SC Bern
SC Bern | |
---|---|
City | Bern, Switzerland |
League | National League A |
Founded | 1931 |
Home arena | PostFinance Arena |
Colors | |
General manager | Marc Lüthi |
Head coach | Kari Jalonen |
Captain | Martin Plüss |
Website | www.scb.ch |
Schlittschuh Club Bern (Ice-skating Club Bern in English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League A, it is the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. For the 15th time in a row, the club is the most attended team in Europe for the 2015–16 season, averaging 16,145 spectators.[1]
They are traditional rivals with HC Fribourg-Gottéron, EHC Biel, and the SCL Tigers.
History
The ice hockey section of the Bern Sports Club, which was established on November 3, 1930, officially began playing on January 1, 1931.
Today, SC Bern is a highly popular team and regularly fills its home stadium, the PostFinance Arena, one of the largest ice hockey stadiums in Europe. In 2006, they set a new record among European clubs for average attendance, with an average of 15,994 in 22 home games.[2] They have won the Swiss Championship thirteen times, with the most famous victory coming in 1989 over HC Lugano
During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Daniel Brière, Dany Heatley, J. P. Dumont, Marc Savard, Henrik Tallinder, and Chris Clark played for SC Bern. Although, league rules allow only four players without Swiss passports to suit up in a single game.
After a disappointing run in the 2006 playoffs, the club replaced head coach Alpo Suhonen with John van Boxmeer and general manager Roberto Triulzi with Sven Leuenberger.[3] Leuenberger had previously played thirteen seasons of defence with the club, totaling 67 goals, 145 assists, and four national championships. His jersey number 16 is one of many that has been retired by SC Bern.
On September 30, 2008, SC Bern faced off against the National Hockey League's New York Rangers to celebrate one hundred years of ice hockey in Switzerland. Forty-nine years since the Rangers' last visit to Switzerland, the blueshirts beat the home team 8-1 in front of a sellout crowd. Despite the slanted score, SC Bern played a close game with a 2-0 score at the end of the second. Former Phoenix Coyotes' Canadian-born defenceman Travis Roche scored SC Bern's goal early in the third period, bringing the game to 2-1. SC Bern only allowed two even-strength goals, but could not withstand the Rangers' potent power play in the final frame (6-for-9). "We played for our pride tonight," said center Sébastien Bordeleau after the exhibition game. Christian Dubé wore the captain's "C" because Ivo Rüthemann was injured.
During the 2012 NHL lockout, Roman Josi, Mark Streit and John Tavares played for the SC Bern. Tavares quickly became the PostFinance Top Scorer tallying 42 points (17G, 25A) in 28 games.
During the 2013-14 season, Guy Boucher signed a contract as coach of the SC Bern for the current year and two more seasons. He has since been relieved from his duties, moving on to coach the Ottawa Senators, being replaced by former assistant and SC Bern player Lars Leuenberger, who guided the team to the championship in 2016. Leuenberger was then replaced by former Finnish national team coach Kari Jalonen prior to the 2016-17 campaign.
Honors
Champions
- NLA Championship (14): 1959, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2016
- NLB Championship (3): 1958, 1969, 1972
- Europacup (10): 1965, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997
Players
Honored members
- 0 René Kiener
- 6 Peter Stammbach, number retired December 1, 2009
- 7 Martin Rauch
- 12 Roland Dellsberger
- 16 Sven Leuenberger
- 18 Renzo Holzer, number retired December 1, 2009
- 22 Patrick Howald, number retired December 1, 2009
- 31 Renato Tosio
- 32 Ivo Rüthemann, number retired November 15, 2014
NHL alumni
- Reijo Ruotsalainen (1986–87, 1988–89, 1990–92)
- Daniel Brière (2004–05)
- Dany Heatley (2004–05)
- J.P. Dumont (2004–05, 2011–2012)
- Marc Savard (2004–05)
- Henrik Tallinder (2004–05)
- Roman Josi (2006–10, 2012-13)
- Patrik Štefan (2007)
- Jean-Pierre Vigier (2009–2012)
- Byron Ritchie (2011–present)
- John Tavares (2012–13)
- Mark Streit (2012–13)
- Petr Sýkora (2012-2013)
- Derek Roy (2015–16)
- Cory Conacher (2015–16)
- Andrew Ebbett (2015–16)
- Sean Bergenheim (2015–16)
- Mark Arcobello (2016–17)
See also
- Category:SC Bern players
- Category:SC Bern coaches
References
- ↑ "SC Bern stays first". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
- ↑ http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr1906.htm
- ↑ "Bear season over in Switzerland". www.iihf.com. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
External links
- (German) SC Bern official website
- Meltzer, Bill "Swiss Playoffs: SC Bern Prowling for Gold" at NHL.com Retrieved 03-21-07.