Mike Sertich facts for kids

Mike Sertich was a famous American ice hockey coach. He was born on January 9, 1947, and passed away on August 8, 2024. Coach Sertich led the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs ice hockey team for many years, from 1983 to 2000. He also coached other teams before he retired.

Mike Sertich's Hockey Journey

Mike Sertich started his hockey career playing for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. He played as a defenseman for three years in the mid-1960s. After playing, he became a coach at Grand Rapids High School. He worked with Gus Hendrickson there.

Later, in 1975, both Sertich and Hendrickson joined the coaching staff at Minnesota-Duluth, which was Sertich's old college. Hendrickson was the head coach, but his team didn't win much. So, Mike Sertich took over as head coach for the 1982–1983 season. He made a big difference right away.

Early Success at Minnesota-Duluth

In his first year as head coach, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs won 28 games. This was the most wins the team had ever had in one season. It was also their best record since joining the WCHA in 1965. They even made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

The next year, the Bulldogs did even better. They won the WCHA tournament and reached the 1984 National Championship game. They played against Bowling Green but lost in a very long game that went into quadruple overtime.

In the following year, 1985, Sertich's team won their second conference title in a row. They had an amazing season with 36 wins, which is still the only time UMD has won 30 or more games in a season. In the 1985 NCAA Tournament, they finished third. They lost to Rensselaer in triple overtime.

Because of his great success in his first three years, Sertich was named WCHA Coach of the Year every season. No other coach has won this award three years in a row! He also won the national coach of the year award in 1984.

Later Years and Other Teams

After those first few amazing years, the Bulldogs had some ups and downs. After a good season in 1985–1986, they didn't have many winning seasons for the next nine years. One of their good years was in 1992–1993, when Sertich won his last regular season title and Coach of the Year award from the WCHA.

The team had a brief comeback in the mid-1990s with three winning seasons. However, in 1998–1999, they only won seven games. This was their lowest win total in 30 years. Even though they improved the next season, it wasn't enough. Sertich announced during that season that the year 2000 would be his last with the Bulldogs.

Less than a year later, Sertich returned to college hockey. He took over as coach at Michigan Tech in the middle of a season. He replaced coach Tim Watters, who had a tough start to the year. Sertich helped the team improve, even though their overall record didn't show it much. He coached there for two more years before retiring for a second time.

Several years later, Sertich became an assistant coach at the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota. He stayed there for two seasons.

Mike Sertich passed away on August 8, 2024, at the age of 77.