Beavers brought into WCHA

The Bemidji State University men’s hockey team will join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) in 2010-11.

The Beavers will join the WCHA along with Nebraska-Omaha bringing the conference up to 12 teams.

“The announcement by the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is the realization of a decade-long dream for Bemidji State University,” BSU president D. Jon Quistgaard said. “Pursuing membership in the WCHA was the ultimate goal of the university when it made the bold move to elevate its men’s hockey program to Division I status in 1998.

Prior to reaching the Frozen Four in 2009, the Beavers had won 13 NCAA championships below the Division I level. The men’s program at BSU was founded in 1948.

The Beavers are coming off their most successful Division I season. The 2008-09 team reached the Frozen Four in April where they placed Miami of Ohio. Wadena skater Chris Peluso was a junior defenseman on that club.

Wadena native Brad Folkestad is BSU’s Director of Athletic Media Relations. Folkestad in a 1996 graduate of Wadena-Deer Creek High School.

The BSU women’s hockey team has been a member of the WCHA since its inception in 1999-2000.