Eisbären Berlin

Eisbären Berlin (English: Berlin Polar Bears) are a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey and is also one of the league's founding members. The Eisbären have won the DEL championship more times than any other team. They captured titles in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. They also won the German Cup in 2007 as well as the European Trophy in 2010. Before reunification the team won the East German ice hockey championship 15 times.
The club's origins go back to 1954, when an ice hockey section was founded within the existing SC Dynamo Berlin sports club of the East German Police, and the Ministry for State Security. Following incorporation into the West German 1. Bundesliga in 1990, the team was renamed into EHC Dynamo Berlin and again in 1992 into EHC Eisbären Berlin. The home games are played at the Uber Arena.
The Eisbären Berlin are owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. The official logo of the team is the polar bear, a reference to the bear appearing on Berlin's coat of arms. 
==History==
===1954–1994: GDR and 1. Bundesliga years===
The sports club Dynamo Berlin (SC Dynamo Berlin) was part of the sports association SV Dynamo of the East German Police and Secret service. It offered a wide spectrum of competitive athletic activities, including track and field, swimming, gymnastics, fencing, rowing, boxing and ice skating. SC Dynamo Berlin created an ice hockey section in 1954 and the club won their East German first title in 1966. In 1971 the league was reduced to just two teams and SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weißwasser made up the smallest ice hockey league in the world. All together Berlin won the East German championship 15 times, the last title coming in 1988. In 1984, Dynamo Berlin competed at the European Cup of Champions and came in third place.
In 1990, the year of German reunification, both former East German ice hockey clubs, SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weißwasser, which had been renamed into PEV Weißwasser, were assigned to the 1. Bundesliga, at the time the highest level of play in German ice hockey. The club was renamed to EHC Dynamo Berlin in the same year. However, Berlin was unable to compete successfully and was consequently relegated to the lower 2. Bundesliga at the end of the season. The club was promoted back to the 1. Bundesliga following the 1991–92 season. In 1992 the club was renamed again, this time to "EHC Eisbären Berlin" and also introduced the polar bear logo. However, due to severe financial difficulties, the club had to rely heavily on its junior and other low-tier players and thus regularly finished at the bottom of the standings and struggled to avoid relegation to the 2. Bundeliga.
===1994–present: DEL years===
The German Eishockey Bundesliga was abolished following the 1993–94 season and a new league – Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) – was created. The Eisbären are one of the league's 18 founding members. Following the Bosman ruling of 1995, the club replaced almost the entire roster with veteran European players in 1996–97. The team finished the regular season in third place and reached the DEL play-offs for the first time. In 1997 the club was renamed into "EHC neue Eisbären Berlin gegr. 1997 e.V.". The following season, 1997–98, the Eisbären advanced to the final round of the DEL play-offs and finished the season as runner up. The team also participated in the Continental Cup in Tampere, Finland, and finished in second place. In 1998–99 Eisbären participated in the European Hockey League and finished in third place.
The Anschutz Entertainment Group acquired sole ownership of the Eisbären in 1999, ensuring financial stability. The team finished in second place at the 2000 IIHF Continental Cup. In 2002–03 and 2003–04 the team finished the DEL regular season in first place, but fell short of capturing the title. At hat time, the team had already become hugely popular, selling out 28 of 31 home games during the 2003–04 season In 2005–06 and 2006–07 the Eisbären were the German representative at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
In 2004–05, a season by characterized by the [004–05 NHL lockout saw the Eisbären capture their first DEL championship. With the help of NHL veterans, such as Erik Cole, Nathan Dempsey and Olaf Kölzig, Berlin beat Mannheim in three games. The title was defended successfully in 2006 against the DEG Metro Stars. The third DEL championship was captured in 2008, when the Eisbären beat Kölner Haie in the final round of the play offs. In 2008 the Eisbären hosted the NHLs Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-season game, which the Lightning won 4:1. The fourth DEL title followed in 2009, when the DEG Metro Stars were beaten 3:1 in a best-of-five final play-off round. In 2010 the team won the European Trophy, continuing its success on an international scale. A fifth DEL title was won in 2011, when the Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg were swept in the final round of the play-offs. A sixth title was won in 2012, after a full-length best-of-five final against Adler Mannheim, with a seventh coming the next year after a 3:1 series victory over Kölner Haie. With their 2013 title, the Eisbären Berlin had won 7 DEL titles, including three straight, making them the DEL championship record holder for several years; Adler Mannheim later tied the record in 2019.
Eisbären ultimately won their eighth DEL championship in 2021, defeating Grizzlys Wolfsburg 2:1 in a best-of-three, and in the process reclaiming the record for most DEL championships
==Home Arena==
Until the 2007–08 season the Eisbären played home games at the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen complex. The corrugated tin roof of the ice hockey facility gave rise to the stadium's popular name "Wellblechpalast" (English: corrugated tin palace). The standing/seating capacity of the stadium is 4695. Whilst the "Wellblechpalast" is still being used as a training facility, since the 2008 season the Eisbären are playing their home games in the newly built O2 World, a multi functional arena located at the Spree River with a seating-capacity of 14200.
==Honors==
 Deutsche Eishockey Liga Championship (7): 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2024
 East German Ice Hockey Championship (15): 1966, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
 European Trophy (1): 2008
 Deutscher Eishockey-Pokal (1): 2008
 IIHF Continental Cup (2): 1998, 2000 
 SKODA AUTO European Hockey League (EHL) (1): 1999
==Season-by-season record==
Note: GP= Games, W = Win, L = Loss, T = Tie, OTL = Overtime Loss, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Point System: Win = 2 points, T = 1 point, OTL = 1 point
Season 	League	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Points	Finish	GF 	GA 	Postseason
1990–91	1. BL 	44	8 	29	7 	0 	23 	12th 	118	146	Relegated to 2. BL, lost to PEV Weißwasser 0:3 (best of five series)
1991–92	2. BL 	48	25	13	10	0 	60 	3rd 	233	162	Promoted to 1. BL
1992–93	1. BL 	44	8 	30	6 	0 	22 	12th 	118	207	Missed the Play-offs, avoided relegation, beat SERC 4:0 (best of seven series)
1993–94	1. BL 	44	11	31	2 	0 	24 	11th 	119	214	Missed the Play-offs, avoided relegation, beat SERC 4:0 (best of seven series)
1994–95	DEL 	44	10	32	2 	0 	22 	18th 	136	229	Missed the Play-offs
1995–96	DEL 	50	11	34	3 	2 	27 	17th 	125	236	Missed the Play-offs
1996–97	DEL 	50	26	19	4 	1 	57 	4th 	177	163	Lost the Semifinal to Kassel Huskies 1:3 (best of seven series)
1997–98	DEL 	48	27	14	6 	1 	61 	1st 	179	139	Lost the Final to Adler Mannheim 1:3 (best of five series)
Note: W = Win, SOW – Shoot-out Win; L = Losses, SOL' – Shoot-out Losses
Point System: As of the 1998/99 season a new point scoring system was introduced: Win = 3 points; OT/SO Win = 2 points, OTL/SOL = 1point
Season 	League	GP	W 	SOW	L 	SOL	Points	Finish	GF 	GA 	Postseason
1998–99	DEL 	52	26	4 	17	5 	91 	2nd 	210	163	Lost the Semifinal to Adler Mannheim 1:3 (best of five series)
1999–00	DEL 	56	23	2 	30	3 	70 	13th 	181	193	Missed the Play-offs
2000–01	DEL 	60	19	6 	31	4 	73 	14th 	192	221	Missed the Play-offs
2001–02	DEL 	60	25	6 	24	5 	92 	7th 	177	166	Lost the Quarterfinal to Adler Mannheim 1:3 (best of five series)
2002–03	DEL 	52	30	5 	8 	9 	109 	1st 	188	134	Lost the Semifinal to Krefeld Pinguine 1:3 (best of five series)
2003–04	DEL 	52	29	5 	12	6 	103 	1st 	171	126	Lost the Final to Frankfurt Lions 1:3 (best of five series)
2004–05	DEL 	52	 	 	 	 	101 	2nd 	166	141	Won the Final against Adler Mannheim 3:1 (best of five series)
2005–06	DEL 	52	34	n/a	18	n/a	100 	1st 	181	142	Won the Final against DEG Metro Stars 3:0 (best of five series)
2006–07	DEL 	52	24	 	28	 	77 	9th 	171	157	Lost preliminary round to Frankfurt Lions 1:2 (best of three series)
Note: GP = Games, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime Wins, SOW = Shoot-out Wins, L = Losses, OTL – Overtime Losses, SOL = Shoot-out Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Point System: Win = 3 points; OT/SO Win = 2 points, OTL/SOL = 1point
Season 	League	GP	W 	OTW	SOW	L 	OTL	SOL	Points	Finish	GF 	GA 	Postseason
2007–08	DEL 	56	33	2 	3 	14	3 	1 	113 	2nd 	231	165	Won the Final against Kölner Haie 3:1 (best of five series)
2008–09	DEL 	52	36	1 	4 	14	0 	2 	105 	1st 	214	143	Won the Final against DEG Metro Stars 3:1 (best of five series)
2009–10	DEL 	52	36	2 	4 	11	1 	2 	123 	1st 	209	156	Lost the Quarterfinal to Augsburger Panther 2:3 (best of five series)
2010–11	DEL 	52	24	1 	5 	16	1 	5 	90 	3rd 	161	138	Won the Final against Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 3:0 (best of five series)
2011–12	DEL 	52	26	3 	4 	16	2 	1 	95 	1st 	171	140	Won the Final against Adler Mannheim 3:2 (best of five series)
2012–13	DEL 	52	23	2 	3 	18	3 	3 	85 	4th 	180	152	Won the Final against Kölner Haie 3:1 (best of five series)
2013–14	DEL 	52	20	3 	5 	20	0 	4 	80 	8th 	152	152	Lost the preliminary round playoff to ERC Ingolstadt 1:2 (best of three series)
2014–15	DEL 	52	20	2 	5 	21	2 	2 	78 	9th 	162	143	Lost the preliminary round playoff to Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers 1:2 (best of three series)
2015–16	DEL 	52	27	4 	0 	18	0 	3 	92 	2nd 	152	136	Lost the Quarterfinal to Kölner Haie 3:4 (best of seven series)
2016–17	DEL 	52	19	1 	1 	24	5 	2 	68 	8th 	125	148	Lost the Semi-final to EHC München 1:4 (best of seven series)
2017–18	DEL 	52	29	2 	2 	13	1 	5 	101 	2nd 	169	131	Lost the Final to EHC München 3:4 (best of seven series)
2018–19	DEL 	52	20	1 	5 	24	0 	2 	74 	9th 	146	164	Lost the Quarterfinal to EHC München 2:4 (best of seven series)
2019–20	DEL 	52	25	5 	2 	15	3 	2 	94 	4th 	169	144	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–21	DEL 	38	23	0 	1 	9 	2 	3 	76 	3rd 	137	91 	Won the Final against Grizzly Wolfsburg 2:1 (best of three series)
2021–22	DEL 	55	34	0 	1 	12	4 	4 	112 	1st 	194	139	Won the Final against EHC München 3:1 (best of five series)
2022–23	DEL 	56	18	4 	2 	22	3 	7 	76 	11th 	160	171	Missed the Play-offs
2023–24	DEL 	52	29	3 	3 	14	0 	3 	102 	2nd 	181	134	Won the Final against Fischtown Pinguins 4:1 (best of seven series)
==Team Photos==
57-58DynBer.jpg|1957-58 team
58-59DynBer.jpg|1958-59 team
61-62DynBer.jpg|1961-62 team
62-63DynBer.jpg|1962-63 team
64-65DynBer.jpg|1964-65 team
65-66DynBer.jpg|1965-66 team
67-68DynBer.jpg|1967-68 team
66-67DynBer.jpg|1966-67 team
68-69DynBer.jpg|1968-69 team
71-72DynBer.jpg|1971-72 team
72-73DynBer.jpg|1972-73 team
73-74DynBer.jpg|1973-74 team
74-75DynBer.jpg|1974-75 team
75-76DynBer.jpg|1975-76 team
79-80DynBer.jpg|1979-80 team
82-83DynBer.jpg|1982-83 team
88-89DynBer.jpg|1988-89 team
90-91DynBer.jpg|1990-91 team
92-93EisBer.jpg|1992-93 team
93-94EisBer.jpg|1993-94 team
==References==
==External links==
*|www.eisbaeren.de
Category:Ice hockey teams in Germany