Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding team sports. It is distinct from field hockey, in which players move a ball around a non-frozen pitch using field hockey sticks.
The Belgian Hockey League, also known as the Belgian Elite League, was the highest level of competition organized by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation. The league winner was crowned the Belgian Champion. The league had been in existence since 1912. The Brussels Royal IHSC were the most decorated team with 23 titles. In 2015, the league merged with the Dutch Eredivisie to form the BeNe League.
The Netherlands men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey of the Netherlands.
The North Sea Cup was a short-lived hockey league that temporarily succeeded the Dutch Eredivisie from 2010-2012. It was the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond and sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation during the years that it operated.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 82 member countries.
The Netherlands women's national ice hockey team represents the Netherlands in international ice hockey competition, including the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Women's World Championship. The women's national team is overseen by Netherlands Ice Hockey Association. In February 2011, the Netherlands were promoted to Division II of the IIHF World Women's Championship. The Netherlands had 362 female ice hockey players registered with the IIHF in 2022, over double the 175 players on record in 2011.
HYS The Hague is a professional ice hockey club in The Hague, Netherlands. Founded in 1933, the club's top team plays in the Dutch/Belgian BeNe League and competes annually in the Dutch National Championships and the Dutch Cup tournament.
Pecoma Grizzlies Groningen were a professional ice hockey team in Groningen, Netherlands. They played in the Dutch Eredivisie, the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands. Home games were played at the Sportcentrum Kardinge.
Eindhoven Kemphanen is a professional ice hockey club in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. They played in the Dutch Cup and the Eredivisie) until season 2017-2018, the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands. Home games are played at the IJssportcentrum Eindhoven.
The Select4-u Devils Nijmegen is a professional ice hockey club in Nijmegen, Netherlands, they play in the BeNe League, the top-tier league in the Netherlands and Belgium. Formerly the team played in the semi-professional Dutch Eredivisie where they were the 7 time national champions; the most recent championship was in 2009–2010. Home games are played at the Triavium. As of 2019, the team are sponsored by decorating firm AHOUD.
The Australia men's national inline hockey team represents Australia in international inline hockey competitions. They are controlled by Ice Hockey Australia for events organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation and by Skate Australia for events organised by the International Roller Sports Federation. Australia plays in Division I of the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship and Group C at the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships.
The Dutch Cup, better known in Dutch as the "Beker" or "Bekercompetitie", is the national ice hockey cup in the Netherlands. It was held from 1938 to 1939, and 1971-present. The Dutch Cup is usually an autumn competition that precedes or runs simultaneously with the regular season of the BeNe League, the Dutch and Belgian semi-professional ice hockey league.
The 2011–12 North Sea Cup was the second and final season of the North Sea Cup, the highest level of ice hockey in the Netherlands and Belgium, before the league reverted to its traditional name, the Eredivisie, and its traditional format.
The Eerste Divisie is the second level ice hockey league in the Netherlands. A semi-professional league, the Eerste Divisie is directly below the professional BeNe League. Before the BeNe League was founded by Dutch and Belgian teams in 2015, the Eerste Divisie was the second level below the professional Eredivisie. With the creation of the binational BeNe League, the Eerste Divisie became the highest national ice hockey league in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands men's national under-18 ice hockey team is controlled by the Netherlands Ice Hockey Association and represents the Netherlands in international under-18 ice hockey competitions. The Netherlands plays in Division II of the IIHF World U18 Championships, and hosted the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships Division II Group A in Heerenveen.
The Eredivisie was, during its existence, the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition organized by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond. Formed in 1945 and playing continuously since 1964, the league mainly featured Dutch teams, although in some seasons certain Belgian teams competed. The league featured a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players. The winner of the Eredivisie was crowned the Dutch National Champion and represented the Netherlands in the IIHF Continental Cup. In 2015, with most of its teams facing financial problems and its top team, Tilburg Trappers, joining the German Oberliga, the Eredivise was suspended with the remaining teams joining the BeNe League.
Ron Berteling is a Dutch retired ice hockey player and coach. He represented the Netherlands ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and served as captain of the Netherlands men's national ice hockey team from 1982 to 1993. He appeared in 14 Ice Hockey World Championships, and holds the record of 213 games played for the national team. He played in 26 seasons of the Eredivisie, competing the Netherlands' top league for the Amsterdam Tigers and the Rotterdam Panda's. He was named the league's most valuable player for the 1987–88 season, won four Eredivisie titles, five Dutch Cups as a player and a sixth as a coach. He received the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1994, was made the namesake of the Ron Berteling Schaal in 2007, and received the Torriani Award from the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2020.
Julie Zwarthoed is a Dutch ice hockey winger and captain of SDE HF in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She has represented the Netherlands at nine IIHF World Championships.
The BeNe League is the highest-level professional ice hockey league in Belgium and the Netherlands from 2015. The league was founded in 2015, following a merger between the Belgian Hockey League and the Dutch Eredivisie and thus became the top tier of the sport in both nations. In terms of league structure, the BeNe League is made up of 11 teams, 6 from the Netherlands and a further 5 from Belgium, and they all play in a single group. The league featured a mix of Belgian, Dutch, European and overseas players.
The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. They are controlled by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 20, 2016. Prior to that period, a national team has played in regional tournaments in Hong Kong since the 2000s.
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