University of Minnesota Athletics
North Star: Senior Forward Andy Sertich
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
That success started at a very young age, but didn’t become publicly evident until Sertich reached high school, where he compiled 98 goals and 151 assists over four seasons at Greenway High School and helped lead his team to the Minnesota State Tournament his junior year. Also on Sertich’s team that year was current Gopher center Gino Guyer. They have been friends and played on the same team as long as they both can remember, but there is one memory that really sticks out to Guyer from that season.
“When we were juniors in high school, we were playing to go to the state tournament, and we both had never been there at any level growing up. We were playing against Clouquet in the section finals, up 2-0 and the team pulled their goalie,” Guyer said. “Serty got the puck all alone and shot it in the open net, and I went to jump on him (laughing) and he didn’t see me so he just skated right by me to go to our student section. Eventually we caught him and we all piled on to celebrate.”
The Gophers really wanted Sertich to play here and much to their delight, he signed up for the ride along with Guyer before their senior season. However, the Gophers weren’t the only team looking for his services. In the 2002 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sertich in the fifth round, but that wasn’t going to change his mind on playing for the Gophers. It was what he always wanted to do. Upon arriving on campus, a freshman student-athlete doesn’t always know exactly what to expect, and the same goes for their coaches, but the Gophers definitely got more than they bargained for with Sertich. His versatility was evident on day one, even though all the previous signs pointed directly to it. Besides being all-state in hockey Sertich was also able to earn all-conference two years in a row as a wide receiver in football and as a shortstop for the baseball team. Early on, Sertich impressed coaches and teammates and he hasn’t stopped since.
“On the ice, he goes out there and works hard every shift of the game, and he is one of those players you can rely on to put on the ice in any situation because he can do a little bit of everything,” Guyer said. “Even when we have to throw him back at defense every once in a while, because he is very versatile, he takes care of his own zone and he can also help to create some offense.”
The coaching staff and the rest of the team agree that Sertich is a great hockey player with an unbelievable gift of athleticism and heart. However, Sertich himself would rather take a more humble approach.
“I pride myself in trying to play good defense,” Sertich said. “I like to be out there during the game when we have a one-goal lead trying to preserve that win. Offensively, I think I am a skilled player, but my main asset is that I work hard, harder than most people on the other team. I’m not really a vocal leader, I just try to go out work hard and lead by example. I’m not too vocal in the locker room with trying to pump guys up. When I’m on the bench I’ll say stuff to get guys amped up, but I try to lead by example as much as I can.”
All of his hard work and toughness is evident by the amount of games he has missed so far in his Gopher career. One. Sertich has managed to miss only one game, playing in 133 out of 134 games during his Gopher career and it has rubbed off on his teammates. Last year, Sertich was one of eight Gophers who played in all 44 games.
On the ice, Sertich is a warrior, always moving, serious, and always working hard. Off the ice is a different story. Sure, Sertich works hard to finish out his degree in applied economics this year, but he still finds time for fun, and is a riot with his teammates. Guyer, Sertich’s roommate, confirms what everyone else already knows.
“Off the ice he is a really laid back guy. We like to mess around poking fun at one another,” Guyer explained. “He is one of the guys in the locker room always poking fun at someone and someone is always giving it right back to him.”
“One time the guys taped Serty’s shoes and clothes into a big ball and put them in his locker stall,” he said laughing loudly. “I mean he gives it out so much and he got it right back, and we were all just rolling on the ground.”
Sertich knows he jokes a lot, it is just his personality, but he also does it to make sure that people aren’t on edge out on the ice and that the locker room is always a friendly place. When asked about his favorite prank that he has pulled off, Sertich replies with a mischievous smile.
“I don’t think it has been done yet. I don’t do too many pranks; I’m more of a laid back kind of joking around guy. I like to poke fun at some of the people (in the locker room) to keep the atmosphere calm, laid back and happy,” Sertich said. “Off the ice I’m a lot more laid back. I’m not too hyper of a person. On the ice you can’t be laid back, so I just switch that off, get psyched and energy to put some emotion out there.”
Sertich has everything a coach could want in a player. He’s tough, he works hard and is a great person. Sertich is also a team leader with the emphasis on team. Even though he doesn’t always start the game on the ice, and even though his name doesn’t always show up in the headlines, he still keeps fighting the good fight and doing whatever is humanly possible for his team to win. Sertich attributes much of his team-first attitude to his former coach, his father.
“My dad was always my coach growing up and as a coaches son, you never get any recognition, none of your accolades stand out when you get home, so it was always team first and it just carried over to here,” Sertich said. “Right now my role is more of a defensive responsibility, like killing penalties, but the team and coaches still want me to be offensive minded and contribute as much as I can. I’m just trying to be a good solid two-way player and get as many points as I can, and keep the puck out of our net.”
Now if Sertich and the rest of his Gopher teammates can keep the puck out of their own net they will be well on their way towards yet another National Championship, something Sertich holds very close to his heart.
“Winning the national title my freshman year was way over my head,” Sertich said. “I still can’t realize it right now and it probably won’t sink in until I’m 30, 35 years old and I look back and know I have a ring. Hopefully I’ll get one more because the guys I played with last year have two and it’d be real nice to get two.”
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant The clang of weights, knocking against each other, metal on metal. The sound of rock music playing throughout the background. The whirring of resistance from a stationary bike. It is in the weight training and conditioning room at Mariucci Arena where you can hear these sounds. It’s also where you’ll find senior forward Andy Sertich during most of his free time, that is unless he is hanging out and relaxing with his teammates at his on- campus house. It is because of that weight room dedication that Sertich was able to win the team’s annual Iron-Man competition measuring strength, speed, agility, and endurance two years in a row in 2003 and 2004, not to mention the reason for his on-ice success.
That success started at a very young age, but didn’t become publicly evident until Sertich reached high school, where he compiled 98 goals and 151 assists over four seasons at Greenway High School and helped lead his team to the Minnesota State Tournament his junior year. Also on Sertich’s team that year was current Gopher center Gino Guyer. They have been friends and played on the same team as long as they both can remember, but there is one memory that really sticks out to Guyer from that season.
“When we were juniors in high school, we were playing to go to the state tournament, and we both had never been there at any level growing up. We were playing against Clouquet in the section finals, up 2-0 and the team pulled their goalie,” Guyer said. “Serty got the puck all alone and shot it in the open net, and I went to jump on him (laughing) and he didn’t see me so he just skated right by me to go to our student section. Eventually we caught him and we all piled on to celebrate.”
The Gophers really wanted Sertich to play here and much to their delight, he signed up for the ride along with Guyer before their senior season. However, the Gophers weren’t the only team looking for his services. In the 2002 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sertich in the fifth round, but that wasn’t going to change his mind on playing for the Gophers. It was what he always wanted to do. Upon arriving on campus, a freshman student-athlete doesn’t always know exactly what to expect, and the same goes for their coaches, but the Gophers definitely got more than they bargained for with Sertich. His versatility was evident on day one, even though all the previous signs pointed directly to it. Besides being all-state in hockey Sertich was also able to earn all-conference two years in a row as a wide receiver in football and as a shortstop for the baseball team. Early on, Sertich impressed coaches and teammates and he hasn’t stopped since.
“On the ice, he goes out there and works hard every shift of the game, and he is one of those players you can rely on to put on the ice in any situation because he can do a little bit of everything,” Guyer said. “Even when we have to throw him back at defense every once in a while, because he is very versatile, he takes care of his own zone and he can also help to create some offense.”
The coaching staff and the rest of the team agree that Sertich is a great hockey player with an unbelievable gift of athleticism and heart. However, Sertich himself would rather take a more humble approach.
“I pride myself in trying to play good defense,” Sertich said. “I like to be out there during the game when we have a one-goal lead trying to preserve that win. Offensively, I think I am a skilled player, but my main asset is that I work hard, harder than most people on the other team. I’m not really a vocal leader, I just try to go out work hard and lead by example. I’m not too vocal in the locker room with trying to pump guys up. When I’m on the bench I’ll say stuff to get guys amped up, but I try to lead by example as much as I can.”
All of his hard work and toughness is evident by the amount of games he has missed so far in his Gopher career. One. Sertich has managed to miss only one game, playing in 133 out of 134 games during his Gopher career and it has rubbed off on his teammates. Last year, Sertich was one of eight Gophers who played in all 44 games.
On the ice, Sertich is a warrior, always moving, serious, and always working hard. Off the ice is a different story. Sure, Sertich works hard to finish out his degree in applied economics this year, but he still finds time for fun, and is a riot with his teammates. Guyer, Sertich’s roommate, confirms what everyone else already knows.
“Off the ice he is a really laid back guy. We like to mess around poking fun at one another,” Guyer explained. “He is one of the guys in the locker room always poking fun at someone and someone is always giving it right back to him.”
“One time the guys taped Serty’s shoes and clothes into a big ball and put them in his locker stall,” he said laughing loudly. “I mean he gives it out so much and he got it right back, and we were all just rolling on the ground.”
Sertich knows he jokes a lot, it is just his personality, but he also does it to make sure that people aren’t on edge out on the ice and that the locker room is always a friendly place. When asked about his favorite prank that he has pulled off, Sertich replies with a mischievous smile.
“I don’t think it has been done yet. I don’t do too many pranks; I’m more of a laid back kind of joking around guy. I like to poke fun at some of the people (in the locker room) to keep the atmosphere calm, laid back and happy,” Sertich said. “Off the ice I’m a lot more laid back. I’m not too hyper of a person. On the ice you can’t be laid back, so I just switch that off, get psyched and energy to put some emotion out there.”
Sertich has everything a coach could want in a player. He’s tough, he works hard and is a great person. Sertich is also a team leader with the emphasis on team. Even though he doesn’t always start the game on the ice, and even though his name doesn’t always show up in the headlines, he still keeps fighting the good fight and doing whatever is humanly possible for his team to win. Sertich attributes much of his team-first attitude to his former coach, his father.
“My dad was always my coach growing up and as a coaches son, you never get any recognition, none of your accolades stand out when you get home, so it was always team first and it just carried over to here,” Sertich said. “Right now my role is more of a defensive responsibility, like killing penalties, but the team and coaches still want me to be offensive minded and contribute as much as I can. I’m just trying to be a good solid two-way player and get as many points as I can, and keep the puck out of our net.”
Now if Sertich and the rest of his Gopher teammates can keep the puck out of their own net they will be well on their way towards yet another National Championship, something Sertich holds very close to his heart.
“Winning the national title my freshman year was way over my head,” Sertich said. “I still can’t realize it right now and it probably won’t sink in until I’m 30, 35 years old and I look back and know I have a ring. Hopefully I’ll get one more because the guys I played with last year have two and it’d be real nice to get two.”
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant
