Kord Cernich (born October 20, 1966) is an American retired ice hockey Defenseman and coach who was a two-time All-American for Lake Superior State and helped the Lakers win their first National Championship in 1988.
Career Cernich played junior hockey for the Dubuque Fighting Saints after graduating from Service High School. He helped the team win the 1985 Clark Cup and followed that up with a spectacular final season in 1986 where he was named as the league's best defenseman. After accepting a scholarship to Lake Superior State University, he quickly became a major contributor for the Lakers, collecting 22 points as a freshman. During his second year, Cernich led the Lakers' defense in scoring and helped the team win their first NCAA Championship. Cernich scored twice in the title match, pushing the Lakers past St. Lawrence 4–3 in overtime.
Lake Superior continued to be a top program while Cernich was there, making two additional NCAA tournament appearances. He was named an All-American both as a junior and senior, leading the Lakers' defense in scoring in 1989 and serving as alternate captain in 1990. After graduating with a bachelor's in marketing, Cernich embarked on a long career in professional hockey. He spent the following season at the top level of the minor leagues. It was the closest he would come to the NHL as he found himself sinking down the minor league ladder over the next few years. He briefly experimented with playing in Europe in 1993 but returned before the season had ended and finished out the year in the ECHL.
In 1994 he returned to Alaska and began playing for the Anchorage Aces. He remained with the team for the next seven years, becoming a fixture on the blueline and playing over 300 games for the Aces. He retired following the 2001 season.
Cernich remained in Anchorage following the end of his playing days and worked as a general foreman for Arctic Electric for a dozen years. He left in 2013 to devote his full attention to being the owner/COO of Arctic Branding And Apparel, a clothing and equipment manufacturer that he co-founded with his wife Angela. He briefly returned to hockey in 2018, working as an assistant coach for the Alaska All Stars U14 team.
Statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular Season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1981–82 Service High School AK-HS —————————— 1982–83 Service High School AK-HS —————————— 1983–84 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 27871559————— 1984–85 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 4872431—1211112— 1985–86 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 4820466666————— 1986–87 Lake Superior State CCHA 394182232————— 1987–88 Lake Superior State CCHA 4616233978————— 1988–89 Lake Superior State CCHA 467313874————— 1989–90 Lake Superior State CCHA 4611253659————— 1990–91 Binghamton Rangers AHL 525101536————— 1991–92 Binghamton Rangers AHL 51346————— 1991–92 San Diego Gulls IHL 64518235331010 1992–93 Rochester Americans AHL 40002————— 1992–93 Capital District Islanders AHL 60004————— 1992–93 San Diego Gulls IHL 17156430002 1992–93 Flint Bulldogs CoHL 31512171863364 1993–94 Nottingham Panthers BHL 23491322————— 1993–94 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 30004————— 1993–94 Dayton Bombers ECHL 21413171431234 1994–95 Anchorage Aces PHL —————————— 1995–96 Anchorage Aces WCHL 574242857————— 1996–97 Anchorage Aces WCHL 54712192491232 1997–98 Anchorage Aces WCHL 644192364802212 1998–99 Anchorage Aces WCHL 71747544210000 1999–00 Anchorage Aces WCHL 71328316240000 2000–01 Anchorage Aces WCHL 1115632————— USHL totals 123 35 77 112 — — — — — — NCAA totals 177 38 97 135 243 — — — — — AHL totals 67 6 13 19 48 — — — — — IHL totals 84 6 23 29 61 6 1 0 1 2 WCHL totals 328 26 135 161 281 22 1 4 5 14
Awards and honors Award Year All-CCHA Second Team 1987–88 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1988 All-CCHA First Team 1988–89 AHCA West First-Team All-American 1988–89 All-CCHA First Team 1989–90 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1989–90 CCHA All-Tournament Team 1990
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