Icelandic Hockey League

Hertz deild karla
	Icelandic Men's Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1991;27 years ago
No. of teams	4
Country	Iceland
Most recent; champion(s)	Skautafélag Akureyrar (20th title)
Most titles	Skautafélag Akureyrar (20 titles)
Official website	www.ihi.is

Last updated April 09, 2019

The Icelandic Men's Hockey League, also known as Hertz deild karla for sponsorship reasons, is an ice hockey league in Iceland. As of the 2017-2018 season, it has four active teams.^[1] Its current champion is Skautafélag Akureyrar.

Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.

Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic, with a population of 348,580 and an area of 103,000 km² (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country being home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate.

Skautafélag Akureyar, also known as SA for short, is an Icelandic sports club founded in 1937 and based in Akureyri, Iceland. It is best known for its ice hockey teams that compete in the Icelandic Men's Hockey League and the Icelandic Women's Hockey League.

History

Hockey was first played in Iceland in around 1950, on ponds and rivers. The weather made it very hard to play, so Icelandic hockey did not develop for some time. In 1987, the first outdoor ice arena was built with an artificial surface, and a second was built three years later. The first indoor arena was built in 1997, and a second was built in 2000.

The league was formed in 1991, originally with three teams. The league season usually starts at the beginning of October and ends in March/April. As of 2018, there are three teams competing in the league.

Current teams

Skautafélag Akureyrar (SA) in Akureyri
Skautafélag Reykjavíkur (SR) in Reykjavík
Ungmennafélagið Fjölnir in Reykjavík

Akureyri[ˈaːkʰʏrˌeiːrɪ](listen) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur, and Reykjanesbær.

Skautafélag Reykjavíkur, also known as SR for short, is an Icelandic sports club, founded in 1873 and based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is best known for its ice hockey teams that have played in the Icelandic Men's Hockey League and the Icelandic Women's Hockey League.

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxa Bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a population of around 128,793, it is the heart of Iceland's cultural, economic and governmental activity, and is a popular tourist destination.

Former teams

Skautafélagið Björninn (27 seasons: 1991-2018)
Esja Reykjavík in Reykjavík (4 seasons: 2014-2018)
Gulldrengir (1 season: 2000-2001)
Húnar, Björninn reserve team (3 seasons: 2011-2014)
Narfi frá Hrísey (Narfi Íshokkí) in Hrísey (3 seasons: 2004-2006, 2007-2008)
SR Fálkar, Skautafélag Reykjavíkur reserve team (2 season: 2012-2014)
SA Jötnar, Skautafélag Akureyrar reserve team (5 seasons: 1994-1995, 2010-2014)

Skautafélagið Björninn, also known as Björninn for short, was an Icelandic sports club, founded in 1990 and based in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was best known for its ice hockey teams but it also fielded departments in figure skating and curling. On 28 September 2018 the club merged into Ungmennafélagið Fjölnir who overtook all its, departments, assets and debts.

UMFK Esja, also known as Esja Reykjavík, was an ice hockey team in Reykjavík, Iceland, founded in 2014. The team played in the Icelandic Men's Hockey League from 2014 to 2018, winning the national championship in 2017. On 27 February 2018, the club announced it would not field a team for the upcoming 2018-2019 season due to the refusal of the Ice Hockey Association of Iceland and Reykjavík's Athletic Federation to allow the club to start a junior program, which they claimed was essential for the clubs future.

Narfi fra Hrisey was an ice hockey team in Hrísey, Iceland, founded in 1964. The team played in the Icelandic Men's Hockey League in the 2005, 2006, and 2008 seasons. They did not win a game in the 2007-08 season, and finished in fourth place in all three of their seasons.

League Champions

Titles by team

Titles	Club	Years
20	Skautafélag Akureyrar	1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
5	Skautafélag Reykjavíkur	1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2009
1	Björninn	2012
1	Esja Reykjavík	2017

References

↑ "2018 Hertz-deild karla Div I". iihf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
↑ Valsson, Andri Yrkill (March 25, 2017). "Esja er Íslandsmeistari í fyrsta sinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 September 2017.

External links

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[1] "2018 Hertz-deild karla Div I". iihf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.

[2] Valsson, Andri Yrkill (March 25, 2017). "Esja er Íslandsmeistari í fyrsta sinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 September 2017.

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v t e Ice hockey in Iceland
Icelandic Men's Hockey League:	: Skautafélag Reykjavíkur Skautafélag Reykjavíkur Ísknattleiksfélagið Björninn Narfi frá Hrísey
Other articles:	Icelandic Women's Hockey League Ice Hockey Iceland Iceland men's national ice hockey team Iceland women's national ice hockey team
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