College Men's Hockey

Shot and a Goal! Longtime Gopher voice, Frank Mazzocco, calls it a career

Posted on by Let's Play Hockey
Longtime Gopher hockey announcer Frank Mazzocco has retired. PHOTO COURTESY OF GOPHER ATHLETICS

 Mazzocco was a staple of Gopher Hockey for 35 years

Longtime television and radio announcer Frank Mazzocco is hanging up his headset for good. After 47 years in the industry and 35 as a Golden Gopher Hockey broadcaster, Mazzocco has called his final game.

“Today, five teams later, I’m still learning, but the drive and curiosity are no longer strong enough to do the job the way it needs to be done,” Mazzocco said on his X account. “With that, it’s time to step into retirement.”

Mazzocco’s voice was synonymous with Gopher hockey, whether on television during some of the Gophers most memorable seasons, and most recently on radio for the past 13 seasons. He teamed up with Wally Shaver, Doug Woog and Pat Micheletti among others to bring Gopher fans all the action. He coined the famous phrase: “Shot and a Goal!”

In a statement released by the University of Minnesota Men’s Hockey program, Mazzocco said: “In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have put this whole thing together. It’s just been a wild run and I am really lucky. Gopher Sports Properties helped renew the fun in broadcasting and I am very appreciative of the last 13 years. I often call Wally (Shaver) and I the ‘Odd Couple’ but once we got on the air, we had the same ideas about how to do a game and that’s what made this job so much fun. The overriding best part was getting to know the players. You realize the quality of the recruits and the players, who are and have been in this Gophers’ program, are unbelievable.”

He started his career in 1982.

“In 1982, as a Chicago expat I took another plunge, into this hockey rabid paradise,” he said on X. “My number one goal was to earn your trust. Simply and honestly, I’m thankful you didn’t bounce me from the top of the IDS Center.”

Mazzocco was a common voice for any Minnesota youth hockey player growing up in the 80s and 90s who tuned into Gopher broadcasts every Friday and Saturday night. He eventually became a radio broadcaster.

“The people I have worked with in front of and behind cameras and microphones are the best in the business and made doing this job a joy,” he said. “I was fortunate to find Gopher Sports Properties as my final broadcast home and relearned the joy of radio over the last 13 seasons.”

Mazzocco said he will focus on his photography business in his retirement years.

“The excitement of game days will be missed. So too will the world class people known as Golden Gopher Hockey Players,” he said. “My camera, scanners and printer will now get serious workouts and life will be good. Go Gophers!”

In the beginning, Mazzocco took a shot at a career. In the end, he certainly scored a highlight reel goal.

Mazzocco’s X account was flooded with praise following his announcement: