Herning Blue Fox

Last updated
Herning Blue Fox
HBF Logo23.png
City Herning
League Metal Ligaen
Founded1947
Home arena KVIK Hockey Arena
(Capacity: 4,105)
Colors   
Head coachPer "Pelle" Hånberg
CaptainMorten Poulsen
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]

Contents

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

Club history

2015–2016: Mario Simioni era

2015–2016 season

After the departure of long-time head coach Todd Bjorkstrand, Herning signed Mario Simioni to take the helm of the club. Simioni led the team to the playoffs where they faced the fifth-ranked Odense Bulldogs in the quarterfinals. Herning started the series strong with a 2–1 victory at home, though Odense then evened it up in game two, with a 3–0 shutout victory. Herning came back strong in game three as they dominated Odense in a 6–1 road win. Game four was a 2–1 victory to Odense, again evening up the series. Odense 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 won 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 regained 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 league 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 won three straight games to take a 3–1 series lead, Esbjerg won 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

2016–2017 season

In May 2016, Herning Blue Fox signed former head coach Todd Bjorkstrand. Bjorkstrand returned to the 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]
SeasonRankGPWLOTWOTLPtsPostseason
2011–12 3rd4023142174Champion
2012–13 1st402484484Quarter final loss
2013–14 2nd402574487Final loss
2014–15 1st362460678Bronze medal game loss
2015–16 4th4521154576Final loss

Players

Current roster

Updated 1 October 2024.

No. Nat Player Pos S/G AgeAcquiredBirthplace
44 Flag of Finland.svg Aleksi Ainali C L29 2024 Vihti, Finland
87 Flag of Denmark.svg Marcus Almquist C R21 2024 Rødovre, Denmark
29 Flag of Denmark.svg Lukas Bang LW L21 2020 Herning, Denmark
8 Flag of Denmark.svg Jesper Bank Olesen D L18 2024 Herning, Denmark
50 Flag of Denmark.svg Mathias Bau Hansen W L31 2020 Glostrup, Denmark
89 Flag of Denmark.svg Magnus Carlsen LW L23 2023 Rødovre, Denmark
27 Flag of Latvia.svg Oskars Cibuļskis D L36 2023 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
13 Flag of Denmark.svg Victor Čubars W L24 2023 Hvidovre, Denmark
19 Flag of Denmark.svg Martin Eskildsen LW L28 2023 Vejle, Denmark
30 Flag of Latvia.svg Jānis Fecers G L18 2023 Riga, Latvia
14 Flag of Sweden.svg Petter Hansson  ( A ) D L28 2020 Gislaved, Sweden
5 Flag of Denmark.svg Jacob Jessen D L26 2018 Herning, Denmark
28 Flag of Denmark.svg Emil Kristensen  ( A ) D R32 2024 Esbjerg, Denmark
38 Flag of Denmark.svg Hjalte Kruse Thomsen LW L18 2024 Herning, Denmark
88 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Simon Lafrance C L25 2024 Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada
73 Flag of Denmark.svg Joachim Linnet LW L31 2021 Herning, Denmark
81 Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Mieritz D L27 2022 Rødovre, Denmark
15 Flag of Sweden.svg Jacob Nordqvist D R26 2024 Gothenburg, Sweden
11 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Derian Plouffe C L29 2024 Shawville, Quebec, Canada
71 Flag of Denmark.svg Maksim Popovic F L22 2024 Herlev, Denmark
38 Flag of Denmark.svg Morten Poulsen  ( C ) LW L36 2018 Herning, Denmark
43 Flag of Denmark.svg Mathias Seldrup G L27 2024 Herning, Denmark
9 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brett Thompson C R33 2023 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

Retired numbers

Herning Blue Fox retired numbers
No.PlayerPositionCareer
3 Svend Laugesen D 1975–1993
22 Todd Bjorkstrand C 1988–2002

NHL alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal Ligaen</span> Top Danish mens ice hockey league

The Superisligaen, known as the Metal Ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Denmark. The league consists of 9 professional teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esbjerg Energy</span> Ice hockey team in Esbjerg, Denmark

The Esbjerg Energy is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Esbjerg, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 2005 and play their home games in the Granly Hockey Arena which has a capacity of 4,200 spectators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odense Bulldogs</span> Ice hockey team in Odense

The Odense Bulldogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Odense, Denmark. They currently play in Ret&Råd Fyn Arena in the Bolbro area, as a part of the best Danish league Metal Ligaen, and they are furthermore the only hockey team from Funen. The team was founded in 1978 and was promoted to the top league in 1991. Odense Bulldogs has never won Metal Ligaen, but achieved three silver medals. Their latest trip to the finals was in the 2011–12 season, where they faced Herning Blue Fox. In that final series, they got the leads 2–0 and 3–1, but ended up losing the last three and lost it 3–4 on aggregate. They have also won the annual tournament cup four times, last time in the 2015–16 season.

Troels Bech is a Danish professional football manager and former player, who managed Odense Boldklub (OB) to the 2002 Danish Cup trophy. He was the manager of Danish club Esbjerg fB until November 2008 and took over Danish club Silkeborg IF in January 2009. During his active career, he most prominently won the 1994 Danish Superliga championship with Silkeborg IF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herning</span> City in Denmark

Herning is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,312 including the suburbs of Tjørring, Snejbjerg, Lind, Birk, Hammerum, and Gjellerup, making Herning the 12th most populous urban area in Denmark.

Team Esbjerg is a professional women's handball team based in Esbjerg, Denmark, that competes in the Bambusa Kvindeligaen and the 2022–23 Women's EHF Champions League. They play their home matches in Blue Water Dokken, which have capacity for 2,996 spectators. They play games in red shirts and black shorts.

The Danish Cup is the national ice hockey cup in Denmark. It was first played in the 1988-89 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Bjorkstrand</span> American ice hockey player and coach

Todd Bjorkstrand is an American professional ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He is currently serving as head coach for the HK Poprad in Slovakia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Bjorkstrand</span> Danish professional ice hockey forward

Patrick Bjorkstrand is a Danish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Aalborg Pirates of the Metal Ligaen (DEN). He formerly played with the Ontario Reign of the AHL while under contract to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Bjorkstrand</span> Danish ice hockey player (born 1995)

Oliver Bjorkstrand is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Bjorkstrand is the son of American hockey coach Todd and the brother of Patrick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–17 Danish Superliga</span> 27th season of Danish Superliga

The 2016–17 Danish Superliga season was the 27th season of the Danish Superliga, which decides the Danish football championship. The season was the first with a new league structure in which 14 clubs play each other home and away, until the league was split up in championship and relegation play-offs. The new structure was inspired by the one used by the Belgian First Division A and was approved by the Danish FA, Dansk Boldspil-Union, on 28 June 2015.

The 2015–16 Metal Ligaen season was the 59th season of ice hockey in Denmark. Ten teams participated in the league. Esbjerg Energy won championship by defeating Herning Blue Fox four games to two in the finals. The regular season begun on 18 September 2015 and ended on 29 February 2016.

Mario Simioni is a Canadian-Italian professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He has been serving as head coach of the Frederikshavn White Hawks since May 2016.

The 2016–17 Metal Ligaen season was the 60th season of ice hockey in Denmark. Ten teams participated in the league. Esbjerg Energy defended their 2016 Danish championship title by defeating Gentofte Stars four games to one in the finals. The regular season begun on 23 September 2016 and ended on 28 February 2017. The last final was played on 16 April 2017.

The 2017–18 Metal Ligaen season was the 61st season of ice hockey in Denmark. The season got extended from 10 to 11 teams by including Hvidovre Fighters. It is Hvidovre's first season in the league since the 2012–13 season. It is also the first time ever that the league consists of 11 teams.

The 1964 Danish Cup final was a men's association football match between Esbjerg fB and Odense KFUM played at Københavns Idrætspark on 7 May 1964. It was the final match to determine the winner of the 1963–64 Danish Cup, the 10th season of the Danish national-wide annual football knockout competition, the Danish Cup, open to all DBU member clubs. This was the first time that two sides had ever met in a domestic cup competition and only the third time in a competitive league game. For Odense KFUM, the match represented their first opportunity to win a title on a national level, having never reached the quarterfinals in previous seasons in the cup's current incarnation, while Esbjerg fB were participating in their third cup final, having lost on both previous occasions. This was the third consecutive year the tournament's final featured a team from Odense.

The 2020 Danish Cup final was played on 1 July 2020 between SønderjyskE and AaB at Blue Water Arena, Esbjerg, a neutral ground. The final was the culmination of the 2019–20 Danish Cup, the 66th season of the Sydbank Pokalen. Originally scheduled to be played in May, the final was delayed due to the COVID-19 shutdown through Europe.

The 2021–22 Metal Ligaen season was the 65th season of the Metal Ligaen, the top level of ice hockey in Denmark. Nine teams participated in the league.

The 2022–23 Metal Ligaen season was the 66th season of the Metal Ligaen, the top level of ice hockey in Denmark.

The 2024–25 Metal Ligaen season is the 68th season of the Metal Ligaen, the top level of ice hockey in Denmark.

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. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Forgyldt træner til Herning Blue Fox". Bluefox.dk. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  6. ↑ "Todd Bjorkstand tilbage på Hedene". Bluefox.dk. Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  7. ↑ "Herning Blue Fox". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.