Switzerland women's ice hockey league
Encyclopedia
The Switzerland women's ice hockey league (German
: Leistunsklasse A (LKA), French
: Ligue nationale A (LNA), Italian
: Lega Nazionale A) is an amateur women's ice hockey league in Switzerland
. It is the top tier in the Swiss women's hockey league system and is organized by the Regio League, an organ of the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband in charge of organizing amateur hockey in Switzerland.
, the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband incorporates this aspect of hockey in its organisation in 1984. During the 1985-86 season, an unofficial championship is played. The following season, the first official championship, called Leistunsklasse A, is played, won by EHC Kloten's women's team, the Kloten Specials.
With the growing interest, a second tier is established from the 1988-89 season. Two years later, foreign players are allowed to play. Several big names in women's hockey then come play in Switzerland such as Andria Hunter
, Riikka Nieminen
and France St. Louis to name a few. The arrival of imports coincides with the domination of SC Lyss who won four titles in five years. The women's section had become an independent club, the DHC Lyss, when they won their forth titles in 1997. In 1995, a third division was introduced.
From the 2001-02 edition onward, a final four tournament is held to determine a champion. The then reigning champion SC Reinach retains its crown before winning a third in a row the following season with only a 9 players squad. Since the 2005-06 season, playoffs have been introduced. The HC Lugano Ladies Team proved to be the most performant with this format, winning four titles in five years.
For the 2010-11 season, the eight teams league is played on a home-and-away basis. The team finishing first is declared LKB champion and qualify for a best-of-three playoff against the loser of the top league playdown. The team finishing eighth is relegated in the lower division.
The eight teams taking part in the 2010-11 season are the following :
Like its male equivalent, the 1. liga, it is divided in three regional pools : East or Ostschweiz, Central or Zentralschweiz and West or Westschweiz, also called Suisse Romande. Each pool winner qualify then for the finals. The team finishing first is declared LKC champion and is promoted in LKB.
For the 2010-11 season, there are 21 participating teams including one from Austria
:
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Leistunsklasse A (LKA), French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Ligue nationale A (LNA), Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Lega Nazionale A) is an amateur women's ice hockey league in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is the top tier in the Swiss women's hockey league system and is organized by the Regio League, an organ of the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband in charge of organizing amateur hockey in Switzerland.
History
With the creation of several women's ice hockey clubs in the early 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband incorporates this aspect of hockey in its organisation in 1984. During the 1985-86 season, an unofficial championship is played. The following season, the first official championship, called Leistunsklasse A, is played, won by EHC Kloten's women's team, the Kloten Specials.
With the growing interest, a second tier is established from the 1988-89 season. Two years later, foreign players are allowed to play. Several big names in women's hockey then come play in Switzerland such as Andria Hunter
Andria Hunter
Andria Hunter played for the Canadian National women's ice hockey team from 1991 to 1994. She is also the founder of a web site for women's hockey .-Early life:...
, Riikka Nieminen
Riikka Nieminen
Riikka Nieminen-Välilä is a retired Finnish female ice hockey player. She played on the Finnish women's national team most notably appearing at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Olympics winning a bronze medal during the 1998 games...
and France St. Louis to name a few. The arrival of imports coincides with the domination of SC Lyss who won four titles in five years. The women's section had become an independent club, the DHC Lyss, when they won their forth titles in 1997. In 1995, a third division was introduced.
From the 2001-02 edition onward, a final four tournament is held to determine a champion. The then reigning champion SC Reinach retains its crown before winning a third in a row the following season with only a 9 players squad. Since the 2005-06 season, playoffs have been introduced. The HC Lugano Ladies Team proved to be the most performant with this format, winning four titles in five years.
Format
For the 2010-11 season, the six participating teams play against each other four times in two home-and-away rounds. At the end of the first round, the each team's total of points is cut by half. Once the second round is completed, the top four ranking teams qualify for the play-offs which are in a best-of-five format, excepted the third place game played on a one-off match. The finals winner is declared Swiss champion. Meanwhile, the teams finishing fifth and sixth dispute a best-of-five playdown. The loser faces then the second tier champions in a best-of-three games, the winner playing the following season in the top tier.Current teams
For the 2010-11 season, there are six participating teams :- DHC Langenthal
- HC Lugano
- Rapperswil-Jona LakersRapperswil-Jona LakersThe Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland and are members of the Swiss National League A. The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club changed to its present name...
- SC Reinach
- EV Bomo Thun
- ZSC LionsZSC LionsThe Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon...
Previous winners
|
EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. They are a current member of National League A and play their home games at Bossard Arena.-History:EV Zug won its lone championship in the 1997–98 season.... |
ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon... |
Titles by teams
| Team | Titles | Last title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HC Lugano | 4 | 2010 |
| - | EV Zug EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. They are a current member of National League A and play their home games at Bossard Arena.-History:EV Zug won its lone championship in the 1997–98 season.... |
4 | 2005 |
| 3 | SC Reinach | 3 | 2003 |
| - | SC Lyss | 3 | 1996 |
| - | GCK Lions GCK Lions GCK Lions is a Swiss professional ice hockey team founded in 1932. They are currently in the National League B, Switzerland's second tier ice hockey division. The home arena is Eishalle Küsnacht . The team has won one Swiss Championships, in 1966, as well as two championships in the Swiss second... |
3 | 1991 |
| 6 | DHC Langenthal | 2 | 2008 |
| - | EHC Kloten Specials Kloten Flyers The Kloten Flyers are an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. They originated from the EHC Kloten. The team participates in the National League A and is known for its promotion of young players.... |
2 | 1988 |
| 8 | ZSC Lions ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon... |
1 | 2011 |
| - | DSC Saint-Gall | 1 | 2000 |
| - | DHC Lyss | 1 | 1997 |
| - | EHC Bülach | 1 | 1992 |
Awards
Women of the year
It is awarded since the 2006-07 season to the best Swiss player whether she plays in the Swiss league or not.- 2006-07 - Florence SchellingFlorence SchellingFlorence Schelling played for Switzerland women's national ice hockey team in the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics. Schelling became the first and only woman to ever play in the Swiss Men's National B League.-Switzerland:...
(ZSC LionsZSC LionsThe Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon...
) - 2007-08 - Christine Meier (AIK IFAIK IFAllmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening is the ice hockey section of the sports club Allmänna Idrottsklubben based in Stockholm, Sweden...
) - 2008-09 - Christine Meier (ZSC Lions)
- 2009-10 - Claudia Riechsteiner (SC Reinach)
Most Valuable Player
It is awarded since the 2009-10 season to the best two players of the league.- 2009-10 - Jessica Müller (HC Lugano), Jaclyn Hawkins (ZSC Lions)
- 2010-11 - Christine Meier (ZSC Lions), Iveta Koka (HC Lugano)
Second division
The Leistungsklasse B (LKB), also known as the Ligue nationale B (LNB) in French and as the Lega Nazionale B in Italian, is the second tier of the Swiss women's hockey league system.For the 2010-11 season, the eight teams league is played on a home-and-away basis. The team finishing first is declared LKB champion and qualify for a best-of-three playoff against the loser of the top league playdown. The team finishing eighth is relegated in the lower division.
The eight teams taking part in the 2010-11 season are the following :
- EHC Bassersdorf
- GCK LionsGCK LionsGCK Lions is a Swiss professional ice hockey team founded in 1932. They are currently in the National League B, Switzerland's second tier ice hockey division. The home arena is Eishalle Küsnacht . The team has won one Swiss Championships, in 1966, as well as two championships in the Swiss second...
- Huttwil Falcons
- EHC Laufen
- HC Université Neuchâtel
- HC Prilly Féminin
- SC Weinfelden
- HC 3 Chêne
Third division
The Leistungsklasse C (LKC), also known as the Ligue nationale C (LNC) in French and as the Lega Nazionale C in Italian, is the third and lowest tier of the Swiss women's hockey league system.Like its male equivalent, the 1. liga, it is divided in three regional pools : East or Ostschweiz, Central or Zentralschweiz and West or Westschweiz, also called Suisse Romande. Each pool winner qualify then for the finals. The team finishing first is declared LKC champion and is promoted in LKB.
For the 2010-11 season, there are 21 participating teams including one from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
:
East
|
Central
|
West
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds HC La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss professional ice hockey team.-External links:*... HC Red Ice - History :HC Red Ice Martigny-Verbier-Entremont is a Swiss ice hockey club, founded in 2008 and issued from the fusion of HC Martigny and HC Verbier Val-de-Bagnes. First team of the HC Red Ice is member of the 1st Amateur League of Switzerland - History :HC Red Ice Martigny-Verbier-Entremont is a... |
Swiss Women's Cup
It is also called Ochsner Hockey Swiss Women Cup for sponsorship reason.- 2005-06 - HC Lugano
- 2006-07 - No cup
- 2007-08 - DHC Langenthal
- 2008-09 - ZSC LionsZSC LionsThe Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon...
- 2009-10 - DHC Langenthal
- 2010-11 - ZSC Lions
External links
League website// News on women's hockey in Switzerland on European Women's Hockey Journal Women's ice hockey in Switzerland by Nick Heim. History of women's ice hockey in Switzerland by Barbara Müller. Swiss women's ice hockey leagues results from 1998-99See also
- Switzerland women's national ice hockey team