HCB South Tyrol

HCB South Tyrol
City Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy
League Serie A
1948–2013
Alpenliga
1991–1997
1998–1999
Erste Bank Eishockey Liga
2013–
Founded 1933
Home arena Palaonda/Eiswelle
(Capacity: 7,200)
Colors White, Red
         
Owner(s) Otto Massimo
General manager Dr. Dieter Knoll
Head coach Mario Simioni
Captain Alexander Egger
Website HCB South Tyrol
Franchise history
1933– HC Bolzano
Championships
Serie A 19 (1963, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2012)
Alpenliga 1 (1994)
EBEL 1 (2014)

Hockey Club Bolzano South Tyrol is an Italian ice hockey team located in the city of Bolzano, South Tyrol that play in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). It was the most successful team in the history of the Italian Serie A, with 19 championships.

History

HC Bolzano was founded in 1933 and in the first twenty years of its existence, home games were played in an outdoor rink until 1953, when the club moved into the Bolzano Exhibition Hall, which was the first artificial ice was available. Eleven of the nineteen Italian league titles were won there before the team moved in 1994, to the newly built Palaonda/Eiswelle. At the same time, the team also participated in the Alps League in part, an international ice hockey competition, attended by teams from Slovenia and Austria were involved. In addition to a master and three runner-up titles in this competition, the team also won another seven Italian titles, the last of which in 2012 was given the three-time winning the Coppa Italia, the Italian League Cup competition. Other achievements include three gains of the Supercoppa Italiana and the Six Nations tournament, also called Caucasian Ligacup, in in 1994.

In 2013, the HC Bolzano applied again for inclusion in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL), after earlier applications failed each time due to the resistance of the Italian Ice Hockey Federation. However, the chaotic conditions in the Serie A paved the way to acceptance, since a large part of the club that was from the second division had been released. The move was also largely motivated by the need of a new major sponsor to help clear their financial situation.[1]

Known as the HCB South Tyrol in the EBEL, Bolzano had surprisingly successful inaugural season in 2013–14. On the back of a heavy recruitment scheme which centred in signing Canadian players of Italian heritage, Bolzano finished in fourth place by the end of the Regulation season. In the EBEL finals, they went on to win the championship by defeating the EC Red Bull Salzburg in the finals, and in doing so becoming to first non-Austrian based club to win the Austrian Championship.[2]

With the victory of the EBEL championship, Bolzano ensured qualification to the first edition of the Champions Hockey League, a prestigious tournament for European clubs. Despite their status of EBEL defending Champions, Bolzano due to numerous financial difficulties that risked compromising the entry of the team in these competitions, were late in confirming their status for a second EBEL season.[3]

Honours

Current roster

Updated September 11, 2014.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
18 Italy Bernard, AntonAnton Bernard W R 25 2010 Bolzano, Italy
47 United States Crowley, RichieRichie Crowley D L 23 2014 Canton, Massachusetts, United States
11 United States Cullen, MarkMark Cullen C L 36 2014 Virginia, Minnesota, United States
92 United States DeSimone, PhilPhil DeSimone  C L 28 2014 East Amherst, New York, United States
17 Italy Egger, AlexanderAlexander Egger (C) D L 35 2008 Bolzano, Italy
94 Italy Frank, DanielDaniel Frank W L 21 2013 Merano, Italy
23 Italy Gander, MarkusMarkus Gander RW R 25 2012 Vipiteno, Italy
58 Latvia Galviņš, GuntisGuntis Galviņš D L 29 2014 Talsi, Latvia
73 Italy Hell, GüntherGünther Hell G R 36 2010 Bolzano, Italy
21 Italy Hofer, RolandRoland Hofer D L 24 2014 Vipiteno, Italy
24 Czech Republic Hübl, JaroslavJaroslav Hübl G L 32 2013 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
8 Italy Insam, MarcoMarco Insam W R 25 2010 Selva Gardena, Italy
88 Canada Keller, JustinJustin Keller LW L 29 2014 Nelson, British Columbia
7 United States Lee, JohnJohn Lee D R 26 2014 Fargo, North Dakota, United States
6 Canada McMongale, SeanSean McMongale D L 27 2014 Oakville, Ontario, Canada
20 Italy Miglioranzi, EnricoEnrico Miglioranzi D L 23 2013 Padova, Italy
15 Canada Nesbitt, DerekDerek Nesbitt LW L 32 2014 Egmondville, Ontario, Canada
44 Italy Oberdörfer, HannesHannes Oberdörfer D R 25 2012 Silandro, Italy
13 Slovenia Pance, ŽigaŽiga Pance RW L 26 2013 Ljubljana, Slovenia
9 Canada Schofield, RickRick Schofield (A) C L 27 2013 Pickering, Ontario, Canada
22 Canada Sisca, MathewMathew Sisca C L 24 2014 Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
19 Canada Zanette, PaulPaul Zanette LW L 26 2014 Nobleton, Ontario, Canada
10 Canada Zanoski, TomTom Zanoski LW L 31 2014 Zagreb, Croatia
2 Italy Zisser, StefanStefan Zisser (A) C L 34 2002 Bolzano, Italy
Staff
Title STAFF MEMBER
Head Coach Mario Simioni
Asst. Coach Hugo Widmann
Video Coach Fabio Gioachin

Former players

References

  1. ↑ "Giornata storica: il Bolzano sbarca in Ebel" (in Italian).
  2. ↑ "Bozen earns championship title in overtime" (in German). Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  3. ↑ "Bolzano confirms league participation" (in German). Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  4. ↑ "HCB South Tyrol - Team -Roster". HCB South Tyrol. 2014-08-17. Retrieved 2014-08-17.

External links