Troy, MI (4/3/24): The Men’s Division 3 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to announce this year’s National Coach of the Year, Dylan Knox of Grand Valley State.
Coach Knox led the Lakers to a 25-3-1-1 record during the past season. The record is even more impressive due to the +114 Goal Differential for the year, making GVSU’s average win by 3.8 goals. Grand Valley was ranked #1 in the first seven rankings of the year, before ending the season at the #3 team in the nation in the final ranking. That ranking allowed the team to be the top seed of a pool in the National Tournament. Knox was at the helm as their dominance continued during Pool Play at Nationals, going 3-0, outscoring their opponents 15-2, including shutouts of Missouri State and Purdue. In the Semifinals, the Lakers were able to knock off league rival, Calvin University, 3-2 to advance to their second ever National Final, before falling to the Lawrence Tech, 4-2
Several players for Knox were recognized this past year. Steve Myers was the MCHC MVP and both All-Athletic First Team, and National Tournament First Team as a forward. GVSU netminder, Bobby Masters, was named to the All Athletic First Team and National Tournament Second Team. Sam Gorno was awarded a National Tournament First Team nod at Defense. Four Lakers averaged over a point a game, led by Jack Myers at 2.07 PPG. The goalies under Coach Knox, a former Grand Valley State goalie, posted a 1.76 Goals against Average for the season, while stopping almost 94% of the shots they saw.
This is the first Coach of the Year in GVSU’s M3 program history, and the third at the school (Mike Forbes, Men’s Division 2 in 2011 and Cory Whitaker, Women’s Division 1 in 2010). Dylan, along with the other Coaches of the Year will be recognized at a banquet during the ACHA Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN. on May 10th.