Herning Blue Fox

Herning Blue Fox
2016–17 Herning Blue Fox season
City Herning
League Metal Ligaen
Founded 1947
Home arena KVIK Hockey Arena
(Capacity: 4,105)
Colors               
Head coach United States Todd Bjorkstrand
Website www.bluefox.dk

Herning Blue Fox is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Herning, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 1947 and play their home games in the KVIK Hockey Arena which has a capacity of 4,105 spectators.[1][2][3]

The club has won the Danish championship 16 times with the last title coming in 2012.[4]

Club History

2015–2016: Mario Simioni era

Season: 2015–2016

After the departure of long time head coach Todd Bjorkstrand; Herning signed Mario Simioni to take helm of the club. Simioni led the team to the playoffs where they would face the fifth ranked Odense Bulldogs in the quarterfinals. Herning started the series strong with a 2–1 victory at home, though Odnese would then even it up in game two, with a 3–0 shutout victory. Herning came back strong in game three as they dominated Odnese in a 6–1 road win. Game four was a 2–1 victory to Odense, again evening up the series. Odnese took their first lead of the series as they won game five in overtime 2–1. Herning evened up the series in game six with a 2–1 victory on the road. Herning would win the series, with a series clinching 2-1 overtime win in game seven to move on to the semis.

The semifinals saw the Herning Blue Fox facing the second ranked Frederikshavn White Hawks. Game one resulted in a 3–1 home win for the White Hawks. In game two Herning came out victorious in a blowout 7–1 win. The White Hawks would regain the series lead with a 5–2 win in game three. In game four Herning evened up the series with a 5–2 win. The White Hawks won game five 5–3 as they took back the series lead, though game six saw Herning shutout the White Hawks in a 2–0 win. Herning defeated the White Hawks 3–1 in game seven to clinch a spot in the leagues final.

In the finals Herning Blue Fox was set to clash with the Esbjerg Energy. In game one, Esbjerg came out victorious in a 3–2 home win. Though Herning would go on to win three straight games to take a 3–1 series lead. Esbjerg would go on to win three straight games to win the finals, their first since 2004.

After his first season with Herning, Simioni left the club to join the coaching staff of the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany as an assistant to Serge Aubin.[5]

2016–present: Return of Todd Bjorkstrand

Season: 2016–2017

In May 2016, Herning Blue Fox successfully signed former head coach Todd Bjorkstrand. Bjorkstrand returned to club after leaving in 2014 to coach the Graz 99ers of the Erste Bank Hockey League.[6]

Season by season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Herning Blue Fox.

Seasons of Herning Blue Fox[7]
Season Rank GP W L OTW OTL Pts Postseason
2011–12 3rd 40 23 14 2 1 74 Champion
2012–13 1st 40 24 8 4 4 84 Quarter final loss
2013–14 2nd 40 25 7 4 4 87 Final loss
2014–15 1st 36 24 6 0 6 78 Bronze medal game loss
2015–16 4th 45 21 15 4 5 76 Final loss

Current Roster

Updated November 24, 2016[8][9]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
33 Denmark Andersen, MathiasMathias Andersen G L 22 Herning, Denmark
31 Denmark Nielsen, SimonSimon Nielsen G L 30 Herning, Denmark
56 Denmark Gatz Nielsen, OliverOliver Gatz Nielsen D L 18 Aalborg, Denmark
8 Denmark Hertzberg, SonnySonny Hertzberg D L 21 Herning, Denmark
3 Denmark Knudsen, RasmusRasmus Knudsen D R 23 Herning, Denmark
16 Denmark Madsen, PatrikPatrik Madsen D L 23 Herning, Denmark
18 Canada Nielsen, DanielDaniel Nielsen D R 36 Herning, Denmark
24 Denmark Pedersen, MathiasMathias Pedersen D L 28 Herning, Denmark
91 Czech Republic Sova, AlesAles Sova D L 25 Brno, Czech Republic
2 Denmark Pade, AndreasAndreas Pade D L 18
12 Denmark Andersen, ThomasThomas Andersen RW R 22 Herning, Denmark
88 Czech Republic Havlík, AdamAdam Havlík RW L 25 Znojmo, Czech Republic
89 Latvia Jekimovs, RobertsRoberts Jekimovs F R 27 Riga, Latvia
25 Denmark Jensen, MarkusMarkus Jensen LW/C L 20 Herning, Denmark
70 Canada Johansson, EricEric Johansson LW/C L 34 Edmonton, Canada
93 Canada Johnson, JamieJamie Johnson C R 34 Port Franks, Canada
9 Finland Kallela, ToniToni Kallela F L 23 Oulainen, Finland
13 Denmark Kragh, KristianKristian Kragh C L 17
14 Finland Lammassaari, PetriPetri Lammassaari RW R 31 Eurajoki, Finland
4 Denmark Lassen, LasseLasse Lassen RW R 27 Herning, Denmark
15 Denmark Laugesen, LasseLasse Laugesen LW/C L 19
17 Denmark Mølgaard, MathiasMathias Mølgaard  LW/C L 23 Herning, Denmark
11 Denmark Nielsen, DanielDaniel Nielsen LW L 18 Vojens, Denmark
10 France Ritz, NicolasNicolas Ritz C L 24 Dijon, France
7 Denmark Ruders, SebastianSebastian Ruders F L 19
21 Denmark Søgaard Jensen, KristofferKristoffer Søgaard Jensen RW/C L 19 Herning, Denmark
9 Denmark Wiuff, SimonSimon Wiuff RW/C L 18 Vojens, Denmark

Retired Numbers

  • 22 Todd Bjorkstrand, C, 1988–2002

NHL alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Herning IK". Eurohockey.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Kvik Hockey Arena". Eurohockey.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kvik Hockey Arena". bluefox.dk. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "History". bluefox.dk. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ↑ AS, Blue Fox Herning. "Forgyldt træner til Herning Blue Fox". bluefox.dk. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  6. ↑ AS, Blue Fox Herning. "Todd Bjorkstand tilbage på Heden". bluefox.dk. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  7. ↑ http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=138
  8. ↑ "Herning Blue Fox Truppen". www.bluefox.dk. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  9. ↑ "Eliteprospects.com - Herning Blue Fox". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.

External links

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