After eight seasons behind the bench of the Bemidji State women’s program, head coach Steve Sertich is retiring.
Sertich, who has led the Beavers to 81 wins, eight postseason appearances and the program’s first stint in the national polls, announced his decision at a press conference Monday afternoon.
“I’ve truly enjoyed my time as a teacher and coach at both the high school and Division I levels and now I look forward to the next chapter of my life,” said Sertich in a news release.
“I want to thank Steve for his time as the head women’s hockey coach at Bemidji State University,” added BSU director of athletics Tracy Dill. “Although my time working with Steve has been short, it is evident that he cares deeply about the program, staff and more importantly, the student-athletes. I wish Steve the best in retirement and thank him for all he has done to make BSU a better place.”
The 2009-10 WCHA coach of the year, Sertich leaves Bemidji State program as the all-time wins leader with 81 – surpassing each of his predecessors by more than 50 wins.
Sertich led the Beavers to their eighth consecutive WCHA playoff appearance to conclude the 2013-14 campaign, a season that saw BSU register an overall record of 11-21-4 with an 8-17-3 mark in league play
In 2011-12, Bemidji State picked up a program-record 17 wins and finished 17-17-3 overall, which included five wins over ranked opponents and a national ranking. In addition, Zuzana Tomcikova became the program’s first All-America selection.
Sertich came to Bemidji State in 2006-07 after spending 13 years as the head varsity coach at Roseville Area High School. He coached the Roseville boys’ team from 1993-2003, leading it to a 156-71-11 record and two Minnesota State tournament appearances and two Suburban East Conference Championships. Sertich also earned four coach of the year honors.
In 2003, Sertich moved to head coach of the Roseville High School girls’ varsity team and in three seasons in the position, he led the program to a record of 62-21-2. The Roseville girls captured Suburban East Conference titles in both 2004 and 2005 and Sertich was named the 2004 Section 2AA Girls’ coach of the year.
Sertich began his coaching career in 1976 as the head boys’ varsity coach at Northfield High School and over the next 20 years, held a variety of head and assistant coaching positions at the high school, college and national team levels.
In the spring of 2010, Sertich was inducted into the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame.
