| East Hokkaido Cranes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Kushiro, Hokkaidō |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Folded | 2023 |
| Home arena | Kushiro Ice Arena |
| Colours | Black, red, white |
| Website | cranes |
The East Hokkaido Cranes (Japanese : ひがし北海道クレインズ Higashi Hokkaidō kureinzu) were a professional ice hockey team based in Kushiro, Japan. They played their home games at the Kushiro Ice Arena.
The East Hokkaido Cranes formed in April 2019, as a phoenix club following the demise of the Nippon Paper Cranes franchise. [1] The Paper Cranes had previously existed for 70 years; however, their owners, Nippon Paper Industries, announced in December 2018 that the team would be put up for sale as a result of corporate streamlining and declining revenues. [2] No buyer was found, and as a result the team folded.
The East Hokkaido Ice Hockey Club LLC, led by Tanaka Shigeki, announced that they had secured ¥125 million of founding, enabling the establishment of the new team. Asia League Ice Hockey chairman Sumio Kobayashi announced on 23 April 2019 that the new franchise would join the league, replacing the Paper Cranes, whilst retaining 15 players. [1] [3]
The Cranes played their first regular season game on 31 August 2019, losing 3–2 to the Nikkō Ice Bucks, with forward Taiga Irikura scoring the first goal in franchise history. [4]
Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island.
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The Nippon Paper Cranes were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan.
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The Women's Japan Ice Hockey League or WJIHL is the premier women's ice hockey league in Japan. Officially nicknamed the Smile Japan League, it is also known as the Smile League. The league was founded in 2012 by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and is contested in addition to the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Twelve teams participated in the 2023–24 season, of which eight were based in the northern island-province of Hokkaido, two in the Tokyo Metropolis, and two were junior teams comprising youth players from across Japan.
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