Graz 99ers

Graz 99ers

Full name	Moser Medical Graz 99ers
Founded	1999
Based In	Graz, Austria
Arena	Eisstadion Graz Liebenau (Capacity: 4,000)
League	Erste Bank Eishockey Liga 1999-present
Team Colors
Website	Graz 99ers

main

The Graz 99ers are an ice hockey team situated in Graz, Austria. Founded in 1999, the club currently plays in the top-level Austrian Hockey League.

The 99ers past successes include a Austrian National League championship in 2000 and an Austrian Oberliga title in 2011.

History

Hockey was played at Premier League level in Graz mainly from two predecessor clubs. The Hockey department of the ATSE Graz (Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Association Eggenberg) was founded in 1947 and won to date the only Graz Hockey club title at the top Austrian League level in the 1974-75 and 1977-78 season. The club was merged early nineties with the UEC Graz, shortly after the EC Graz emerged. In 2008, the Hockey section of was ATSE Graz reactivated on league level.

The EC Graz (also called "the elephant") experienced under President Hannes Kartnig its heyday, finishing three times the runner-up title in the seasons 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94 despite running at a high financial cost. After the departure of Hannes Kartnig, the football club SK Sturm Graz changed, they tried to rescue the EC Graz. When this plan failed in 1998 was the EHC Graz established with Helmut Botchkay as president.

Establishment and promotion to the Bundesliga

In 1999 Jochen Pildner-Steinburg founded the Graz 99ers as the successor club of the EC Graz to offer Hockey League back in the Styrian capital. The team premiered in the second division, the Austrian National League, finishing after 28 rounds played, in first place in the table. In the semifinals, the team continued after opening game defeat to persevere to a 3: 1 series win against the EHC Lustenau to met EK Zell am See in the final. The series was decided in four games with Graz taking advantage of the opportunity for promotion to the Austrian Hockey League.