AL-Bank Ligaen

Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1954
No. of teams 8
Country(ies) Denmark
Most recent champion(s) SønderjyskE
Most titles Herning
Official website http://www.al-bankligaen.dk/

AL-Bank Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The teams are semi-professional with only the best Danish and foreign players being fully professional.

Contents

History

The name is a result of a sponsorship deal with a Danish bank Arbejdernes Landsbank. It is also known as Superisligaen or Eliteserien, which is the name used in the past and in times where no naming rights agreement is in place.

In the past, the league has consisted of as many as 10 teams. Despite the introduction of a salary cap as well as a limit to the number of import players allowed, several teams have struggled financially in recent years. As a result, the Herlev Hornets and the Rungsted Cobras have withdrawn from the league, reducing the number of active teams from 10 to 8. Teams from the second tier league were offered the empty spots, but no team were able to accept the offer, citing financial issues as their main concern.

League format

The reduced number of teams have led to a revised league format for the 2010-11 season:

The regular season will see each team play every club five times with an additional four games against geographically determined 'derby' teams for a total of 39 games. The top six teams will progress to the next round. The six teams will be divided into two pools where they will play in a home and home round-robin format. The top teams in each group will carry over three points while the second-placed teams will carry over one point. At the conclusion of the group stage, the top two teams in each group will move on to the semifinals which will be played in the best-of-seven format.League format (in Danish)

The derby pools are:

Teams

List of teams

Notable players

List of notable players who have played in the AL-Bank Ligaen.

Danish Champions

Season Winner
1955 Rungsted IK
1956 KSF København
1957–1959 not played
1960 KSF København
1961 KSF København
1962 KSF København
1963 Rungsted IK
1964 KSF København
1965 KSF København
1966 KSF København
1967 Gladsaxe SF
1968 Gladsaxe SF
1969 Esbjerg
1970 KSF København
1971 Gladsaxe SF
1972 KSF København
1973 Herning IK
1974 Gladsaxe SF
1975 Gladsaxe SF
1976 KSF København
1977 Herning IK
1978 Rødovre SIK
1979 Vojens IK
1980 Vojens IK
1981 Aalborg BK
1982 Vojens IK
1983 Rødovre SIK
1984 Herlev IK
1985 Rødovre SIK
1986 Rødovre SIK
1987 Herning IK
1988 Esbjerg
1989 Frederikshavn IK
1990 Rødovre SIK
1991 Herning IK
1992 Herning IK
1993 Esbjerg
1994 Herning IK
1995 Herning IK
1996 Esbjerg
1997 Herning IK
1998 Herning Blue Fox
1999 Rødovre Mighty Bulls
2000 Frederikshavn White Hawks
2001 Herning Blue Fox
2002 Rungsted Cobras
2003 Herning Blue Fox
2004 EfB
2005 Herning Blue Fox
2006 SønderjyskE
2007 Herning Blue Fox
2008 Herning Blue Fox
2009 SønderjyskE
2010 SønderjyskE
2011 Herning Blue Fox

External links