Heilbronner Falken

South German Champion 1994, 1996, 1998, 2005
Master the big leagues in 2007

The Heilbronner Falken are a German ice hockey team from Heilbronn, Baden- Württemberg, which currently plays in the DEL2. The 1980 launched hockey department of the REV Heilbronn was founded in 1986 as Heilbronner Hockey Club new, the first team was spun off in the Heilbronner Falken GmbH 2003. So far the club four times the Süddeutsche Championship won twice and also rose to the second highest German league, most recently in 2007.

Their home games wearing the teams of the club, which is since 2004 a cooperation partner of Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, from the 2002 finished piston Schmidt Arena.

2.1 cadres of the 2013/14 season
2.2 Current jersey design

3.1 Internal club records
3.2 Significant former players
3.3 Player of the Year
3.4 Player of the Month

6.1 Eishalle Heilbronn
6.2 Kolbenschmidt Arena

7.1 fans 7.1.1 Polar Bears Heilbronn

History

Hockey in REV Heilbronn (1980 to 1986)

In March 1980 was formed within the 1934 founded roller skating and skating club Heilbronn around the former Czechoslovakian national team Josef Matoušek the first hockey team in Heilbronn, the first measure in the early days as an amateur team with other teams in the region. In the following months, the structure of the ice hockey department of the REV was further advanced, so that even in the 1980/81 season, the first Heilbronner hockey team took part in the game as the Land League Baden -Württemberg. Was reached in the season still only ranked fourth out of six teams, managed the REV with the support of the debtor from Cologne EC former national player Wim Hospelt and Sigi Stotz and Detlef and Dieter Lange man direct ascent to the Baden- Württemberg league. Together with the committed from the neighboring Mannheimer ERC employees, and by the reinforcement of different stationed in Heilbronn American soldiers, the team was able to quickly establish himself in the league and managed as early as the first season promotion to the fourth-rate Regionalliga Süd / West. In addition, the the club could economically consolidate and have in the period following a significant increase in average attendance.

The in December 1984 committed for the dismissed Josef Schalkowski player-coach Eugene Kielbicki led the REV in his first season in the Regionalliga promotion round for ice hockey league. Despite numerous failures as well as the disposal of the former Cologne player who had left due to the large distance from her hometown to the club to Heilbronn was able to put against the competitors and was allowed to start the league season 1985/86. For the new season the REV obliged the former Bundesliga player Jiri Bolehovsky as a coach, so Kielbicki henceforth worked exclusively as a player for the club again. Although it immediately took second place in the league middle, due to a point deduction in connection with the invalid contract of defender Grant Campbell had the REV Heilbronn eventually but in the relegation round play to avoid relegation. Added to this was that the original club had to raise by the rise in the Oberliga Mitte ever larger sums of money for the preservation of game operation, so that the ice hockey department was spun off in the summer of 1986 in the newly founded Heilbronner EC.

Sporting achievements and economic decline (1986 to 1990)

The new team qualified in the season 1986/87 with sovereign services and, under the leadership of coach Wilbert Duszenko and the first chairman Joachim Weitzel off and strike partner Steve Pépin and Robby Geale on the ice for the promotion round to the 2nd Bundesliga Süd. There, HEC ERC Sonthofen could defeat in the deciding game in the shootout. The lot is still regarded today as the most important game in their history because of their drama and the crowded spectator stands. With new items known as Peter Stankovic, Jürgen Lechl or Bob Attwell HEC reached in its first second-division season in fifth place in the relegation round was assured by but early in the league. With fourth place in the season 1988/89 the team the following year reached the promotion round to Hockey Bundesliga and thus the greatest success to date for the first time in club history. After four defeats at the start, however, the HEC playful early rise any chance. Far more serious, however, was the fact that the society's debts had risen due to lack of sponsors and by expanding the stadium until the end of the season to just under one million DM. This meant that the club in the summer of bankruptcy and had to refrain from participating in the coming season.

Fresh start in the league and promotion to the second division (1990 to 1998)

After a major break Heilbronner EC finally the operation of gambling in the Oberliga Süd resumed in the 1990/91 season. After the debt had been paid off almost, the club reached ninth place ranking in a mid-table. Under the new coach Jaromír Fryčer HEC managed in the following season with the second place after the first round to qualify for the champions round and finished it at last to fourth place. 1994 reached the club by winning the South German Championship the greatest success to date in the Club 's history. In newly introduced league play -offs, the club finally reached after victories over the ASV Hamm and the EC Bad Nauheim the semi-finals, but failed there in the late runner ETC Timmendorfer beach.

With the new division of the leagues to season 1994/95, in the course of the formation of DEL as a new highest German professional league, which Heilbronner of sub-prime first League South were allocated. After extensive personnel changes the HEC while again reached the play-offs. This time the team but failed in the quarter- finals at the Hockey Club of the Baltic Sea. Before the start of season 1995/96 Sascha Barinew inherited the previous coach Gerd Wittmann, who had led the training of the Heilbronner since 1993. With the new additions Wolfgang Koziol, Andrej Jaufmann and Sven Valenti, the team reached the South German Championship and the play-off semi-final, but lost this one in the shootout against the EC Bad Tölz. Since it became clear early in the following year that the new coach Pierre Rioux could not fulfill the expectations of the club's management with respect to the first title, Barinew returned after a few games back to the dugout. With the later guide players Igor Dorochin and Robert Hock, who were first on the ice for the HEC, and thanks to the new regime applicable to foreigners, which is now six instead of two quota players allowed in the second division, the Heilbronner EC finally finished the season second in the standings, but failed again in the semifinals.

As at the end of season 1997/ 98, the new, single-track Bundesliga 2 should be launched, Heilbronner but were in danger of not reaching as South German Champion to qualify for the new league, the former trainer Gerd Wittmann broke out in the Master Round unsuccessful Jiří Kochta from a coach. Only with a 7-0 in the last match of the round, the champion Unterländer secured against the ERC Sonthofen the qualification for 2nd Bundesliga, which could compensate the supporters ultimately missing the play-offs.

Single-track 2 Bundesliga and renewed bankruptcy (1998 to 2004)

With mostly young and unknown players Heilbronner EC missed the champion round of the 1998/99 season significantly, in the relegation round to forget the already unofficially nicknamed hawks carrying Heilbronner assured, however, with first place in the league. With one again changed positions on many of the HEC team kicked off the following season, at the end, however, despite the public's favorite Ladislav Svozil, who took over as coach of Gary Prior, in January 2000, was once again missing the play-offs. Curiously climax of Heilbronner view was this season a 27:5 against the gambling without goalkeeper GEC Nordhorn and thus the highest victory for the Unterländer in professional hockey. The season 2001/ 01 was for the Heilbronner EC to date the most successful season since the introduction of the double-track 2 league. Had a number of players who had switched to the Neckar before the season of EHC Freiburg, which included players such as returnees Igor Dorochin or Oļegs Znaroks, as well as emerging young talent Michael Hackert at the end large share of the semi-finals of Heilbronn, in the end in itself five games of the EC Bad Tölz had to admit defeat.

At the beginning of the season 2001 /02, the Falcons had to cope with the disposals of veterans Michael Rumrich and the young player Martin Ančička. However, the HEC ultimately reached the play-offs, where, however, after a victory over the ETC Crimmitschau again in the semifinals, this year on the outstanding team in the preliminary round, the ERC Ingolstadt failed. Since the new Knorr Arena was not completed at the beginning of the following round, the Heilbronner EC had to play in the first three weeks of the new season exclusively abroad. After initially considerable achievements also new entries such as the former NHL player Mike Bullard could provide little consistency. While the HEC reached fifth place after the first round play-offs, where the team but failed after a disappointing performance in the first round of Movers EV Landshut. Since by the poor athletic performance the club lacked vital source of revenue, the debt of the club rose after the season again to over 430,000 euros.

After the collective resignation of the leadership team, the first team was spun off in the Heilbronner Falken GmbH for the season 2003/ 04, which the financial collapse at the end of the season, however, could no longer turn away. After the surprisingly strong sporting relegation from the Bundesliga 2, adopted from the Hawks with zero points in the relegation round, was performed with a bankruptcy petition, the player against the limited liability company due to lack of salary payments, the second economic decline of the society. Only the strict implementation of an insolvency plan during the summer break was the team that was charged at that time with more than 1.3 million euro debt, ever get the license for the following season in the Oberliga Süd.

Re- consolidation and revival (since 2004)

Even before the first league season in ten years had the next bad news bear the Heilbronner Falken. Viktor carat Shun, who had been standing in the same spring for the HEC on the ice, passed away on 11 August 2004, one day before his 36th birthday, to the consequences of a cancer suffering. In November, his former teammates organized a charity match in aid of the survivors of the attacker. Athletic had almost the entire team with new players be equipped after many performers had to leave the club after relegation. For this reason the Falcons to work closely with the DEL record champion Adler Mannheim were received, so that players of the young eagle could enhance the HEC in the big leagues. Surprisingly, the rejuvenated team took to the new coach Rico Rossi after the first round ranked one of the Oberliga Süd again and thus won their fourth Süddeutsche championship. In the Master Round lacked the falcon but in the necessary consistency, so the play-offs were for the time being missed. Due to increasing viewership and good crisis management, the club announced at the end of the season that the debt could be reduced within ten months by half to 700,000 euros.

In the from now on single-track league team in 2006, at the fifth place in the first round champion after relegation back the play-offs, where, however, the Hawks defeated in the quarter-finals of the Hannover Indians. At the end of the season, the Falcons occupied in the table to second place behind the SC Riessersee. After the EHC Freiburg had been defeated in the quarterfinals, the Heilbronner met in the rose decisive semi-final on the EC Bad Tolz, who was finally beaten in the Knorr Arena in the fifth game. After a vigorous climb the Falcons defeated the voluntary play- off final then the EV Ravensburg and also secured the league championship in 2007.

In the 2007 /08 season, the Heilbronner Falken reached surprising third place in the Bundesliga 2 and failed in the play- offs only in the semifinals later in the runner- Landshut Cannibals. In the following year, the team reached through a fourth place after the first round play-offs, but failed there already in the quarterfinals of the Lusatian foxes.

Team

Squad of the 2013/14 season

(As of January 2014)

→ see also: Heilbronner Falken / teams and placements

News jersey design

Away Kit ( 2008/ 09)

With the start of cooperation with the Adler Mannheim in 2004, the jersey sets the Heilbronner Falken were adjusted according to the North American " farm team " style to that of the cooperation partner. Previously, the teams of the Heilbronner EC had carried Customized jerseys.

According to the definition of the League home jersey for the 2008 /09 season must be kept away jersey in a bright color in a dark. For this reason, wear the Heilbronner Falken in the current season home games to black jerseys at away games, however, a predominantly white work clothes. On the chest of the jersey is the alternate logo of the association, which in slightly modified form the main emblem of the youth team " baby hawk " is also. In addition, all teams below the DEL carry the official logo of Hockey operating company ( ESBG ) on the left shoulder. Since in contrast to other sports, all surfaces of the jerseys may be printed with advertisements in Germany in hockey, are also mounted on the shirts and the pants Heilbronner Falken various sponsor logos.

Player

Internal club records

The following players could set up Association's internal records since the founding of the Heilbronner EC in 1986:

Current players are in yellow. All statistics are on the level at the end of the season 2007/ 08

Significant former players

( Team membership and position in brackets)

Robert Morgenstern (1982-1986, storm)

Wim Hospelt (1982-1984, storm)

Detlef Lange Man (1982-1984, storm)

Eugen Kielbicki (1984-1986, storm)

Adam Brown Douglas Morton (1985-1986, storm)

Robby Geale (1986-1991, storm)

Henri Marcoux (1990-1993 and 1999-2000, storm)

Ladislav Svozil (1991-2005, storm)

Robert Hock (1996-1999, storm)

Igor Dorochin (1996-1998 and 2000-2002, storm)

Michael Hackert (1997-1999 and 2000-2002, storm)

Alexander Schuster (1998-2000, defense)

Michael Rumrich (1999-2001, storm)

Martin Ančička (2000-2001, defense)

Mike Bullard (2002, defense)

Mike Rosati (2003-2004, Tor)

Player of the Year

Since 2001, the followers of the Association may determine annually Player of the Year on the official website of the club.

First Hawks player of the year was the Latvian Oļegs Znaroks in 2001, followed by the Czech-born Radek Vít in 2002, and the Finnish goalkeeper Marko Suvelo, which was named the player of the season 2002 /03. As the only player who had shown consistently good performance in relegation in 2004, according to the fans, the Italian goalie Mike Rosati received the award and remitted the striker Shawn Heaphy and Viktor carat Shun, who were second and third respectively. The following year, the crowd favorite Igor Dorochin selling significantly more than a hundred votes ahead of two Canadians David Belitski and Mike Henderson by which separated only 20 votes of each other.

The only player to win the award twice so far is the Canadian Jean -François Caudron, who plays in the storm of the association since 2005. He won the election among the followers twice in a row in 2006 (before Andrei Kovalev and André ski Etzold ) and 2007 and finished second in the other years of his engagements with the Heilbronner EC at least a place among the top five players of a season. The vote for the Player of the Season 2007/ 08 won the German -Canadian Luigi Calce with 385 votes. In second and third place ended up Frank Petrozza ( 359 votes) and goalkeeper Danny from the birches (323 votes). Calce received the most votes in the following year and was thus chosen for the second consecutive Player of the Year. The second and third respectively goalkeeper Marek Mastic and defender Torsten Fendt.

Player of the Month

In addition, fans can choose each Falcon player of the month for September 2003. So far the following players received the award Player of the Month:

Coach

Since the founding of the Hockey Department in 1980, the club trained a number of trainers from different nations. During the " founding father" and first trainer Josef Matoušek yet exercised his activity in leisure time and the establishment of a functioning ice hockey team in Heilbronn even more business as a hobby, the coach items with participation in the regular operation of the Ice Sports Association of Baden -Wuerttemberg from the season was 1981/82 first occupied etat standard with Werner Neutz.

On the longest tenure with the Hawks, the current coach Rico Rossi looks back, who was promoted as part of the cooperation agreement with the Adler Mannheim of the assistant coach of the DEL teams for head coach of the first team of the HEC in 2004 and thus far four complete seasons on the bench sat. By winning the South German Championship in 2005 and the league championship in the 2006/07 season of Canadians is also measured on the acquired titles of the most successful trainers in the club's history. Also been successful terms of office of Wilbert Duszenko ( promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga in 1987 ), Pierre Rioux ( South German Champion 1996), Craig Sarner ( South German Champion 1998) and Gerd Wittmann ( South German Champion 1994), winning all of a title with the team could.

Wittmann is also the coach who has not boast the most of office in Heilbronn. After two permanent positions from 1993 to 1995 and in 1998 he took over as principal in charge of the " Heilbronner young falcons " twice as caretaker manager the training of the first team (2003 between Georg Holzmann and Jamie Bartman and in 2004 between Bob Burns and Rico Rossi). In the club's history also clothed with Kielbicki Eugen (1984-1985), Wolfgang Rosenberg (1990-1991) and Pierre Rioux (1996 ) three active the Office of the players coach and were thus also used as trainers and players. All three, however, were replaced after a relatively short period of time in order to devote more attention back to her work as the players. After the 2012-2013 season Rico Rossi was released from his coaching job, but signed a short time later as sports director.

Home club

In the original club Heilbronner EC youth teams of the club are under the name Heilbronner young falcons since the outsourcing of the professional team in the Heilbronner Falken GmbH in 2003 exclusively organized. These include the small pupils, small pupils, boys and student teams as well as the youth and junior teams in the Falcons. In 2006, also the young eagles Mannheim, the junior team of Adler Mannheim in the German junior league reclassified from the previous original club Mannheimer ERC in the Heilbronner EC, so that since then the players of the young eagles are eligible to play for the Heilbronner Falken. The young falcons also cooperate with the ESG Esslingen, in the meantime has also focused exclusively on youth work.

Venues

Ice rink Heilbronn

Since the club was founded in 1986 Heilbronner EC wore its home games at the ice rink at Europe Square in Heilbronn. After climbing to the 2nd Bundesliga in 1987 the capacity of the stadium was first expanded. During the 2001/ 02 season, the old hall was demolished and eventually started in January 2002 with the construction of a new multi-purpose arena.

Kolbenschmidt Arena

→ Main article: Piston Schmidt Arena

In October 2002, the Falcons based, built on the foundations of the old ice rink Knorr Arena, which has a total capacity of 4,000 seats. The new building cost the club and the city of Heilbronn estimated 8.2 million euros, the old stadium was only to get the ice. Main source of funding and later named the new arena was the food group Knorr. Were received in 2007 the naming rights to the company Lavatec over, already from 2006 the main sponsor of the Heilbronner Falken. The insolvency of the main sponsor the arena between 2009 and January 2012 was skating rink Heilbronn. Then the KS piston Schmidt GmbH, a subsidiary of KSPG, the naming rights took to the arena.

For the first 15 years, except for the summer months, the Heilbronner EC is farmer-general of the ice rink Heilbronn.

Club culture

Fans

With the establishment of the ice hockey department of the REV Heilbronn early mid -1980s Hockey developed the most popular and soon 's most viewed sport in the region. By outsourcing the REV ice hockey team in the newly formed Heilbronner EC were formed first official fan clubs, of which there are now five of Heilbronn and the surrounding area. The four largest Fanvereinigungen organize this joint annual events such as Fanfahrten to away games the Falcons. On such trips Away formed over the years closer relationships with fans of other clubs, for example, to fan the Revierlöwen Oberhausen or the Blue Devils Weiden, which now maintain Fan friendships supporters of the Heilbronner Falken.

Since 2006 formed in the Internet of Falk Ticker is an independent fan project that is not part of the official offer of the club, but at every away game of the Heilbronner Falken offers a free live ticker.

Polar bears Heilbronn

Was formed in 1991 from the official HEC -Fanclub polar bears Lauffen an ice hockey team, which took first as a hobby team against other recreational clubs from the Heilbronn area. 1998 joined the club along with the SC Ilsfeld to syndicate polar bears Ilsfeld, the aufliefen henceforth at different tiefklassigen Tournament competitions and amateur leagues. In 2005, the existing polar bears today EHC Heilbronn eV was founded, who took up the game mode in figure skating association of Baden-Württemberg in the fünftklassigen division. In the first season as a registered association, a team was formed with only Heilbronner players, whose most prominent player Michael Filobok was, who had previously stood for the EHC Freiburg in the DEL on the ice. The required budget of 30,000 euros funded the club's management with a broad-based marketing approach, which included the pressure of their own stadium magazine and find sponsors. Already in the first season, the Polar Bears secured promotion to the fourth-rate Baden- Württemberg league in which the club since then is on the ice.

After the fans of the Heilbronner EC sympathized unexpectedly little with the polar bears, formed over the years its own fan base at the polar bears, which includes today also own fan clubs. At home games in the arena Lavatec the average attendance is now around 1000 visitors.

Partnerships

In June 2004, announced the Heilbronner Falken, going into a collaboration with the DEL - record champion Adler Mannheim. The Mannheim support the HEC since athletic mainly through the participation of the training of hawks through the own goal and conditioning coach as well as through the exchange of junior mining license and players. According to the rules of the German Ice Hockey League teams in the DEL may be a production license to players under 25 years old, so they are eligible to play for another club in a tiefklassigeren league. Collect the Young Player of the eagle by this regulation for the Hawks first experience in the professional field and are thus slowly brought up to the highest German hockey class, while they reinforce the playful second division, resulting in a synergy effect for both teams created. As a result, committed themselves to the Falcons, a similar game and training system as the Adler Mannheim introduce to thus enable the exchange players an easier transition when changing team. In addition, the Heilbronner Falken use since 2004, the scouting system of the Adler Mannheim in North America, which mainly young players from the college game and ECHL operation may be required, as the DEL club primarily focused on players of NHL and AHL hochklassigeren. The eagle at the same time have the opportunity to carry the Falcons committed players from North America without obligation to observe and take then without risk even under contract.

Other arrangements of the cooperation agreement included the creation of a corporate identity according to the North American model. Fan of the cooperation partner are sold at the other club, also the jersey design of the Falcon was adapted to the colors and the design of the shirt the Mannheim Adler. In addition, the stadium magazine of the Eagle reported since 2004 about the games of the Heilbronner Falken. For the season 2006/ 07 the existing cooperation was further enhanced by the DNL team of Mannheim, the young eagle was reclassified from the previous original club Mannheimer ERC in the HEC. By this measure, it is for players of the young eagles easier aground for the Heilbronner Falken in the 2nd Bundesliga, since no association limits must be exceeded by licensing the umbrella organization.

In summer 2009, also working with the first division club ERC Ingolstadt was reinforced that equipped in addition to the existing mining license player Sebastian Vogl also the young players Michael Rimbeck, Dominik Walsh and Norman Martens with a license for the Falcons.

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