NEW ULM — When a new head coach takes over, one of the first things that he wants to do is put his stamp on his team.

On Nov. 24, Erick Bromberg was named the New Ulm Steel head coach, replacing Curtis Doell in that position.

Bromberg, who had been an assistant to Doell that also played for the Steel last season, said one of the first things that he was going to change was the culture and hold Steel players to higher standards.

Just over a week into his tenure, he was put to the test.

“We had an (off-ice) incident that did not make us look good and we cannot have that anymore in this community,” Bromberg said. “It is a small town and word gets around here and we will hold our players to a higher standard.”

The player involved in the incident is no longer with the Steel.

Bromberg, who is the same age as some of the players he is coaching, said that that decision was difficult.

“But it is a work in progress and the players understand that I am their coach now and I want this ran a certain way and if they do not want to participate, it is not going to be pretty for them.”

On the ice, Bromberg addresses the team with the message to get better each day.

“Right now, wins and losses is not the biggest thing,” he said. “I want to change this program around and get it moving in the right direction.”

One of his biggest pet peeves that he wants to change is the number of shots on goal that his goalies have been facing each game.

“We need to eat more shots — we need have our defensemen block more shots — and we did a fairly good job of that for the first two periods (against Willmar) on Saturday, but we let up in the third period,” said the former defensemen for the Steel. “It is a work in progress and it all comes down to how you play defensively.”

Bromberg also stated the importance of staying aggressive on offense.

“And we need to attack, attack and attack,” he said. “We cannot sit back and let them bring it to us. We need to jump on them first and go.”

The Steel continue to add players to their roster, getting defenseman Zach Maret.

Maret comes to the Steel from the Hudson (Wisconsin) Havoc of the United States Premier Hockey League.

“He is a big defenseman and will be key for us,” Bromberg said. “He is a left-handed shot on defense.”

Bromberg said that more player additions are likely.

The Steel host Alexandria at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at the New Ulm Civic Center.

It will be “Invisible Wounds Night,” with the Steel players wearing limited edition jerseys.

Those jerseys will be auctioned off during the game in a “Silent Auction,” with all proceeds going to the Invisible Wounds Project.

Sponsors of the jersey are DLC Manufacturing and Fabrication, Minnesota Valley Funeral Home and Citizens Bank of New Ulm.