Herning Blue Fox | |
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2016–17 Herning Blue Fox season | |
City | Herning |
League | Metal Ligaen |
Founded | 1947 |
Home arena |
KVIK Hockey Arena (Capacity: 4,105) |
Colors | |
Head coach | 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.
The club has won the Danish championship 16 times with the last title coming in 2012.
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.