Erste Liga (ice hockey)

Erste Liga

Current season, competition or edition: 2017–18 Erste Liga season
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	2008
Inaugural season	2008–09
No. of teams	9
Country	Hungary (6 teams) Romania (2 teams) Austria (1 team)
Most recent champion(s)	DVTK Jegesmedvék (3rd title)
Most titles	DVTK Jegesmedvék (3)
Related competitions	Magyar Kupa OB I bajnokság Cupa României Liga Naţională Erste Bank Eishockey Liga
Official website	http://www.ersteliga.hu/

The Erste Liga (formerly the MOL Liga) is an international ice hockey league organized for clubs based in Hungary, Romania and Austria. It is sponsored by the Erste Bank Hungary.

The games played between the Hungarian teams count towards the Hungarian National Championship in the OB I bajnokság. The Romanian teams also compete in the Romanian National Championship Liga Naţională.

History

In the first season, the league comprised six Hungarian teams and four Romanian teams. HC Csíkszereda went undefeated in the post-season to win the first MOL Liga title.

In 2009–10, the number of teams went down to five Hungarian and two Romanian teams. Following the regular season, they decided the winner in a final four system. The Budapest Stars met Újpesti TE in the final, after they beat SC Csíkszereda and DAB-Docler, respectively. Újpest started the match better, taking the lead just after one and a half minutes. However, the events took an U-turn and about two hours later, it was the Budapest Stars who lifted the trophy, after winning the match 3–1.

The 2010–11 MOL Liga season was the third edition of the international ice hockey championship for teams from Hungary and Romania. This season, nine teams participated, including defending champions Vasas Budapest Stars, the second team of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga outfit SAPA AV19 Székesfehérvár, and HSC Csíkszereda from Székely Land.

The 2011–12 MOL Liga season was the fourth edition of the international ice hockey championship for teams from Hungary and Romania. Following the withdrawal of Vasas HC, the field is composed of eight clubs this season, including five Hungarian and three Romanian. The regular season ran from 6 September 2011 to 20 January 2012. After the conclusion of the regular season, the six best ranked teams won the right to participate in the playoffs. The top two clubs had byes in the first round of the playoffs, while the remaining four teams were drawn together according to their final position in the regular season (3–6, 4–5). The winners of the match-ups advanced to the semifinals, where they met DAB-Docler and HSC Csíkszereda, respectively. Eventually, Miskolci JJSE beat HSC Csíkszereda and thus secured their spot in the finals, where they faced Dunaújváros, which won their duel in straight matches against Corona Fenestela Braşov. Dunaújváros enjoyed the home ice advantage in the best-of-seven series final, where they swept away Miskolc 4–0 and took the 2011–12 MOL Liga title, the first ever of its kind in the history of the club.

The 2012–13 MOL Liga season was the fifth season of the MOL Liga, a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Seven teams participated in the league, and DAB-Docler won the championship. The league also served as the Hungarian Championship for 2012-13. DAB-Docler, the MOL Liga champion, was also the Hungarian national champion.

The 2013–14 MOL Liga season was the sixth season of the MOL Liga, and HC Nové Zámky won the title. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Balázs Ladányi from DAB-Docler was the season's leading scorer with 63 points.

The 2014–15 MOL Liga season was the seventh season of the MOL Liga. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. HC Nové Zámky were the defending Champions after defeating ASC Corona Braşov in the 2014 Championship, but they lost their championship to Miskolci Jegesmedvék in a 4–0 sweep against them.

The 2015–16 MOL Liga season was the 8th season of the MOL Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék was the defending champion after defeating HC Nové Zámky in the 2014-2015 season. They successfully defended their title after sweeping MAC Budapest in the finals. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary and Romania. A new team, Budapest based MAC Budapest, joined the league while Slovakian based, and previous season's finalist, HC Nové Zámky left.

The 2016–17 MOL Liga season was the 9th season of the MOL Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék was the two-time defending champion after defeating MAC Budapest in the 2015-2016 season. They once again successfully defended their title after beating MAC Budapest in the finals, this time in 5 games (4-1). A new team from Serbia, the Belgrade based HK Beograd, joined the league.

In July 2017, MOL, who was formerly the league's naming sponsor, decided against renewing their sponsorship. From the 2017-18 season onwards, the league will be known as the Erste Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék is the three-time defending champion after defeating MAC Budapest in the 2016-2017 season. A new team from Austria, the second team of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga outfit Vienna Capitals, joined the league while three clubs, Hungarian based Debreceni HK, Romanian based Dunărea Galați and Serbian based HK Beograd, all left the league.

Teams

Budapest

Budapest teams :
Ferencváros
MÁC
Újpest

Fehervar Titanok

DVTK Jegesmedvek

Dunaujvaros Acelbikak

Vienna Capitals II

Location of teams in 2017–18 Erste Liga

ASC Corona Brașov

HSC Csíkszereda

Location of teams in 2017-18 Erste Liga

Team	City	Arena	Capacity	Founded	Joined MOL liga	Left MOL liga
Current Teams
Ferencvárosi TC	Budapest	Pesterzsébeti Jégcsarnok	2,400	1928	2008–09
Újpesti TE	Budapest	Megyeri úti Jégcsarnok	2,000	1955 (1930)	2008–09
MAC Budapest	Budapest	Tüskecsarnok	2,540	1988	2015–16
Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák	Dunaújváros	Dunaújvárosi Jégcsarnok	4,500	1974	2008–09
DVTK Jegesmedvék	Miskolc	Miskolci Jégcsarnok	2,200	1978	2008–09
Fehérvári Titánok (II.)	Székesfehérvár	Ifj. Ocskay Gábor Jégcsarnok	3,600	2008	2008–09
ASC Corona Brașov	Brașov	Patinoarul Olimpic Brașov	1,604	2007	2009–10
HSC Csíkszereda	Miercurea Ciuc	Vakár Lajos Műjégpálya	3,500	1929	2008–09
Vienna Capitals (II.)	Vienna	Albert Schultz Eishalle	7,022	2001	2017–18
Former Teams (since introduction of current league format)
Budapest Stars (Vasas)	Budapest	Jegpalota Budapest	2,000	2001	2008–09	2010–11
CS Progym Gheorgheni	Gheorgheni	Gyergyószentmiklósi Műjégpálya	1,000	1949	2008–09	2008–09
HC Csíkszereda	Miercurea Ciuc	Vakár Lajos Műjégpálya	3,500	2002	2008–09	2008–09
Steaua Rangers	Bucharest	Patinoarul Mihai Flamaropol	8,000	1951	2008–09	2011–12
HC Nové Zámky	Nové Zámky	Zimny Stadion Nové Zámky	3,500	1965	2012–13	2014–15
Debreceni HK	Debrecen	Debrecen Ice Hall	600	1989	2014–15	2016–17
Dunărea Galați	Galați	Galați Skating Rink	5,000	1932	2016–17	2016–17
HK Beograd	Belgrade	Pionir Ice Hall	2,000	2016	2016–17	2016–17

Champions

Season	Winner	Final (matches won)	Runner-up
2008–09	HC Csíkszereda	3-0[1]	SC Csíkszereda
2009–10	Budapest Stars	3-1[2]	Újpesti TE
2010–11	HSC Csíkszereda	4-1[3]	DAB-Docler
2011–12	DAB-Docler	4-0[4]	Miskolci JJSE
2012–13	DAB-Docler	4-2[5]	HSC Csíkszereda
2013–14	HC Mikron Nové Zámky	4-2[6]	Corona Wolves Braşov
2014–15	Miskolci Jegesmedvék	4-0[7]	HC Mikron Nové Zámky
2015–16	DVTK Jegesmedvék	4-0[8]	MAC Budapest
2016–17	DVTK Jegesmedvék	4-1	MAC Budapest

Hungarian Champions

References

External links

• Official website