International ice hockey league
The
European Women's Hockey League
, abbreviated
EWHL
, is an international
ice hockey
league. Created as the
Elite Women's Hockey League
in 2004 by the
International Ice Hockey Federation
(IIHF), the EWHL comprises clubs from several countries in Central Europe and one team from Kazakhstan, and is played in parallel to national championships.
History
[
edit
]
The EWHL was created in 2004 on the same principle as the men's ice hockey
Interliga
. For its
first season
, the EWHL featured teams from Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia. Teams from additional countries joined the league during the following seasons, including
HC Slovan Bratislava
from Slovakia in
2005
,
KHL Gri? Zagreb
from Croatia in
2006
, and
HC Slavia Praha
from the Czech Republic in
2007
. In the
2008?09 season
, the Italian and Hungarian teams gave way to two clubs from Germany,
OSC Berlin
and
ESC Planegg
. During the
2010?11
and
2011?12 seasons
, the
Netherlands national team
participated in the EWHL.
[1]
Before the 2019?20 season, the Elite Women's Hockey League was renamed, becoming the European Women's Hockey League to reflect its unique position within European women's ice hockey.
[2]
Also, the
Polish women's national team
joined the league in 2019, playing as the Silesia Brackens and later under the name Silesian Metropolis Katowice.
[3]
The Hungarian team
KMH Budapest
rejoined the league, and
MAC Budapest
was added.
The EWHL is mostly played in a championship format with home and away matches, with the exception of the 2005?06 season where the teams were distributed in two regional divisions followed by qualifying rounds. For the 2010?11 season, the regular season was followed by a play-off between the four teams at the top of the league table.
Though they joined the league in the 2015?16 season, Kazakh team
Aisulu Almaty
has played only two EWHL games from their home arena,
Baluan Sholak Sports Palace
in
Almaty
, due to the significant travel distance. The 2019?20 season provided the first opportunity for Aisulu to play EWHL matches in front of a home crowd, when they hosted the
EHV Sabres
for a two game series during 19?20 October 2019.
[4]
Since the 2019?20 season, the
Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation
has overseen the league. The league president is Martin Kogler.
[5]
Teams
[
edit
]
2023?24 season
[
edit
]
Source: OEHV
[7]
Former teams
[
edit
]
Austria
Belarus
Croatia
Czech Republic
|
Denmark
Germany
Hungary
Italy
|
Netherlands
Slovakia
Slovenia
|
Championship
[
edit
]
Source:
[8]
[9]
Medals (Clubs)
[
edit
]
- ^
Includes record as Slovan Bratislava
- ^
Includes record as KMH Budapest
- ^
Includes record as EV Bozen Eagles
- ^
Includes record as Ravens Salzburg/The Ravens Salzburg
Medals (Nations)
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Americas
| |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Intercontinental
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
Defunct leagues
| |
---|
Defunct tournaments
| |
---|