ERC Ingolstadt (''Eishockey-und-Rollschuh club'', ) is a German 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 ...

club that plays in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL). Commonly known as the Panthers, the team plays its home games at the

Saturn Arena Saturn Arena () is an arena in Ingolstadt, Germany. It is primarily used for the ice hockey club ERC Ingolstadt ERC Ingolstadt (''Eishockey-und-Rollschuh club'', ) is a German professional ice hockey club that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey ...

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...

History

ERC Ingolstadt was promoted to the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

after three consecutive years of playing in the championship finals of Germany's second-tier hockey league, the 2.Bundesliga. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Ingolstadt signed

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

(NHL) players

Marco Sturm Marco Johann Sturm (born September 8, 1978) is a German professional ice hockey coach and former winger who played in the National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He is currently the Head Coach of the Ontario Reign. Sturm began his c ...

, Andy McDonald,

Jamie Langenbrunner Jamie Craig Langenbrunner (; born July 24, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Langenbrunner was formerly the captain of the 2010 United States Olympic Team, a member of the 1999 Dallas Stars' Stanley Cup championship t ...

and Aaron Ward. Other well-known NHL alumni include goaltender

Jimmy Waite James Dean Waite (born April 15, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender. He currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Chicago Blackhawks. Playing career Waite was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec. As a youth, he ...

Yves Sarault Yves Victor Sarault (born December 23, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 106 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, Atla ...

, Patric Hörnqvist and Jason Holland. In the 2008–09 season, the team took part in the famous Spengler Cup. ERC Ingolstadt won its first and only DEL championship in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

as an overwhelming underdog entering the playoffs. After finishing in ninth place in the regular season, the Panthers knocked out the three-time defending league champions Eisbären Berlin in overtime of the final game of the playoff qualification round. In the first round of the playoffs, the team of head coach

Niklas Sundblad Niklas Sundblad (born January 3, 1973) is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and a former Swedish professional ice hockey player. Playing career Sundblad started his career in the youth teams at AIK close to his native Stockholm. He made h ...

then shocked second-seeded Krefeld Pinguine in five games and then eliminated

Hamburg Freezers The Hamburg Freezers were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Hamburg, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club announced its withdrawal from the DEL and ceased operations on 24 May 2016 when Anschutz Entertainment ...

, who had finished the regular season in first place, in six games. In the championship final, Ingolstadt defeated

Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL. The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...

in seven games, with goaltender

Timo Pielmeier Timo Pielmeier (born July 7, 1989) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender, currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was a third-round selection of the San J ...

recording a 27-save shutout in Game 7. By virtue of winning the DEL championship, ERC Ingolstadt was invited to play in the

2014–15 Champions Hockey League The 2014–15 Champions Hockey League was the first season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament launched by 26 founding clubs, six leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The regulation round began ...

Season records

Players

Current roster

Honors

Champions

Championship:

* 2.Bundesliga Championship: 2001

References

External links

* Ice hockey teams in Germany Sport in Ingolstadt Ice hockey clubs established in 1964 1964 establishments in West Germany {{Europe-icehockey-team-stub