The Calgary Mustangs are thrilled to announce that forward Yuri Chernichko has committed to the Marian University Sabres of the NCAA Division III's Northern Collegiate Hockey Association athletic conference.
Chernichko, who was named an assistant captain last September, played his first game with the Mustangs in 2014-15 as an affiliate before cracking the roster full-time in the 2015-16 season. In 57 games played this year, Yuri notched 20 goals and 13 assists as well as 59 minutes in penalties. In his AJHL playoffs debut, Yuri had 2 PIMs in 3 playoff games. Chernichko was recently named the recipient of the Mustangs' Unsung Hero award for the 2017-18 season, to go along with his team MVP award from 2016-17.
“Marian is the best fit overall from top to bottom for both education and hockey, with their nursing program (to keep a little family tradition of nurses going) to an Olympic size ice [surface] that I will benefit from and a hockey program that has a tradition of winning,” states Yuri when asked about his decision of committing to Marian.
“[I'm] more excited than nervous, it's always been a dream of mine to play college hockey and now it's going to happen.”
“Yuri played an integral role in turning around the Mustangs this year. It was amazing to see his growth as both a player and person over the course of the past two seasons,” adds Mustangs Assistant Coach Matt Clarke.
“I know he will be a strong contributor right at the start of school next year and I'm excited to follow along [as he continues his career]!”
Chernichko is the third Mustangs player to commit to a postsecondary institution directly out of the organization this season, following Ryley Smith and Ryan Stoynich in April. In 158 career AJHL games over a span of 4 seasons, Yuri has recorded 48 goals and 31 assists for 79 points to go along with 161 penalty minutes. Within the team's modern franchise statistics, Yuri Chernichko finishes 14th among all known Royals/Mustangs players for games played and 12th in goals scored. Another product of the Northstars Minor Hockey Association, Yuri will join the Sabres beginning in the 2018-19 academic year.
Congratulations to Yuri on his achievement, and on behalf of the entire organization, we wish all the best to Yuri and his family. We look forward to following his career with the Sabres!
