Herning Blue Fox
| Herning Blue Fox | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Greatest successes | |
|
|
| Club information | |
| history |
Herning IK (1947–1998) Herning Blue Fox (since 1998) |
| Location | Herning , Denmark |
| Club colors | Blue , yellow |
| league | Metal leagues |
| Venue | KVIK Hockey Arena |
| capacity | 4,105 seats (of which 1,381 seats) |
| executive Director | Claus Sorensen |
| Head coach | Linus Fagemo |
| captain | Bjorn Östergaard |
| Season 2016/17 | 7th place, playoff quarterfinals |
The Herning Blue Fox are a professional Danish ice hockey club from Herning , which was founded in 1947 as the Herning Ishockey Klub . The team plays in the Metal Ligaen in the 2019/20 season . The club, which has won the championship 16 times so far, plays its home games in the KVIK Hockey Arena with a capacity of 4105 .
history
1940 to 1965: beginnings & founding
Much ice skating has been practiced in Herning since the end of the Second World War . As soon as the lakes in Herning and the nearby towns froze over in winter, the residents used them mainly for ice skating but also for ice hockey . On February 5, 1947, some enthusiastic hobby ice hockey players met in a restaurant in Herning and formed a club - the Herning Ishockey Club (HIK). The founding members included Kai Lassen, an electrician who later played an important role in the founding of the Danish Ice Hockey Union ('' Danmarks Ishockey Union ''), and the first President of the HIK, Hugo E. Madsen. In the first two decades of the club's history, however, there were only loose meetings for games but no team that took part in regular game operations. The main reason for this was the uncertainty as to whether a playable ice rink would be available on the weekends, as it was still necessary to play on frozen lakes. Often games had to be canceled shortly before the start of the game because the ice surfaces on the lakes, especially on the lake at Ringkøbingvej, began to thaw. This only changed when the Herning Halls, an exhibition center on the outskirts of Herning, were completed in 1965 . Hall E was home to the city's first artificial ice rink, which became the home ground of the HIK from the 1965/66 season. At this time, a clubhouse was set up for the first time in the same building.
1965 to 1973: Promotion to the top club
With these newly created possibilities, it was possible for the HIK to take ice hockey in Herning to a new level. The number of members grew strongly and a youth department was opened to better promote the next generation of ice hockey. As early as the following season 1966/67, the team was promoted to the elite series , the top division in Danish ice hockey at the time. Due to the strong increase in the number of spectators and the entry fees collected for the first time, the first foreign professional could also be signed: The American Greg Wentz switched to HIK in 1971 and led the team to the first championship in the 1972/73 season . Also on the team was Frits Nielsen , who would return to the HIK in a later chapter in the club's history. As one of the first clubs in Denmark, the Herningen team gave their players a championship bonus - a vacation with the players' wives on Mallorca . However, the HIK did not succeed in repeating the championship immediately despite the now excellent financial opportunities. Half of the championship team was poached by other clubs and it wasn't until four years later that the HIK won the title for the second time - also thanks to the excellent integration of young talented players. Since two foreign professionals played in the championship team, a debate began for the first time about the regulation of foreigners' positions in Denmark.
1973 to 1988: Relegation & construction of a new hall
After the second title win, the HIK slipped briefly - the low point was the relegation to the 1st division in the 1981/82 season. In the summer of 1982, Frits Nielsen began his tenure as a coach, who returned to HIK after his active career had ended. Nielsen led Herning to return to the elite series in 1984 and built a strong team in the following years. In addition to many local young players, Nielsen also brought some stars to Herning, including the then Finnish national player Seppo Repo . In the 1986/87 season, the HIK finally won the third championship title. It was to be the last title win in Hall E of the Herning Halls: In previous years, there were often disputes between the HIK and the hall operator, who needed Hall E more often as an exhibition hall. So those in charge of the HIK decided to build their own hall. In 1988 the '' Herning Isstadion '' was finally opened, which belonged completely to the club and in which the club administration has been based ever since.
1988 to 1998: six championships in ten years
In the same year, there was another important point in the club's history: Coach Nielsen had the opportunity to sign a young player from the USA, but he had only found out about him through third parties. He took the risk and signed the then 26-year-old Todd Bjorkstrand , who had previously only played in North America in the lower-class International Hockey League . At this point, none of those in charge suspected that Bjorkstrand would spend the rest of his career in Herning and break almost all records in the elite series in the course of this. After his active career, he switched to the Blue Fox gang, where he was responsible as a coach until 2014. In the following years the HIK experienced its most successful period - between 1991 and 1997 the club won five championships. Many high-class players, including the former Finnish national player Petri Skriko, were the pillars of the team during this time. In addition, the former Polish national player Adam Wozninski strengthened the coaching team in 1993 in the role of co-coach, in which he has remained loyal to the club to this day. In 1996 Nielsen left the HIK, his successors behind the gang were - as so often in Herning - old friends: Seppo Repo (1996-1999) and Petri Skriko (1999-2001) continued the successful work and brought three more championships to Herning.
1998 to date: Herning Blue Fox
On October 1st, 1998, Blue Fox Herning A / S was founded and the professional team was outsourced to this stock corporation, which represented a further step towards the professionalization of the HIK. Since then, the main shareholder has been the parent club Herning IK, which continues to include the 2nd team and the youth department. In 2002 Bjorkstrand ended his career as a player and immediately took over the position of coach of the Blue Fox, which he held until 2014. To this day he holds various club-internal as well as league-wide records. For example, his 627 goals and 1,199 scorer points are unmatched to this day. During his tenure, he has won six championship titles with the Blue Fox so far (most recently in the 2011/12 season ) and reached the play-off final again.
player
Well-known former players
(Team membership, position and achievements in brackets)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Club-internal records
| Best statistics during team membership | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| category | Surname | number | |
| Most games |
Todd Bjorkstrand Dan Jensen Daniel Nielsen |
550 (in 14 seasons) 534 (in 15 seasons) 404 (in 12 seasons) |
|
| Most goals | Todd Bjorkstrand Jacob Richter Petri Skriko |
627 272 (in 20 seasons) 235 (in six seasons) |
|
| Most templates | Todd Bjorkstrand Petri Skriko Dan Jensen |
572 314 312 |
|
| Most of the points | Todd Bjorkstrand Petri Skriko Jacob Richter |
1,199 549 487 |
|
| Most penalty minutes | Dan Jensen Christoffer Kjærgaard Todd Bjorkstrand |
926 508 (in eleven seasons) 448 |
|
Venues
After the founding of Herning IK, the club's teams initially played on frozen lakes in the surrounding area, for example Teglværksgraven near Ringkøbingvej. Before the 1965/66 season, the club moved to the Herninghallerne ( MCH Messecenter Herning , Hall E) and played its home games there. After the Herning Isstadion was completed in 1988, it became the club's new home. In the 2000s, the kitchen manufacturer KVIK bought the naming rights, so that the ice rink has been called KVIK Hockey Arena ever since .
Parent club
Since the professional team was outsourced to a Danish stock corporation in 1998, all other teams in the club have continued to be organized in the parent club Herning IK. In addition to the amateur team, which takes part in the game in a lower Danish league, the youth teams are an important part. Since the founding of the HIK, the club has been one of the best talent forges in Denmark. Many of the stars of the AL-Bank Ligaen were trained in Herning. In the last few years in particular, the number of Herningen players who move to North America or one of the stronger European leagues ( Elitserien , SM-liiga , DEL, etc.) has increased significantly, which is a result of the good youth work of the home club.
European Cup matches
- 2000/01: The game was stopped after 27 minutes due to technical problems on the ice and no rating was given.
