MIKE PETRUSMA’S LEGACY LIVES ON AS HE IS ELECTED TO AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME POSTHUMOUSLY AS LONE MEMBER OF CLASS OF 2024
Petrusma Becomes 31st Member Elected to ACHA Hall of Fame
UNION LAKE, Mich. – (March 12, 2025) – The American Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that former Calvin University Head Coach Mike Petrusma has been posthumously elected as the lone member of the ACHA Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Petrusma passed away November 23, 2024, due to complications from an extended illness at the age of 61. Petrusma becomes the first member elected to the ACHA Hall of Fame representing Calvin University.
The Hall of Fame inductees were selected from a field of eligible nominees reviewed by the ACHA Hall of Fame Committee and recommended to the ACHA’s Board of Directors. Nominations to the Hall of Fame are made in two categories: Players and Builders. Petrusma will be enshrined in the Builders Category as the 17th honoree.
A native of Georgetown, Ontario, Petrusma guided Calvin University for 28 seasons and amassed a won-loss record of 531-211-37. Petrusma guided Calvin University (formerly Calvin College until 2019) hockey teams at the Men’s Division I, II and III levels, winning the 2004 ACHA Men’s Division III National Championship. He led teams at all three levels (Men’s Division I, II, and III) to their respective ACHA national tournaments.
Petrusma played a crucial role in helping Calvin University grow into two hockey programs in 2017, as its Men’s Division III team moved up to the Men’s Division I level and a new Men’s Division III team was started. As Calvin University Director of Hockey Operations, he served as head coach of the Men’s Division I team and oversaw the operations of both the Men’s Division I and III teams. In 2006, Petrusma’s team won the Vezina Cup as playoff champions of the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC). He was named MCHC Coach of the Year in 2006 and Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League Coach of the Year in 2020.
Under Petrusma’s leadership, Calvin University was a founding member of the Great Lakes 6 Hockey Conference (GL6), which began play in Men’s Division I in 2024. Petrusma was named GL6 Coach of the Year in 2025 and the GL6 Playoff Championship Trophy was recently renamed the Mike Petrusma Cup in his honor.
As a Calvin University student in the mid-1980s, he was a member of the Calvin University men’s soccer team but remained involved in hockey, a game he played extensively while growing up in Canada. He later guided the Calvin University women’s soccer team as head coach from 1989-to-1994, amassing a won-loss record of 74-28-2 as the program entered the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in its initial years as a varsity program. His passion for Calvin University stemmed from his own father Jurjen (George) Petrusma, who came to Calvin University as an immigrant student from the Netherlands and gained his education degree to become a long-time teacher in the Ontario Christian School system.
One of his great joys with the Calvin University hockey program was connecting its alumni from all aspects of the globe. In 2022, he spearheaded a 50-year anniversary of Calvin University hockey, bringing alumni back for Calvin University Homecoming Weekend while producing iconic Calvin University 50th anniversary hockey sweaters and logos with his son Josh and Calvin University hockey alum and Howie’s Hockey Tape owner Max Sieplinga.
Another great joy was serving as head coach of ACHA Team Canada at the 2023 World Cup of University Hockey, guiding the team to a silver medal finish. He previously served as head coach of the 2014 ACHA Men’s Division III National Selects Team and an assistant coach on its 2012 team.
Petrusma worked with the Grand Rapids Blades for several years at Eagles Ice Center in Grand Rapids. He was a tireless worker inside the facility. Through his work, the Calvin University hockey program was able to build top-shelf locker-room facilities inside Eagles Ice Center with the ACHA Men’s Division I locker rivaling many NCAA Division I or professional hockey facilities.
Above all, Petrusma was an enthusiastic supporter of Calvin University and its mission. He was fond of sharing that mission with his players, many of which had no previous connection with Calvin University, its mission, or its history.
Petrusma will be honored at the upcoming 2025 ACHA Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, along with ACHA Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductee, Christian Wilk.
For more information, please contact ACHA Executive Director Craig Barnett at cbarnett@achahockey.org.
Members of the ACHA Hall of Fame
2007 Tom Keegan Builder
2007 Don Spencer Builder
2008 Joe Battista Builder
2008 Jesse Hubenschmidt Player
2009 Josh Brandwene Builder
2010 Doug Waack Builder
2010 Will McMahon Player
2011 Craig McCarthy Builder
2012 Alon Eizenman Player
2013 Rich Holdeman Builder
2013 Glenn Detulleo Player
2014 Zoe Harris Builder
2014 William (BJ) DePaoli Player
2014 Adam Thomas Player
2015 Brent Cooper Player
2015 Justin Sand Player
2016 Marshall Stevenson Builder
2016 Mike Radakovich Builder
2017 Dan Morris Builder
2017 Thomas Krysil Player
2018 Dr. Gerald Caple Builder
2019 Dr. Alan Murdoch Builder
2019 Mike Sargo Player
2020 Anthony Feyock Player
2021 Sam Kelly Builder
2021 Carrie Jickling Player
2021 Joshua Mandel Player
2022 Christian Wilk Builder
2022 Greg Powers Builder
2022 Jonathan Tibaudo Player
2024 Mike Petrusma Builder
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About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) was founded in 1991 and is the national association for Non-NCAA Collegiate Hockey throughout the United States. Our organization of more than 450 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 13,000 players and coaches as well as countless volunteers and game officials, the ACHA has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and continues to be a viable option for college bound student-athletes to continue playing competitive hockey nationwide. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA’s primary mission is to support the growth of Collegiate Hockey while emphasizing academic performance, personal development, and opportunities for regional, national, and international competition. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and entered its 34th season in September 2024. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
