Tony Fritz Inducted into Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame
Foresters’ head coach part of IHHF’s second induction class

Tony Fritz

Fritz is in his 29th year at the helm of the Forester men’s hockey program and his 43rd in coaching. With 334 career victories at Lake Forest, he is the program’s all-time leader, the winningest coach in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, and among the top 50 all-time in collegiate coaching wins, a list that includes all divisions of college hockey.

Fritz has guided the Foresters to 13 or more victories 14 times. His teams have qualified for conference or national post-season playoffs 19 of the last 26 seasons, including the NCAA quarterfinals in 1991. He also guided the Foresters to an American Collegiate Hockey Association title in 1986-87.

In 1992, Fritz took the Forester program into the highly competitive Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, which has produced numerous NCAA championship teams.

Fritz began his coaching career as a high school coach at University School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While earning both his Bachelor and Master's degrees in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he took a fledgling hockey program and turned it into a state power, compiling an overall record of 159-90-7.

Prior to his coaching career, Fritz was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as a player in the Ontario Junior Hockey Association. He was considered to be one of the top five NHL prospects in Canada before an eye injury during the Memorial Cup Playoffs ended his career.

Joining Fritz at the induction ceremony was Pat, his wife of 42 years, as well as their two children (Curtis and Charlene) and three grandchildren (Griffin, Owen, and Lily). Also in attendance were current Forester assistant coaches Ken Klein and Chris Gallagher as well as former assistant Jim Bristol.

Photo of Entire Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2006