Unexpected death of legendary hockey coach leaves community in shock

The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey (UMD) can proudly say that Mike Sertich served as coach of their team from 1982 until 2000. Mike was in charge during the time that they won all three of their titles in 1984, 1985 and 1993. Sertich was born in Virginia, Minnesota, and went on to play as a player in the 1960s, before transitioning to coaching where he held a career record of 350-328-44. In 1984, he was honored by the American Hockey Coaches Association with the Penrose award for Coach of the Year after he set a team coaching record for most victories in the University's history with a 36-9-3 record.

When Sertich was finally done setting records and winning trophies with UMD, he went over to Michigan Tech University where he coached from 2000 until 2003. After those three seasons, he then went on to volunteer as a coach in 2010 at the College of St. Scholastica, until he left in 2012. He then continued his volunteering as coach over with the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team in 2015, but that only lasted for one year.

As mentioned earlier, Sertich also played before he became a coach. Between the years of 1966 and 1969, Sertich was a player for the UMD, and he also got an award for being the most improved senior player. His position was on defense, and in the 64 career games he played, he had a total of nine points, two of those being goals. The goal that he will remember the most in his lifetime is the one he scored against absolute legendary NHL goaltender Tony Esposito.

No doubt that Sertich's family and friends are going through a very tough time right now, so we would like to offer all of them our sincerest condolences. Please remain strong.

Source: Minnesota Duluth men's hockey
Legendary Men's Hockey Coach Mike Sertich Passes Away at Age 77