KHL Sisak

KHL Sisak
Full name	Klub Hokeja na Ledu Sisak 2010–present HK Sisak 2008-2010; HK INA 1972–2008; KKHLK Segesta 1965–1972; SD Segesta 1952–1965; FD Naprijed 1946–1952; HAŠK 1938–1942; ŠK Slavija 1934–1938;
Nickname(s)	The Knights
Founded	1934
Based In	Sisak, Croatia
Arena	Klizalište Zibel; (Capacity: 500)
League	Croatian Ice Hockey League 1992–present ; Yugoslav Hockey League ; 1938-–1991;
Team Colors
Website	www.khl-sisak.hr

main

KHL Sisak is a Croatian ice hockey]team that occasionally plays in the Croatian Ice Hockey Championship. Since the club does not have an indoor arena, its season is very limited. Because of this, and financial reasons, the club doesn't always participate in the national league. For some time the club's name was HK INA Sisak, named after its sponsor, Croatian national oil company INA - Industrija nafte.

History

The first hockey game was played in Sisak in 1930. It was played between the students of the 7th High School. Over the years they played partial and irregular matches, mostly between students. Then, at the end 1934 the sports society "Slavia" organized a hockey club. The new Sisak club had its first played in the Croatian Championship in 1937. The players were: Vjenceslav Holubek, Vladimir Berghauer, Želimir Golder, Josip Kovačić, Mate Starčević, Oliver Pötzl, Franjo Knebl, Branko Herlinger and Joža Stampf. At that time, Pötzl and Berghauer were members of the national team.

In the 1938-39 HASK Zagreb, composed of many Sisak players (Slavija having disbanded), participated in the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League. Naprijed Sisak was founded by Mate Starčević in the fall of 1946, and played their first game on January 5, 1947. Two days later, they played the first post-war game in Sisak. In the championship of SR Croatia in 1947 and 1950, Naprijed finished in fourth place, and in the 1949 Yugoslav Championship, the seventh place. Naprijed operated until February 28, 1952, when it merged with Segesta. Until the winter of 1954, the hockey players of Segesta only trained and played with each other, because they did not have the money to participate in the championship, which was played in Slovenia.

In 1958 and 1959 Sisak hockey players won the Croatian championship and became members of the Federal League. In 1961 they went on to become Croatian ice hockey champions, formed the club "Segesta", and played their first game against Zagreb's newly formed team "Medveščak". Late in 1971 the Sisak rink "Recreational Center Zibel" was finished and the first international hockey match in Sisak was played between HK Medveščak against Tesla Pardubice from Czech Republic.

Hockey continued to evolve in Yugoslavia, and Sisak was sponsored by the INA oil company and bore their name. The "INA" Sisak repeatedly won first place in the second division of the state championships, and appeared in the first division. Through several years of play, with greater or lesser success, Sisak's young hockey players from the club "INA" became the junior Croatian champions in 1979. In the 1980/81 Croatian league season, the youngest "INA" team won the championship. The club prospered until the war in the '90s, and has come back afterwards, slowly picking up pace as circumstances allowed. New generations took over, keeping the oldest Croatian club alive, now known as ice hockey club "Sisak".