The 2011–12 North Sea Cup was the second and final season of the

North Sea Cup The ''North Sea Cup'' was a short-lived hockey league that temporarily succeeded the Dutch Eredivisie from 2010-2012. It was the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederla ...

, the highest level of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, before the league reverted to its traditional name, the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

, and its traditional format.

Teams

Teams participating in the league changed before and during the season. Prior to the start of the season,

Nijmegen Devils The Select4-u Devils Nijmegen is an ice hockey club in Nijmegen, Netherlands, they play in the BeNe League, the top-tier league in the Netherlands and Belgium. Formerly the team played in the semi-professional Dutch Eredivisie where they were the ...

announced a one-year hiatus from the North Sea Cup for 2011-2012. The Belgian team Leuven Chiefs moved from the

Belgian National League The Belgian National League was the second level of ice hockey in Belgium. The league was one rank below the Belgian Hockey League, but for the 2012-2013 season it was merged with two teams of the defunct North Sea Cup to become the "Belgian Elite ...

up to the North Sea Cup for 2011-2012. An expansion team known as the "Amsterdam Capitals" joined the league, with many of the same people as the defunct

Amstel Tijgers Amsterdam Tigers are an ice hockey team in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the First Division. History The Tigers existed in various guises from their foundation in 1963 until 2010 when the professional team folded, leaving only the amateur an ...

of the Dutch

White Caps Turnhout The White Caps Turnhout are an ice hockey team in Turnhout, Belgium. The White Caps play in the Belgian Hockey League and North Sea Cup. They play their home games in Kempisch Ijsstadion. They participate in the Belgian Cup tournament and the Belgi ...

dropped out of the league midway through the season after it lost most of its players to injury and defections; games played against Turnhout will not be counted in the season standings. At the end of the season, the Leuven Chiefs announced that they, too, were leaving the North Sea Cup tournament. The North Sea Cup was therefore disbanded and the last remaining Belgian team, HYC Herentals, was admitted as a full member of the "Eredivisie" Dutch league for the 2012-2013 season.

Format

The format of the North Sea Cup was changed for the 2011-2012 season. The number of regular season games was reduced from 28 to 16, to allow for longer

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

and Dutch Cup (ice hockey), Dutch Cup tournaments which are played before the North Sea Cup. With the loss of Turnhout from the league, the season consisted of 14 games, as each of the eight teams played each other twice. HYS The Hague edged out Geleen Eaters on goal differential to win the North Sea Cup tournament, as both teams attained 36 points. The standings of the Dutch teams in the North Sea Cup regular season determined the playoff pools for the quarter-final round of the Dutch National Championship playoffs. Pool A consisted of the Dutch team ranked first (The Hague), third (Tilburg) and fifth (Friesland), while Pool B consisted of the Dutch teams ranked second (Geleen), fourth (Eindhoven) and sixth (Amsterdam). The Belgian national championships was determined among the two Belgian teams competing in the North Sea Cup, namely Herentals and Leuven, plus the team that dropped out, Turnhout. Herentals won all of the games of the round-robin and the finals against Leuven, winning the National Championship.

Regular season

Playoffs

Dutch Championship Semi-Finals * Geleen beats Tilburg 3 wins to none * The Hague beats Eindhoven 3 wins to none Dutch Championship Finals * Geleen beats The Hague 3 wins to 2 Belgian Championship Finals * HYC Herentals beats Leuven 3 wins to none

References

External links

Results at official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Sea Cup 2011-12 Season 2011–12 in European ice hockey leagues, 2 North Sea Cup Neth Neth