Irbis-Skate Sofia ( bg, Спортен клуб ИРБИС-СКЕЙТ) is a Bulgarian

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 ...

team based in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

and compete in the

Bulgarian Hockey League The Bulgarian Hockey League is an ice hockey league in Bulgaria. Teams As of 2021, the Bulgarian Hockey League consists of the following teams: *HC CSKA Sofia, CSKA Sofia *Irbis-Skate Sofia *HC NSA Sofia *HC Slavia Sofia *HC Levski Sofia Forme ...

. Irbis-Skate Sofia was founded in 2012 and joined the Bulgarian Hockey League for the 2015–16 season. The club won the 2015–16 season and the 2016

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournamen ...

and as a result qualified for the

2016–17 IIHF Continental Cup The 2016–17 Continental Cup was the 20th edition of the IIHF Continental Cup, Europe's second-tier ice hockey club competition organised by International Ice Hockey Federation. The season started on 30 September 2016 and the final tournament was ...

History

Irbis-Skate Sofia was founded in August 2012 and initially competed in small tournaments and exhibition matches against

teams. The club also formed

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

teams to compete in competitions before entering their under-12 team into the national championship for the 2013–14 season. In 2015 Irbis-Skate Sofia entered the

for the 2015–16 season with their home arena being the

Winter Sports Palace The Winter Sports Palace is an ice hockey arena in Sofia, Bulgaria. Opened in 1982, it has a capacity of 4,600 spectators. External linksWinter Sports Palaceon hockeyarenas.net
on eurohockey.com Indoor arenas in Bulgaria Indoor ice hockey ven ...

. The club finished the first round of the 2015–16 season in first place and as a result won the 2016

. Irbis-Skate Sofia then went on to win all their remaining games of the season and finished in first place to claim their first Bulgarian Hockey League title. As a result of winning the 2015–16 season Irbis-Skate Sofia qualified for the

where they entered in the first round. The club was selected as host of the Group A tournament and was drawn against HC Bat Yam,

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

and Zeytinburnu Belediyespor.

References

External links

Official website
{{Ice hockey in Bulgaria 2012 establishments in Bulgaria Bulgarian Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2012 Ice hockey teams in Bulgaria