Croatian Ice Hockey League

Croatian Ice Hockey league

Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Croatian Ice Hockey League season
Sport	Ice Hockey
Founded	1991
Founder	Croatian Ice Hockey Federation
No. of teams	5
Country	Croatia Slovenia
Most recent champion(s)	Medveščak II
Most titles	Medveščak (19)
Related competitions	Erste Bank Eishockey Liga

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	Zagreb	Dom Sportova	5,000	1961
Mladost	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	500	1946
Sisak	Sisak	Klizalište Zibel	500	1934
Zagreb	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	500	1982
Former teams
HDK Maribor	Maribor	Tabor Ice Hall	1,000	1993
KHL Medveščak II	Zagreb	Dvorana Velesajam	500	2003

Champions

until 1991 – Yugoslav Hockey League 1991–92 – Zagreb 1992–93 – Zagreb 1993–94 – Zagreb 1994–95 – Medveščak 1995–96 – Zagreb 1996–97 – Medveščak 1997–98 – Medveščak 1998–99 – Medveščak 1999–2000 – Medveščak 2000–01 – Medveščak

2001–02 – Medveščak 2002–03 – Medveščak 2003–04 – Medveščak 2004–05 – Medveščak 2005–06 – Medveščak 2006–07 – Medveščak 2007–08 – Mladost 2008–09 – Medveščak 2009–10 – Medveščak II 2010–11 – Medveščak 2011–12 – Medveščak 2012–13 – Medveščak II 2013–14 – Medveščak II 2014–15 – Medveščak II

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

• Croatian Inline Hockey League

External links

• Official website