Croatian Ice Hockey League

Croatian Ice Hockey league
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2014–15 Croatian Ice Hockey League season
Sport Ice Hockey
Founded 1991
No. of teams 5
Country  Croatia
 Slovenia
Most recent champion(s) Medveščak II
Most titles Medveščak (19)
Related competitions Erste Bank Eishockey Liga
Founder Croatian Ice Hockey Federation

The Croatian Ice Hockey League is the top ice hockey league in Croatia. At the end of the season the Croatian Championship is held. The league is operated by the Croatian Ice Hockey Federation.

History

The league was formed in 1991 with the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Until then Croatian teams played in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League. The hockey teams Mladost and Medveščak were playing in the first division, while Sisak and Zagreb were playing in the second division of the Yugoslav league. The former two were much stronger, but as financing went away their best players did not stay with the clubs. This resulted in a more balanced competition, in which KHL Zagreb went on to win three times in a row. Medveščak however managed to remerge as the country's dominant team, as it won the competition for eleven straight seasons.

Due to the very short duration of the season, Croatian teams often play in other leagues, such as the Slohokej Liga, Erste Bank Eishockey Liga and the now defunct Interliga and Panonian League. In the future there may be other clubs in the league, such as Karlovac. However, any expansion will be slow to come due to lack of funds and indoor ice arenas.

Teams

Team City/area Arena Capacity Founded
Current teams
Medveščak Croatia Zagreb Dom Sportova 6,400 1961
Mladost Croatia Zagreb Dvorana Velesajam 500 1946
Sisak Croatia Sisak Klizalište Zibel 500 1934
Zagreb Croatia Zagreb Dvorana Velesajam 500 1982
Former teams
HDK Maribor Slovenia Maribor Tabor Ice Hall 1,000 1993
KHL Medveščak II Croatia Zagreb Dvorana Velesajam 500 2003

Champions

 
     
      Club Croatian Championship won Total
      Medveščak 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
      19
      Zagreb 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996
      4
      Mladost 2008
      1

      See also

      External links

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