Brian Gratz, Bloomington Blaze

Head Coach

The Bloomington Blaze named Brian Gratz their head coach on May 16, 2012. He becomes the second head coach in the team’s history.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana native has been a head coach for four seasons most recently serving as the bench boss of the Dayton Gems from 2010-12 where he compiled a record of 55-58-18. After the 2010-11 season, Gratz’s team qualified for the playoffs and individually, the former goaltender finished just outside the top three in ‘Coach of the Year’ voting.

Prior to joining the CHL with the Gems, the Penn State graduate led the Indiana Ice Miners (Mid-American Hockey League) to their league title and the Jersey Rockhoppers (Eastern Professional Hockey League) to their league title.

While in Indiana, Gratz led his team to a professional record 26-game win streak on the way to a 31-1-0 overall record.

As a player, the 30-year-old was the goalie for the four-time American Collegiate Hockey Association nation champion Penn State squad.