EK Zell am See
EK Zeller polar bears | |
---|---|
Greatest successes | |
Club information | |
history | ETC Zell (1928–1946) EK Zell am See (1946–1993) EKZ Die Eisbären (1993–2009) EK Zeller Eisbären (since 2009) |
Nickname | EKZ |
Club colors | blue yellow |
league | Alps Hockey League |
Venue | Zell am See ice rink |
capacity | 2,600 seats |
Head coach | Jaka Avgustincic |
AlpsHL 2018/19 | 13th place, playoffs missed |
The EK Zeller Eisbären club , also known as EKZ or Zeller Eisbären , is an Austrian ice hockey club from Zell am See that plays in the second highest Austrian league, the Alps Hockey League .
The predecessor clubs of the Zeller Eisbären were champions of the national league six times . The home site is the Zell am See ice rink , which has around 2,600 seats and standing room.
history
Bandy was operated in Zell am See from around 1910 . It wasn't until the mid-1920s that people began to play ice hockey in Zell.
The Eislauf- und Tennis-Club (ETC) Zell im Pinzgau was founded in 1928 as an association of ice skaters, ice hockey players and tennis players by Erich and Willi Schandlbauer, Ing. Gross and Otto Hainz, and in 1929 it was accepted into the Austrian ice hockey association . At that time, a natural ice rink (on the Bräuwiesen) was operated as a playground, which was used as a tennis court in summer.
During the Second World War, regular game operations were only maintained in Vienna and the surrounding area, so that the Zell team only played friendly games.
At the end of 1946, the rebuilding of the club began, a team was set up and the game was later resumed. In the 1952/53 season the EKZ took part in the middle west / B division and also played some international friendly matches. Between 1955 and 1958, no team from Zell took part in regular match operations.
In the 1950s, ice hockey developed very positively in Austria, and successes began again in Zell at the end of the decade. Under the leadership of the Dutchman Robert Zalinge as a player-coach, the EKZ took first place in the League Middle West / B in 1959 . However, the club missed promotion to the top division both in 1959 (against Union EC Vienna ) and in 1960 against the Vienna Ice Skating Club . Two years later, the club made it to the top division, with the Canadian Bob Bergeron and captain Volker Hölzl playing a key role . In the promotion games, the EKZ beat Union EC Vienna with 20: 4 and 6: 2 and thus secured their first participation in the National League.
In the national league it was initially difficult for the EKZ to survive against the established clubs such as WEV, EC KAC and Innsbrucker EV and lost in some cases by double digits. Due to three victories, the EKZ nevertheless reached fifth place in 1962. In the 1962/63 season the EKZ only lost double digits twice and reached the penultimate rank. In the 1963/64 national league, which was played in two, only four games were played per team and the EKZ was fifth overall.
For the 1965/66 season , a league reform was carried out that defined the Bundesliga as a new first game fund with only four participants (KAC, WEV, IEV and Kitzbüheler EC ). The EKZ was divided into the now second-class national league and belonged to the top clubs there in the following years. In 1967 the EKZ initiated a referendum, which led to a clear majority for the construction of a new artificial ice rink. The new Zell artificial ice rink with temporary spectator stands was built in just 90 days and opened on December 6, 1967.
In 1968 the EKZ managed to move up to the Bundesliga as the runner-up in the national league and was able to defend its place in the league relegation against the Salzburg EC one year later . The later national player Michael Herzog and Josef Wimmer played in the Bundesliga team at that time . Until 1972, the club was able to hold in the top division, but had to relegate to the league after the last place in the 1971/72 season .
After relegation followed many years in the second division, first in the league, later in the Oberliga-West and then 16 years in the national league. The most successful period of the second division was through the Polish players Mieczysław Jaskierski and Henryk Janiszewski , especially the latter was the outstanding player in the team in the 1980s and later acted as a player-coach. 1986 won the Zeller national league championship, with was Zdeněk Vaněk , the father of the later NHL player Thomas Vanek . In 1988, Manfred Mühllechner and Gerhard Wimmer were committed to other former players from the bankrupt Salzburg EC .
Promotion to the Bundesliga and two bankruptcies (1989–2002)
On December 28, 1989, the roofing of the ice rink was completed and the Zell ice rink opened. At the end of the 1989/90 season , the EKZ defeated the UEC Graz 2-0 in the playoff final and won the third National League championship in the club's history. Due to the financial situation of the club, however, the EKZ decided against promotion to the Bundesliga. A year later, the EKZ team repeated the championship win, this time in the final against EHC Linz and decided in the summer of 1991 to move up to the Bundesliga. This rise also meant participation in the newly created Alpine League . To strengthen the team, Frank Carnevale was hired as coach and the two Olympic champions Mark Johnson and John Miner . In 1992, the professional team's gaming operations were transferred to the EKZ company. In the 1992/93 season, EKZ took third place, the best place in the Bundesliga, but was financially overwhelmed and went into bankruptcy.
As a successor club, the EKZ Die Eisbären was founded in 1993 under the direction of Gottfried Huber and registered for play in the National League. In the 1993/94 season , the polar bears reached fifth place in the table and were eliminated in the playoff semifinals. Due to the increase in the first division for the 1995/96 season, the EKZ played again in the Bundesliga, but participation in the Bundesliga ended with both sporting relegation and renewed insolvency. The club was then rebuilt under the leadership of Albert Herzog, games in the National League resumed in 1996 and in 1998 the German patron Otto Wittschier, who lives in Pinzgau , was won as a sponsor for the club. At the end of the 1990s, the polar bears failed three times in a row in the national league finals. After VEU Feldkirch and the Vienna Ice Skating Club withdrew from the Bundesliga in summer 2000 , almost all national league participants were accepted into the top division. After two sixth places in the table and subsequent quarter-finals, the EKZ voluntarily withdrew to the national league in 2002.
Two championship titles and renewed bankruptcy (2002-2010)
After withdrawing from the Bundesliga, EKZ took second place in the 2002/03 season , reached the playoff final with two 2-0 victories over EC Dornbirn and Kapfenberger SV and defeated EC Red Bulls Salzburg with 3: 2. With this, the club won the fifth championship title in the club's history, but refrained from promotion to the Bundesliga for financial reasons.
The 2004/05 season was one of the most successful in the history of the Zeller polar bears. The team achieved 40 wins in 45 games. In the playoff final, the team met EHC Lustenau and won the best-of-five series with 3-1. Jozef Daňo was the top scorer in the National League with 92 points and was also the top scorer with 48 goals. In addition, the long-time EKZ player Walter Putnik ended his career after the season, after which his jersey number 29 was banned.
At the end of the basic round of the following season , EKZ took second place behind VEU Feldkirch . With a victory over the W-EV in the quarter-finals, the team reached the semi-finals against EV Zeltweg , to which the EKZ lost 3-2.
In the following years, the EKZ failed mostly in the playoff semifinals, in 2008 already in the quarterfinals. After the death of the president and main sponsor Otto Wittschier, the association went bankrupt in June 2009 with debts of EUR 220,000 for the third time after 1993 and 1995. During the summer of 2009, the EK Zeller Eisbären were founded as a successor association. Despite the bankruptcy, those responsible for the new club applied to the Austrian ice hockey association for admission to the national league, which the latter confirmed, contrary to previous decisions. Finally, at the end of July 2009, the association and the participating clubs agreed on a field of seven teams including the Zeller Eisbären.
successes
Venue
The Zell am See ice rink was originally built in 1967 as an open, uncovered artificial ice rink. After many years of discussion about a roof, the covered ice rink was inaugurated in 1989. Today it offers space for 2,600 visitors. Of these, 1,215 are standing and 1,385 are seated. The hall was renovated for the 2003/04 season.
In the 2016/17 season , 20,000 spectators came to the EKZ's 22 home games.
player
Squad for the 2019/20 season
Status: May 18, 2019
No. | Nat. | Surname | Date of birth | in the team since |
---|---|---|---|---|
goalkeeper | ||||
31 | Alois Schultes | March 14, 2001 | 2004 | |
defender | ||||
24 | Johannes Schernthaner | July 6, 1992 | 2006 | |
13 | Patrick Sporer | November 3, 2001 | 2004 | |
17th | Marko Simic | March 19, 2001 | 2009 | |
32 | Tobias Dilsky | January 10, 2000 | 2003 | |
40 | Martin Haffner | November 15, 2000 | 2008 | |
43 | Martin Oraze | October 9, 1984 | 2017 | |
55 | Daniel Vojta | January 23, 1998 | 2019 | |
striker | ||||
15th | Florian Aigner | April 12, 1996 | 2011 | |
26th | Christoph Herzog | July 31, 1991 | 2013 | |
27 | Tobias Dinhopel | October 18, 1989 | 2012 | |
57 | Franz Wilfan | October 14, 1985 | 2012 | |
6th | Tobias Radacher | January 9, 2002 | 2008 | |
18th | Jack Maes | September 18, 2000 | 2008 | |
29 | Philip Putnik | September 8, 1992 | 2019 | |
33 | Jure Sotlar | July 26, 1993 | 2019 | |
49 | Jürgen Tschernutter | July 12, 1990 | 2019 | |
51 | Daniel Wenghofer | September 26, 2000 | 2012 | |
Trainer | ||||
Jaka Avgustincic | October 27, 1976 | 2019 |
Well-known former players
- Alfred Huber - ice hockey goalkeeper and tennis player
- Mieczyslaw Jaskierski - in the 1980s player at the EKZ; 1976 Olympic participant with Poland
- Thomas Vanek - junior player of the club and today's NHL player .
- Thomas Pfeffer - junior player of the club; until 2002 & 2010–2012; three times Austrian champion with the EC VSV ; former Austrian national player
- Patrick Machreich - 1996–2003, 2017–2019
- Thomas Cijan - 1992-1993
- Edward Lebler - 1992-1993; Father of Michael and Brian Lebler
- Markus Kerschbaumer - 1996-2000
- Jan Kolář - 2016-2018; 14-time Czech national team player
- Martin Oraže - since 2017; Austrian champion with the EC VSV; INL Champion and Slovenian Champion with HDD Jesenice
- Alexander Feichtner - 2017–2018; three-time Austrian champion with the EC Red Bull Salzburg ; INL Champion with EHC Bregenzerwald
- Franz Wilfan - since 2012; Austrian national team player; his cousins Markus and Thomas Pöck are also ice hockey players
- Daniel Nageler - 2006–2009, 2018–2019; Austrian national team player; Austrian champion with the EC VSV
Record player since 1988
As of January 31, 2019
player | Sp | Gates | Assists | Points | Pt / col | SM | Period | Seasons |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Walter Putnik | 381 | 189 | 314 | 503 | 1,320 | 557 | 1988-2005 | 14th |
Ryan Foster | 165 | 194 | 159 | 353 | 2.139 | 225 | 1999-2008 | 5 |
Petr Vala | 213 | 131 | 190 | 321 | 1.507 | 109 | 2011-2019 | 7th |
Igor Rataj | 216 | 128 | 184 | 312 | 1.444 | 503 | 2011-2017 | 6th |
Franz Wilfan | 263 | 94 | 162 | 256 | 0.973 | 132 | 2012-2019 | 7th |
Stephan Uhl | 515 | 87 | 137 | 224 | 0.435 | 613 | 1998-2015 | 16 |
Jozef Daňo | 106 | 99 | 101 | 200 | 1,887 | 489 | 2002-2006 | 4th |
Thomas Schwab | 312 | 89 | 105 | 194 | 0.622 | 224 | 1999-2009 | 9 |
Wolfgang Trup | 290 | 32 | 157 | 189 | 0.652 | 469 | 1990-2005 | 11 |
Philip Wurzer | 220 | 67 | 116 | 183 | 0.832 | 220 | 2003-2009 | 6th |
Thomas Guggenberger | 534 | 77 | 78 | 155 | 0.290 | 526 | 1996-2014 | 18th |
Günther D'Ambros | 473 | 21st | 49 | 70 | 0.148 | 669 | 1996-2013 | 17th |
Harald Estermann | 394 | 69 | 101 | 170 | 0.431 | 717 | 1993-2010 | 14th |
Master squad
1990/91
National league champions 1990/91 |
Goalkeeper: Defender: Wolfgang Trup Attackers: Thomas Frühwirth, Rodger Huiatt, Walter Putnik , Krunoslav Sekulic, Dieter Werfring Head coach: |
---|
2003/03
National league champions 2002/03 |
Goalkeepers: Patrick Machreich , Stefan Horneber , Alexander Krätschmer Defenders: Patrik Aronsson, Günther D'Ambros, Albert Fersterer, Markus Hausegger, Jakob Lainer, Victor Lindgren, Wolfgang Trup Attackers: Jozef Daňo , Harald Estermann, Ryan Foster , Thomas Guggenberger , Robin Johnston, Florian Kaindl, Gerald Lederer, Walter Putnik , Christoph Rud, Matthias Schwab , Thomas Schwab, Stephan Uhl, Philipp Wurzer Head coach: |
---|
2004/05
National league champions 2004/05 |
Goalkeepers: Bernhard Bock , Michael Suttnig , Viktor Leitner, Alexander Krätschmer Defenders: Shayne McCosh, Wolfgang Trup , Markus Hausegger, Günther D'Ambros , Peter Dilsky , Jakob Lainer, Albert Fersterer, Marcel Wurzer Attackers: Jozef Daňo , Michael Henrich , Walter Putnik , Philip Wurzer, Stephan Uhl, Andreas Geier, Harald Estermann, Christian Widauer, Thomas Guggenberger , Robin Johnston, Gerald Lederer, Michael Warner, Michael Leimgruber , Nikolaus Lang Head coach: Richard Novak |
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Trainer
- Henryk Janiszewski 1980s
- Robert Torgler 1988–1989
- Frank Carnevale 1991/92
- Alexander Jakuschew 1993–1994
- Steven Polgar 1994-1995
- Ramil Juldaschew 1997-1999
- Timo Sutinen 1999-2000
- Richard Novak 2004-2005
- Johan Strömwall 2006–2007
- Tom Pokel 2008-2009
- Peter Dilsky 2009–2011
- Milan Mazanec 2011-2015
- Herbert Hohenberger 2015-2016
- Dieter Werfring 2016–2018
- Greg Holst since 2018
Season statistics
Sources : hockeyarchives.info, eliteprospects.com
season | league | Sp | S. | OTS | U | OTN | N | T | GT | Points | placement | Finals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972/73 | Oberliga | 20th | 13 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 76 | 43 | 28 | 3 | place 2 |
1974/75 | Oberliga | 20th | 18th | - | 1 | - | 1 | 227 | 42 | 37 | 1 (west) | master |
1975/76 | National league | 20th | 12 | - | 0 | - | 8th | 91 | 68 | 24 | 3 | |
1976/77 | National league | 20th | 12 | - | 2 | - | 6th | 26th | 3 | |||
1980/81 | National league | 24 | 18th | 5 | ||||||||
1982/83 | National league | 24 | 17th | - | 2 | - | 5 | 147 | 76 | 36 | 3 | |
1983/84 | National league | 20th | 13 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 115 | 71 | 28 | 3 | 3 |
1984/85 | National league | 24 | 14th | - | 2 | - | 8th | 128 | 106 | 31 | 3 | 2 |
1985/86 | National league | 24 | 14th | - | 3 | - | 7th | 148 | 129 | 31 | 5 | master |
1986/87 | National league | 28 | 11 | - | 3 | - | 14th | 85 | 129 | 25th | 4th | 5 |
1987/88 | National league | 30th | 8th | - | 3 | - | 19th | 156 | 206 | 20th | 4th | 5 |
1988/89 | National league | 30th | 15th | - | 3 | - | 12 | 220 | 195 | 34 | 4th | 4th |
1989/90 | National league | 24 | 15th | - | 1 | - | 8th | 125 | 98 | 31 | 2 | master |
1990/91 | National league | 24 | 16 | - | 4th | - | 4th | 163 | 103 | 36 | 2 | Master , rise |
1991/92 | Alpine League | 18th | 9 | - | 0 | - | 9 | 70 | 80 | 18th | 6th | Missed play-offs |
1991/92 | Bundesliga | 24 | 4th | - | 3 | - | 17th | 81 | 132 | 11 | 7th | Missed play-offs |
1992/93 | Alpine League | 30th | 13 | - | 6th | - | 11 | 121 | 118 | 32 | 9 | Missed play-offs |
1992/93 | Bundesliga | 20th | 10 | - | 3 | - | 7th | 66 | 55 | 23 | 3 | Semifinals |
1993/94 | National league | 18th | 9 | - | 3 | - | 6th | 98 | 74 | 21st | 5 | Semifinals |
1994/95 | Bundesliga | 30th | 7th | - | 3 | - | 20th | 108 | 150 | 17th | 10 | descent |
1995/96 | no professional gaming operations due to bankruptcy | |||||||||||
1996/97 | National league | 12 | 0 | - | 2 | - | 10 | 37 | 68 | 2 | 7th | Missed play-offs |
1997/98 | National league | 20th | 14th | - | 4th | - | 2 | 111 | 58 | 26th | 1 | final |
1998/99 | National league | 28 | 19th | - | 0 | - | 9 | 139 | 99 | 28 | 3 | final |
1999/00 | National league | 28 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 133 | 111 | 30th | 2 | final |
2000/01 | Bundesliga | 36 | 14th | 2 | - | 4th | 16 | 136 | 151 | 36 | 6th | Quarter finals |
2001/02 | Bundesliga | 32 | 11 | 4th | - | 2 | 15th | 107 | 117 | 32 | 6th | Quarter finals |
2002/03 | National league | 28 | 21st | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 204 | 99 | 35 | 2 | master |
2003/04 | National league | 28 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 91 | 101 | 22nd | 5 | Semifinals |
2004/05 | National league | 36 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 181 | 103 | 49 | 1 | master |
2005/06 | National league | 32 | 17th | 4th | 0 | 3 | 8th | 143 | 110 | 34 | 2 | Semifinals |
2006/07 | National league | 32 | 17th | 4th | 0 | 4th | 7th | 171 | 129 | 35 | 4th | Semifinals |
2007/08 | National league | 32 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 138 | 119 | 31 | 5 | Quarter finals |
2008/09 | National league | 28 | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 121 | 93 | 37 | 3 | Semifinals |
2009/10 | National league | 36 | 8th | 2 | 0 | 5 | 21st | 109 | 173 | 23 | 6th | Quarter finals |
2010/11 | National league | 34 | 8th | 6th | 0 | 1 | 19th | 85 | 122 | 37 | 7th | qualification |
2011/12 | National league | 32 | 12 | 1 | - | 2 | 17th | 105 | 113 | 40 | 7th | Quarter finals |
2012/13 | INL | 30th | 17th | 5 | - | 0 | 8th | 116 | 93 | 61 | 1 | Semifinals |
2013/14 | INL | 36 | 22nd | 1 | - | 4th | 9 | 150 | 90 | 72 | 4th | Semifinals |
2014/15 | INL | 28 | 17th | 3 | - | 0 | 8th | 107 | 85 | 57 | 1 | Semifinals |
2015/16 | INL | 32 | 11 | 1 | - | 5 | 15th | 81 | 100 | 40 | 6th | Quarter finals |
2016/17 | AlpsHL | 38 | 15th | 2 | - | 3 | 18th | 107 | 114 | 52 | 11 | Missed play-offs |
2017/18 | AlpsHL | 40 | 18th | 2 | - | 2 | 18th | 105 | 138 | 60 | 12 | Missed play-offs |
2018/19 | AlpsHL |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Championnat d'Autriche 1958/59 at hockeyarchives.info (French)
- ↑ Championnat d'Autriche 1960/61 at hockeyarchives.info (French)
- ↑ Championnat d'Autriche 1961/62 at hockeyarchives.info (French)
- ↑ Championnat d'Autriche 1971/72 at hockeyarchives.info (French)
- ↑ EK Zell am See at hockeyarchives.info (French)
- ↑ Zeller polar bears facing bankruptcy? In: vienna.at. June 9, 2009, accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ EK Zell am See files for bankruptcy. In: orf.at. July 2, 2009, accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Der Standard , National League Clubs Before Bankruptcy , June 24, 2009
- ↑ hockeyfans.at, Zeller Eisbären before bankruptcy
- ↑ Ice hockey in Zell / See starts again. In: hockeyfans.at. August 11, 2009, accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ^ National league with only 7 clubs. In: hockeyfans.at. July 26, 2009, accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ EK Zell am See , www.ek-zellereisbaeren.at (July 2017)