MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Former Northern Michigan University hockey player Dave Shiyak has been named his alma mater’s fourth head coach, announced by athletic director Rick Comley on Wednesday.
Shiyak is a graduate of NMU and played four seasons (1987-91) with the Wildcats, and helped captain the 1991 National Championship team and was a member of both WCHA Playoff teams. Shiyak returned to Northern to begin his coaching career as an assistant under Comley before being promoted as an assistant head coach for three seasons (2002-05).
Comley expressed his excited about Shiyak’s return and said “Dave was a part of our National Championship team and helped keep our program at an
extremely high level as an assistant coach for many years.”
After his time at Northern, Shiyak went on to head coach at Alaska Anchorage University, Western Michigan and St. Cloud. He has 25- plus years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, where he has been behind the bench at over 1,000 NCAA games, made an appearance at 5 NCAA tournament appearances and the NCAA National Championship game.
Shiyak has spent the past four season as the assistant head coach at St. Cloud State where they made three consecutive playoff appearances.
“This is an incredible opportunity to return to my home away from home,” Shyiak said. “Northern Michigan and Marquette are really special to me and my family. We have remained close to a lot of our friends and fellow alums in the Upper Peninsula. To start as a student-athlete in 1987 and come full circle to lead the hockey program as head coach is something for which I will forever be grateful. I want to thank President Tessman and Rick Comley for believing in me. I feel honored and privileged, and I will do everything I can to make this University and community proud.”
Shyiak served as a coach at the USA Hockey national selection camp in Buffalo, N.Y. in 2020. He has also served as a guest coach for the Washington Capitals Development Camp in 2010 and the Swedish National U20 Team Camp in 2009.
Dave and his wife, Lucia – a former two-time NMU All-American volleyball standout – have three children, Kristian, Sheldon, and Isabela.
