Hamburg Freezers

Hamburg Freezers
City	Hamburg, Germany
League	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Founded	1999 as Munich Barons
Home arena	Barclaycard Arena
Colors	Light Blue, Navy, White, Gray
Franchise history
1999–2002	Munich Barons
2002–2016	Hamburg Freezers

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The Hamburg Freezers were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Hamburg, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club announced it's withdrawal from the DEL and ceased operations on May 24, 2016 when Anschutz Entertainment Group, who owned both the Freezers and Eisbären Berlin, felt it was no longer financially viable to own two teams within the same hockey league.

The Freezers were originally known as the Munich Barons from 1999 until 2002, before team owner Philip Anschutz relocated the franchise to Hamburg for financial reasons on June 3, 2002. The club was renamed as the Hamburg Freezers. Their German nickname was Eisschränke (iceboxes).

The team's official colours were crystal blue and white and they played their home games in the Barclaycard Arena Hamburg.

History

The Hamburg Freezers were founded in 2002, when the Munich Barons franchise was moved to Hamburg in northern Germany. The reason for the move was due to low turnouts and financial issues; Munich Barons had an average turnout of under 3,000 spectators, even though the team were crowned league champions in 2000. Despite being the second biggest city in Germany, Hamburg had no representation in the country's top league and was chosen as the next destination for the franchise. The decision seemed to pay off; in their first season, the attendance average was over 5,000, and the team finished in 8th place, making it through to the play-off quarter finals.

In the next 10 years, attendance figures have grown and the average attendance in 2011/12 was over 9,200. Only twice in the team's history have the Freezers failed to make the play-offs, although they have yet to secure a league title.

Rivals

Most of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga teams are based in the south and south west of the country, meaning there are very few local rivals for Hamburg. Being the northernmost franchise in the league, the team have adopted the motto 'Der Norden Sind Wir' (We are the North). However, the Freezers do enjoy 'northern derbies' against two other franchises; Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg and Hannover Scorpions.

The teams main rivals are, unsurprisingly, the team from Germany's biggest city; Eisbaren Berlin. These games often have an extra edge to them, as fans are eager for their side to claim bragging rights.

Season records

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tie	OTL	SOL	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Rank	Playoffs
2002–03	52	27	19	6	0	-	77	154	152	8	Lost in Quarterfinals
2003–04	52	32	17	0	3	-	95	151	115	3	Lost in Semifinals
2004–05	52	26	24	0	2	-	76	133	148	8	Lost in Quarterfinals
2005–06	52	29	17	-	0	6	85	144	145	6	Lost in Quarterfinals
2006–07	52	32	19	-	1	2	83	169	153	7	Lost in Quarterfinals
2007–08	56	28	20	-	1	7	87	194	171	7	Lost in Quarterfinals
2008–09	52	27	19	-	2	4	82	158	147	8	Lost in Quarterfinals
2009–10	56	20	31	-	4	1	61	162	200	14	No Playoffs
2010–11	52	23	21	-	3	5	69	135	161	11	No Playoffs
2011–12	52	28	24	-	3	2	83	149	149	5	Lost in Quarterfinals
2012–13	52	24	18	-	3	4	85	158	130	5	Lost in Quarterfinals
2013–14	52	30	13	-	5	1	102	162	116	1	Lost in Semifinals
2014–15	52	28	17	-	3	4	90	161	154	4	Lost in Quarterfinals
2015–16	52	18	22	-	3	3	72	142	166	11	Did Not Qualify

External links

• Official website

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