The Bemidji State University men’s hockey team regained both league dominance and national prominence this past season with a 22-16-3 record.

The Beavers paced the Western Collegiate Hockey Association from wire to wire en route to their 22nd conference crown, and they ranked among the nation’s top 20 for 14 weeks.

An opening sweep of Bowling Green at home began a 13-game unbeaten streak that led BSU to its first WCHA regular season title. With a 20-6-2-2 league record, the Beavers claimed the historic MacNaughton Cup as regular-season champions and earned top seed in the WCHA’s new playoff format. After discarding Northern Michigan in a best-of-three quarterfinal, the Beavers fell to Bowling Green in the semifinal.

The season’s end brought a flood of individual awards. Michael Bitzer became the first BSU player to earn All-WCHA First Team recognition as the league coaches’ Player of the Year. Phil Marinaccio, Gerry Fitzgerald and Zach Whitecloud also received All-WCHA honors. With a team-best 29 points, Marinaccio was named to the second team, while Fitzgerald earned a spot on the third team and Whitecloud was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Head Coach Tom Serratore was voted WCHA Coach of the Year.

Bitzer, who ranked among the country’s top five goaltenders in every statistical category, including an NCAA-best 1.71 goals against average, picked up All-America First Team West recognition from the American Hockey Coaches Association. He also was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, annually given to the nation’s top goaltender, and was BSU’s first top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

In addition, Brendan Harms won the Senior CLASS award in a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans. The prestigious honor goes to the year’s most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I men’s hockey.