EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional

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 ...

club based in the bilingual city of

Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Swi ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and plays in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the team also has a French name, HC Bienne (Abbr: HCB). The team plays its home games in the 6,521-seat

Tissot Arena Tissot Arena is a combined multi-purpose stadium and arena in Biel/Bienne, Canton of Bern, Switzerland. It consists of a football stadium, an ice hockey arena, an outdoor ice skating rink and a curling hall. It is currently used by Swiss Challen ...

History

EHC Biel played in lower Swiss ice hockey leagues until they got promoted in the second-tier

Swiss League The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, th ...

in 1960. In 1975 EHC Biel won the

-title and got promoted to the first level, the

. During the 20 years between 1975 and 1995 the club won three national championships in 1978, 1981 and 1983 under three coaches (František Vanek, Ed Reigle, Kent Ruhnke). After the

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

in 1995 EHC Biel had to wait 13 years until their return to the NL. After three consecutive championship victories in the second-tier Swiss League, EHC Biel was reinstated into the NL, winning the promotion/relegation best of 7 series against EHC Basel 4-0 in 2008. A strong local rivalry exists with the

SCL Tigers SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,000-seat Ilfis Stadium, which is currently one of the smallest arenas in the N ...

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern (''Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English language, English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. ...

EHC Olten EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...

, and

HC Ajoie HC Ajoie is a Swiss professional ice hockey team that competes in the National League (NL), the highest league in Switzerland. The team was founded in 1973 and plays in the Raiffeisen Arena in Porrentruy, Switzerland. HC Ajoie has won three Swis ...

. Games between these teams often attract sell-out crowds. During the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

, Biel were strengthen by the acquisitions of

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

All-Stars

Tyler Seguin Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

and

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blackhawks selected him with the first overall pick ...

. They were joined by future NHL players, goalkeeper

Reto Berra Reto Berra (born 3 January 1987) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). Berra played seven seasons in Switzerland's National League A, spending time with the G ...

and winger

Nikolaj Ehlers Nikolaj Ehlers (born 14 February 1996) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ehlers previously played ice hockey in Switzerland, where his father Heinz was a coach, and then moved ...

Honors

Champions

* NL Championship ''(3)'': 1978, 1981, 1983 * SL Championship ''(5)'': 1975, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008

Players

Current roster

Updated 4 July 2019.

Notable alumni

* Jean-Jacques Aeschlimann *Olivier Anken *Mauro Beccarelli *Gaetan Boucher *Gino Cavallini *

Chris Chelios Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal Can ...

*Gilles Dubois *Daniel Dubuis *Normand Dupont * Heinz Ehlers *

Rico Fata Rico Fata (born February 12, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playin ...

*Pierre-Alain Flotiront *René Furler *Paul Gagné *

Gaston Gingras Gaston Reginald Yoland Gingras (born February 13, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played one season in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978 to 1989. Career B ...

* Richmond Gosselin * Shawn Heaphy *

Jonas Hiller Jonas Hiller (born 12 February 1982) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. Hiller played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks, the latter with which he began his NHL career with in 2007 ...

*Barry Jenkins *Ramil Juldashew *

*Willy Kohler * Jakob Kölliker *Francis Lardon *Steve Latinovitch *Marc Leuenberger *Bob Lindberg * Kevin Lötscher *Urs Lott *Serge Martel *Serge Meyer *Cyrill Pasche *Guido Pfosi *Dan Poulin *Jörg Reber * Michel Riesen *Valeri Schirjajew *Kevin Schläpfer *Björn Schneider *Sven Schmid *

* Jiri Slegr *Laurent Stehlin * Martin Steinegger * Alexandre Tremblay *

Marko Tuomainen Marko J. Tuomainen (born April 25, 1972) is a Finland, Finnish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and SM-liiga. He played for KalPa, HIFK (ice hockey), HIFK, Espoo Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Ki ...

*Claude Vilgrain *Marco Wegmüller *Daniel Widmer *Bernhard Wist *Aldo Zenhäusern

References

External links

EHC Biel official website

Website Fanclub Fire-Lords

Website Fanclub Seeschwalbe

Website Fanclub Red Youngs 05

Website A2 Supporter Club EHC Biel

Blog "Fan du HC Bienne"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biel, EHC Ice hockey teams in Switzerland Biel/Bienne