The are a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ice hockey team based in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie. They play in the country's top tier, the Ligue Magnus. For their inaugural 2016–17 season, they were known as Pionniers de Chamonix-Morzine.

History

Origins

In 2016, France's Ligue Magnus adopted an expanded schedule and cut its number of teams from 14 to 12. The league's two Haute-Savoie clubs, the Chamois de Chamonix and the Pingouins de Morzine-Avoriaz, decided to merge their respective professional teams in order to better face the economic and competitive challenges presented by the new setup. The result of that fusion was a joint team called the Pionniers, splitting its home games between Chamonix and

Morzine-Avoriaz Avoriaz (, ) is a French mountain resort in the heart of the Portes du Soleil. It is located in the territory of the commune of Morzine. It is easily accessible from either Thonon at Lake Geneva or Cluses station on the A40 motorway between Gen ...

. The amateur sections remained separate and retained the Chamois and Pingouins names.
While both towns are located within the same

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, they are not particularly close, with Chamonix nested in the Mont Blanc massif and

part of the

Chablais Chablais () was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the ''Chablais savoyard'', the ...

region. Following negotiations between the two municipalities, it was agreed that Chamonix would be the united team's training base for its inaugural season, as well as the owner of its league franchise.

2016-17 season

The precarious balance between the two organizations was quickly challenged when the new Pionniers limped out of the gate to a dismal record. Mid-February 2017, head coach Stéphane Gros was dismissed as the team was dead last in the standings. The move was not unexpected from a sporting standpoint, but it further aggravated the Morzine-Avoriaz side as Gros had career ties to both clubs, while his replacement Christophe Ville was viewed as purely a Chamonix man. The Pioneers still finished the season in last place and Morzine-Avoriaz renounced the partnership after a single season.

Aftermath

As the fusion agreement was more protective of Chamonix's interests, Morzine-Avoriaz suffered the most damaging fallout. Chamonix kept the organization's trademarks and visual identity, and most importantly its position in the French hockey rankings. While their twelfth-place finish should have sent them to the lower division, they ended up being saved from relegation by the withdrawal of Dijon from the Ligue Magnus.
Morzine-Avoriaz on the other hand returned to its previous identity, the Penguins, and had to start all over at the country's fourth level, the

Division 3 In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football * Belgian Th ...

, in 2017–18.

Roster

Updated February 5, 2019.

References

Ice hockey teams in France Ice hockey clubs established in 2016 2016 establishments in France Sport in Haute-Savoie {{France-sport-team-stub