Ahearne Cup

Ahearne Cup is the name of two ice hockey tournaments, the first played from 1952 to 1977 and the second created in 2001. Both are named after British ice hockey promoter, J. F. "Bunny" Ahearne.
== The original Ahearne Cup ==
The original Ahearne Cup was held in Sweden annually from 1952 to 1977, with the exception of 1957, with the finals at Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm, and co-arranged by newspaper Dagens Nyheter. It was held in December and open to both club teams and national teams, although national teams seldom competed. While most teams were from Sweden, many teams from Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Canada and Finland also competed. The record for most tournaments attended is shared between Swedish teams Södertälje SK and Djurgårdens IF, both with 20 entries, followed by Leksands IF and AIK with 12 each. Djurgården also has the record for most wins, four, while Harringay Racers and Spartak Moscow won the tournament three times each.
For many Swedes, this tournament was the first meeting with North American playing style, represented by Canadian amateur teams and British teams filled with Canadians. However, as professional hockey evolved in North America, the transatlantic amateur teams became both less competitive and less interested in joining European tournaments of this kind. The resulting downturn in public interest, together with tougher playing schedules in the European leagues, led to the cancellation of the tournament.
===Winners===
* 1952: Edmonton Mercurys
* 1953: Harringay Racers
* 1954: Harringay Racers
* 1955: Nottingham Panthers
* 1956: Soviet Union
* 1957: not played
* 1958: Harringay Racers
* 1959: Wembley Lions
* 1960: Djurgårdens IF	
* 1961: Krylya Sovetov
* 1962: Port Arthur Bearcats
* 1963: Djurgårdens IF
* 1964: Soviet Union
* 1965: Brynäs IF
* 1966: Sherbrooke Castors
* 1967: Leksands IF
* 1968: Krylya Sovetov
* 1969: Djurgårdens IF	
* 1970: HIFK Helsinki
* 1971: Spartak Moscow
* 1972: Spartak Moscow
* 1973: Spartak Moscow
* 1974: Djurgårdens IF
* 1975: Dynamo Moscow
* 1976: Dynamo Moscow
* 1977: AIK Solna
== The new Ahearne Cup ==
The new Ahearne Cup was created to promote interest in the British Ice Hockey Superleague. It was played in 2002 between teams from the ISL and teams from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and in 2003 between British and Norwegian teams. It was again played for in 2006 between British and German teams, this time with the British teams coming from the Elite Ice Hockey League.
== External links ==
* Winners of the original Ahearne Cup
* Information from AIK's club site, with Ahearne Cup's marathon table
Category:Ice hockey tournaments
Category:Ahearne Cup