The East European Hockey League was a multinational ice hockey league to which clubs from the territory of the former Soviet Union belonged. The league existed from 1995 to 2004, but was dissolved in 2004 due to the inclusion of the top clubs from Kiev , Riga and Liepāja in the Belarusian league .
The league was founded in 1995 by teams from the former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. Since the years of its establishment, the number of participating teams has increased steadily and other countries have joined. This gave the top clubs of the individual states the opportunity to play against the best clubs between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea at a higher level than in their home leagues. The rush to participate in the EEHL was after three years so great that the League in a 1998 EEHL A and a second-rate EEHL B are divided needed.
In 2004 the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association decided to open the country's top division to clubs from other countries. The top clubs from Kiev and Latvia then switched to the Belarusian extra league, which also meant the end of the EEHL.
Results
1995/96 season
In the first season of the EEHL, a double round of all teams involved was played. Afterwards, the teams in places 1 to 4 determined the champions of the league, the remaining teams played a so-called consolation round, each in a double round.
The mode was changed for the 1996/97 season by replacing the championship round and consolation round with play-offs. The preliminary round was still completed in a double round, in the play-offs the mode best of three (quarter, semi-finals) or best of five (final, game for third place) applied. The EEHL also got growth through Olimpia Sosnowiec from Poland and Tiwali Minsk , while the team from Belstal Schlobin withdrew.
Since the Polish team Olimpia Sosnowiec withdrew before the playoffs, the Lithuanian representative SC Energija could participate in the playoffs. The champions of the 1996/97 season were the Latvian club Juniors Riga .
Quarter finals
Semifinals
final
1
UkraineHK Sokil Kiev
2
9
Lithuania 1989 SC Energija
0
1
UkraineHK Sokil Kiev
2
3
Belarus 1995 HK Nyoman Hrodna
0
3
Belarus 1995HK Nyoman Hrodna
2
6th
Belarus 1995 HK Junost Minsk
0
1
Ukraine HK Sokil Kiev
2
5
LatviaJuniors Riga
3
2
Belarus 1995Polimir Navapolatsk
2
8th
Ukraine HK Kryschynka Kiev
0
2
Belarus 1995 Polimir Navapolatsk
1
3rd place match
5
LatviaJuniors Riga
2
4th
Belarus 1995 Tiwali Minsk
1
2
Belarus 1995Polimir Navapolatsk
3
5
LatviaJuniors Riga
2
3
Belarus 1995 HK Nyoman Hrodna
1
1997/98 season
The EEHL returned to the old mode for the 1997/98 season and initially played a double round with two home and two away games against each opponent. This was followed by a championship round and a consolation round, taking the points from the preliminary round.
The EEHL introduced a new mode for the 1998/99 season, which initially provided for a double round with two home and two away games against each opponent. This was followed by a championship and a playoff qualifying round, to which other teams were accepted into the EEHL. The teams in places one to five received bonus points for the championship round according to their placement. The two best-placed teams in the championship round qualified directly for the playoff semifinals, while the three other participants in the championship round and the winner of the qualifying round in the quarter-finals played off the other two participants in the semifinals.
For the 1999/2000 season the mode was changed again: In addition to the EEHL A , a second-rate EEHL B was created, in which five teams were included. However, only the EEHL A teams took part in the second round and the playoffs.
After a double round with two home and two away games against each opponent, a two-part second group phase followed for these teams, whereby the placement (even or odd) decided whether they belong to group A or B.
For the 2000/01 season, the league returned to its original mode. After a double round with two home and two away games against each opponent, playoffs followed for the first eight teams in the table. The playoffs were played in the best of three (quarter-finals) or best of five (semi-finals and finals) modes . The champions of the 2000/01 season were HK Berkut Kiev , who defeated the newly founded Latvian club HK Riga 2000 in the final series 3-0.
For the 2000/01 season, the mode of the EEHL was changed again: In addition to the EEHL A , a second-rate EEHL B was created, in which x teams were included. However, only the teams from EEHL A took part in the playoffs. The winner of group B played a relegation against the eighth place in group A, while the team in ninth place in group A was relegated directly to group B.
After a double round with two home and two away games against each opponent, the first seven teams in Group A were directly qualified for the playoff quarter-finals. The winner of the relegation qualified as the eighth team for the quarter-finals. In addition to the changes in the group division, the three-point rule and an extension was introduced, so that both teams received one point in the event of a tie after regular time.