The 2002–03 Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League season was the first season of Bosnia and Herzegovina's hockey league, and represents the return of competitive hockey in Bosnia after the dissolution of the Yugoslav Ice Hockey League.

League business

The 2002–03 season is the first season of the

Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League The Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League (BHL) is the top league for ice hockey in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ice Hockey Federation. History Hockey developed slowly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of it ...

. Four teams entered the season.

HK Bosna HK Bosna is an ice hockey club from Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. Th ...

which was formed in 1980 played in their first league competition since the 1987–88 Yugoslav Ice Hockey League season. The three other teams were formed in 2002.

HK Ilidža 2010 Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

was based in Ilidža, HK Jahorina in

Pale Pale may refer to: Jurisdictions * Medieval areas of English conquest: ** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558) ** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland *Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...

, and

HK Šampion HK Šampion was an ice hockey team in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Šampion was founded in 2002, and played in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League The Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League (BHL) is the top league for ice hockey in Bosni ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

. Each team played 16 games before the top two teams entered into a three game playoff. The formation of the four team league also allowed the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ice Hockey Federation to meet the prerequisite of entering the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

. Following the end of the season two of the newly formed clubs, HK Jahorina and HK Šampion, folded causing the 2003–04 season to be cancelled and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League to go into a six year hiatus until the 2009–10 season.

Regular season standings

Playoffs

HK Bosna and HK Ilidža 2010 qualified for the playoffs after finishing first and second in the regular season standings respectively. HK Bosna won the best of three playoff series in two games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Bosnia And Herzegovina Hockey League Season Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League seasons Bos 2002–03 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ice hockey