EC Kitzbühel
| EC Kitzbuhel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City: | Kitzbühel, Austria |
| League: | Alphs League |
| Founded: | 1910 |
| Home Arena: | Sportpark Kapserbrucke |
EC Kitzbühel is an ice hockey team in Kitzbühel, Austria. They currently play in the Alps Hockey League, a multi-national competition featuring teams from Austria, Italy, and Slovenia.
History
Ice hockey was first played in Kitzbühel at the Grand Hotels Ice Rink on January 16, 1909. The match was between Innsbrucker EV and DEHG Prag. On January 31, IEV played against a team of English guests in Kitzbühel.
The original ice hockey team in Kitzbühel, Kitzbüheler Sport Club, was founded in 1910. The club joined the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation (OEHV) as a provisional member in December 1924. It withdrew from the federation in February 1927, was a full member again by 1930, and was expelled by the association board on November 11, 1932. They had taken part solely in friendly matches.
The Kitzbüheler Eislauf Verein was founded in 1933 and joined the OEHV the same year. The club played friendly matches during the 1933 and 1934 seasons, before being renamed Kitzbüheler Eishockey Club in December 1934. The association was recognized as a successor to KEV by the OEHV on December 8, 1934. KEC participated in the Provincial Championship in 1934-35, finishing first in the 2. Klasse - Western Group, but adverse weather conditions prevented them from competing in the 1935-36 season.
After World War II, the club was rebuilt and professionally organized. It won the ASKO-Staatsliga in 1949, 1952, and 1954. Their 1952 title was so unexpected that medals had already been made to present to the favored squad from Vienna. They had to be hastily altered with lime green paint to present to Kitzbühel at the awards ceremony
From 1955-1973, Kitzbühel played in the Austrian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Austria, in its various forms. They reached the final of the championship in 1957, losing to EK Engelmann Wien. In 1960-61, the club played as a Salzburg-Kitzbühel combination. Kitzbühel was relegated to the Austrian Oberliga following a last-placed finish in 1972-73.
They earned the title of Tiroler Landesmeister in 1987-88 and returned to the second-tier Austrian National League the following year. They won the Oberliga when it was played a second-level competition in 1996 and went on to win it as a third-tier league in 2004 and 2005.
The club joined the Tiroler Landesliga in 2005 and lost in the final to EC Wattens. They exacted revenge on Wattens the following year, by defeating them in the final to win the new Tiroler Eliteliga championship.
In 2014, the club won the third-tier Nationale Amateur Hockey Liga, thus earning a spot in the multi-national Inter-National League for 2014-15. After the dissolution of the competition, the club joined the Alps Hockey League for the 2016–17 season.
Season-by-season records
Pre-1959 results incomplete
| Season | League | GP | W | T | L | GF-GA | Pts | Rank | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-56 | ÖEHL | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 2 | None |
| 1956-57 | ÖEHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Lost final |
| 1957-581 | ÖEHL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | None |
| 1958-59 | ÖEHL | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 78:36 | 10 | 3 | None |
| 1959-60 | ÖEHL | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 90:41 | 13 | 3 | None |
| 1960-61 | ÖEHL | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 37:43 | 8 | 3 | None |
| 1961-62 | ÖEHL | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 53:40 | 12 | 4 | None |
| 1962-63 | ÖEHL | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 60:45 | 12 | 4 | None |
| 1963-64 | ÖEHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14:51 | 0 | 4 | None |
| 1964-65 | ÖEHL | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 29:36 | 4 | 8 | Qualified for final round |
| 1965-66 | ÖEHL | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 28:56 | 4 | 4 | None |
| 1966-67 | ÖEHL | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 63:77 | 14 | 3 | None |
| 1967-68 | ÖEHL | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 38:31 | 11 | 3 | None |
| 1968-69 | ÖEHL | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 39:66 | 8 | 6 | Playouts |
| 1969-70 | ÖEHL | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 56:48 | 14 | 5 | Playouts |
| 1970-71 | ÖEHL | 28 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 129:137 | 25 | 5 | None |
| 1971-72 | ÖEHL | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 83:109 | 21 | 7 | None |
| 1972-73 | ÖEHL | 28 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 74:217 | 7 | 8 | Relegated to Oberliga |
1. Two results from matches involving EC Kitzbühel are unknown, preventing a definitive final table from being constructed.
Achievements
- ASKÖ-Staatsliga champion: 1949, 1952, 1954.
- Austrian Oberliga champion: 1996, 2004, 2005.
- Tiroler Landesmeister: 1988, 2007.
- Nationale Amateur Hockey Liga champion: 2014.
References
This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia