UNION LAKE, Mich. –The ACHA announced today that Minot State men’s hockey head coach Wyatt Waselenchuk has been named the 2024 Men’s Division I Coach of the Year as selected by ACHA Men’s Division I head coaches.
Waselenchuk was chosen from a group of finalists that included Gary Astalos of Adrian College, Carl Trosien of Purdue University Northwest, and Mike Rivera of University of Central Oklahoma after he led the Beavers to a 30-7-1 overall record this season and into the quarterfinals of the ACHA National Tournament.
Waselenchuk is the second Minot State coach to win the award, joining two-time recipient and former Beaver head coach Wade Regier (2013 and 2017).
The honor is the first for the current Beavers head coach who becomes the ninth former ACHA player to win the award. Waselenchuk also was named ACHA Division I Player of the Year after leading Minot State to the national title in 2012-13 as the Beavers starting goalie.
Waselenchuk led the Beavers to the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships for the 15th consecutive season and 20th overall this winter, and Minot State held the No. 1 ranking in the ACHA poll for 15 of the 18 rankings during the 2023-2024 season.
Introduced as Minot State coach in the spring of 2021, Coach Waselenchuk has a 96-13-1 career record in three seasons as the Beavers head coach and guided the team to the program’s third ACHA National Championship following the 2022-23 season. Waselenchuk has been part of all three of the team’s ACHA National Championships: As goalie for the 2012-13 National Championship team, as assistant coach for the 2018-19 National Championship team, and as head coach for the 2022-23 National Championship team.
The Beavers will join the Midwest College Hockey (MCH) conference beginning with the 2024-25 season.
