Greek Championship Greek Ice hockey Championship ( Greek : Ελληνικό Πρωτάθλημα Χόκεϊ επί Πάγου ) is the highest level of ice hockey in Greece . It is operated under the jurisdiction of the Greek Ice Hockey Federation , a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation . History . Ice Hockey started in Greece in 1984 by players that returned to Greece from abroad . Soon later five teams were formed , two in Athens , one in Pireus , one in Salonica and one in Chalkida . The first official game was played in 1985 in Athens . The first official Greek Championship was held in 1989 in the Peace and Friendship Stadium with five teams taking place . It was the first time hockey games were held in a normal size rink . The following year the Championship was held once again in the Peace and Friendship Stadium . In 1990 the first Junior National Team was formed and took part in the World Junior Championship Pool C , held in Yugoslavia . In 1991 the Junior National Team took part in the World Junior Championship , held in Italy . In 1992 the first ever Men ' s Greek National Team was formed and took place in the World Championships Pool C held in South Africa . With only two weeks of serious training abroad and the support of the Greeks of South Africa , the National Team won the bronze medal . It was extraordinary for a team to win a medal in their first appearance at the World Championships . Despite the great achievement , the decline of the sport came in 1993 . Economic help was discontinued by the Greek Undersecretary of State for Sports and all expenses to keep ice hockey alive were passed over to the players . Practices stopped and many players quit . Practices started again in 1995 but were limited to once a week . Despite the hard times ice hockey faced , a National Team was formed in 1995 and took part in the World Championships held once again in South Africa . Unfortunately , the problems affected the players and they were unable to defend the bronze medal they had won three years ago . They managed to win one game and tie one in five games . Although the problems continued to exist , in 1996 , the Junior National Team took part in the European Championships . They made one win in five games . In March 1998 the Men ' s National Team went to the World Championships held in South Africa . They managed to win one game and despite all the problems everyone was amazed at the level of Greek Ice Hockey . Early 1999 and nothing has changed concerning the funds from the Greek Undersecretary of State for Sports . Despite the problems the Hellenic National Team took part in the World Championships Pool D held once again in South Africa . The team managed to win one game . In 2001 the Moschato Ice Rink closed down . Many players stopped playing and others started practicing in the only ice rink left in Greece . An ice rink way too small to be able to hold a serious ice hockey game . In 2002 the effort was made to rebuild the league but all efforts fell short . The only ice rink left in Greece closed down definitely May 2003 . After the closing of the last ice rink the players of the National Team decided to take trips to the Czech Republic for practices and games . Since that decision , 6 trips have been organized . Every 6 months the players of the National team pay their own way and travel to the Czech Republic . For the past 2 years , the National Team has been trying to convince the IIHF that despite not having a rink , development of the sport is continuing in Greece . The efforts paid off , since the IIHF , after investigation decided to allow the National Team to compete again in International Competition . This is great for Greek Ice Hockey since the National Team competed again in 1999 . In 2006 two ice rinks were built in Greece and the Championship was established again . Teams . The Greek Ice Hockey Championship consists of 7 teams based in Athens , Thessaloniki and Chalkida Format . In the Regular Season all 7 teams play twice against each other and the top 4 qualify for the Final Four which is held in Ano Liossia Olympic Hall which is located in Ano Liossia , Athens . Seasons . Season 2008 / 09 . Regular Season 1 IPTAMENI ATHENS 6 6 0 0 80 4 + 76 18 2 PAOK HC SALONICA 6 5 1 0 64 15 + 49 15 3 AVANTES HC 6 4 2 0 36 26 + 10 12 4 ALBATROS 6 3 3 0 43 29 + 14 9 5 LEFKA GERAKIA MADKOWS 6 2 4 0 29 46 - 17 6 6 TARANDOS 6 1 5 0 15 51 - 36 3 7 ERMIS HC 6 0 6 0 2 98 - 96 0 Final Playoff Standings 1 IPTAMENI ATHENS 3 3 0 0 18 1 + 17 9 2 PAOK HC SALONICA 3 2 1 0 18 11 + 7 6 3 AVANTES HC 3 1 2 0 10 15 - 5 3 4 ALBATROS 3 0 3 0 6 25 - 19 0 Awards George Kalyvas ( Iptameni ) : MVP of Championship George Fiotakis ( Iptameni ) : Best Goalie Dimitris Kalyvas ( Iptameni ) : Top Scorer Nikos Papadopoulos ( PAOK ) : Best Defenseman George Adamidis ( PAOK ) : Fair play award