SCL Tigers | |
---|---|
City | Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland |
League | National League |
Founded | 1946 |
Home arena | Emmental Versicherung Arena |
Colours | |
Owner(s) | Peter Jakob |
General manager | Simon Laager |
Head coach | Thierry Paterlini |
Captain | Harri Pesonen |
Website | Official website |
Franchise history | |
1946–1999 | Schlittschuh Club Langnau |
1999–present | SCL Tigers |
Current season |
SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the smallest arenas in the NL.
Originally formed as the Ice skating club Langnau, the team was founded on 30 January 1946. The 1948–49 season started in the summer due to the planing on the grounds of the Napro, where the ice rink was to be built. The ice rink began operation on 26 December 1948. SC Langnau, who had not yet completed any championship games, secured the "Begert Cup". Nine out of 16 games were won. The game against Rotblau Bern was attended by over 1000 spectators.
SC Langnau participated for the first time within the Swiss Championship, starting in the lowest league stage of the Swiss ice hockey. Opponents in the 1949–50 season were Roggwil, Olten, Münsingen and the second team of Red Blue Bern of the Serie B. In the season 1950–51, SC Langnau took part in the league operation of Serie B, Group 6 Central Switzerland. Langnau was group winner for the first time, but lost in the final against Bern. Langnau won the Cantonal Cup of the Serie B. In that season, the team completed a total of 23 games, including 16 at home.
The SCL Tigers, promoted to the NLA in 1998, are the successor club of the Schlittschuh-Club Langnau (SCL), which was outsourced to SCL Tigers AG in 1999 under the direction of President René Zeh. Zeh became the first chairman of the board. The club's club logo comes from the long-standing main sponsor, the long-established traditional company "Tiger Käse AG" (since 2004 " Emmi Fondue AG"), which has been sponsoring the club with its "Tiger" brand since the 1970s.
In October 2001, businessman Ruedi Soltermann took over Zeh's Presidency to lead SCL. [1] In the summer of 2002, the club confirmed to have a debt amount of more than one million francs with the financial difficulties plaguing the club in the following years. [2]
At the beginning of February 2005, Armin Müller was removed from the Board of Directors. According to the SCL, Müller, who was responsible for sponsorship, promised advertising revenues of nearly 1.3 million francs for the 2004–05 season, of which only a fraction arrived. The SCL Tigers announced that they would file charges for document forgery and misleading management. [3] With SCL's long standing economical trouble's, an initiative "Save the Tigers" was founded in July 2009 with entrepreneur, Peter Jakob. [4] In September 2009, Jakob became the President to the board of directors of SCL Tigers AG, and over the following years added financial stability to the Tigers and erasing their debts. [5]
After their initial promotion in 1998, they played in Switzerland's top hockey level for 15 years. At the end of the 2012–2013 NLA season, they were defeated in the promotion/relegation games by Lausanne HC and were relegated to the National League B. SCL Tigers became the champions of the 2014–15 NLB season and gained the right to play against the worst team of 2014–15 NLA season in the promotion/relegation round. They returned to National League A for the 2015–2016 season after they defeated the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in four games. Langnau was the eighth most attended team in the NLA for the 2015–16 season, averaging 5,868 (98%). [6]
Updated 5 July 2024. [7]
No. | Player | Position | Career | No. retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Todd Elik | C | 1998–2000, 2002–2009 | – |
17 | Daniel Aegerter | D | 1992–2008 | – |
26 | Martin Gerber | G | 1994–2001, 2004–2005 | – |
44 | Walter Gerber [8] | F | 1990–1991, 1994–1998 | – |
The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league had an average of 6,949 spectators per game which is the highest among European leagues. The capital city's club SC Bern has been ranked first of all European clubs for 18 seasons and had an average attendance of 16,290 after the regular season. The ZSC Lions are another club in the top ten of European ice hockey attendance, ranking seventh with 9,694 spectators.
Lausanne Hockey Club is an ice hockey team based in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the HC Lausanne signed National Hockey League players Martin St. Louis and Andy Roach.
Daniel Paul Ratushny is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, lawyer, and sports arbitrator. A former professional ice hockey defenceman, he last served as head coach of Lausanne HC of the Swiss top-flight National League A (NLA).
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is a Swedish ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Gustafsson is a former head coach of the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, a post he held from February 2005 to May 2010.
Larry Robert Huras, is a Canadian ice hockey coach and a former player. He played 2 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers during the 1976–77 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1975 to 1994, was mainly spent in the French league. After his playing career Huras turned to coaching, and spent several years in the Nationalliga A, the top league in Switzerland.
The Emmental Versicherung Arena is an ice sports and event centre located in the Swiss municipality of Langnau im Emmental, in the canton of Bern. It was completed in 1975. The arena serves as the home venue for the ice hockey club SCL Tigers and has a total seating capacity of 6,050, making it the second-smallest ice rink among all the National League teams. Its original name is derived from the nearby river Ilfis.
Yves Victor Sarault is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 106 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers and the Nashville Predators between 1995 and 2001. He is currently serving as the head coach of the SCL Tigers in the National League (NL).
Justin Matthew Krueger is a German-Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for SC Bern and Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League (NL) and for the Charlotte Checkers, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Simon Moser is a Swiss professional ice hockey player who currently serves as captain of SC Bern of the National League (NL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators.
Kevin Clark is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with Düsseldorfer EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Heinz Ehlers is a Danish professional ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. He was most recently the head coach of the SCL Tigers in the National League A (NLA) and the Denmark national hockey team.
The 2014–15 National League A season was the eighth ice hockey season of Switzerland's top hockey league, the National League A. Overall, it is the 77th season of Swiss professional hockey.
The 2015–16 National League A season was the ninth ice hockey season of Switzerland's top hockey league, the National League A. Overall, it was the 78th season of Swiss professional hockey.
Benoit Laporte is a Canadian-French professional ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He last served as head coach of the 3L de Rivière-du-Loup.
John Fust is a Canadian-Swiss professional ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player.
The 2016–17 National League A season was the tenth ice hockey season of Switzerland's top hockey league, the National League A. Overall, it was the 79th season of Swiss professional hockey.
The 2018–19 National League season was the 81st season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the second season as the National League (NL).
The 2019–20 National League season was the 82nd season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the third season as the National League (NL).
The 2020–21 National League season was the 83rd season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the fourth season as the National League (NL).
The 2021–22 National League season was the 84th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the fifth season as the National League (NL).