Calvin Remembers Mike Petrusma
“The hockey program wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today without Mike.”
That statement, made by Calvin’s ACHA Division III hockey coach Austin Huizenga, is true. More than 500 wins, multiple national tournament appearances at all three ACHA division levels, and a 2004 ACHA Division III National Championship, are among Mike Petrusma’s impressive 28-year resume as a hockey coach.
But those stat lines and impressive feats pale in comparison to the impact Petrusma had on his student-athletes and fellow coaches off the ice.
On Friday, November 22, 2024, Petrusma, 61, the longtime hockey director and head ACHA Division I coach at Calvin University died due to complications from an extended illness.
Building men of character
“Mike’s legacy at Calvin will not be for his winning teams – it will be for how those teams won, and how they carried themselves,” said Lynwood Sova, who joined Calvin’s hockey coaching staff in 2020. “He built a successful hockey program, but at the same time never wavered from his main focus of making sure the players that came through the program were successful in life and could contribute to society in a positive way.”
“Coach was more of a teacher than a hockey coach,” said Joe Messina, who coached alongside Petrusma and his son Josh for the past nine years at Calvin. “From teaching his players about being better individuals, believing in your faith, and letting God lead you each day, Coach seemed to always have a plan.”
Petrusma’s plan seemed to be building up successful student athletes and he achieved this by investing in them.
More than a coach
“He cared about every one of his student athletes like they were his own kids, managing the ups and downs that every college kid has,” said Huizenga. “While Mike was a colleague and my coach at Calvin, he was also a family friend and another parent figure for me.”
“My fondest memories are those where I would stop by just to chat with Mike for five minutes, and the next thing I knew an hour had passed and we were still talking, and once again I had learned something important from him,” said Sova. “Those conversations were insightful, entertaining, and I cannot put into words how much they meant to me.”
His legacy skates on
While the hockey program feels shorthanded right now, the indelible impact Petrusma left on his players and his fellow coaches will certainly be carried forward on and off the ice, both in the Calvin hockey program, and in the many areas of the lives of the hundreds of men he influenced along the way.
“Each day, Coach would leave you with advice to better your day as if he knew exactly what you were going through,” said Messina. “I look back on this now and it’s almost if he knew he had a higher calling, leaving his legacy in each one of us. Coach might be gone but a part of him will live on forever in so many of us for years to come.”
Mike is survived by his wife Kristen and his two adult children, Michael Jr. and Josh, who is also a member of the hockey coaching staff.
Visitation will be held in the Willow Room of the Prince Conference Center on Thursday December 5, 2024 from 2-4 and 5-8 p.m. and again in the Chapel Undercroft on Saturday, December 7, 2024 from 9:30-10:15 a.m. A celebration of life service will follow at 10:30 a.m. in the Calvin University Chapel. Note: Both visitation locations are also located on the Calvin University campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. See campus map.