. and he attended New London-Spicer H.S. Minkel enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time.
If you would like to contact Jeremiah Minkel, please call 320-308-4806 or e-mail him at jdminkel@stcloudstate.edu.
Bryan DeMaine
Athletic Trainer
A four-year veteran at SCSU, Bryan DeMaine serves as the men's hockey athletic trainer. He most recently served as athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. from 2003-2005. His duties at St. Olaf included working as the head athletic trainer for that school's football, men's and women's hockey and the outdoor track and field program. He was affiliated with the Center for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation during his time at St. Olaf.
DeMaine also worked as the head athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach at the North Dakota State College of Science from Aug. 2002 through Sept. 2003. At NDSCS, DeMaine worked with that school's football, volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball programs. As a graduate student at SCSU, DeMaine worked with the St. Cloud Orthopedics Associates and was an on-site trainer for home athletic contests at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. He is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Board of Certification.
Bryan DeMaine is a 2000 graduate of the University of Mary and earned his Masters of Science from SCSU in 2004. He resides in Sartell along with his wife Mandy and his two daughters.
Travis Zins
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Zins begins his fifth season as head strength and conditioning coordinator at SCSU. He has served as an assistant track and field coach at SCSU since 2000, and comes to the athletic program as one of the best throwers in SCSU history. A four-time national participant, Zins is also a four-time North Central Conference champion and two-time All-American in the shot put. He was the national runner up in the 2000 Division II Indoor National Championships and received All-NCC honors numerous times in the shot put, discus, hammer, and weight throw. A native of Nicollet, MN, Zins received his bachelor¹s of science in physical education in 2002 from SCSU and is currently working towards his master¹s of science in exercise science from SCSU. Zins currently resides in Waite Park.
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