1999–2000 Austrian Hockey League season

The Austrian Hockey League 1999/2000 was held between four clubs. Champion for the 26th time in their history the EC KAC, who won the final against local rivals and defending EC VSV.

Participating teams

The lineup for the 1999/2000 season consisted of just those four Austrian team who had previously participated in the first season of the designed as a successor to the Alpine League Inter League between October 1999 and early February 2000. There, the EC KAC EC VSV had defeated in the final and won the title. This should be repeated in the state championship.

Mode

Given the international league of the timetable for the Bundesliga fell (as in previous years through the Alps League ) again from extremely scarce. The four teams played in the regular season between February 18th and March 3rd, 2000 twice each against each other ( a total of six games per team ). In the event of a tie, a 5 -minute extension ( sudden victory overtime ) was played with four field players. Ended goalless these decided a penalty shootout. The determined winners received two points, the loser one.

Subsequently, a play-off was played from 5 to 31 March 2000, with all encounters in the Best of Seven mode were played.

Table after the regular season ( 6 rounds )

Playoffs

Semifinal

Final

With the 2:4 away win in Villach the EC KAC won its 26th league title.

Championship Final

Cadre of the Austrian master

Goalkeepers: Michael Suttnig, Gert Prohaska

Defender: Christer Olsson Jan Mertzig, Darcy Martini, Roger Öhman, Thomas Pock, Christian Sintschnig, Marc Brabant, Alexander Mellitzer, Jens Felix Kraiger, John Reichel

Attacker. Stefan Nilsson, Gerald Ressmann, David Emma, Christian Perthaler, Dieter Kalt Jr., Christoph Brandner, Patrick Pilloni, Mario harm, Christopher King, Gregory Hager, Thomas Cook, Thomas Eich Berger

Coach: Lars Bergström

Developments after the season

Already the current season has been pushed by the audience only with little enthusiasm, as only four teams had played the Austrian Championship title. After the season, the VEU Feldkirch rose voluntarily for economic reasons in the second division and sat so that the final full stop to a development that had already been decimated over the years the number of participants more and more. The nineties were characterized by a continuous arms race that had the VEU led thanks to a potent main sponsor and the fewer teams could follow. Since the Wiener EV no longer had to the top division would like to participate, the two Carinthian clubs were left with the EC KAC and EC VSV only.

Therefore, a radical new beginning, it was decided in the summer after the season. The Bundesliga was merged with the second league to re-establish a sufficiently large field of competitors. At the same time arrangements were adopted, which should put an end to rigging and price bustle to in the coming years to secure an attractive first league.

One consequence of this decision was that the Inter League was held after the unique participation of Austria only with teams from Hungary and Slovenia and alternately some other states. Only with the introduction of the HK Jesenice in the Bundesliga ( 2006/ 07), the Austrian team speak again with foreign teams, but this time principle in the context of an Austrian league in which also the local champion is played, and in which the remaining teams are to be regarded as guests.