Ice hockey in Dortmund

Ice hockey has been played in Dortmund since the 1930s . Since 1952 the ice sports center Westphalia has been played. The most successful ice hockey club in Dortmund was TuS Eintracht Dortmund , which played five seasons in the ice hockey Bundesliga between 1959 and 1965. In the 2015/16 season the Eisadler Dortmund play in the fourth-class 1st League West.

history

The first beginnings in Dortmund ice hockey (1934 to 1956)

The first beginnings date back to 1934, when ice hockey started on the roller-skating rinks prepared with water hoses at the "Danziger Freiheit" - the former name of today's Brügmannplatz - and "In der Börse" - a former pub on the Steinplatz in Dortmund to operate. When the weather was good, they left the roller skating rinks to prepare the tennis courts on the flora. When the thaw set in, the water-splashed courts turned into unplayable areas. Hans Brinkmann, the deputy director of the Westfalenhalle at the time , had an ice processing machine installed in the old Westfalenhalle in 1936. In October 1936 he founded the EV Westfalen Dortmund .

Thus, ice sports in Dortmund were given a new and permanent domicile. All previously existing Dortmund clubs supported this venture and joined the newly founded club. These included the Dortmund roller skating club, the roller sports department of TSC Eintracht Dortmund, the Dortmund roller and ice skating club and the VFL steelworks. In the 1937/38 season an independent ice hockey team was founded, which was formed from the talents of the merged clubs. The Canadian Herbie Esboe, who was responsible for the training of the individual players, was one of the first responsible. Only three months later he had to quit his job and was inherited by Bobby Bell, the coach of the Düsseldorfer EG at the time .

For the 1938/39 season, Josef Sieg from Munich was hired as a coach. He prepared EV Westfalen Dortmund for the North-West European Cup, where well-known clubs such as RSC Essen , Cologne EK and Düsseldorfer EG took part. The team's top performers were the Canadians Frank Schwinghammer and Jack Ring . In the 1939/40 season, the club took part in the qualification for participation in the final round of the German championship, but could not qualify for the final round as third in the table. The EV Westfalen Dortmund existed until 1940 and could not continue its gaming operations afterwards due to the outbreak of the Second World War .

TuS Eintracht Dortmund (1956 to 1965)

See also : TuS Eintracht Dortmund

In the following 16 years, no Dortmund ice hockey team took part in regular games. This only changed in the summer of 1956 when TuS Eintracht Dortmund founded its ice hockey department of the same name.

The team of TuS Eintracht Dortmund played as champions of the Landesliga-NRW in the 1958/59 season for the first time in the league . After a third place in 1959, she rose to first place in the Bundesliga in 1959/60 . In the first Bundesliga season, relegation could be secured despite a penultimate place in the final table. One season later, the team took last place after the main round and was only able to place themselves in eighth and thus last place in the subsequent round of relegation. The TuS remained in the league, however, as the two decisive relegation games against EV Landshut were won 0: 1 and 5: 2.

In the 1962/63 season , the sporting relegation was no longer managed after the team had to play again in the relegation against the EV Landshut. In contrast to the previous year, TuS lost both the first and second leg. Overall, the club lost the series 9: 6. The following league season could conclude the Eintracht on the first place in the table and thus achieved immediate promotion to the Bundesliga in 1964/65 . The fourth season in the Bundesliga should also be the last of Eintracht. The team fought again to stay in the league and in the end had to go back into relegation. There, Dortmund played against third place in the league, VfL Bad Nauheim . TuS lost their first game with 0:11 in Bad Nauheim .

The second leg, which took place on Strobelallee in Dortmund, was also lost 3: 8. Thus the team of TuS Eintracht Dortmund was again relegated. As a result, the TuS stopped playing for its team in the summer of 1965.

ERC Westphalia Dortmund (1964 to 1990)

The ERC Westfalen Dortmund was founded in 1964 . He started in the group league , which became the regional league in 1965 . After the dissolution of the Eintracht ice hockey department, the Westphalia were the only Dortmund ice hockey team that took part in regular game operations. After a restructuring in 1966, the ERC played in the West Group of the Regionalliga with traditional teams such as EC Hanover and Berlin FC Preussen for promotion to the top division.

Changing years (1966 to 1983)

In the Regionalliga West, the team reached fourth place in 1966 and thus qualified for the Regionalliga season 1966/67 . Two years later, in 1969, they were promoted to the league . There, the ERC took fourth place in the first season with a balanced point balance of 10:10. Then the promoted team secured second place behind EC Hannover in the relegation round. There were several fundamental mode changes in the following season. In contrast to the previous season, the 13th league season was not played in the north and south groups, but as a single track. In addition, the number of participants was increased to 16 teams. At the end of the season, which was played in a double round, the ERC Westphalia finished 15th and thus remained in the league. In addition, the team around the two attackers Erik Konecki and Kurt Jablonski conceded the second most in the league with 196 goals. In contrast, there were 88 goals scored, which were also only the third most of the 16 clubs.

The home ground of ERC Westphalia, the EWD, since the 1960s

Even in the 1971/72 season , the ice hockey club was able to keep the class due to the premature withdrawal of the second representative of the Düsseldorfer EG. The following season was influenced by another, cross-league mode change. The responsible persons of the German Ice Hockey Federation decided to introduce a 2nd Bundesliga, which was to be played for the first time from the 1973/74 season . The current Oberliga season represented a qualifying round for the 2nd Bundesliga (2nd to 9th place) or for the then third-highest German league, the Oberliga (10th to 16th place). The ERC Westfalen Dortmund took after the Main round ranked 14th and qualified accordingly for the league. As a result, the ERC was eligible to play in the 1973/74 season for the Oberliga, where with an eighth place after the regular season, the promotion round to the 2nd Bundesliga was missed, but at the same time the relegation could be secured. In the following years, the ERC team was in the lower third of the table.

It was not until five years later, during the 1979/80 season , that Dortmund reached the promotion round for the first time, in which the club, however, took last place and could not win any of the six games. After the season just ended, in the summer of 1980, the team was signed off from the club from the major league and play continued in a lower-class league. For the 1982/83 season he was promoted to the regional league. Just one year later, Dortmund returned to the league and took part in the 1983/84 season. The first season in the major league since the withdrawal in the summer of 1980 was quite successful.

After a second place in the qualifying round north, the team then entered the relegation to the 2nd division north. There the outsider was only able to take last place and thus clearly missed the athletic qualification for the 2nd division.

End (1983 to 1990)

In the summer of 1983 the previous ERC was converted into an umbrella club, under whose leadership the ice hockey and ice and roller art skating divisions formed the independent clubs ERC Westfalen Dortmund ice hockey and ERC Westfalen Dortmund art skating . During the 1984/85 season , the club stopped playing the league team again, but the ERC continued to play in the NRW League with another team. After the main round, the second place in the table could be occupied. This entitled to participate in the subsequent round of promotion to the regional league. There, too, the ERC placed second and was promoted to the fourth-class regional league.

Between 1982 and 1990, the club also had a women's ice hockey department that competed in the NRW League and was regularly represented at the bottom of the table in the first few years. It was not until 1986 that the team was able to assert itself in the league. In the summer of 1990, the team took first place in the NRW League promotion round and thus received the right to move up to a higher league. However, this right was not exercised, instead the department was dissolved due to the financial problems that the parent club had at the time.

In the 1986/87 season , the ERC men's team played in the regional league for the first time. The team took first place in the group west and rose next to the Herford EG and the EHC Wesel in the league. The march continued and so the Westphalia took first place in the first league season since the withdrawal in 1985. Thus the newcomer to the league had the right to participate in the qualification for the 2nd Bundesliga North , where the team finally managed to move up to the 2nd Bundesliga North. After the previous crash into the fifth division during the 1984/85 season, Dortmund were able to advance to the 2nd Bundesliga in just three years. As a climber, the ERC was able to achieve relegation in the 1988/89 season.

During the current season, SC Solingen had to file for bankruptcy. The league strength then shrank to nine teams. The ERC placed eighth after the preliminary round and was only able to secure relegation with a third place in the relegation round. The most famous players of the Dortmund team in the 80s were the defender Brad Bergen and the striker Rick Laycock . Laycock in particular, who scored 45 points in 22 games, was an important part of the Dortmund offensive game. Bergen, who was active in the defensive area, was one of the top defenders in the league at that time with 107 points in 55 games. One game year later, the ERC ran into financial difficulties again and ultimately had to stop playing during the 1989/90 season . The club was bankrupt after years of recurring discussions about the lack of money .

ERC Westphalia Dortmund 1990 (1990 to 1996)

The newly founded ERC Westfalen Dortmund in 1990 continued to play the teams instead of the ERC - but not that of the team in the 2nd Bundesliga. The first season of the newly founded club was the 1990/91 season, which Dortmund spent in the regional league. From this the club was able to rise in the same season. About the NRW League in the following year, the return to the Regionalliga in 1992/93 succeeded . The ERC90 finished the regional league in second place and thus qualified for the championship round. There the newcomer placed fourth in the table and rose to the third-class league.

After the division of the leagues with the introduction of the German Ice Hockey League in the summer of 1994, the ERC90 team was divided into the second highest German league at the time, the 1st League North . At the beginning of this season, among others, the Canadian Martin Bergeron , who had previously had good statistics in the American Hockey League , was committed. The main round was completed by the experienced team around top scorer Kurt Wickenheiser in second place. In the subsequent championship round, the ERC was able to take first place. In addition to SC Riessersee , which played sovereignly at the time, the ERC90 team went into the play-offs as favorites.

There the ERC was eliminated in the first round against the " underdog " TSV 1862 Erding . The disillusionment in Dortmund was great after the ERC had previously played so strongly and was traded as a candidate for the championship. A season later, the Dortmund club management again signed a large group of experienced players. Above all, top scorer Dave O'Brien , his strike partner Teal Fowler and defender Teja Dambon , whom the management was able to transfer from Kassel to the Westphalian metropolis , should be mentioned here . The ice hockey club finished the main round in fifth place. A little later, the club hit the headlines for the first time due to financial difficulties. The championship round was completed on the last place in the table.

The dilemma had already been announced before a cup game against the Iserlohner EC . The then coach Gerald Müll resigned before the game. According to some statements, due to the financial situation, he could not keep the promises he had made to the new commitments. The real surprise came when stepping on the ice shortly before the start of the game, when the Dortmund team wore a set of shirts without any sponsors. The first high performers later announced their intention to change. During the 1995/96 season , immediately after the championship round, the club was excluded from the league due to financial problems.

EHC Dortmund (1996 to 2013)

EHC Dortmund
Greatest successes
Oberliga -West-Championship 2010 2011 Oberliga promotion in 2009 Regional league champions 2007 , 2008
Club information
history	ERC Westphalia Dortmund (1964–1990) ERC Westphalia Dortmund 1990 (1990–1996) EHC Dortmund (1996–2013)
Nickname	The elk
Parent club	Hockey Club Dortmund e. V.
Club colors	Red-white-blue
Venue	Ice sports center Westphalia
capacity	5,000 seats (including 1,002 seats)

Instead of the ERC90, the EHC Dortmund club was founded on October 10, 1996 in what was then the Westfalenhallen ice sports center. The "Elche" played their first game on October 27, 1996 at 7 pm. The opponent at the time was the Neuss EV . In front of 202 spectators, the match ended 10: 2 for the EHC (3: 0.5: 1.2: 1). Defender Frank Clever scored the first goal in the club's history in the 14th minute. He also received the first penalty in the fifth minute. Since the club was founded after the beginning of the 1996/97 season, the Elche initially played in a regional cup. In the following year, Dortmund were incorporated into the association league. At the end of the 1997/98 season, the EHC Dortmund rose from the Association League to the Regionalliga NRW. In the following years, the EHC team was often in the bottom third of the table.

In the 1999/00 season, the team reached fifth place with 37 points, leaving the Cologne EC, which was previously highly traded, behind. The best scorers were the players Igor Čillík and Thomas Pokorný , who each achieved 44 scorer points in 19 games. One season later, the EHC took sixth place in the final bill. This time the Czech-born Michal Galgonek was the best on points in the team. He completed 28 games and scored 40 points.

In the following year, the EHC Dortmund moved into the NRW Regional League play-offs. There the outsider was successful in only two of the seven games, placing himself in the penultimate position. Only the EC Bergisch Gladbach achieved a worse result at the time and was accordingly the only team behind the Elchen. Formative actors during this time were the players Willi Tesch and Igor Čillík, who are now under contract with the direct competitor, the Königsborner JEC . Čillík was on the offensive and is one of the top strikers in the Regionalliga NRW several times. In addition, since Kurt Wickenheiser he was one of the most popular players in Dortmund ice hockey history. Tesch acted in the defensive area with the long-time Dortmund player Thomas Branz.

After two more disappointing years, the sporting performance curve showed an upward trend in the 2005/06 season . The team around the then top performers Jan-Anton Baron and Hans-Jürgen Lacalli improved significantly and finished fifth after the main round. Then Dortmund played for the first time in the promotion round to the league, which was the greatest success in the club's history up to that point.

In the promotion round, the Elche were able to improve again and beat their arch rivals and then promotion favorites Herner EG on Strobelallee with 5: 3. The Westphalia took third place in the end. In the same year, the Dortmund Ice Hockey Club celebrated its tenth anniversary. Even before the 2005/06 season, Dr. Günter Kuboth and Gerd Alda were newly elected to the board of the association as first and second chairmen. The two replaced the long-time first chairman Peter Rieger. With this restructuring of the management level, the renewed sporting success of the EHC Dortmund began. Rieger had previously been at the top of the club for five years and inherited Karl-Walter Hollmann, the co-founder of the EHC, in the summer of 1999.

Trainer of the EHC Dortmund, Krystian Sikorski

Czesław Panek was the coach of the EHC Dortmund from April 2007 to November 2008

In the period that followed, it was possible to enter into a cooperation with the neighboring football club Borussia Dortmund and with the direct league rival Iserlohn Roosters 1b . The aim of this cooperation is to promote young and talented players and to exchange ideas in what is known as "scouting". Promotion to the second Bundesliga was given as a medium-term goal. For the 2006/07 season , the club's management signed players with higher-class experience, such as Jörn-Erik Siegmanski or the native Russian Dmitri Zwetkow , who had previously worked for the SKA Saint Petersburg team in the highest Russian ice hockey league, the then International League, was active. Nevertheless, the team could not qualify for the season's goal, the promotion round. Trainer Markus Scheffold had to leave early and was replaced by interim coach Georg "Butzi" Gailer . The team then competed in the Regional League Cup, where second place, four points behind the DEG Metrostars second representative , was achieved.

Play-off final 2008 against the Herner EV

After the EHC had gone into the season as the favorite a year earlier and could not achieve the goals previously set, the Dortmund club management decided to make a change and signed 17 new players. After the last home game of the regional league main round against EC Bergisch Land , the team received the trophy for the 2007/08 regional league championship . This meant the greatest success in the club's eleven-year history. The best scorer was Antti-Jussi Miettinen from Finland, who was newly signed up before the season .

In the subsequent round of promotion to the league, the team took second place and qualified for the play-offs. On March 22, 2008 the play-off semi-finals started. There, the Dortmund ice hockey club was able to prevail against the Hügelsheim Hornets team in both the first leg and the second leg . At the same time, the team from the Herne ice hockey club prevailed against the second team from SC Bietigheim-Bissingen in 2007 . The final was contested by EHC Dortmund and Herner EV.

After the final first leg was lost 5-6 in front of 2,000 spectators at Strobelallee, the goal was to make up the one-goal deficit in the second leg. Two days later, the moose competed at the Gysenbergpark in Herne. After regular playing time it was 3: 4 for the EHC from Dortmund. In the subsequent penalty shootout, Canadian Tim McVaugh converted the decisive penalty. Thus, the Westphalia missed the athletic qualification for the league.

In the 2008/09 season the EHC Dortmund was able to win the regional league championship again and qualify for the play-off final after two wins in the play-offs against Neuss EV. In the final against the DEG Metro Stars II, the EHC won both games 1: 4 and 5: 1 respectively. Thus, the "Elche" qualified for the 2009/10 league season . In June 2009 the club decided to outsource the professional team to a Spielbetriebs GmbH. However, the association decided not to employ a separate manager or other people so that he could continue to determine the work of the GmbH. A corresponding amendment to the statutes was passed at a general meeting on June 23, 2009. Subsequently, the EHC Dortmund was granted the license for the 2009/10 season by the ESBG . In their first league season, the Elche took second place after the main round and moved into the semi-finals for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga after winning the play-off quarter-finals against the Passau Black Hawks . There they lost with 1: 3 wins against EC Peiting . The best scorer after the main round was the Canadian TJ Sakaluk , who was newly signed up for the season and scored 55 points in 36 games.

Competitive game balance since 1996 as of May 2, 2011
Games	606
Victories	322
Overtime / Penalty Wins	26th
draw	3
Defeats	229
Overtime / penalty losses	26th

In the 2010/11 season , the EHC Dortmund completed the preliminary round of the Oberliga West as the best team with first place. In the subsequent final, which consisted of two groups with a total of eight teams from the upper leagues North, East and West, the elks were able to take first place in their group ahead of the Mosquitoes Essen, the Rostock Piranhas and the Wild Boys Chemnitz . Thus, the team moved into the play-offs as one of the favorites, but lost the quarter-final series against EHC Klostersee with 1: 3 wins.

In terms of sport, the 2011/12 season was also very successful for EHC Dortmund. First, the EHC Dortmund was able to complete the main round of the Oberliga West in 1st place and thus win the Oberliga West championship. In the subsequent final of the Oberliga West, the team of coach Frank Gentges managed to qualify for the final round with the teams from the Oberliga Nord, Ost and West with 4th place. In group A of this final round of the northern teams of the ice hockey league, the EHC Dortmund also took 1st place. Thus, the team of coach Frank Gentges moved into the play-offs for promotion to the 2nd ice hockey Bundesliga as a favorite. After the quarter-finals against the southern upper division VER Selber Wölfe were won with 3-1 victories, the Westfalenelche were in the semi-finals of the playoffs for promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. Here, however, the team had to admit defeat after three defeats and one win against EV Duisburg.

Eisadler Dortmund (from 2013)

Ice eagle Dortmund
Greatest successes
Champion NRW League 2014, 2020 Champion Regionalliga-West 2015
Club information
history	Eisadler Dortmund (since 2013)
Nickname	The ice eagle
Parent club	Eisadler Dortmund eV
Club colors	Blue yellow
league	Ice hockey regional league
Venue	Ice sports center Westphalia
capacity	5,000 seats (including 1,002 seats)
Head coach	Thomas Schmitz
captain	Felix Berger
2019/20	Master LL-NRW / Promotion to the RL

For the 2013/14 season, the EHC did not report any teams to the association on time at the beginning of May - instead, this was carried out by the newly founded club Eisadler Dortmund . In the first season of the newly founded club, the Eisadler started in the NRW League, where they finished first and were promoted to the Regionalliga West, in which they will compete in the 2014/15 season. The greatest success in the one-year history of the club is next to the promotion, reaching the Regionalliga West-Pokal final, in which one was only just defeated in two games by the regional league club EC Lauterbach in the shootout (2-4 and 7-6 afterwards) . In the 2014/2015 season, the Eisadler won the championship of the Regionalliga West and rose to the top division.

season	league	Preliminary round	Finals
2013/14	LL-NRW	-	↑ Master
2014/15	RL West	1st place	master
2015/16	1st League West	2nd place	2nd place
2016/17	RL West	9th place	4th Place
2017/18	State League NRW	4th Place	2nd place cup
2018/19	State League NRW	2nd place	3rd place
2019/20	State League NRW	1st place	↑ Master
2020/21	RL West

^↑ championship round; ^↓ Relegation round

player

Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame Germany

Personalities who have rendered outstanding services to ice hockey in Germany will be admitted to the “Hall of Fame” of the German Ice Hockey Museum. From the recorded actors worked in Dortmund:

(Team membership and position in brackets)

Walter Kremershof (1937–1938, defense) The trained defender Walter Kremershof was only active for one season in Dortmund. In 1937 and 1938 he was in the squad of the first Dortmund ice hockey club, EV Westfalen Dortmund, with which he initially only played friendly games.

Bobby Bell (1937-1938, coach) Robert A. "Bobby" Bell took over as coach of EV Westfalen Dortmund during the 1937/38 season. He inherited his compatriot, the Canadian Herbie Esboe, who previously had to quit his service.

Ēriks Koņeckis (1959–1963, 1964–1972, coach) Konecki took part in the 1938 World Cup with the Latvian national team. Between 1959 and 1963 he was initially the coach of TuS Eintracht Dortmund before he headed the senior team of ERC Westfalen Dortmund from 1964 to 1972.

Other important (former) players

(Team membership and position in brackets)

Herberts Vasiļjevs (1990–1994, Sturm) The Latvian international came to Germany with his father in the early 1990s and spent his youth ice hockey at ERC Dortmund. At the age of 18 he went to the Krefeld Pinguinen , where he has been playing again since 2005. In the 2006/07 season he was the top scorer of the DEL with 54 points . He also came to 51 NHL games, including for the Atlanta Thrashers .	Igor Čillík (1998-2006, Sturm) Igor Čillík came to Dortmund in 1998 and subsequently developed into one of the strikers with the best points that the newly founded EHC Dortmund had ever signed. In 300 games he was able to achieve 535 points scorer and thus holds several club-internal player records. In the EHC jersey he scored the most scorer points, the most goals and the most assists, as well as the most games.	Kurt Jablonski (1957–1964, 1969–1972, Sturm) Kurt Jablonski, who was born in Berlin, already played for TuS Eintracht Dortmund and left the club in 1964. With 108 goals scored between 1958 and 1964, he is second in the TuS all-time goalscorer list. After the club had to stop playing in 1965 for financial reasons, he returned to Dortmund in 1969 and played for two years for ERC Westfalen Dortmund.
Kurt Wickenheiser (1992–1996, Sturm) Kurt Wickenheiser is one of the most successful scorers in the club history of the ERC Westfalen Dortmund in 1990. After remaining loyal to the club for four years, he left it in 1996. In the 188 games recorded to date, he scored 442 points.	Martin Bergeron (1994–1996, Sturm) Martin Bergeron played two seasons for the ERC, in which he was one of the top scorers on the team. In a total of 79 games Bergeron scored 195 points. After his time in Dortmund, Bergeron played for the EHC Basel , with whom he was promoted to the Swiss National League A in 2003 .	Marcus Meister (1982–1989, 1990–1991, defense) Marcus Meister completed a total of eight seasons in the jersey of the ERC Westphalia and the successor club ERC Westphalia 90. During this time he was an important part of the Dortmund defense. In addition, with 22 goals in over 100 games, he is one of the most dangerous defenders in the history of ERC Westphalia.
Erik Konecki (1968–1986, Sturm) Erik Konecki was a member of the ERC Westfalen Dortmund squad for a total of 15 years. During this time he was able to achieve 353 points scorer in 337 games he played. So he scored the most points in the history of the ERC. His brother Ralf Konecki also played for Westphalia and was his strike partner for years.	Thomas Carlsson (1972–1986, goal) Born in Sweden, Thomas Carlsson was the goalkeeper of ERC Westfalen Dortmund between 1972 and 1986 and was able to play a total of 235 games in which he scored a rare goalie. Carlsson was thus one of the most consistent goalkeepers at ERC Westphalia.	Juris Kruminsch (1990-1996, Sturm) Juris Kruminsch, father of Maris Kruminsch , who was also under contract with EHC Dortmund, has played in Dortmund since the ERC was founded in 1990. He experienced the greatest successes of the club and its deep fall, combined with the bankruptcy in 1996. In total, he scored 306 points in 174 games.
Antti-Jussi Miettinen (2007-2009, Sturm) Antti-Jussi Miettinen joined the elks in 2007. The Finnish-born player previously played for Ilves Tampere in the top Finnish league, the SM-liiga . His first career station in Germany were the Ratinger Ice Aliens , with whom he played in the major league . In his first season at the EHC he was able to achieve 126 scorer points in a total of 41 games.	Christian Franz (1987–1997, 2008–2009, defense) Former German national player who played over 400 games for the Iserlohn Roosters and the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in the DEL. Franz played for the Eisbären Regensburg for two years . After the club had to file for bankruptcy in 2008 despite great ambitions , he returned to his home town of Dortmund. There he took over the post of assistant captain.	Christian Kohmann (2008–2009, Sturm) Christian Kohmann began his career with his home club, the Ratinger Löwen, in the 1st Bundesliga (later DEL). German champion 2004 with the Frankfurt Lions , as well as participation in the European Champions Cup 2005 . Played over 400 DEL games, including for Moskitos Essen , Schwenninger Wild Wings and Kassel Huskies, with whom he was able to advance to the DEL in 2008 .
Al Conroy (1988–1989, Sturm) Al Conroy played in the 2nd Bundesliga for ERC Westfalen Dortmund in the 1988/89 season . He got 78 points in 31 league games. He then moved to the AHL for the Adirondack Red Wings and then spent three seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers between 1991 and 1994 .	Dan Bourbonnais (1988–1989, Sturm) Dan Bourbonnais played two years in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers before he was active in the 2nd Bundesliga for the ERC Westfalen Dortmund in the 1988/89 season. Here he suffered a difficult foot injury at the end of the season. After he played again for eleven games in France for HC Caen in the 1989/90 season , he then stepped back from his active career.

Venues

The hall of the EHC Dortmund

The visitor entrance to the EWD

Inside view of the VIP area

→ Main article : Westfalenhallen

After its founding in 1936, EV Westfalen Dortmund played its home games in the old Westfalenhalle. As there was no alternative venue, the then deputy director of the Westfalenhalle, Hans Brinkmann, had an ice processing machine installed. Games in this hall took place between 1936 and 1940.

Ice Sports Center Westphalia (halls)

→ Main article : Westfalenhallen ice sports center

Since the 1950s, the previous Dortmund ice hockey teams have played their home games at the Westfalenhallen Ice Sports Center (today: Westphalia Ice Sports Center). It was opened in 1952 and deliberately designed as an open ice rink in the course of its planning. In 1992, Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH decided to completely refurbish and increase the number of spectators. Since then, the stadium has provided space for almost 5,000 spectators. A Dortmund team played their first competitive game in the ice sports center on November 21, 1964, when ERC Westfalen Dortmund played in a championship game against Cologne EK . The ERC lost this game 9-0. During the 2007/08 season, a VIP area was set up in the EWD for the guests of the EHC Dortmund. Furthermore, the club management decided in the same year to take over the restaurant, which is now called “Elchschänke”. The VIP area was expanded after the promotion to the top league in 2009 and now extends almost over the entire "D-Block", which is located behind the gate and above the "Elchschänke".

Audience statistics for the last five years
season	Home games	spectator	Spectators per game
Play-offs 2011	2    (-)	2,255    (-)	1,128    (-)
2010/11	23    (20/3)	16,767    (13,030 / 3,737)	729    (652 / 1.246) 1
Play-offs 2010	5    (-)	3,056    (-)	611    (-)
2009/10	20    (-)	12,379    (-)	618    (-)
Play-offs 2009	2    (-)	2,600    (-)	1,300    (-)
2008/09	20    (11/9)	8,970    (4,606 / 4,364)	449    (419/485) 1
Play-offs 2008	2    (-)	2,296    (-)	1,148    (-)
2007/08	19    (11/8)	8,082    (4,162 / 3,920)	425    (378/490) 1
2006/07	18    (11/7)	3,869    (2,476 / 1,393)	215    (225/199)

(The total capacity for the entire season is given. The preliminary round / cup round are listed separately in brackets.)
¹ Participation in the championship round instead of the cup round

Club culture

Fans and rivalries

The fans of the EHC in the "C-Block"

With the supporters of the Herner EV there has been a great rivalry since their time together in the Oberliga and the 2nd Bundesliga , which has gained even more importance due to the particularly emotional play-off final of the 2007/08 regional league season. The first duel between the two teams took place on August 25, 1972. At that time, the Herner EV team was able to defeat the then upper division ERC Westfalen Dortmund 6: 5 at Herner Gysenbergpark.

While the rivalry with the fans of the Herner EV continues to this day, the one with the fan groups of the Iserlohn ice hockey clubs has dissolved. In the 1980s and mid-1990s, ERC Westfalen Dortmund and ECD Iserlohn and the successor club ECD Sauerland dueled in the Oberliga and in the 2nd Bundesliga. The games between the teams were very popular. The games in Dortmund usually took place in front of up to 5,000 spectators. The bankruptcy of ERC Westphalia in 1996 and the associated sporting descent into the sixth league and the rise of the Iserlohn Roosters to the German ice hockey league prevented the two clubs from meeting again. The rivalry between fans subsided over the years and is now barren. Another rivalry of the EHC Dortmund is with the hammer ice sport, today with the team of the Lippe-Hockey-Hamm . In the past there was also a fan rivalry with the Königsborner JEC , which no longer exists today - the main reasons for this are a generation change among fans and a lack of sporting rivalry.

For a short time there has been a friendship with the fans of the Ratinger Ice Aliens , especially with the “Supcom-Ratingen” fan club. This is mainly due to the fact that former players of the "Ice Aliens" are in the Elche squad, as well as the rivalry between the two fan groups and that of the Herner EV. As a result, fans of both clubs meet at irregular intervals for their teams' games to support the respective team. There are also good relationships with the fans of Neusser EV and EV Duisburg .

In the 2009/10 season there was also a good relationship with the supporters of EV Landsberg . In an away game of the EHC Dortmund in Landsberg on October 23, 2009, the Dortmund attacker Ryan Martens and the Landsberg Boris Zahumensky clashed with each other during a duel. Zahumensky then crashed into the gang and broke five cervical vertebrae and several ribs. Both the fans and those in charge of both clubs, as well as the Canadian Ryan Martens, were shocked by the accident. In the following weeks there were well-being wishes from the whole league, especially from Dortmund. Among other things, a choreography was organized by the fans of the EHC. Before the home game against EHC Klostersee on November 29, 2009 , the spectators held up Zahumensky's shirt number printed on sheets when the teams came in. The EHC Dortmund management sent the signatures, pictures and congratulations collected during this campaign to the injured Slovak.

Development of the association

In the years of sporting success, at least 1,000 spectators regularly attended the home games of the then ERC Westfalen Dortmund and ERC Westfalen Dortmund 1990. After the re-establishment of the Dortmund Ice Hockey Club in 1996, the fan scene was down, also due to the subsequent lack of sporting success , got small. Over the years, the club's management has seen a positive development - the EHC has been able to draw attention to itself through a variety of advertising strategies. The local newspapers, including the Ruhr Nachrichten and the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , were won over as advertising partners. Recently, the Dortmund-based radio station Radio 91.2 has been broadcasting a commercial several times before each home game and reports irregularly from the games. In addition, a stadium brochure could be introduced again, among other things in cooperation with the fanzine "elk enclosure". Furthermore, there are efforts to develop the corporate design together with a professional agency . Since July 2008, the EHC Dortmund has also been cooperating with the International School of Management Dortmund , which aims to support the association on its way to professionalization with the help of surveys among the Dortmund population on the subject of ice hockey.

Chicco, the mascot of the EHC Dortmund

The " KiK male"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} duisburgweb.de, Ice Hockey Lexicon - Dortmund ( Memento from December 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ Special edition of the Sport-Kurier for the 1983/84 season
3. ^ Special edition of the Sport-Kurier for the 1985/86 season
4. ↑ damen-eishockey.de, club Portrait: ERC Westfalen Dortmund
5. ↑ ^{a b} oocities.com, Iserlohner EC - ERC Westphalia Dortmund
6. ↑ ^{a b} ehcdortmund.de, The 500th championship game in the club's history. In: hockeyweb.de. January 26, 1997. Retrieved June 22, 2019 . 
7. ↑ lev-nrw.de, final table Regionalliga NRW 1999/00
8. ↑ lev-nrw.de, final table Regionalliga NRW 2000/01
9. ↑ lev-nrw.de, season 2001–2002 senior leagues
10. ↑ lev-nrw.de, season 2005-2006 senior leagues
11. ↑ derwesten.de, cooperation with EHC Dortmund
12. ↑ hockeyweb.de, December 31, 2006 "Georg Gailer is now coaching the EHC" ( Memento from May 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed online on May 26, 2013)
13. ↑ lev-nrw.de, season 2006–2007 senior leagues
14. ↑ hockeyweb.de, With struggle and discipline to success
15. ↑ hockeyweb.de, Herne wins final thriller in Dortmund
16. ↑ hockeyweb.de, Herner EV 2007 creates the rise
17. ↑ Continuity in the club management. In: hockeyweb.de. June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2019 . 
18. ↑ hockeyweb.de, July 10, 2009: "Dortmund: Oberliga license granted" (accessed online on May 26, 2013)
19. ↑ Jürgen Schwabe: Stage goal reached: EHC celebrates Western championship. In: ruhrnachrichten.de. February 18, 2011, accessed September 19, 2017 . 
20. ↑ http://www.hockeyweb.de/oberliga/nachrichten/artikel/news/wuerdiges-saisonende-fuer-den-ehc-dortmund/
21. ↑ Hockeyweb, Hockeyweb: May 3, 2013: "Well sure: Dortmund no longer in the top league" (accessed online May 14, 2013)
22. ↑ Ruhrnachrichten, May 1, 2013: "EHC before the collapse - re-establishment of the ice eagles" (accessed online May 14, 2013)
23. ^ Eishockeymuseum.de, Ice Hockey Museum Hall of Fame Germany
24. ↑ lev-nrw.de, past
25. ↑ derwesten.de, Derby against Herne with a long tradition
26. ↑ It starts - the Iserlohn Roosters are coming. In: hockeyweb.de. August 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2017 . 
27. ↑ neusser-ev.de, Fanfreundschaft Neuss EV and Germany
28. ↑ http://ehcdortmund.de/cms/website.php?id=/de/index/spielberichte/evlandsberg-ehcdortmund1:8(1:1,0:3,0:4).htm (link not available)
29. ↑ kreisbote.de, drama Boris Záhumenský
30. ↑ http://www.ehcdortmund.de/cms/website.php?id=/de/index/news/grossebetroffenheit (link not available)
31. ↑ designtouch.de, brand design - EHC Dortmund ( Memento from December 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
32. ↑ ruhrnachrichten.de, July 22, 2008 "Moose bring top-class players for the defense" (accessed online on May 26, 2013)

Web links

Commons : EHC Dortmund  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the ice eagle
• Website for the ERC Westfalen Dortmund Kunstlauf

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on December 29, 2008 .