Sparta Warriors
Encyclopedia
The Sparta Warriors are an ice hockey
team in Sarpsborg
, Norway
playing in the GET League
. The official name of the club is Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi
arena. The team colours are blue and white.
was opened in 1963. Within only three years they earned promotion to the first division as the first team outside Oslo. It was only to be a short stint, and through most part of the late sixties and seventies 'Sparta' spent their time in the second division, with the odd visit to the top flight.
The eighties was to be Spartas greatest decade. Under the leadership of charismatic coach Lasse Bäckman and strengthened by several strong signings from other Norwegian clubs, and a couple of Swedish stars they claimed the Norwegian Championships in 1984. The feat was repeated in 1989, when the club beat heavily favoured Trondheim
in the final after claiming the last playoff spot in the last rounds of the league.
The success proved costly for the club, and in 1995, after years of economical problems Sparta had to file for bankruptcy, the only sports club in Norway ever to do so. This meant that they had to start from scratch in the third division, and they lost their best players to other clubs in Norway. However, many of them came back to Sparta. They made the stay a short one, and in 1997 they were back in the Eliteserien where they have stayed since.
As of December 2007, Sparta once again assumed the top of the league table, and are closer than ever to win a title in Norwegian hockey, since the eighties.
In the 2008/09 season the team won the league and got silver in the Norwegian Championship after being defeated by Vålerenga.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team in Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
playing in the GET League
GET-ligaen
GET-ligaen is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation. The league was known as 1. divisjon until 1990, when it was reorganized and named Eliteserien . That name was held until 2004 when cable TV company UPC became main sponsor...
. The official name of the club is Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi
Sparta Amfi
Sparta Amfi is the oldest indoor ice hockey arena located in Sarpsborg, Norway. The capacity of the arena is 3,450 and was built in 1963. It is the home arena of the Sparta Warriors ice hockey team....
arena. The team colours are blue and white.
History
The ice hockey department of IL Sparta was founded in 1959, and got off to a fantastic start when Norways first indoor hockey arena Sparta AmfiSparta Amfi
Sparta Amfi is the oldest indoor ice hockey arena located in Sarpsborg, Norway. The capacity of the arena is 3,450 and was built in 1963. It is the home arena of the Sparta Warriors ice hockey team....
was opened in 1963. Within only three years they earned promotion to the first division as the first team outside Oslo. It was only to be a short stint, and through most part of the late sixties and seventies 'Sparta' spent their time in the second division, with the odd visit to the top flight.
The eighties was to be Spartas greatest decade. Under the leadership of charismatic coach Lasse Bäckman and strengthened by several strong signings from other Norwegian clubs, and a couple of Swedish stars they claimed the Norwegian Championships in 1984. The feat was repeated in 1989, when the club beat heavily favoured Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
in the final after claiming the last playoff spot in the last rounds of the league.
The success proved costly for the club, and in 1995, after years of economical problems Sparta had to file for bankruptcy, the only sports club in Norway ever to do so. This meant that they had to start from scratch in the third division, and they lost their best players to other clubs in Norway. However, many of them came back to Sparta. They made the stay a short one, and in 1997 they were back in the Eliteserien where they have stayed since.
As of December 2007, Sparta once again assumed the top of the league table, and are closer than ever to win a title in Norwegian hockey, since the eighties.
In the 2008/09 season the team won the league and got silver in the Norwegian Championship after being defeated by Vålerenga.
Season-by-season results
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sparta Warriors. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Sparta Warriors seasons.| Norwegian Champions | Regular Season Champions | Promoted Promotion and relegation In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season... |
Relegated Promotion and relegation In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season... |
| Season | League | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | |||
| 2005–06 | Eliteserien | 42 | 19 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 140 | 158 | 64 | 5th | Lost in Quarter-finals, 2–4 (Stavanger Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Oilers is an ice hockey club from Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the GET-ligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. The club's official name is Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, but it is commonly known as Oilers... ) |
| 2006–07 | Eliteserien | 44 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 182 | 147 | 73 | 5th | Lost in Semi-finals, 2–4 (Vålerenga Vålerenga Ishockey Vålerenga Ishockey is an Oslo-based ice hockey club, and a part of the Vålerenga IF multi-sports club. Their home arena is Jordal Amfi, located in eastern Oslo. Jordal Amfi was built for the 1952 Winter Olympics. The mother club was founded in 1913, but the did not take up ice hockey until the late... ) |
| 2007–08 2007-08 GET-ligaen season The 2007–08 GET-ligaen season began on 13 September 2007 and was scheduled to end 21 February 2008. The Storhamar Dragons won the championships for the sixth time... |
Eliteserien | 44 | 27 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 146 | 109 | 90 | 3rd | Lost in Quarter-finals, 2–4 (Comet) |
| 2008–09 | Eliteserien | 45 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 172 | 101 | 95 | 1st | Lost in Finals, 2–4 (Vålerenga Vålerenga Ishockey Vålerenga Ishockey is an Oslo-based ice hockey club, and a part of the Vålerenga IF multi-sports club. Their home arena is Jordal Amfi, located in eastern Oslo. Jordal Amfi was built for the 1952 Winter Olympics. The mother club was founded in 1913, but the did not take up ice hockey until the late... ) |
| 2009–10 | Eliteserien | 48 | 26 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 161 | 122 | 86 | 2nd | Lost in Semi-finals, 2–4 (Stavanger Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Oilers is an ice hockey club from Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the GET-ligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. The club's official name is Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, but it is commonly known as Oilers... ) |
Famous players
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