Brian Gratz

Brian Gratz
Date of birth	July 9, 1981
place of birth	Fort Wayne , Indiana , USA
size	182 cm
Weight	89 kg
position	goalkeeper
Career stations
2002-2004	Pennsylvania State University
2004-2005	Huntsville Havoc Johnstown Chiefs
2005-2006	Fort Wayne Comets Reading Royals
2006-2007	Reading Royals Wheeling Nailers

Brian Gratz (born July 9, 1981 in Fort Wayne , Indiana ) is a former American ice hockey goalkeeper who was active during his active career for the Johnstown Chiefs , Reading Royals and Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL . Since the 2012/13 season he has been the head coach of the Bloomington Blaze in the Central Hockey League .

Career

Brian Gratz began his active career as an ice hockey goalkeeper with the Penn State Icers , the ice hockey team at Pennsylvania State University , for which he was active from 2002 to 2004 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association . During this time he was able to win the ACHA championship several times with the team. In two years he completed a total of 37 games in the ACHA and achieved a catch quota of over 94 percent. In the summer of 2004 he left Pennsylvania State University and was the following season for the Huntsville Havoc in the Southern Professional Hockey League and Johnstown Chiefs in the ECHL , for which he completed one or two games. Also in the 2005/06 season he received only sporadic missions and played one game each for the Fort Wayne Komets in the United Hockey League and Reading Royals in the ECHL. Gratz also began the following season with the Royals and was able to book another use in the ECHL. During the season he joined the Wheeling Nailers , in which the goalkeeper completed five games.

During the same season, he volunteered as assistant coach with the Reading Royals . For the 2007/08 season, the then 26-year-old Gratz first worked as head coach and was entrusted with the management of the Indiana Ice Miners , a team of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League . With a record of 31 victories and one defeat, the team took first place with 62 points. The team achieved a winning streak of 26 games in a row. In addition, the team provided the top scorer with Justin Depretis , who scored a total of 93 points in 29 games . In February 2008, the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League stopped playing during the first season and was dissolved in September of the same year. Gratz then took over the Jersey Rockhoppers from the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL), where he worked as head coach and general manager. In his only season he won the EPHL championship with the team. After the league had been disbanded after a season, he returned to Pennsylvania State University and took over the duties of goalkeeping coach .

In July 2010, he was introduced as the head coach and general manager of the Dayton Gems . For the 2012/13 season , Gratz took over the position of head coach at league rivals Bloomington Blaze .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} State College man to coach in ECHL ( Memento from June 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Dayton Names Fort Wayne Native Gratz Coach ( Memento of the original from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Brian Gratz at hockeydb.com (English)
• Brian Gratz at eliteprospects.com (English)