HC Tiroler Wasserkraft Innsbruck is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n 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 ...

team in the

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

(EBEL). They play their home games at

OlympiaWorld Innsbruck OlympiaWorld Innsbruck is a multi-purpose sports facility complex in Innsbruck, Austria. It was opened in 1963. The complex served as the Olympic Park of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, as well as the 2012 and Winter Youth Olympics. Venues The ...

complex in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

History

The club was founded in 1994 as HC Innsbruck and in 1999 with the introduction of wealthy sponsor "Tyrolean Hydropower" were renamed to HC Tiroler Wasserkraft Innsbruck. Since the 2000–01 season the Sharks were playing in the highest Austrian league and was the first Innsbruck team in the first division since the exit of

EV Innsbruck Innsbrucker EV or EV Innsbruck was an ice hockey team based in Innsbruck, Austria. They competed in the Austrian Hockey League until 1993 and won the Austrian Championship seven times. Their home arena was Olympiahalle Innsbruck. The organi ...

upon completion of the 1992–93 season. Over the years, the team reached the semi-finals on multiple occasions, however, never made it to the finals. In recent seasons, the majority of the squad has often been replaced, but this was reflected on the budget constraints. In addition, the team failed to win in the final stages of the season, year after year, repeated regularly and culminated in the early playoff exits. On 3 March 2009, Innsbruck announced its intention to leave the Erste Bank Hockey League for financial reasons and resume play in the second tier, the

Austrian National League The Austrian National League (german: Österreichische Eishockey-Nationalliga) was a former second tier ice hockey league in Austria. For the 2012–13 season, it was replaced by the Inter-National League. Decline With the conclusion of the 20 ...

. Their return season in the new league was completed with a successful squad that consisted mainly of young Tyrolean players. The club finished the regular season first, seven points ahead of the runner-up

Dornbirner EC Dornbirn Bulldogs is a professional ice hockey team in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria, who formerly played in the Austrian Hockey League (IceHL), the first level of ice hockey in Austria, since 2012. until 2022. The club was founded in 1992 and ...

. In the final Innsbruck were defeated by the Vorarlbergians, losing the series 3 games to 1. Two years later, the club succeeded in winning the second division National League Championship, for the first time in franchise history. A short time later it was announced that Innsbruck would return to the top-flight EBEL league.

Venue

The Innsbruck Sharks' home games are played at the

complex, which hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1964 and 1976. Innsbruck have the luxury to play at two home venues within the complex, after first primarily using the Olympiahalle Innsbruck which seated approximately 8,000, which was renovated for the 2005 IIHF World Championship. In 2005, the Sharks moved to also play in the smaller capacity and purpose built

Tyrolean Ice Arena Tiroler Wasserkraft Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Innsbruck, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is ...

which seats 3,200. The Olympiahalle is now used sparingly, specially to cater for larger crowds on important rival games or playoff games.

Players

Current roster

Updated 30 June 2021.

References

External links

HC TWK Innsbruck official site

HC TWK Innsbruck Fan Forum (Haie)
Ice hockey teams in Austria Austrian Hockey League teams Austrian National League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1994 1994 establishments in Austria {{Austria-sport-team-stub