By Jim Bastian

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM — The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind for new New Ulm Steel head coach Erick Bromberg.

“It has been very interesting,” Bromberg said Tuesday morning at the New Ulm Civic Center. “I got the phone call early afternoon on Sunday [from Steel General Manager] Brad Stepan asking me if I wanted to be the new head coach for the Steel. I was surprised and shocked [that Curtis Doell, Steel head coach had been fired]. It has been tough for the past three months for us with everything that has gone on. I am excited but also nervous. I want to use a lot of my resources that I know in the NAHL [North American Hockey League] and within the division as well for opinions and help on everything on being a head coach.

“All of us are getting our feet wet — it is a roller coaster but it is a fun one. This is a new adventure. There are a lot of ups and downs but I want to stay even keel and level-headed through it all.”

Bromberg, who played defense for the Steel last year, has some specific things that he wants to change as head coach of the 5-15 Steel.

“I am not going to change who I am — I am going to stay true to myself and do the best that I can to try to get this turned around.

“My biggest priority is to make sure that my players are responsible and respectful. New Ulm is a small town and what comes around goes around. We want to keep a positive image here and show the people here that we are here for them.”

On the ice, Bromberg said that he wants to change the lack of scoring and shots on goal.

“That has been a problem,” he said. “We are changing systems. We need to add more tools to our tool box, our changes in practice will hopefully lead to changes in games. We will work hard every night and if you do that you have a chance to win every night. It does not matter who you play.”

He knows the changes won’t happen overnight.

“It will take time to get some systems down that we want to run for us to perform at our best.”

Bromberg said that the changes will be made on both ends of the ice.

“They know that right now we need to produce offense and there will also be changes in the defensive zone,” he said. “Defense leads to offense. A prime example of that was our 9-2 win over the Minnesota Loons last week. We took care of our back end, we took care of our zone which led to more offense.”

Bromberg has already made some player moves, obtaining forward Landen Schwantes from Willmar.

Bromberg said that the Steel are going to be a competitive group.

“Our compete level will be higher in practices and in games. The work ethic will be there every night.”

The Steel are in Granite City Wednesday before playing at the Minnesota Loons Friday.

The Steel host the Loons at 7:10 p.m. Saturday night at the New Ulm Civic Center. Saturday night will also be Kid’s Night. Kids will be able to skate with Steel players after the game.