Munich Barons

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Munich Barons
CityMunich
LeagueGerman Ice Hockey League
Founded1999
Folded2002
Home arenaOlympia-Eisstadion
Owner(s)Anschutz Entertainment Group
Franchise history
2002–2016Hamburg Freezers

The Munich Barons were a professional

German championship.[1]

After long negotiations among the Anschutz Group, the ice hockey teams Landshut Cannibals, ESC Munich and the Olympiapark Munich GmbH, the creation of the Munich Ice Hockey Club GmbH was announced on the 1 June 1999. The license for the

Olympia-Eisstadion. The name and logo of the Barons were unveiled in the middle of June of that year.[2]

Despite a poor start, the Munich Barons team – whose players were brought together from several other teams – was able to come together and finished in second place in their first season in the DEL. In the

play-offs, the team surprised all doubters[who?] and eventually became German champions. In spite of that success, the number of spectators at game was lower than expected (regular season: 2,800; playoffs: 4,900). In the 2000–2001 season, the Barons finished in third place in the regular season. In the playoffs, they reached the finals, but lost a hard-fought battle against the eventual champions, the Adler Mannheim. Despite the continued good showing of the team, the number of spectators remained low. Because of the expensive player contracts and the lack of sponsors, the Barons accumulated substantial debts. In the 2001–2002 season, the Barons placed first in the regular season, in spite of injuries plaguing the team. In the play-off semifinal, the Barons lost to the eventual champions, Kölner Haie
.

Although by this time the number of spectators had begun to increase slightly, the Anschutz Group decided to move the team to Hamburg for financial reasons on 3 June 2002.[3][4] From then, the Barons played as the Hamburg Freezers in Hamburg in the DEL until 2016, when the Anschutz Group ceased operations due to financial reasons.

Standings

Season Plays Gates Points Place on the table Play-Offs
DEL 1999/2000 56 208:155 109 2.
German champion
DEL 2000/01 60 175:150 104 3. Finale
DEL 2001/02 60 182:138 121 1. Semi-final

References

  1. ^ "Munich Barons hockey team statistics and history at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  2. ^ "München Barons" treten in der DEL an [“Munich Barons” compete in the DEL], Der Spiegel, 21 June 1999 (in German)
  3. ^ Umzug nach Hamburg: Barons bald keine Bayern mehr [Moving to Hamburg: Barons will soon no longer be Bavarians], Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 1 June 2002 (in German)
  4. ^ München Barons ziehen bald nach Hamburg um [Munich Barons will soon be moving to Hamburg], New Business magazine, 5 June 2002 (in German)