Bemidji State University head men’s ice hockey coach Tom Serratore today announced that Chris McKelvie (Sr., New Brighton, Minn.), Kyle Hardwick (Sr. Warroad, Minn.) and Matt Read (Jr., Ilderton, Ontario) have been selected as the Beavers’ 2009-10 captains.

The trio, which includes two seniors that hail from Minnesota and a junior from Ilderton, Ontario, each played a key role on a 2008-09 team that made a historic run through the NCAA Tournament to become the first No. 16 seed to appear in the Frozen Four.

“Selecting captains is something that our players are responsible for, and I think they really thought this through and have done a wonderful job picking three high-character, hard-working players to be the face of our program in 2009-10,” commented Serratore.

“It¹s a honor to be named as a captain of any team and it’s no different with our program. When you look at the history and the tradition of Bemidji State hockey and the captains and the leaders that we’ve had, it’s a tremendous honor for these players to be named among that group.” Serratore added, “With that said, you don’t necessarily have to wear a letter in order to be a leader. We call on all of our upper classmen to help ingrain the traditions and values of Beaver hockey into our younger players.”

“Our captains are truly an extension of our coaching staff,” continued Serratore. “We lean heavily on them not only to give direction to the younger players, but also to lead by example. There is no doubt in my mind these three players will do exactly that.”

McKelvie captains the team after serving as an alternate captain a year ago. The senior is coming off a season in which he was one of five BSU student-athletes to play in each of the Beavers’ 37 games. He posted three goals and four assists, which included an unassisted marker in Bemidji State’s 5-1 victory over then-ranked No. 2 Notre Dame in the NCAA Regional Semifinal game. After a three-goal performance at Colorado College Jan. 18, 2008, McKelvie stands as one of only nine BSU players to record a hat trick at the Division I level and is thought to be one of 11 to record a natural hat trick in the storied history of BSU Hockey.

McKelvie follows in the footsteps of his two brothers. Ryan, who was a graduate assistant coach with the Beavers from 2006-08, captained the Minnesota State University men’s hockey team during his final three seasons (2004-06) while his twin brother, Zach, served as a captain for the Army men’s hockey team in 2008-09.

Hardwick wears the “A” on his sweater for the first time. He made an appearance in 27 games in 2008-09, which includes a stretch of 18 consecutive contests to round out the season. Although he totaled just two points (0-2=2) as a junior, they came when it mattered most. The Warroad, Minn. native notched an assist in each of the Beavers’ NCAA Midwest Regional contests including a helper on Tyler Scofield’s game-winning goal versus Cornell to advance Bemidji State to the Frozen Four.

After leading the Beavers in scoring during his first two seasons in the green and white, Read has also been named assistant captain for 2009-10. As a sophomore, he put up 15-25=40 points playing in each of the Beavers’ 37 games to extend his consecutive games played streak to 74. Named First-Team All-CHA at the conclusion of the season, he also earned a spot on the CHA All-Tournament Team as the Most Outstanding Player and was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament squad. He enters his junior season tied for 11th on BSU’s Division I-Era scoring list with 67 points and is among the top 20 in both goals and assists.

In addition to excelling on the ice, each of the 2009-10 captains has also proven himself in the classroom. McKelvie, Hardwick and Read each earned a spot on the 2009 Academic All-CHA Team.

The Beavers completed the 2008-09 campaign April 9 after falling to Miami (Ohio) in their first appearance at the NCAA Division I Frozen Four. Bemidji State posted an overall record of 20-16-1 marking its fourth 20-win season in eight years under Serratore and its seventh consecutive season with a record of .500 or better. The Beavers also captured their fourth CHA Regular-Season crown in six years with a 12-5-1 mark in league play.