ERC Sonthofen
| ERC "Bulls" Sonthofen | |
|---|---|
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| Greatest successes | |
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Promotion to the Bundesliga 1967 |
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| Club information | |
| history |
ERC Sonthofen (1958–1999) ERC Sonthofen 1999 (since 1999) |
| Location | Sonthofen , Germany |
| Nickname | Bulls |
| Club colors | black yellow |
| league | Ice Hockey District League Bavaria |
| Venue | Sonthofen ice rink |
| capacity | 2,200 seats (including 860 seats) |
| Head coach | Vladimir Kames / Peter Waibel |
| Season 2019/20 | Oberliga Süd 11th place / withdrawal |
The ERC Sonthofen (officially Ice and Rollhockey Club Sonthofen 1999 eV ) is an ice hockey club from Sonthofen . He is the direct successor club of the same name, founded in 1958 ERC Sonthofen , in a syndicate with the EC Oberstdorf in the 1967/68 season at the Bundesliga participated.
The club's teams play their home games in the Sonthofen ice rink , which was built in 1959 and has space for 2,200 spectators. It has had a wooden round roof since 1982, which was largely built by supporters of the ERC and is one of the oldest still active ice rinks in Germany. The stadium is open on three sides, only the opposite stand on which the cabin of the home team is located, as well as the VIP room and the stadium restaurant "Overtime" are completely closed.
The first team ERC "Bulls" Sonthofen withdrew in 2020 after the bankruptcy of the Spielbetriebsgesellschaft from the Oberliga Süd and starts in the season 2020/21 in the district league , the lowest division.
history
Ice hockey in Sonthofen until 1999
After ice hockey was played on Götzfried's Weiher before World War II, ice hockey was played again within the ice sports department of TSV Sonthofen before the ice sports department was outsourced to ERC Sonthofen on May 2, 1958.
| Season dates 1950 to 1959 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| season | league | class | group | space | PO | PD | Finals | Bayr. Master ↑ |
| 1950/51 to 1951/52 | District League | III | Allgäu | |||||
Source: Sportkurier , ascent / descent ↑ ↓
ERC Sonthofen started playing in the then newly built ice rink in order to initially take part in the Bavarian regional league. As a champion of this division, the club qualified as early as 1960/61 for the then second-rate league, to which the ERC belonged until the end of the 1965/66 season.
After the club formed a syndicate with EC Oberstdorf from the 1966/67 season , they were promoted to the ice hockey Bundesliga in 1967 , from which the team, however, had to relegate again the following year . In the summer of 1971, the syndicate was finally dissolved again due to financial problems and both clubs continued to operate independently.
Between 1974 and 1984 the ERC Sonthofen played with the exception of the 1974/75 , 1975/76 and 1979/80 seasons , which the club had to compete in the fourth-class regional league, in the Oberliga, the third-highest division at the time. In 1983 , ERC Sonthofen made it to the 2nd Bundesliga , to which the team belonged, with the exception of another league year from 1987/88 to 1989. Then came the renewed descent to the league, in which the team played the following five years.
From the 1991/92 season, in addition to the ERC, the EHC Sonthofen began playing in the lowest division of the Bavarian Ice Hockey Association. In 1998 , the ERC was relegated from the 1st division, the following year the club finally had to file for bankruptcy, whereupon the successor club ERC Sonthofen was founded in 1999 from the EHC Sonthofen and the EARC Sonthofen .
| Season dates 1959 to 1999 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| season | league | class | group | space | PO | PD | Finals |
| 1959/60 | National league | III | Bayr. Master ↑ | ||||
| 1960/61 | Oberliga | II | 5th place | ||||
| 1961/62 | Oberliga | II | 4th Place | ||||
| 1962/63 | Oberliga | II | 4th Place | ||||
| 1963/64 | Oberliga | II | 3rd place | ||||
| 1964/65 | Oberliga | II | 9th place | ||||
| 1965/66 | Oberliga | II | 6th place | ||||
| 1966/67 | Oberliga | II | BL | 2nd place S (SG) ↑ | |||
| 1967/68 | Bundesliga | I. | south | 5th place | X | 5th place S (SG) ↓ | |
| 1968/69 | Oberliga | II | south | Runner-up | BL | 5th place S (SG) | |
| 1969/70 | Oberliga | II | south | 3rd place | BL | 8th place (SG) | |
| 1970/71 | Oberliga | II | Runner-up | X | Resolution SG ↓ | ||
| 71 / 72-72 / 73 | BEV | ||||||
| 1973/74 | Bayern League | IV | ↑ | ||||
| 1974/75 | Regional league | IV | south | Runner-up | - | ||
| 1975/76 | Regional league | IV | south | 4th Place | Direct ↑ | ||
| 1976/77 | Oberliga | III | south | 7th place | X | 8th place | |
| 1977/78 | Oberliga | III | south | 12th place | X | 12th place | |
| 1978/79 | Oberliga | III | south | 12th place | X | 12th place ↓ | |
| 1979/80 | Regional league | IV | south | 3rd place | Direct ↑ | ||
| 1980/81 | Oberliga | III | south | 10th place | - | ||
| 1981/82 | Oberliga | III | south | 6th place | - | ||
| 1982/83 | Oberliga | III | south | 14th place | - | ||
| 1983/84 | Oberliga | III | south | Runner-up | 2nd BL | 2nd place south ↑ | |
| 1984/85 | 2nd Bundesliga | II | south | 8th place | X | 1st place south | |
| 1985/86 | 2nd Bundesliga | II | south | 4th Place | BL | 10th place | |
| 1986/87 | 2nd Bundesliga | II | south | 9, place | X | 3rd place ↓ | |
| 1987/88 | Oberliga | III | south | master | OIL | Master ↑ | |
| 1988/89 | 2nd Bundesliga | II | south | 7th place | X | 4. Group B ↓ | |
| 1989/90 | Oberliga | III | south | 12th place | X | 2. Group A | |
| 1990/91 | Oberliga | III | south | 16th place | X | 2. Group B | |
| 1991/92 | Oberliga | III | south | 10th place | X | 1. Group B | |
| 1992/93 | Oberliga | III | south | 15th place | X | 6. Group B | |
| 1993/94 | Oberliga | III | south | 14th place | X | 6. Group B | |
| 1994/95 | 2nd league | III | south | 11th place | X | 5th place | |
| 1995/96 | 2nd league | III | south | 10th place | 1st League | 2. Group A ↑ | |
| 1996/97 | 1st League | II | south | 13th place | X | 1 round | |
| 1997/98 | 1st League | II | south | 8th place | 1st League | 13. Withdrawal ↓ | |
| 1998/99 | National league | VI | west | ||||
Source: passionhockey.com , source: rodi-db.de , ascent / descent ↑ ↓
Sporting development from 1999 to 2020
This qualified over the district and state league, in the 2000/01 season for the Bavarian League , which he was able to complete as Bavarian runner-up. In the 2009/2010 season, the team around coach Heinz Feilmeier reached 3rd place before the start of the play-off round. After finishing 5th in the preliminary round in 2011, the Bavarian championship could be won in the play-offs with head coach Harald Waibel, but promotion to the league was waived. In the following season 2012/2013 the ERC won the preliminary round of the Bavarian Ice Hockey League and only lost the final with 1: 3 games in the best-of-five mode against the EHC Bayreuth , with an average of 1109 spectators per game .
In the 2013/2014 season, ERC Sonthofen was first in the preliminary and intermediate rounds. In the semifinals, the "Bulls" then prevailed in best-of-three mode with two wins against Höchstadter EC and played in the final of the Bavarian Championship against ECDC Memmingen . Sonthofen won the series in the best-of-five mode with one sweep in three games and was thus Bavarian champion. All three games were sold out, so there were more spectators in the stadium than at the DEL play-off games in Wolfsburg. In contrast to the 2011 championship when the promotion to the ice hockey Oberliga Süd was waived due to financial difficulties, this time the ERC Sonthofen made the promotion and will compete in the season 2014/2015 in the ice hockey Oberliga Süd . In the 2013/2014 season, an average of 1,073 spectators per game was achieved, and the club also had the best offensive and defensive in the Bayernliga.
In the first league season, the "Bulls" reached 9th place after the preliminary round and were then able to secure relegation in the play-downs with three wins against EV Weiden in the best-of-five mode. On average, 968 spectators followed the home games, which placed them in the midfield of the Oberliga-Süd.
For the 2015/16 season, the ERC Sonthofen agreed on a cooperation with the DEL2 Club ESV Kaufbeuren , so that young players from Kaufbeuren who are rarely used there can gather game practice in Sonthofen. After a mixed season with many sporting lows and three coaches, the season ended early after 9th place in the main round and the subsequent pre-playoffs for the Bulls. As a result, the average attendance in the 2015/16 season fell significantly.
In the 2016/17 season, the ERC Sonthofen announced that the cooperation with the ESV Kaufbeuren will be ended and that the ERC will cooperate with the Ravensburg Towerstars and the Bietigheim Steelers from the DEL2 , as well as the Augsburger Panther from the DEL . After a promising preparation for the season in which one could also defeat clubs from the DEL2, one hoped for a good season. However, the start of the season started catastrophically, from the first twelve games of the season the team only managed one victory and they found themselves at the bottom of the table, then the coach Gerd Wittmann resigned his office and the club also parted with a goalkeeper to set a signal and initiate the turnaround. This also succeeded, on the 13th matchday the first home win was recorded and they improved from game to game. On the last matchday of the preliminary round, they even reached eighth place, which meant that ERC Sonthofen secured relegation early and for the first time since promotion to the top division in the 2014 season secured participation in the play-offs. However, the number of spectators in the preliminary round, also due to the bad start to the season, continued to decline, so that over a third of the spectators had been lost. This is also the worst value since the 2009/10 season.
In the subsequent championship round the race to catch up continued, in the end the ERC Sonthofen achieved an excellent 6th place, since the points from the preliminary round cannot be rated highly enough. If you only look at the championship round, ERC Sonthofen would have finished it in third place behind Regensburg and Bad Tölz, which would also have meant home rights in the play-offs. Unfortunately, the average number of spectators in the championship round went down even though, according to the unanimous opinion of the remaining spectators, the best ice hockey for years was played in Sonthofen. With reaching the 6th place, the ERC Sonthofen denied the play-offs against the third of the championship round, the EV Regensburg, in a best-of-five series. In the play-offs they moved through attractive and successful ice hockey to the semi-finals, only there they lost to the DEL2 promoted EC Bad Tölz. In the second round and quarter-finals, the favorites and self-declared aspirants for promotion EV Regensburg and Füchse Duisburg were each defeated 3-1. In the play-offs the interest of the spectators was aroused and ice hockey enthusiasts from all over the region poured into the ice rink and cheered the Bulls on their triumphal march. The average attendance in the six games was 1704 spectators, which no one would have expected after the bad preliminary round. Reaching the semi-finals is the greatest sporting success since the company was founded in 1999.
For the 2017/18 season, the club's first team was spun off into a GmbH in order to further professionalize the Sonthofen ice hockey location. In addition to the Augsburger Panthers and the Bietigheim-Bissingen Steelers, the Heilbronner Falken became a cooperation partner . After the club took part in the championship round as sixth in the preliminary round, the ERC was able to hold its position and was eliminated in the round of 16 against the IceFighters Leipzig . During the summer break, the pitch lighting in the stadium, which was criticized by many, was renewed and switched to LED technology.
Before the 2018/19 season, the then coach and sporting director Heiko Vogler asked for his contract to be terminated, after which Martin Sekera was hired as coach and Lukas Slavetinsky as sporting director . Due to the advanced time, the team could not be strengthened enough after many departures of top-class players and they started with a significantly thinned squad, which was weakened again by several departures during the season. Due to the bankruptcy of the DEL2 relegated SC Riessersee who was not allowed to participate in the championship round, the league and participation in the championship round could be achieved with 11th place in front of the EHC Waldkraiburg . Due to the many defeats and the poor sporting performance, the average attendance dropped considerably in contrast to the previous seasons in the league, which brought the club into financial difficulties.
In June 2019, the DEB did not grant the club the license to participate in the 2019/20 season, by a comparison between the club and the association by the court, the ERC was granted the license under conditions that the club fulfilled a few days later granted. After the end of the main round, ERC Sonthofen just missed the championship round and had to be relegated to the dovetailing with the best Bayern division, which the club finished first. The following play-offs were stopped prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, as in all other German ice hockey leagues . A few days earlier, the Spielbetriebsgesellschaft filed for bankruptcy at the Oberallgäu district court due to financial difficulties and they withdrew from the league. The club currently plays in the district league , the lowest league in Bavaria.
successes
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Placements since 1999
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- Source: icehockeypage.de
- The championship round 2018/19 was only achieved because the SC Riessersee had to take part in the interlocking round with the Bayern League due to a planned insolvency.
Women and offspring
In addition to the men's team, which takes part in the ice hockey league, and the youth teams from running school to juniors, the club also has a women's team, which has been participating in the second-rate Bavarian state league since 2005/06 after relegation from the women's ice hockey league and there in 2007 , Won the championship in 2009 and 2012. In 2013/2014 the women's team was runner-up. The women's team is currently being trained by the former coach of the men's first team, Christoph Hadraschek. In addition, there are two hobby teams of the old men of the ERC and the EC Oberstdorf , as well as numerous hobby teams that play a city champion every year.
Individual evidence
- ^ Chronicle of the Stockschützen-Club Sonthofen eV
- ^ Sports courier
- ↑ https://www.hockeyarchives.info/Allemagne1960.htm#Landesliga
- ↑ Archive Ice Hockey Germany from 1908/09 Passionhockey
- ↑ ref rodi-db.de, ERC Sonthofen league membership
- ↑ erc-sonthofen.de, ERC Sonthofen - Geschichte ( Memento from July 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ schongau-mammuts.de Schongau - stadium history
- ↑ https://www.hockeyarchives.info/Allemagne1960.htm#Landesliga German national league champions
- ↑ http://www.passionhockey.com/hockeyarchives/Allemagne2001.htm#Bavi%C3%A8re
- ↑ viewer statistics icehockeypage