The European Hockey League was a European

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 h ...

club competition which ran between the years 1996 and 2000.

History

It was established in 1996 by the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

(IIHF) and commercial partner CWL Telesport and first contested in 1996–1997. In 1996–97, twenty teams played in five divisions. After home and away intra-division games, the division winners plus the three best second-placed teams went into the quarter-finals. The first winners were

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

club TPS, who beat Russian

HC Dynamo Moscow HC Dynamo Moscow () is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League. Dynamo has won the Gagarin Cup twice, in 2011–12 KHL season, 2011–12 and 2012–13 KHL ...

5–2. In the 1997–98 season, 24 teams competed in six divisions. The division winners and the two best second-placed teams progressed to the quarter-finals. The league was won by Austrian team

VEU Feldkirch VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria. The team currently plays in the Ö Eishockey Liga. They Play Their Home Games At Vorarlberghalle. They formerly Play in the Austrian National League and Alps Hockey League ...

, who beat Russian side Dynamo Moscow 5–3. In the 1998–99 season, 24 teams competed in six divisions. The top two in each division were paired off against each other in two-game, home-and-away series. The winners of these six playoffs went into the semi-final round, which was played in two groups of three. The winner of each of these two groups played in the final. For the third year in a row, Dynamo Moscow lost the final, this time to fellow-Russians

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They ...

. In the 1999–2000 season, 16 teams competed in four divisions. The two best clubs in each division advanced to the semi-final round, which was played as two-game, home-and-away series. The four winners of the semi-finals qualified for the ''EHL Top Four Final''. In that final round, Metallurg Magnitogorsk defended its title, this time beating

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club

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

2–0. Following consultation with its commercial partner, then called ''CWL Holding AG'', the IIHF decided to suspend the running of the European Hockey League for the 2000–01 season. Despite financial investment and the improved quality of the contest, attention from the media, spectators, and TV networks in Europe was not seen as satisfactory. In order to optimize exposure of the league in Europe, the IIHF decided to consult with European broadcasters starting with the 2001–02 season. An international club competition, in the tradition of the previous European Cup, was staged by the IIHF for the 2000–01 season, but the European Hockey League did not restart.

Finals

Sources

* Müller, Stephan : International Ice Hockey Encyclopedia 1904-2005 / BoD GmbH Norderstedt, 2005

References

{{European Club Ice Hockey Tournaments 1996 establishments in Europe 2000 disestablishments in Europe European international sports competitions Ice hockey tournaments in Europe Recurring sporting events established in 1996 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2000 International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments