EHC Neuwied

EHC Neuwied
Greatest successes
1st division champions 1997 , 1998 DEB league cup winner 1997 Champion Regionalliga Hessen 2001 Inter-Regio-Cup winner 2019
Club information
history	EHC Neuwied (1979–2000) SC Mittelrhein (2000–2001) SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied (2001–2006) VFE Neuwied (2006–2007) EHC die Bären Neuwied (2007–2016) EHC "Die Bären" 2016 e. V. (since 2016)
Nickname	The Bears
Club colors	Blue-silver-white
league	Regionalliga West
Venue	Icehouse Neuwied
capacity	2,100 seats
Head coach	Leos Sulak
captain	Stephan Fröhlich
Season  2019/20	Runner-up

The EHC Neuwied 2016 - more precisely the club name EHC “Die Bären” 2016 e. V. - is an ice hockey club that is based in the Rhineland-Palatinate city ​​of Neuwied . Its predecessor clubs were EHC Neuwied , SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied and VFE Neuwied . All ice hockey clubs in Neuwied have had the addition "Bären" or "Die Bären" in their official club name since 1988. The EHC die Bären Neuwied went bankrupt in 2016, the successor club has been playing in the Regionalliga West since the 2016/17 season .

Before that, the "old" EHC played in the second-class 1st League North and the 2nd Bundesliga , the SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied and the EHC the Bären Neuwied in the Oberliga and the VFE Neuwied in the Regionalliga .

EHC Neuwied plays its home games in the “Icehouse” with a capacity of 2,100 people, the club colors are blue, silver and white.

history

The EHC Neuwied (1980 to 2000)

At the end of December 1979 the EHC Neuwied was founded, which from 1980 as EHC TOM Neuwied "Panther" , 1986 to 1988 under the name EHC Neuwied "Wikinger" and finally from 1988 as EHC Neuwied "the bears" participated in the Rhineland-Palatinate regional league and rose to the Regionalliga Süd-West . However, the bears were only able to establish themselves in the Central Regionalliga from the 1989/1990 season , where they celebrated their first notable success as runner-up behind the ESC "Löwen" Frankfurt in the 1991/92 season . In the subsequent league qualifying round, however, the team just missed the promotion, which was finally achieved in the following season with a win in the last home game against the Berlin ice skating club .

In the 1993/94 season , the club first played in the major league , before a year later, due to a reform in German ice hockey and the associated founding of the German ice hockey league , it was allowed to compete in the new second-class 1st League North.

The 1995/96 season ended the team in third place in the 1st League North, but had to admit defeat in the play-off comparison with EC Bad Tölz from the 1st League South, which is considered stronger. For the 1996/97 season , the team was reinforced in many positions, which initially brought her 21 wins from 26 games in the preliminary round. In the championship round, the bears won 15 out of 18 games and thus the championship title of the 1st League North. The subsequent play-offs in comparison with the clubs from the 1st League South, officially named "Hacker-Pschorr-Liga", also decided the EHC Neuwied for itself and was thus champions of the 1st league. Following this, Neuwied played against the Ratinger Löwen , the last place in the German Ice Hockey League, in two relegation games for a place in the top German division. Neuwied lost both games significantly, especially since the club had no serious ambitions for promotion anyway, mainly for economic reasons. The team also won the DEB League Cup in 1997 , a tournament similar to today's DEB Cup , but which was played without the participation of DEL teams. In the 1997/98 season , the EHC defended the championship title in the 1st League North despite a weak start to the season. In the subsequent championship round, the best eight teams from the north and south group met each other, which finished the new again in fourth place, which also meant a home right for the following play-off round. As in the previous year, the bears reached the final there, in which they had to compete with the EC Bad Nauheim . After the EHC had won their home game in the best-of-three series, the team needed a win in the away game in Bad Nauheim to defend their title. At the end of regular time it was 5: 5. After this result continued after the extension, the championship decided in the penalty shootout in favor of the Neuwied Bears.

For the 1998/99 season , the first division was renamed the Bundesliga , while the EHC strengthened itself with some DEL experienced players. After winning titles in previous years, expectations were high, but a bad start to the season and considerable bad luck with injuries ensured that the team found themselves in the relegation round after the preliminary round. After disputes with the local press, the club president announced his resignation at the end of January, which also caused unrest among the team. In the end, the bears just managed to stay in the league.

After the unsatisfactory pre-season for the club, the EHC Neuwied should face a new sporting start in the 1999/00 season . The team was fundamentally changed and replaced by new players. From last year's team only seven players remained with the bears, the departed coach Ľubomír Pokovič was also replaced by Petteri Lehmussaari. In terms of sport, the EHC started the season well this time, but it was announced for the first time in November that the club was in financial difficulties. Despite a large fundraising campaign and a winning streak of the team, which was consistently in the top four of the table until January, the EHC Neuwied had to file for bankruptcy on January 3rd .

SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied (2000 to 2006)

Two weeks after the EHC had applied for the opening of insolvency proceedings, the SC Mittelrhein ( SCM for short ) was founded, the official club name of which was expanded to include Neuwied in the summer of 2001 . The SCM took over the game operations of the 2nd team of the EHC Neuwied and entered in its first season in the regional league Rhineland-Palatinate / Hesse . There Neuwied was instant champion and thus reached the qualifying round for promotion to the Oberliga Nord. At the same time, they participated in the Regionalliga NRW as a visiting team, as the small number of teams in Rhineland-Palatinate / Hesse would not have enabled regular play. The promotion round was ended without losing points and the promotion to the league was secured.

In his five-year senior league membership, the SCM was able to reach the playoffs three times , in which he was eliminated in the quarter- finals. In 2001/02 the bears failed in five games at what would later be runner-up at ESV Kaufbeuren . A year later, the SCM was again defeated against the eventual runner-up, the Dresdner Eislöwen in three games, before the club was eliminated in four games against the Blue Lions Leipzig in the 2004/05 season .

The league team was able to qualify for the championship round, where participation in the playoffs with tenth place was missed, athletically for the 2006/07 Oberliga and could have participated in this. However, the club could not come up with a stadium usage contract, which was a condition for the license extension. Hopes for the implementation of a concept for the purchase of the ice rink by the AWO were dashed at the beginning of June 2006 when one of the requirements for financing the concept was rejected by the local city council in Neuwied. The basis for the financial support promised to the association was therefore not fulfilled, so that as a consequence the board of the association filed for bankruptcy on June 12, 2006 and then resigned from its offices.

VFE Neuwied (2006/07)

Due to the resignation of the board and filing for bankruptcy, no team for the SCM took part in the 2006/07 season. For this, the youngsters and the 2nd senior team of the SCM from VFE Neuwied , the association for the promotion of ice hockey youth Neuwied e. V. , as its first senior team reported to play for the 2006/07 season . In the fourth-class Regionalliga Hessen, the senior team reached fourth place in the preliminary round and second place after the qualifying round for the Regionalliga Hessen.

The EHC Die Bären Neuwied (2007-2016)

On April 1, 2007, the newly founded EHC Neuwied took over the teams of the VFE , which is still active in its original function as a sponsoring association.

A unique curiosity in Neuwied's ice hockey history is the fact that the 2nd team played higher-class ice hockey for two seasons than the senior team. This was due to the fact that the senior team of the EHC would normally have continued the game operations of VFE Neuwied in the Regionalliga Hessen . However, since the club management of the re-established EHC decided, for sporting reasons, to play the senior team in the State Ice Sports Association of North Rhine-Westphalia instead of Hesse , the 2nd team of the EHC took the vacant place in the Hesse regional league, while the senior team in the sixth class Landesliga NRW was divided.

In the Landesliga NRW Group A, the EHC reached first place in its first season after ten match days with nine wins in one defeat. Thus, the team played in the subsequent qualifying round for the Association League NRW 2008/2009 and took first place there with nine wins and only one defeat, whereupon the Bears rose to the Association League. The first two of the two association league qualification rounds, Neuwied and Herford, then played the winner of the association league cup in a return match. EHC Neuwied won the Association League Cup against Herford EV and was then also the Rhineland-Palatinate Cup winners by winning the second leg against EHC Zweibrücken . In the association league season 2008, the EHC Neuwied took first place in the table with 36 points and was champion of the NRW association league. The bears suffered only two defeats in 14 games and have been playing in the Regionalliga qualification round, the Regionalliga-Pokal NRW, since January 2009. In March 2009, the team managed the second promotion in a row three game days before the end of the season and from then on played in the Regionalliga NRW. In addition, the 2nd team won the championship in the Rhineland-Palatinate regional league on the same weekend. After the preliminary round, the Deichstädter took 11th place and subsequently played as penultimate in the final round again in the Regionalliga-Pokal NRW, which they finished in 2nd place in the table, which at the same time meant staying in the Regionalliga West for the 2010 / 11 meant.

In May 2010, the club received the offer to play in the reformed Oberliga West in the 2010/11 season , but refused it for financial reasons. In terms of sport, the 2010/11 season was not very successful for the bears, who took fifth of seven places after the main round and were only able to secure relegation in the second play-down round against the 2nd team from Iserlohn after they were in the first round at RSC Darmstadt failed.

For the 2011/12 season they signed a new coach with Bernd Arnold. Coming from Troisdorf , he brought a total of seven players to Neuwied. They reached after the second place in the main round of the Regionalliga West in the promotion round to the Oberliga West, the third place in the table behind the Prussians Krefeld and the mosquitoes Essen . Thus, the EHC Neuwied rose for the third time after 1993 and 2001 in the league. In addition, after 2008, the team won the Rhineland-Palatinate Cup for the second time in the club's history, after defeating the Mainz Wolves twice in the semifinals and defeating EHC Zweibrücken in the final.

The league season 2012/2013, however, was sobering for the EHC. At no time was the team competitive and they found themselves in the table cellar for the entire season. Also in the Oberliga West Pokal 2012/2013 the team could not convince and so at the end of the season they were relegated to the regional league. The only positive aspect was the successful defense of the Rhineland-Palatinate Cup against the final opponent Mainz Wölfe.

After a sovereign re-promotion, including regional league championship, Oberliga-Pokal semi-finals and the third success in the RLP-Pokal, the quality of the squad for the second league season in the club's history was put together much better than it was two years earlier . A mixture of experienced newcomers such as Artur Tegkaev and Michel Maaßen , but also young players, surprisingly succeeded in making the runner-up in the Oberliga West . The US contingent player Josh Myers was named “Player of the Season” by the specialist journal Ice Hockey News . After a midfield position in the interlocking round with the Oberliga Ost, the season ended with another cup win in Rhineland-Palatinate. In the 2015/2016 season the EHC Neuwied took 6th place in the newly founded Oberliga Nord. There they played against the German champions from 2010, the Hannover Scorpions. The home games of EHC Neuwied are increasingly becoming a crowd puller. An average of well over 1000 spectators came to the home games in the 2015/2016 season. After the first play-off round, the season was over for the EHC. There they lost to the Hanover Indians in 3 games.

On June 21, 2016, the EHC presented the Bären Neuwied e. V. submitted the application for insolvency proceedings at the Neuwied district court under file number 21 IN 84/16. The club's debt is said to be EUR 100,000, of which the hall operator is said to have outstanding invoices amounting to EUR 25,000.

Ice hockey club the bears 2016

The board of the new association introduced itself at the beginning of July 2016. In the first season of the new club they started in the fourth-class regional league and retired there after a second place in the main and championship round in the quarter-finals against the Herford EV . The main rounds of the 2017/18 seasons and the Ice Hockey Regionalliga 2018/19 , which were crowned with the semi-finals, were equally successful . In both seasons, however, they were eliminated there against the Herford EV.

More teams

In addition to the 1st team, there is also the 2nd team at EHC Neuwied, which competes in the Rhineland-Palatinate regional league.

Between 1991 and 2006 there was also a women's team in Neuwied called EHC Neuwied "Hühner" or SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied "Hühner".

Significant past teams

Champion team of the 1st division 1996/97

Before the 1996/97 season , EHC Neuwied announced ten newcomers. During the season Christian von Trzcinski , Jan Tábor and René Naroska left the team, while Christian Seeberger from the Kaufbeurer Adlers , Branislav Heisig from the Kassel Huskies and Jędrzej Kasperczyk from the ESC Wedemark were newly signed.

position	Surname
Goal:	Mariusz Cissewski , Fabian Dahlem , Andreas Rübin
Defense:	Juri Stumpf , Sergejs Čudinovs , Christian Seeberger , Ladislav Strompf , Andreas Halfmann , Tero Aaltonen , Marco Heinrichs
Storm:	Dean Fedorchuk , Philip Huber , Jędrzej Kasperczyk , Branislav Heisig , Petri Kujala , Peter Kraus , Peter Juchem , Mario Naster (C) , Jens Hergt , Jari Multanen , Ralf Dobrzynski , Franz-Xaver Ibelherr , Daniel Del Monte
Trainer:	Ľubomír Pokovič

(C) = team captain

Champion team of the 1st division 1997/98

In the 1997/98 season , 13 players from the previous season were in the bear squad. Branislav Heisig, who died in a traffic accident in autumn 1997, was left without further action . At the start of the season, nine new players joined the team, while defenders Nilsson and Noob only moved to Neuwied this season.

position	Surname
Goal:	Mariusz Cissewski, Marc Gronau
Defense:	Juri Stumpf, Jukka Ollila , Ladislav Strompf, Andreas Halfmann, Marco Heinrichs, Christian Seeberger, Niko Tittus , Mike Muller , Matz Nilsson , John Noob
Storm:	Dean Fedorchuk, Philip Huber, Sylvain Beauchamp , Peter Juchem, Mario Naster (C) , Markus Oijennus , Ralf Dobrzynski, Daniel Walther , Jens Hergt, Jim Hoffmann , Brian Hannon
Trainer:	Ľubomír Pokovič

(C) = team captain

player

year	Surname
1993-1994	Werner Kühn
1994-1995	Jürgen Trattner
1995-1999	Mario Naster
1999-2000	Ladislav electricity supply
2000-2003	Mario Naster
2003-2004	Ladislav electricity supply
2004-2009	Jens Hergt
2009-2010	Tim Grundl
2010-2011	Robin Lehmann
2011	Andreas Halfmann
2011–2012	Stephan Petry
2012-2014	Wilhelm Hamann
2014-2016	Brian Gibbons
since 2016	Stephan Fröhlich

Team captains (since 1993)

Werner Kühn played in the ice hockey Bundesliga for the Cologne EC for eleven years before moving to EHC Neuwied for the 1993/94 season, where he took over the position of team captain. In the following season Jürgen Trattner became the new team captain of the bears. During his career, Trattner played for the Starbulls Rosenheim in the ice hockey Bundesliga and for the Hannover Scorpions in the German ice hockey league . With an interruption in the 1999/2000 season , Mario Naster was the team captain of the Neuwied Bears between 1995 and 2003. At eight years old, the attacker was the longest team captain in Neuwied. Until the end of his active career he wore the "C" on his jersey in Neuwied, which he only had to give to Ladislav Strompf in one season. The Bundesliga and DEL-experienced Strompf was already the team captain of EHC Neuwied in 1999/2000 and took over this position after Naster's retirement for the 2003/04 season at SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied.

Jens Hergt then became the captain of SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied, who continued this position at VFE Neuwied and the "new" EHC Neuwied. Jens Hergt has played for the first team of the Neuwied Bears without interruption since the 1994/95 season and was therefore not only the longest-serving Neuwied player, but also the only player who was on the ice for all four Neuwied ice hockey clubs. After the 2008/09 season, Hergt ended his active career and Tim Grundl followed him as team captain. After one season he was followed by Robin Lehmann, who remained team captain until he left the team in February 2011. By the end of the season, the native Neuwied, Andreas Halfmann, was the new captain of the bears. Stephan Petry is the team captain in the 2011/12 season .

Blocked jersey numbers

So far, the shirt numbers of three players have been "blocked" due to their merits for the club, which means that they are no longer given to active players. In memory of the award winners, the jerseys were hung up in the ice rink. The "new" EHC Neuwied has blocked one jersey number, that of Jens Hergt. The numbers blocked by the previous clubs will no longer be assigned by the new club from the 2014/15 season.

(Team membership and position in brackets)

Marek Gołąbek - # 16 (Forward) Marek Gołąbek's jersey number has already been banned by the "old" EHC Neuwied in his honor. At the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s Gołąbek was instrumental in the success of the EHC Neuwied. He played from 1989 to 1996 for the old EHC and in the 2000/01 season for SC Mittelrhein.

Mario Naster - # 22 (1995-2003, Sturm) In honor of the long-time EHC and SCM team captain Mario Naster, SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied blocked his jersey number 22. Until the end of his career, the former national player played in the jersey of the Neuwied Bears for nine years, eight of them as team captain.

Jens Hergt - # 24 (1994–2009, since 2011, Sturm) Jens Hergt is the longest-serving player in the Neuwied Bears jersey. In the 1994/95 season he came to EHC Neuwied in the 1st League North. Since then, Hergt played for the Neuwied Bears without interruption until the end of his career, where he was team captain between 2004 and 2009. A curiosity is that Hergt has not been able to play with the 24 since his comeback in the 2011/12 season, as this is blocked. He is the only player who was active for all Neuwied ice hockey clubs.

Andreas Halfmann - # 71 (1989–1999 / 2000–2002 / 2007–2014, defense) Andreas Halfmann, born in Neuwied in 1971, began his career as a child in the offspring of the EHC. From the 1989/90 season he went on the ice for the first team and played there for ten seasons in a row before he returned to Neuwied after a brief stint in Bergisch Gladbach for the new beginning of the SCM and the blue-orange jersey for two seasons wore. Halfmann spent another seven seasons in Neuwied from 2007 to 2014, so he has worn the jersey of a Neuwied ice hockey club for as long as he has.

Arno Lörsch - # 5 (1988-1993, defense) Arno Lörsch moved to Deichstadt in the 1988/89 season and wore the jersey with the number 5 for five seasons for the bears. After the 1992/1993 season he ended his active ice hockey career and acted as an assistant coach in the following season. Since SC Mittelrhein was founded in 2000, he has been working as a trainer in Neuwied to this day. First as a coach of the 2nd team, then from 2006 to 2009 the first team of the VFE or EHC. After three seasons in which he was coach of the 1b team again, he has been responsible for the first team again since 2012.

Daniel Walther - # 28 (1993–1996 / 1997–1999 / 2000–2002 / 2007–2011, Sturm) Daniel Walther moved to Neuwied for the 1993/94 season and, with the exception of the 1996/97 season, ran for the bears until 1999 and won the first division championship with the EHC in 1998. After a year in Bergisch Gladbach, he returned to the newly founded SC Mittelrhein in Neuwied in the 2000/01 season. After he reached promotion to the league with the SCM, he played one more season for the bears before running for the EC Siegerland for the next five years. During the first season of the "new" EHC Neuwied, he switched back to the bears. He played four years for the EHC and then moved to EHC Netphen for one season. He is currently the youth coach at EHC Neuwied and plays for the 2nd team.

Other major players

(Team membership and position in brackets)

Mariusz Cissewski (1994–1999, goal) For the 1994/95 season Cissewski came from the Cologne EC to Neuwied, where he developed into one of the best goalkeepers in the first division. Cissewski contributed significantly to the two championship wins and the league cup victory. After his time in Neuwied, he played in the major league for the Hamburg Crocodiles and the Dresdner Eislöwen .	Sinuhe Wallinheimo (1999-2000, goal) The EHC Neuwied was Wallinheimo's first stop in Germany in the 1999/2000 season . Due to his convincing performance, after the bankruptcy of the EHC, he found a new club with the Revierlöwen Oberhausen from the DEL. In 2003 and 2004 he was runner- up in the Elitserien with Färjestad BK , and in 2009 with JYP Jyväskylä champion of the SM-liiga .	Andrei Teljukin (1999-2000, defense) Teljukin played in the 1999/2000 season for the Neuwieder Bären and in the following period from 2001 to 2008 in the German Ice Hockey League for the Revierlöwen Oberhausen, the Kassel Huskies , the Hanover Scorpions and the Füchse Duisburg .	Sebastian Osterloh (2001-2003, defense) The national player was in the squad of SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied from 2001 to 2003. Before that, he played for two years for teams from the Cologne Young Sharks , including the DNL .
Andreas Halfmann (1989–1999, 2000–2002, since 2007, defense) Halfmann played since the 1989/90 season for the bears in the Regionalliga-Mitte and went on the ice for EHC Neuwied until the 1998/99 season . After a season at ESV Bergisch Gladbach, Halfmann returned to Neuwied to play for the newly founded SC Mittelrhein. After two years he moved to EC Siegerland in the Association League NRW. Since 2007 he has been back on the ice for the "new" EHC Neuwied.	Alexander Andrijewski (1999/2000, storm) The Belarusian once played in the ranks of the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League . In 1991 Andrijewski became Soviet champion with HK Dynamo Moscow and in the following season he won the Russian championship with the club . Andrijewski played in the Belarusian national team from 1995 to 2002.	Tyson Mulock (2004-2005, Sturm) In Germany, the attacker went on the ice for the first time in the 2004/05 season for SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied and is currently part of the Eisbären Berlin squad from the German Ice Hockey League . With the Eisbären he won the German championship in 2008 , 2009 , 2011 and 2012 and the DEB Cup in 2008 . Mulock was top scorer of the Oberliga 2005/06 and the 2nd Bundesliga 2006/07 .	Ladislav Strompf (1996–2000, 2003–2006, defender) From 1996 to 2000 Strompf played for EHC Neuwied in the 1st League North and from 2003 to 2006 for SC Mittelrhein Neuwied in the Oberliga . From the 2003/04 season he held the position of team captain , which he had already held in the previous season of the predecessor club EHC Neuwied.
Dean Fedorchuk (1995–1999, Sturm) For the 1995/96 season Fedorchuk came to Germany to play for EHC Neuwied in the first division . Further stations in the 2nd Bundesliga were the Heilbronner Falken and SC Bietigheim-Bissingen .	Philip Huber (1996-1998, Sturm) Huber came to Germany in 1996 and won two championships with the EHC in the first division and the DEB League Cup in 1997. For the 1998/99 season , Huber moved to the DEL and played there for the Revierlöwen Oberhausen , the Munich Barons with whom he was in 1999/2000 German champion became, and for the Krefeld penguins .	Radek Vít (1998-2000, storm) Radek Vít played for the Neuwied Bears for 1½ years from the 1998/99 season . After the insolvency of EHC Neuwied, he moved within the league to the Heilbronner Falken .	Daniel Del Monte (1996/97, storm) Del Monte played in Germany since 1996, where the EHC Neuwied was his first stop. With the club he won the championship of the first division and the DEB League Cup.
Ľubomír Pokovič (1995–1999, coach) Two-time master coach at EHC Neuwied and later assistant coach of the Slovak national team .

Club-internal records

Record player space player Games 1. Jens Hergt 716 2. Andreas Halfmann 479 3. Mario Naster 366 4th Ralf strength 336 5. Ladislav electricity supply 324

Top scorer space player Points (T / A) 1. Jens Hergt 419 (179/240) 2. Ralf strength 351 (151/200) 3. Mario Naster 341 (120/221) 4th Dean Fedorchuk 328 (166/162) 5. Stephan Petry 326 (175/151)

Top goal scorers space player Gates 1. Jens Hergt 179 2. Stephan Petry 175 3. Dean Fedorchuk 166 4th Ralf strength 151 5. Jaroslav Majer 138

Top template provider space player templates 1. Jens Hergt 240 2. Mario Naster 221 3. Ralf strength 200 4th Ladislav electricity supply 188 5. Dean Fedorchuk 162

Penalty minutes space player Minutes 1. Stephan Petry 787 2. Ole Kopitz 434 3. Daniel Walther 429 4th Andreas Halfmann 400 5. Marco Heinrichs 324

Players with a green background are still active for EHC Neuwied (all statistics are current at the end of the 2011/12 season )

Participation of players in the ESBG All-Star Game

The ESBG All-Star Game has been held annually since 2006 and brings together the best players from the 2nd national and upper leagues.

Participation in the all-star game while being part of the team
Surname	position	participation	team
Georg Havlík	defender	2006	Team United Nations

Trainer since 1990

Previous trainers
EHC Neuwied
1990-1991	Antonin Vesecky
1991-1992	Bernd Arnold
1992-1993	Fred Holger
1993-1994	Alexander Volkov
1994-1995	Eugene Niesporek
1995-1999	Ľubomír Pokovič
1999-2000	Petteri Lehmussaari
SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied
1999-2001	Rudolf Macko
2001-2003	Fabian Dahlem
2003-2005	Fred Carroll
2005-2006	Alexej Šulák
VFE Neuwied
2006-2007	Arno Loersch
EHC Neuwied
2007-2009	Arno Loersch
2009-2010	Markus Fischer
2010-2011	Jens Hergt
2011–2012	Bernd Arnold
2012-2015	Arno Loersch
2015-2016	Craig Streu
2016-2017	Jens Hergt
2017-2019	Daniel Benske

In the 1990/91 season , the Czech Antonin Vesecky was the coach of the EHC, before Bernd Arnold came to the bears as a player-coach for the following season. After the missed league promotion, a new coach was hired for the 1992/93 season . Fred Holger was supposed to lead the EHC Neuwied in the upper league . For this first league season 1993/94 , however, a new coach was committed with the Russian Alexander Volkov.

For the 1995/96 season , the Slovak Ľubomír Pokovič moved from REV Bremerhaven to Neuwied. There he took over the coaching position from Eugen Niesporek and led the bears to the greatest successes in Neuwied ice hockey history with two championship titles in the first division and winning the DEB league cup in 1997. After the 1998/99 season he left the club to return to Slovakia, where he was in charge of HC Slovan Bratislava . The new coach of the EHC was Petteri Lehmussaari , who came from the Bietigheim Steelers and was the coach until the bankruptcy of the EHC Neuwied.

When SC Mittelrhein started again in the 2000/01 season, the Slovak Rudolf Macko was behind the gang of bears, who was also used as a player in the Rhineland-Palatinate / Hesse regional league . In the Regionalliga NRW, however, he was not eligible to play. In 2001 Macko was promoted to the league with SC Mittelrhein . From the 11th match day the bears were on a relegation zone and the Slovakian did not manage to lead the team away from the relegation ranks. He was then replaced after the 24th matchday by the former EHC goalkeeper Fabian Dahlem as coach. Like Macko, SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied was Dahlem's first coaching station, who managed to lead the club into the play-offs, where the bears failed in the quarter-finals. In the following season Dahlem reached the quarterfinals again with the team and failed there again with his team. At the end of the season, Dahlem left the club and became a coach at the second division ESV Kaufbeuren .

The new coach of the bears was the Canadian Fred Carroll , who was player- coach for the regional league team EHC Leipziger Eislöwen last year . The Canadian stayed in Neuwied for two years and reached the quarter-finals in the Oberliga 2004/05 with the team . Then Carroll moved to the second division Lausitzer Füchse and was replaced for the 2005/06 season by Alexej Šulák , who looked after the team until the bankruptcy of SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied.

From 2006 to November 2009 Arno Lörsch was a trainer in Neuwied. He not only coached VFE Neuwied and the newly founded EHC Neuwied, but also the second team of SC Mittelrhein since 2000/01. From 1989 to 1993 Lörsch was a player at the "old" EHC Neuwied and after completing his active career in 1993/94, he was the assistant coach of the EHC in the Regionalliga Mitte. On a provisional basis, Markus Fischer took over the position of coach of the regional league team, while Lörsch the Bear remained as the sporting director. In the 2010/11 season, Jens Hergt was the coach, who was briefly represented by Markus Fischer again in March 2011, as Hergt helped out in the play-downs for four matches as a player with the bears. For the 2011/12 season , Bernd Arnold was hired as the new coach, who had already worked as a manager and trainer for EHC Neuwied from 1992 to 1994. Jens Hergt was then active again for the EHC as a player. The contract with Arnold was terminated by mutual agreement after a weak start to the season 2012/13 .

Venue

The Icehouse: home ground of EHC Neuwied

EHC Neuwied plays its home games in the “Icehouse”, the former “ice rink Neuwied”, with a capacity of 2,100. In 1998 the hall was completely renovated and equipped with a new grandstand, new catering facilities and an improved VIP area. According to the association, the construction costs amounted to half a million DM , and by expanding the standing and seating areas, a spectator capacity of over 2,000 seats could be achieved for the first time.

After the decline in the number of spectators in the 2002/03 season as well as the refusal of further subsidies by the state government and failed sales negotiations between the previous hall owner Klaus Weidemann and the municipality, the arena threatened to close in summer 2003. After the state of Rhineland-Palatinate finally declared that it would support the municipality in purchasing the hall, the future of the stadium was initially secured. After the fans signed a campaign, however, in the summer of 2006 a concept for the purchase of the ice rink was broken up by the workers' welfare organization.

After the city had rented an Ice Age contingent in the amount of the annual club subsidy in July 2007, the new owner of the hall, Uwe Weidemann, agreed to renewed renovation. In July 2016, the owner - Uwe Weidemann - decided to extend the contract with the operator Arno Kuhlendahl for a further 5 years instead of the originally planned sale of the hall.

Club culture

Fans

At the time of the old EHC in the 1st League North / 2nd In the Bundesliga and during the SCM's Oberliga times, the Icehouse was often almost sold out. In the 2007/08 season, too, the average number of spectators at the new EHC was many times higher than usual in the national league. Two home games (against Grefrath and Herford) were each attended by over a thousand spectators. The established fan organizations in Neuwied include Die Galgenvögel and the Pro-Ice Hockey-Neuwied e. V. , which supports the EHC financially and personally, for example through stewardship services.

There are currently eight fan clubs around the EHC Neuwied, some of which already existed during the times of the "old" EHC Neuwied or SC Mittelrhein-Neuwied.

Rivalries and friendships

Most of the time in the mid to late 90s, the bears were feuding with the fans of league competitor EHC Trier . Later there was also a very strong rivalry with the fans of the Iserlohner EC , which goes back to the league cup final in 1997, when the new fans were whistled at the award ceremony by the Iserlohner fans. Since there has been no clash between these clubs for a long time, the respective rivalries are resting. The tense relationship with Iserlohn revived when the EHC Neuwied met the 2nd team of the Iserlohner EC as part of the Regionalliga-Pokal NRW in January and February 2009. In the 2010/11 season , the 2nd team from Iserlohn and Neuwied again faced each other as league competitors and played the relegated team in the NRW Association League in the second play-down round.

Various Neuwied fan groups and fan clubs maintain friendships with fan groups from other clubs such as the Füchsen Duisburg and the Lausitzer Füchsen .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ EHC “Die Bären” 2016 e. V .: Imprint. Retrieved June 9, 2019 . 
2. ↑ EHC Neuwied offers its fans more space. Retrieved September 19, 2014 . 
3. ↑ Chronicle Part 1. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2012 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ ^{a b} History of EHC Neuwied 1996/97. In: Diebaeren2016.de. Retrieved July 5, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Chronicle: The 1998/99 season. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2012 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Chronicle: The 2000/01 season. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2012 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ^ ^{A b} Christian art: "Ice-House": coalition against purchase. (No longer available online.) Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH, June 1, 2006, archived from the original on June 1, 2016 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ Association for the Promotion of Ice Hockey Youth. Retrieved June 6, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Neuwied makes the ascent perfect ( Memento from July 14, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
10. ↑ EHC Neuwied does not exercise the right to promotion to the upper league ( Memento from July 14, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
11. ↑ ^{a b c} swr.de, July 7, 2016: "Ice Hockey Club die Bären 2016" Neuwied Neustart in der Regionalliga "
12. ↑ rhein-zeitung.de, July 6, 2016: "EHC Neuwied: The new bears start fourth class"
13. ↑ a. f .: Event atmosphere in Neuwied. Mario Naster called and (almost) everyone came. (No longer available online.) Www.efc-galgenvoegel.de, November 8, 2003, archived from the original on May 12, 2015 ; Retrieved June 7, 2012 . 
14. ↑ rf: Tie in the farewell game. (No longer available online.) Blick aktuell, issue 16/2010, April 21, 2010, archived from the original on May 19, 2014 ; accessed on June 7, 2012 (online at www.eishockey-in-neuwied.de). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Tom Neumann: Bears make the triple perfect by winning the cup. March 31, 2014, accessed April 1, 2014 . 
16. ↑ Tom Neumann: Honor where honor is due. October 6, 2014, accessed October 6, 2014 . 
17. ↑ Tom Neumann: Honor where honor is due. October 6, 2014, accessed October 6, 2014 . 
18. ↑ Chronicle: The 1995/96 season. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2012 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ^ Chronicle: The 2001/02 season. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 4, 2012 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ The EHC "Die Bären" Neuwied presents a new trainer early on ( Memento from August 2nd, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
21. ↑ Herford EV - News. In: herforder-ev.de. October 17, 2012, accessed March 5, 2019 . 
22. ↑ Peter Armitter: Ice has broken: Halle will offer better conditions in the future. (No longer available online.) Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH, August 24, 1998, archived from the original on January 31, 2016 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
23. ↑ Ralf Michalowicz: New ice sport before the end. (No longer available online.) Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH, June 14, 2003, archived from the original on April 7, 2016 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ↑ Bear family also fights next to the ice. (No longer available online.) Verlag für Werbung Blätter GmbH, November 10, 2005, archived from the original on April 25, 2016 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
25. ↑ Christian Kunst: Ice rink: renovation should begin today. (No longer available online.) Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH, September 10, 2007, archived from the original on October 11, 2016 ; Retrieved June 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
26. ^ Spectators Landesliga West 2007/08. Retrieved June 6, 2012 . 
27. ↑ EHC “Die Bären” 2016 e. V .: fans. Retrieved June 9, 2019 . 
28. ↑ http://www.iserlohn-roosters.de/youngwildnews/1697 (link not available)

Web links

• Official homepage of the ice hockey club Die Bären Neuwied e. V.
• History page about ice hockey in Neuwied
• Official homepage of the Icehouse Neuwied

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 26, 2012 .