Ice hockey in Erfurt

The history of ice hockey in Erfurt begins before the Second World War . This time is sparsely documented in current publications, but participation of the Erfurt bobsleigh club in the German championship in January 1934 in Schierke is certain . The most successful current club is the EHC Erfurt, whose first team plays as "Black Dragons" in the Oberliga Nord (third highest national league). The EHC also has a second team and several junior teams. Other smaller clubs also have ice hockey departments (SC Medicine, ESC, BSG Fiskus).

history

Ice hockey in Erfurt

Erfurt artificial ice rink during construction, 1957

In the years after the Second World War, the first ice hockey club to be founded was KWU Erfurt . They were still playing on a tennis court that turned into an ice surface in winter. Ice hockey became popular in Erfurt from the 1950s . The ice sports section of the SC Turbine Erfurt , founded in 1957, played an important role here, because in the same year Erfurt's first artificial ice stadium was built. Turbine played under professional conditions in the GDR league until 1970. Due to the decision of the GDR sports leadership to dissolve all funded bases except for the Dynamo clubs from Weißwasser and Berlin, competitive ice hockey was stopped overnight in Erfurt in late summer 1970. Most of the old players found themselves together again as amateurs in BSG Motor Optima Erfurt and switched to BSG HO Lebensmittel (later only BSG HO) around 1980 . The men's team of the BSG took part in the determination of the best (a kind of amateur championship) every year and took top places several times. Between 1970 and 1990, junior work was only possible to a very limited extent (temporarily not at all). In 1979 the old ice rink was demolished and a new ice rink and an open speed skating rink were built.

Development after 1990

→ Main article : ESC Erfurt

Logo of the Eissportclub Erfurt

In 1990 the popular sports-oriented ice hockey section of the former BSG HO Erfurt joined the ESC Erfurt, founded on October 20, 1989, in the hope of better conditions for the development of the sport . Since the 1991/92 season, the first men's team, later called Black Dragons , successfully participated in the game and even reached first place in the Hessen League in the first season. The Erfurt men celebrated their greatest success with the Hessen championship and first place in the relegation of the North Rhine-Westphalia regional league and the associated promotion to the first division north. There, too, the team was able to keep up, but missed participation in the playoffs for the 2nd Bundesliga, which were achieved in the following year.

A year later the problems started. Due to financial mismanagement, the ESC filed for bankruptcy after the 2000/01 season and the Black Dragons withdrew from the league game. In the Sachsenliga the rebuilding took place, which was followed by the newly founded Regionalliga Ost. Since the 2005/06 season, the Black Dragons played in the regional league.

Black Dragons Erfurt
Club information
history	ESC Erfurt (until 2006) EHC Erfurt (2006–2007) EHC Thuringia (2007–2010) EHC Erfurt (since 2010)
Parent club	EHC Erfurt eV
Club colors	black red
league	Oberliga Nord
Venue	Ice sports center Erfurt
capacity	1,200 seats
Head coach	Fred Caroll
Season 2018/19	11th place / Pre-PO

Outsourcing from the ESC Erfurt

In 2006 the first men were spun off from the ESC. This created the EHC Erfurt , which became the new home club of the Black Dragons. One of the reasons for the spin-off was to protect both clubs financially and economically. In the 2006/07 season the EHC Erfurt started in the Regionalliga Nord / Ost for the first time. Although at the end of the season the leap to promotion was missed, the club still got the chance to apply for the 2007/08 Oberliga . After the license for the third highest division was granted, the parent club was renamed EHC Thuringia . In May 2007 some of the juniors of the ESC Erfurt followed the men and became part of the EHC. In terms of sport, the season was not satisfactory. After some players from the league team had already been given up in autumn for economic reasons and replaced by young and amateur players, at the end of the season there was relegation and the application for a game license for the Regionalliga North / East. In the summer of 2010 the club renamed itself back to EHC Erfurt and rose to the Oberliga Ost as part of a league reform.

A team from ESC Erfurt is now playing in the fifth-class Thuringia league again . Other ice hockey clubs in Erfurt are the SC Medizin Erfurt (team name "Kojoten") and the BSG Fiskus Erfurt "Hurricane-V2", which also play in the Thuringian League. The EHC Erfurt continues to provide a second team in the Regionalliga Ost and a III. Team in the Thuringian League.

Placements

Season results of the 1st men's team
season	league	placement	Finals
1990/91	Saxony League		-
1991/92	Hessen League	1st place	-
1992/93	Hessen League	6th place	-
1993/94	Hessen League	2nd place	-
1994/95	Regional league Hessen / Thuringia	1st place	-
1995/96	Regional league Hessen / Thuringia	1st place	-
1996/97	Regional league Hessen / Thuringia	1st place	Relegation winner / 2nd place relegation to promotion to 2nd division north
1997/98	Regionalliga North Rhine-Westphalia	1st place	Promotion to the 1st division north
1998/99	1st League North	6th place	Participation in the relegation to the 1st League North (later Oberliga Nord)
1999/00	Oberliga Nord	4th Place	Promotion Play Offs Bundesliga (1st round 1: 3 (4: 3, 2: 5, 5: 8, 1: 3) failed to Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg )
2000/01	Oberliga Nord	10th place	financial withdrawal
2001/02	Saxony League	4th Place	-
2002/03	Regional League East	6th place	Relegation: 1st place
2003/04	Regional League East	8th place	Relegation: 4th place
2004/05	Regional League East	4th Place	Relegation: 10th place
2005/06	Regionalliga North / East	3rd place	Relegation: 5th place
2006/07	Regionalliga North / East	5th place	-
2007/08	Oberliga Nord	9./19. 1	Playdowns (0: 4 against ESC Halle 04 , 0: 4 against Eisbären Juniors Berlin ), relegation to the regional league
2008/09	Regional League East	2nd place	Runner-up playoffs: semi-finals 2: 1 (8: 1, 2: 6, 8: 7) against EHV Schönheide , final 1: 2 (1: 8, 4: 3 a.s., 2: 8) against ECC Preussen Juniors Berlin
2009/10	Regional League East	4th Place	Ascent
2010/11	Oberliga Ost	3rd place	Cup victory OL East (entry authorization for DEB Pokal 2011)
2011/12	Oberliga Ost	3rd place	2nd place cup round OL East
2012/13	Oberliga Ost	7th place	5th place cup round OL East
2013/14	Oberliga Ost	2nd place	2nd place cup round east east, 6th place ol finals Gr. B.
2014/15	Oberliga Ost	3rd place	7th place finals RL-middle
2015/16	Oberliga Nord	13th place	-
2016/17	Oberliga Nord	10th place	Pre-playoffs
2017/18	Oberliga Nord	10th place	3rd place qualification
2018/19	Oberliga Nord	11th place	Pre-playoffs

¹ x / y - x = placement in the relay, y = placement overall

Current league affiliation

team	league
Black Dragons	Oberliga Nord
Black Dragons II	Regional League East

offspring

team	league
youth	North Bohemian Youth League
student	East German youth league
Boys	East German youth league
Junior high school students	East German youth league
Bambini	East German youth league

Venue

The "Potato Hall" in Erfurt

The Black Dragons Erfurt play their home games in the ice rink on Arnstädter Strasse, which fans call the “Potato Hall”. It has a capacity of 1,200 spectators. The second home venue in Ilmenau was given up again after the 2007/08 season. Since the 2008/09 season, all Black Dragons home games have again been held in the Erfurt Potato Hall.

Web links

• Official website of the association
• Unofficial site with a section on the history of ice hockey in Erfurt

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} History of Erfurt ice sports. In: Eissportclub Erfurt e. V. Accessed February 20, 2013 .