Spain men's national ice hockey team

Spain

The Spanish national ice hockey team represents Spain at international level in the sport of ice hockey. Currently, Spain is in the IIHF World Ranking at the 29th rank (May 15, 2011) and decreases in 2012 participated in the World Ice Hockey Championships in Division IIA. The team has been subject since 2006, the newly formed Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo ( dt: Spanish Ice Sports Federation), until this year it was under the auspices of the Real Federación Española de Deportes de Invierno ( dt: Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation ).

History

Spain is a member of the 1923 International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) since 10 March. The first international match took place on 21 December in 1923 in the French Bagneres- de -Luchon, the Spanish selection defeated Belgium 6-4. At the now-defunct Hockey Championship Spain participated in a total of two times. 1924 in Italy the team lost the first game against Switzerland with 12:0 and withdrew its second game against Sweden. 1926 in Switzerland, the team was once again going after preliminary round defeats to Belgium and Czechoslovakia, the first point gain was in the classification matches achieved by a 2-2 draw with Italy. However, the tournament was stopped on the ninth and last place.

The first participation in a World Ice Hockey Championship took place in 1977, when the Spaniards occupied the whole space 22. Since then, the selection, with the exception of the years was 1981, 1987 and 1991 consistently held, mostly in the third division. The biggest success Spain at the World Cup 2010 in Mexico City, as the group victory in the Division II was achieved, which for the first time in the history of the promotion to the second division, the Division I, succeeded. In the season 2010/ 11 Spain took to prepare for the World Cup for the first time participated in the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge; from 12 to 14 November, in Brasov, after defeats against Romania and Croatia and has a win against Serbia, third place. At her debut in the second division that Iberians occupied after defeats against Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary, and the overtime win against South Korea in fifth place, which meant the relegated again to Division II.

Spain has never been represented in hockey at the Olympic Games. On a qualifying tournament the national team in 2008 took part for the first time, sat down in the pre-qualifying group for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games against teams from Bulgaria, Mexico and the tournament hosts Turkey through, reaching the first qualifying round, but where the Spaniards were eliminated. Also in the qualifying tournament for the 2014 Winter Olympics resigned from the Iberians in the first qualifying round.

Placements in European Ice Hockey Championships

Placements at the World Ice Hockey Championships

Overall rank in brackets

Legend:

• Second Series
• Third Division
• Fourth Series