HK Nitra

HK Nitra
City:	Nitra, Slovakia
League:	Slovak Extraliga
Founded:	1931
Home Arena:	Nitra Aréna; (capacity 3,600)
Colors:	blue, white;

Hokejový Klub Nitra is a professional ice hockey club based in Nitra, Slovakia. The club is a member of the Slovak Extraliga since the 2003–04 season.

History

The club was founded in 1931 under name AC. Their first trophy which they won was Tatra Cup in 1934. The club was renamed several times, since 1945 to 1976 they was named as Sokol, Komunálny podnik, Spojené závody, Slavoj, Slovan and Štart. In 1976 the club was renamed to Plastika Nitra. They won the 1. SNHL (1.st Slovak National Hockey League), second level of Czechoslovak hockey, in the 1983–84 season and clinched participation in the preliminary round for the Czechoslovak Extraliga. There they earned 2 points in 4 games against Škoda Plzeň and Poldi Kladno and did not qualified to the Extraliga. Nitra won the 1. SNHL in the 1986–87 season but in the preliminary round they lost against Poldi Kladno. In the next season they triumphed at the 1. SNHL again but in the preliminary round they were defeated by TJ Vítkovice. Nitra's first promotion to the Czechoslovak Extraliga came in the 1989–90 season when they finished 4th in the qualification group and clinched participation at the Extraliga for the next season. Nitra finished 13th in their first Extraliga season, earning 39 points in 53 games and were relegated to the 1. SNHL. They won the next season of the 1. SNHL but were defeated by ŠKP Poprad in the preliminary round. In the next season they won 1. SNHL again but preliminary round was not played due to dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Nitra won its first Slovak Extraliga title in the 2015–16 season. In the quarterfinal against MsHK Žilina, Nitra swept the series 4-0. In the semifinal they played seven games to beat HKm Zvolen. The final opponent was HC '05 Banská Bystrica, whom Nitra defeated 4–2 in the series to win the league title.