# 2004–05 UPC-ligaen season

The 2004–05 UPC-ligaen was the 66th season of Norway's premier ice hockey league, Eliteserien, which as of this season became known as the UPC-ligaen after UPC had acquired the naming rights for five years. Vålerenga won both the League Championship and the Norwegian Championship, completing their nineteenth "double". A total of ten teams contested the league, including newcomers Comet who competed at the highest level for the first time.
The regular season commenced on 19 September 2004 and concluded on 20 February 2005. Vålerenga clinched their twenty-fifth league title after winning 3–2 in overtime against the Sparta Warriors on 17 February. This left them with an unassailable lead of seven points over the Trondheim Black Panthers, with only one round left to play. The result also confirmed Trondheim as runners-up ahead of the Storhamar Dragons.
The playoffs to determine the 2005 Norwegian Ice Hockey Champions were contested from 22 February to 20 March 2005. Vålerenga were crowned champions for the twenty-third time after defeating Trondheim by 4 games to 1 in the best-of-seven Final.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| | Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | OTL | SOL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Vålerenga (C) | 42 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 210 | 113 | 93 |
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 154 | 101 | 83 |
| 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 42 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 138 | 87 | 79 |
| 4 | Stjernen | 42 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 144 | 113 | 76 |
| 5 | Frisk Tigers | 42 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 143 | 137 | 76 |
| 6 | Sparta Warriors | 42 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 125 | 143 | 63 |
| 7 | Stavanger Oilers | 42 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 132 | 148 | 55 |
| 8 | Lillehammer | 42 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 116 | 161 | 44 |
| 9 | Comet | 42 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 109 | 174 | 37 |
| 10 | Bergen Flyers | 42 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 114 | 212 | 24 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTW = Overtime Wins; OTL = Overtime losses; SOW = Shootout Wins; SOL = Shootout losses; PCT = Percent of possible points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points; C = Champions Source: hockey.no

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Ilya Dubkov | Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 27 | 42 | 69 | +32 | 52 |
| Nick Smith | Trondheim Black Panthers | 38 | 28 | 32 | 60 | +32 | 81 |
| Lars Erik Spets | Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 29 | 26 | 55 | +33 | 12 |
| Tomi Pöllänen | Frisk Tigers | 40 | 19 | 32 | 51 | +18 | 22 |
| Markku Takala | Sparta Warriors | 41 | 19 | 31 | 50 | −8 | 62 |
| Tomáš Sršeň | Lillehammer | 41 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 0 | 102 |
| Teemu Kohvakka | Stavanger Oilers | 42 | 18 | 24 | 42 | +8 | 30 |
| Tomi Suoniemi | Stavanger Oilers | 37 | 16 | 25 | 41 | +14 | 39 |
| Ondřej Steiner | Stjernen | 37 | 16 | 24 | 40 | +9 | 41 |
| Michal Kaňka | Lillehammer | 42 | 25 | 14 | 39 | +9 | 20 |
| Vegar Barlie | Vålerenga | 37 | 19 | 20 | 39 | +24 | 22 |
| Kenneth Larsen | Vålerenga | 42 | 15 | 24 | 39 | +30 | 18 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Chris Mason | Vålerenga | 20 | 1,203:56 | – | – | 36 | 1 | 93.5 | 1.79 |
| Jonas Norgren | Storhamar Dragons | 35 | 2,028:03 | 21 | 14 | 61 | 6 | 93.4 | 1.80 |
| Joakim Wiberg | Trondheim Black Panthers | 31 | 1,847:22 | – | – | 73 | 2 | 91.6 | 2.37 |
| Kimmo Kytölaakso | Stjernen | 38 | 2,243:44 | – | – | 95 | 4 | 91.5 | 2.54 |
| Arne Villy Skrøder | Sparta Warriors | 18 | 1,018:25 | – | – | 48 | 0 | 90.2 | 2.83 |
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

### Attendance

For the 2004–05 season, the league attendance totaled 292,711 spectators for an average of 1,394. This was a 9.3% increase from the previous season's total of 267,707 spectators and average of 1,275.
| Team | Arena | Capacity | Total | Games | Average | % of Capacity |
| Storhamar Dragons | Hamar OL-Amfi | 6,091 | 44,175 | 21 | 2,104 | 34.5% |
| Vålerenga | Jordal Amfi | 4,450 | 38,486 | 21 | 1,833 | 41.2% |
| Sparta Warriors | Sparta Amfi | 3,707 | 27,285 | 21 | 1,299 | 35.0% |
| Lillehammer | Kristins Hall | 3,194 | 23,679 | 21 | 1,128 | 35.3% |
| Bergen Flyers | Bergenshallen | 3,000 | 12,133 | 21 | 578 | 19.3% |
| Trondheim Black Panthers | Leangen Ishall | 3,000 | 39,076 | 21 | 1,861 | 62.0% |
| Stavanger Oilers | Siddishallen | 2,582 | 37,665 | 21 | 1,794 | 69.5% |
| Stjernen | Stjernehallen | 2,473 | 31,105 | 21 | 1,481 | 59.9% |
| Frisk Tigers | Askerhallen | 2,400 | 23,210 | 21 | 1,105 | 46.0% |
| Comet | Halden Ishall | 1,200 | 15,897 | 21 | 757 | 63.1% |
| Total | Games | Average |
| 292,711 | 210 | 1,394 |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | | | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Vålerenga | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Stavanger Oilers | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Stavanger Oilers | 0 | | | 1 | Vålerenga | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Stjernen | 0 | | | |
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 3 | | | 4 | Stjernen | 0 | | | |
| 8 | Lillehammer | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Lillehammer | 0 | | | | | | 1 | Vålerenga | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Vålerenga | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 1 |
| 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 3 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 1 |
| 6 | Sparta Warriors | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Sparta Warriors | 1 | | | 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Stjernen | 3 | | | 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Frisk Tigers | 1 | | | | | | | | |
Source: hockey.no
* Norwegian Champions 2005
* Vålerenga 23rd title

## Qualifying for UPC-ligaen 2005–06
### Final standings

| | Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | OTL | SOL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Comet (Q) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 9 | 14 |
| 2 | Manglerud Star (Q) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 9 |
| 3 | Bergen Flyers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 9 |
| 4 | Furuset | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 4 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTW = Overtime Wins; OTL = Overtime losses; SOW = Shootout Wins; SOL = Shootout losses; PCT = Percentage of possible points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points; Q = Qualified Source: speaker.no

### Game log

Qualifying for UPC-ligaen 2005–06 Game Log :
Rounds 1–6
Round 1
24 February 2005 18:30 CETComet8–2 (2–2, 5–0, 1–0)FurusetHalden Ishall, HaldenGame referenceReferee: Eirik Hansen24 minPenalties8 min29Shots25
24 February 2005 18:30 CETManglerud Star1–4 (0–2, 1–0, 0–2)Bergen FlyersManglerudhallen, OsloGame referenceReferee: Hans Petter Berg8 minPenalties12 min22Shots20
Round 2
27 February 2005 17:00 CETFuruset3–6 (0–2, 0–3, 3–1)Bergen FlyersFuruset Forum, OsloGame referenceReferee: Eirik Hansen16 minPenalties18 min34Shots25
27 February 2005 17:00 CETManglerud Star1 – 2 (SO) (1–0, 0–0, 0–1, 0–0, 2/5–3/5)CometManglerudhallen, OsloGame referenceReferee: Per Gustav Solem22 minPenalties18 min15Shots51
Round 3
3 March 2005 18:30 CETBergen Flyers1–7 (1–1, 0–3, 0–3)CometBergenshallen, BergenGame referenceReferee: Eirik Hansen14 minPenalties12 min33Shots28
3 March 2005 19:00 CETFuruset2 – 3 (SO) (0–0, 2–1, 0–1, 0–0, 1/5–2/5)Manglerud StarFuruset Forum, OsloGame referenceReferee: Hans Petter Berg6 minPenalties6 min29Shots29
Round 4
6 March 2005 17:00 CETBergen Flyers1–5 (0–1, 1–1, 0–3)Manglerud StarBergenshallen, BergenGame referenceReferee: Yngvar Skau Jensen32 minPenalties14 min25Shots28
6 March 2005 17:00 CETFuruset2–6 (1–1, 0–3, 1–2)CometFuruset Forum, OsloGame referenceReferee: Owe Lüthcke24 minPenalties20 min28Shots37
Round 5
10 March 2005 18:30 CETBergen2–3 (1–1, 0–1, 1–1)FurusetBergenshallen, BergenGame referenceReferee: Hans Petter Berg24 minPenalties12 min30Shots17
10 March 2005 18:30 CETComet6–0 (4–0, 1–0, 1–0)Manglerud StarHalden Ishall, HaldenGame referenceReferee: Eirik Hansen8 minPenalties10 min21Shots21
Round 6
13 March 2005 17:00 CETComet1–3 (0–0, 1–1, 0–2)Bergen FlyersHalden Ishall, HaldenGame referenceReferee: Yngvar Skau Jensen6 minPenalties2 min49Shots21
13 March 2005 17:00 CETManglerud Star3–1 (0–0, 2–1, 1–0)FurusetManglerudhallen, OsloGame referenceReferee: Tommy Søstumoen10 minPenalties8 min20Shots22 :

## Awards

All-Star team
The following players were selected to the 2004–05 UPC-ligaen All-Star team:
* Goaltender: Chris Mason (Vålerenga)
* Defenceman: Duane Harmer (Trondheim)
* Defenceman: Anders Myrvold (Vålerenga)
* Center: Ilya Dubkov (Trondheim)
* Winger: Lars Erik Spets (Trondheim)
* Winger: Nick Smith (Trondheim)
Other
* Coach of the year: Tommy Sandlin (Trondheim)