Bloomington Ice Center Manager Michael Hernbrott will be inducted into the Illinois State University Hockey Club Hall of Fame next month.
The ISU Hockey Club began in 1969. Hernbrott said ISU is the only upper-level club to have continued success in the Twin Cities, noting it has fed into adult leagues with the city and elsewhere.
Hernbrott is credited with expanding the team’s prospect camps that has helped to recruit more players and market the program.
Hernbrott, who has coached at ISU since the 2013-2014 season, said over the decades, the club has fed both the youth and adult leagues in the city, adding it also has brought visiting organizations to town and created nationwide connections among players.
“I played in some of those USA national championships in Florida and we had players from Washington, D.C., (Las) Vegas, and several from the Bloomington area. It was just kind of a hodgepodge and then once you meet people while you are there, you get to know them, it sort of spreads out,” Hernbrott said.
Hockey is not just an athletic endeavor, said Hernbrott, adding it enriches lives well past the one-minute shifts people skate during games on the ice.
“Laughing and joking, some of the funniest stories I’ve ever heard are on the bench. The locker room area becomes a fun place. It’s the off-ice camaraderie that they pick up as much as they do playing the sport,” he said.
The club’s hall of fame was created in 2018. Hernbrott will be part of the fourth class of inductees.
The induction ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Sept. 23 at Grossinger Motors Arena. The ceremony will be followed by ISU’s Hall of Fame game against Maryville University at 7 p.m.
