Munich Barons
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The Munich Barons was a professional ice hockey team between 1999 and 2002 run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in the German Ice Hockey League (German: Deutsche Eishockey Liga - DEL ). The largest success was the win of the German championship in the year 2000.
After long negotiations between the Anschutz-Group, the ice hockey team Landshut Cannibals, the ice hockey team ESC Munich and the Olympiapark Munich GmbH, the foundation of the Munich Ice Hockey Club GmbH was announced on the 1 June 1999. The license for the DEL was received of the debt-ridden Landshut Cannibals. The games should be played businesses in the Olympia-Eisstadion. The name and the logo of the Baron was presented in the middle of June.
Despite a weak start, the Munich Barons team - which players were bought together from several teams - was able to succeed in the first round and gained the 2nd place in the first DEL season. In the Play-Offs, the team improved itself so surprisingly that the German championship was won. In spite of the success in sports remained the number of spectators was lower than expected (first round: 2,800; Play-offs: 4.900). In the season 2000/2001 the Barons held the third place in the first round of the DEL. In the Play-offs, the final could be reached, which was lost tightly against the Mannheim Eagles. However, the number of spectators did not increase. So, because of the expensive players and the missing sponsors, the Barons had a lot of debts. In the 2001/2002 season, the first round could be won in spite of large injury problems. In the semifinal, the Barons failed again tightly due to the later champion Kölner Haie. Although the number of spectators began slowly to increase the Anschutz-Group declared to move the team to Hamburg for financial reasons on the 3 June, 2002. In spite of long speculations the sudden move came surprisingly. Since 2002 the Munich Barons play as Hamburg Freezers in Hamburg in the DEL.
| Season | Plays | Gates | Points | Place on the table | Play-Offs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEL 1999/2000 | 56 | 208:155 | 109 | 2. | German champion |
| DEL 2000/01 | 60 | 175:150 | 104 | 3. | Finale |
| DEL 2001/02 | 60 | 182:138 | 121 | 1. | Semi-final |
