Wiener EV
| Wiener EV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City: | Vienna, Austria |
| League: | Austrian Hockey League |
| Founded: | 1867 (sports club) 1914 (hockey section) |
| Home Arena: | Albert-Schultz-Halle |
| Colors: | Black, Yellow |
Wiener Eislauf Verein is a former ice hockey team that was located in Vienna, Austria. The sports club itself was founded in 1867, but the ice hockey section was not created until 1914.[1] They won 17 Austrian championships between 1923 and 1962, including a span of nine in a row from 1923-1931.
The club folded at the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season.
History
Wiener EV began playing bandy hockey in 1914 and joined the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation (OEHV) the same year. WEV made its debut in the Vienna Ice Hockey Championship during the uncompleted 1914-15 season. They went on to win the championship in 1916, 1917, and 1919.
WEV took part in the Austrian Bandy Cup in 1921 and 1922, and first began playing ice hockey with a puck the same year. OEHV and WEV president, Oskar Schlesinger, made the decision to switch to ice hockey, as all other countries except Hungary had moved on from bandy.
On January 8, 1922, WEV's A and B teams played a training match against one another. Later in the month, from the 23rd to the 25th, the club went on a four-game tour of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. On February 19, WEV defeated Wiener AC 17-2 in a friendly match.
The most decorated team in inter-war Austria, WEV won the inaugural Austrian Hockey Championship in 1922-23 and claimed the first nine national championships contested. Their 1925 title was awarded as the "best Austrian team of the season" as the schedule was shortened due to poor weather conditions.
The club also won the Austrian Championship in 1933, when Innsbrucker EV was unable to travel to Vienna to contest the final, and in 1937 when they finished atop the standings in the State Championship with an unblemished 6-0 record.
After the German Anschluss of Austria in March 1938, WEV won both the local Kreismeisterschaft and the Gaumeisterschaft, earning a spot in the German national championship for 1940. They won the title after finishing ahead of Berliner Schlittschuhclub in the final round.
WEV won the national championship in post-war Austria in 1947 and 1948. They joined forces with EK Engelmann Wien, who now shared their arena, from 1948 to 1951, forming Wiener Eissport-Gemeinschaft. The combined club won three straight national titles before dissolving and both clubs becoming independent again.
They won their 14th and final Austrian Championship in 1961-62, finishing with a perfect 12-0-0 record. In 1966, WEV relocated from its old home, Freilufteisarena, to the Danube Park Hall. This arena, in the district of Donaustadt, was originally built as a flower hall for the International Garden Show (WIG) in 1964. Among hockey lovers, the Danube Park Hall was popular for its acoustics, but its concrete piers made for difficult sight-lines.
Despite the improved infrastructure, WEV was never able to regain its former supremacy. The competition from the provinces with Klagenfurter AC, Innsbrucker EV and ATSE Graz was too strong, and WAT Stadlau also made for a local rival in Vienna. Although the club won more runner-up titles, they failed to reach the pinnacle of Austrian hockey.
After a poor 1983-84 season, the club was relegated from the Austrian Hockey League to the second-tier Austrian National League. They promptly won the second league championship and returned to the top league in 1985. The hockey club then became independent from the WEV organization. The new team, led by Dr. Anton Gruber, was also named Wiener EV.
The club enjoyed a modicum of success in the Austrian Hockey League during the rest of the 1980s and 1990s, but also spent several seasons in the second-tier National League. Wiener EV folded after the 1999-2000 season, in which they finished third in the regular season and fell in the playoff semifinals.
Achievements
- Vienna Ice Hockey Championship winner (3) : 1916, 1917, 1919.
- Austrian champion (14) : 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1962
- Viennese champion (4): 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939.
- Austrian runner-up (5) : 1972, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1988
- German champion (1) : 1940
References
- ↑ club profile on hockeyarenas.net