ICE Hockey League facts for kids

This page is about the Austrian league. For other leagues, see List of ice hockey leagues.

Quick facts for kids
ICE Hockey League

Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1923; 101 years ago (1923)
CEO	Karl Safron
No. of teams	13
Country	Austria (8 teams) Italy (3 teams) Hungary (1 team) Slovenia (1 team)
Most recent champion(s)	Red Bull Salzburg (9th title)
Most titles	EC KAC (31)
TV partner(s)	Puls 24

The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria. It currently features additional teams from Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia. The league was known as the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) from 2003 until 2020 and as the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League during the 2021–22 season.

Until 2005–06, the league consisted solely of Austrian teams. Since then, the league has added teams from Slovenia (from 2006 to 2017 and from 2021 onwards), Hungary (starting 2007–08), Croatia (from 2009–10 through 2012–13, and again from 2017–18 through 2018–19), the Czech Republic (starting in 2011–12 through 2019–20 and again from 2021-22 onwards), Italy (starting in 2013–14), and Slovakia (starting in 2020–21 through the start of 2021–22).

The non-Austrian teams are competing for the "League Champion" title. Only Austrian teams in this league are additionally eligible for the "Austrian Champion" title. The league has had different sponsors, and the current naming rights have been held by win2day.at since 2022.

Teams from the ICEHL participate in the IIHF's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for the European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the European/Asian Kontinental Hockey League). Going into the 2022–23 CHL season, the ICEHL was ranked the No. 6 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top three teams to compete in the CHL.

History
Teams
Playoffs
Winter Classics
Austrian Champions
See also

History

Foundation

HDD Olimpija vs EC KAC at Bežigrad Stadium during the 2012–13 Austrian Hockey League season

The roots of the league go back to 1923 and various Championships, whose winner is officially recognized as the Austrian Champion. There was no Austrian competition between 1939 and 1945. During World War II, a number of Austrian teams competed in the German Ice Hockey Championship, which is why the EK Engelmann Wien and Vienna EV list German Championships in their history.

1965–1990

The Bundesliga, as it was called, was incepted for the 1965-66 season by EC KAC from Klagenfurt, IEV from Innsbruck, WEVg from Vienna, and KEC from Kitzbühel. EC KAC won the championship 8 times in the 1970s.

When the Austrian national hockey team earned promotion into the Group B of the IIHF, it led to a boom in spectators. Three foreign players were allowed and first signs of financial hiccups came. SV Kapfenberg went bankrupt, and WAT Stadlau abstained from participating in the Bundesliga for financial reasons.

1990–2003

A first step in internationalization was undertaken as the clubs, in addition to the national championship, participated in the Alpenliga. The Alpenliga was formed with clubs from Italy and Slovenia. After making Ralph Krueger their manager in 1991 VEU Feldkirch won five championships from 1994 to 1998. Rising budgets caused more and more clubs to abstain from participation. In 1997 SV Kapfenberg went bankrupt during the season, and the championship was down to only four clubs. In 2000 VEU Feldkirch went bankrupt. The league was named after its sponsor, Uniqua.

2003–2020

In 2003 Erste Bank became sponsor and the league was named Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. In 2013–14, Italy's Bolzano Foxes became the first non-Austrian team to win the EBEL title when they beat the Salzburg Red Bulls 3 games to 2 in their best-of-five final series. Such success is not unheard of for an Italian outfit, but previous similar results took place in the Alpenliga and the Cup of the European Leagues, standalone competitions whose postseason tournaments were distinct from the Austrian playoffs. One year after rejoining the league from the Kontinental Hockey League, KHL Medveščak Zagreb once again withdrew from the EBEL, this time citing the difficult economic situation of the club.

2020–present

In 2020, the league was renamed to ICE Hockey League. "ICE" refers to the league's locale – International Central European – and the surface of an ice hockey rink. At the same time, bet-at-home.com became the title sponsor of the league. From the 2021-22 season onwards the league will expand to 14 teams, with reigning champions Olimpija Ljubljana and Pustertal Wölfe joining from the Alps Hockey League and Orli Znojmo returning after a one-year absence. Austrian online betting platform and casino win2day.at became the league's title sponsor in 2022.

Teams

Team	City	Arena	Capacity	Founded	Joined ICEHL	Left ICEHL
Current teams
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV	Villach	Villacher Stadthalle	4,800	1923	1977–78
EC KAC	Klagenfurt	Stadthalle Klagenfurt	5,500	1909	1923–24
EC Red Bull Salzburg	Salzburg	Eisarena Salzburg	3,600	1977	2004–05
Fehérvár AV19	Székesfehérvár	Alba Aréna	6,000	1960	2007–08
Graz 99ers	Graz	Eisstadion Liebenau	4,050	1999	2000–01
HC Bozen–Bolzano	Bolzano	Sparkasse Arena	7,220	1933	2013–14
HC Pustertal Wölfe	Bruneck	Intercable Arena	3,100	1954	2021–22
Asiago Hockey 1935	Asiago	Pala Hodegart	3,000	1935	2022–23
HC TWK Innsbruck	Innsbruck	TIWAG Arena	3.200	1994	2012–13
HK Olimpija Ljubljana	Ljubljana	Tivoli Hall	7,000	2004	2021–22
Steinbach Black Wings Linz	Linz	Linz AG Eisarena	3,800	1992	2000–01
Vienna Capitals	Vienna	Erste Bank Arena	7,022	2000	2001–02
Pioneers Vorarlberg	Feldkirch	Vorarlberghalle	5,200	2022	2022–23
Former teams (since introduction of current league format)
Bratislava Capitals	Bratislava	Ondrej Nepela Arena	10,055	2015	2020–21	2021–22
VEU Feldkirch	Feldkirch	Vorarlberghalle	5,200	1945	1967–68	2003–04
HK Jesenice	Jesenice	Podmežakla Hall	4,500	1948	2006–07	2011–12
HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	Ljubljana	Tivoli Hall	7,000	1928	2007–08	2016–17
Medveščak Zagreb	Zagreb	Dom Sportova, Arena Zagreb	5,000 15,000	1961	2009–10 2017–18	2012–13 2018–19
Orli Znojmo	Znojmo	Nevoga Arena	5,500	1933	2011– 12 2021–22	2019–20 2021-22
Dornbirn Bulldogs	Dornbirn	Messestadion	4,270	1992	2012–13 2021–22

Playoffs

With their victory in the finals of the 2013–14 season, HC Bolzano became the first non-Austrian team to claim the league title. Formerly the best non-Austrian team result was when HDD Olimpija Ljubljana managed to get into the finals in the 2007–08 season, losing the championship to EC Red Bull Salzburg.

Winter Classics

Winter Classic	Date	Site	Home team	Away team	Score	Attendance
Klagenfurt 2015	2015-01-03	Wörthersee Stadion (football)	KAC	VSV	1–4	29,700
Šalata 2013	2013-02-01	Šalata (hockey)	Medveščak	Capitals	1–2	5,120
Šalata 2010	2010-01-31	Šalata (hockey)	Medveščak	Capitals	4–3 (OT)	4,600
Šalata 2010	2010-01-29	Šalata (hockey)	Medveščak	VSV	2–3	4,600
Pula 2012	2012-09-16	Pula Arena (amphitheatre)	Medveščak	Capitals	4–1	7,130
Pula 2012	2012-09-14	Pula Arena (amphitheatre)	Medveščak	Olimpija	1–2	7,022
Klagenfurt 2010	2010-01-09	Wörthersee Stadion (football)	KAC	VSV	1–3	30,500

Bolded teams denote winners

Austrian Champions

1923 Wiener EV
1924 Wiener EV
1925 Wiener EV
1926 Wiener EV
1927 Wiener EV
1928 Wiener EV
1929 Wiener EV
1930 Wiener EV
1931 Wiener EV
1932 Pötzleinsdorfer SK
1933 Wiener EV
1934 Klagenfurter
1935 EC KAC Klagenfurter
1936 EK Engelmann
1937 Wiener EV
1938 EK Engelmann
1939 Not played due to World War II
1940 Not played due to World War II
1941 Not played due to World War II
1942 Not played due to World War II
1943 Not played due to World War II
1944 Not played due to World War II
1945 Not played due to World War II
1946 EK Engelmann
1947 Wiener EV
1948 Wiener EV
1949 Wiener EG
1950 Wiener EG
1951 Wiener EG
1952 EC KAC Klagenfurter
1953 Innsbrucker EV
1954 Innsbrucker EV
1955 EC KAC Klagenfurter
1956 EK Engelmann
1957 EK Engelmann
1958 Innsbrucker EV
1959 Innsbrucker EV
1960 EC KAC
1961 Innsbrucker EV
1962 Wiener EV
1963 Innsbrucker EV
1964 EC KAC
1965 EC KAC
1966 EC KAC
1967 EC KAC
1968 EC KAC
1969 EC KAC
1970 EC KAC
1971 EC KAC
1972 EC KAC
1973 EC KAC
1974 EC KAC
1975 ATSE Graz
1976 EC KAC
1977 EC KAC
1978 ATSE Graz
1979 EC KAC
1980 EC KAC
1981 Villacher SV
1982 VEU Feldkirch
1983 VEU Feldkirch
1984 VEU Feldkirch
1985 EC KAC
1986 EC KAC
1987 EC KAC
1988 EC KAC
1989 GEV Innsbruck
1990 VEU Feldkirch
1991 EC KAC
1992 Villacher SV
1993 Villacher SV
1994 VEU Feldkirch
1995 VEU Feldkirch
1996 VEU Feldkirch
1997 VEU Feldkirch
1998 VEU Feldkirch
1999 Villacher SV
2000 EC KAC
2001 EC KAC
2002 Villacher SV
2003 Black Wings Linz
2004 EC KAC
2005 Vienna Capitals
2006 Villacher SV
2007 Red Bull Salzburg
2008 Red Bull Salzburg
2009 EC KAC
2010 Red Bull Salzburg
2011 Red Bull Salzburg
2012 Black Wings Linz
2013 EC KAC
2014 Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL title winner HC Bozen–Bolzano)
2015 Red Bull Salzburg
2016 Red Bull Salzburg
2017 Vienna Capitals
2018 Red Bull Salzburg (EBEL title winner HC Bozen–Bolzano)
2019 EC KAC
2020 N/A
2021 EC KAC
2022 Red Bull Salzburg
2023 Red Bull Salzburg
2024 Red Bull Salzburg

Club	Winners	Winning years
EC KAC	32	1934, 1935, 1952, 1955, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2019, 2021
Wiener EV / EG	17	1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1962
Red Bull Salzburg	11	2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014^[], 2015, 2016, 2018^[], 2022, 2023, 2024
VEU Feldkirch	9	1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Innsbrucker EV (also known as GEV Innsbruck)	7	1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1989
Villacher SV	6	1981, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2006
EK Engelmann (earlier known as Pötzleinsdorfer SK)	6	1932, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1956, 1957
ATSE Graz	2	1975, 1978
Black Wings Linz	2	2003, 2012
Vienna Capitals	2	2005, 2017

bold – seasons in which league had teams outside Austria

^[*] – seasons in which the Austrian Champion didn't win the ICEHL title