WYATT WASELENCHUK NAMED HEAD COACH FOR AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION MEN’S NATIONAL UNIVERSITY TEAM COMPETING AT THE 2027 FISU WINTER WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES IN CHANGCHUN, CHINA
33rd Edition of International Event will be Staged from January 13-25, 2027
TROY, Mich. – (September 25, 2026) – The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) today announced that Wyatt Waselenchuk (Minot, N.D.) has been named the head coach of the United States Men’s National University Team that will compete at the 2027 FISU Winter World University Games in Changchun, China from January 13-25, 2027.
Waselenchuk, the head coach for Minot State University, returns to the United States Men’s National University Team after having served as an assistant coach at the 2025 FISU Winter World University Games in Torino, Italy and as the starting goaltender for the 2013 FISU Winter World University Games in Trentino, Italy.
Waselenchuk was introduced as the head men’s hockey coach in the spring of 2021 and begins his sixth season as the Beavers’ head coach in 2026–2027 with an overall record of 171–21–8, good for an 87.5% winning percentage. Waselenchuk has been part of all three of the Beavers’ ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships: first as the starting goaltender in 2013, then as an assistant coach in 2019, and finally as the head coach in 2023.
The Beavers finished the 2025-2026 season with an overall record of 31-2-2, were regular season and playoff champions of Midwest College Hockey (MCH), and qualified for the ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships for the 17th consecutive season and 22nd overall. As well, the Beavers played and defeated Canadian schools University of Regina (5-1) and Briercrest College (6-5, 3-2). The Beavers held the No. 1 position for 7 of the 17 rankings and have held the top spot for 37 of the last 60 rankings, dating back to November 16, 2022. At the recently concluded 2026 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championships, the top seeded Beavers fell in the quarterfinals to No. 9 Adrian College 4-1.
During the 2024-2025 season, Waselenchuk earned his 100th career win, a 4-2 victory over No. 4 Ohio at the Maysa Arena on October 19 and led the Beavers to the semifinals before falling to national runners-up Adrian College 4-0. The Beavers claimed their first MCH playoff title, beating rival University of Jamestown 2-1 in overtime in the championship game in the Beavers inaugural season as an MCH member. Waselenchuk was named MCH Coach of the Year.
During the 2023-2024 season, the Beavers advanced to the ACHA Men’s Division I quarterfinals before falling 2-1 in overtime to Ohio, and Waselenchuk was named the 2023-2024 ACHA Men’s Division I Coach of the Year.
In the 2022-2023 season, he led the program to its third ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship, a 1-0 triumph over No. 3 Adrian College, and a 36-3-1 overall record. The Beavers also defeated No. 17 University of Michigan-Dearborn 8-0, then twice advanced in overtime with a 4-3 win over No. 8 Indiana Tech in the quarterfinals, and a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Liberty University in the semifinals.
In his first year as the Beavers head coach in 2021-2022, he led the team to a 31-3-0 record, a No. 1 ACHA Men’s Division I national ranking during the season, and another appearance in the ACHA Men’s Division I National Tournament.
A former Minot State University assistant coach and player, Waselenchuk took over a Beaver men’s hockey program that has been one of the most prolific ACHA Men’s Division I teams in the country over the last eleven years – including winning three national championships, nine straight quarterfinal appearances, and 5 final fours prior to Waselenchuk being named head coach.
Previously, Waselenchuk served as an assistant coach for five seasons for the Beavers. He is a native of Port Moody, British Columbia, and grew up playing his minor hockey in the Greater Vancouver area before moving on to play in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the Langley Chiefs and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) with the Nipawin Hawks.
Waselenchuk, a goaltender, played for the Beavers from 2010-2014, which included being a part of the 2013 Men’s Division I National Championship team. He became the first and only player in the team’s history to be named ACHA Men’s Division I Player of the Year following the Beavers title run in 2012-2013. Wyatt was also named a First-Team All-Athletic in 2013 and a Second-Team All- Athletic in 2014. Holding dual citizenship, he was chosen in his final season to represent the United States Men’s National University Team at the Winter World University Games in Trentino, Italy.
Wyatt spent five seasons (2016-2021) as an assistant coach with the Minot Minotauros of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He still moonlights as the Minotauros’ goalie coach and is the head goalie coach for the Minot Hockey Boosters youth hockey association.
Upon the end of Wyatt’s playing career in 2014, he immediately jumped into coaching, and specifically goalie development. He is the owner and co-founder of Goalie Coaches and spends his off-season running goalie camps throughout the midwestern part of the United States and Canada.
Wyatt resides in Minot, N.D., with his son Jett.
The Men’s tournament will consist of nine teams. Group A will consist of Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Korea, Student Neutral Athletes from the Russian Federation, and the United States playing four round-robin games. Group B will consist of Canada, Czechia, Japan, and Slovakia playing three round-robin games. The top four teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals. All Men’s games, including the Semifinals and Finals, will be held at the 8,552-seat Changchun Olympic Park Ice Arena.
The ACHA is fielding a United States men’s hockey team at the Winter World University Games for the 12th time.
The 2027 Changchun Winter Universiade will be broadcast to more than 100 countries, reaching over 300 million viewers worldwide. Additional information can be found at
changchun2027.com.cn.
Founded in 1949, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) organizes world-class sports and educational events, all with the mission of providing university students with the opportunities to connect and exchange with students from around the world, in a collaborative and competitive environment.
The 2027 Changchun Winter Universiade, also known as the 2027 FISU Winter World University Games, the XXXIII Winter World University Games, or the 33rd Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Changchun 2027, is the largest international winter multi-sport event for student-athletes and will consist of 12 sports and 108 medal events. Featuring more than 2,500 athletes and staff from more than 50 countries in the 18–28-year-old age range, the 13-day event began in 1960 in France and was hosted on American soil in Lake Placid, N.Y., in both 1972 and 2023. This will be the second time that the event will be held in China, after Harbin in 2009.
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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 560 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 16,000 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 enters its 36th season in September 2026. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
ABOUT UniUSA
UniUSA is the governing body for the United States in all FISU events (Winter and Summer World University Games, World University Championships, and FISU World Cups.) Under the leadership of President Dan Guerrero, and Secretary General Lori Thomas, UniUSA incorporates administrators, student-athletes, and coaches from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), and the College Sports Communicators (CSC). A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, incorporated in 1968, UniUSA has organized elite teams of American student-athletes in global competition for more than 5 decades.
