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The IIHF European Champions Cup (ECC) is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation, and takes place during a long-weekend in early January. The winner is considered the official club champion of Europe by the IIHF. The Champions Cup was first played in 2005, as a replacement for the defunct European Cup and the suspended European Hockey League.

Contents 1 European Cup 1.1 History 1.2 Format 1.3 Winners 2 European Hockey League 2.1 European Hockey League Finals 3 IIHF European Champions Cup 3.1 Format 3.2 2005 participants 3.3 2005 results 3.4 2006 participants 3.5 2006 results 3.6 2007 participants 3.7 2007 results 3.8 2008 participants 3.9 ECC winners 4 See also

The European Cup, also known as the Europa Cup, was a European ice hockey club competition for champions of national leagues which was contested between 1965 and 1997, governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

Inspired by the success of football's European Cup (now UEFA Champions League), the IIHF decided to start the competition in 1965 during a meeting in Tampere, Finland. The idea was brought up by a German, Dr. Sabetzki, and approved by a majority of the delegates.

However, the tournament was often plagued with problems. Teams from different countries were generally of wildly differing standards due to different levels of development in ice hockey across Europe, resulting in many uncompetitive, one-sided games. Significant organisational diffculties were also posed by the refusal of some Soviet Union teams to play away games in certain places. This resulted in no final being held some years, and more than one final being held in others. The competition was discontinued after 1997. In its place, the European Hockey League and the Continental Cup, and later the IIHF European Champions Cup, were started.

Teams were seeded and drawn into groups of four teams, with the winners of each group progressing to the next round, where they were drawn into groups again. Each round was played over a long weekend (Friday to Sunday) in a single venue, until one final group was left, the winner of which would be considered champions. After the European Cup was discontinued, the Continental Cup would adopt this format.

• 1966 ZKL Brno
• 1967 ZKL Brno
• 1968 ZKL Brno
• 1969 CSKA Moscow
• 1970 CSKA Moscow
• 1971 CSKA Moscow
• 1972 CSKA Moscow
• 1973 CSKA Moscow
• 1974 CSKA Moscow
• 1975 Krylja Sovjetov
• 1976 CSKA Moscow
• 1977 HC Rabat Kladno
• 1978 CSKA Moscow
• 1979 CSKA Moscow
• 1980 CSKA Moscow
• 1981 CSKA Moscow
• 1982 CSKA Moscow
• 1983 CSKA Moscow
• 1984 CSKA Moscow
• 1985 CSKA Moscow
• 1986 CSKA Moscow
• 1987 CSKA Moscow
• 1988 CSKA Moscow
• 1989 CSKA Moscow
• 1990 CSKA Moscow
• 1991 Djurgårdens IF Hockey
• 1992 Djurgårdens IF Hockey

Year		Score		Venue
1993	Malmö IF^	3-3	HC Dynamo Moscow	Düsseldorf, Germany
1994	TPS	4-3	HC Dynamo Moscow	Düsseldorf, Germany
1995	Jokerit	4-2	Lada Togliatti	Helsinki, Finland
1996	Jokerit^^	3-3	Kölner Haie	Cologne, Germany
1997	Lada Togliatti	4-3	MoDo Hockey	Oberhausen, Germany

^ Malmö won 1-0 on penalty shots.
^^ Jokerit won 1-0 on penalty shots.

The European Hockey League was a European ice hockey club competition which ran between the years 1996 and 2000.

It was established in 1996 by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and commercial partner CWL Telesport and first contested in 1996-1997. In 1996-1997, twenty teams played in five divisions. After home and away inter-division matches, the division winners plus the three best second-placed teams went into the quarter-finals. The first winners were Finnish side TPS, who beat Russian HC Dynamo Moscow 5-2.

In the 1997-1998 season, 24 teams competed in six divisions. The division winners and the two best second-placed teams progressed to the quarter-finals. The league was won by Austrian side VEU Feldkirch, who beat Russian side Dynamo Moscow 5-3.

In 1998-1999, 24 teams competed in six divisions. The top two in each division went into playoff matches. The winners of these six playoffs went into the semi-final round, which was played in two leagues. The winners of these two leagues played the final. For the third year in a row, Dynamo Moscow lost the final, this time to fellow-Russians Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

In 1999-2000, 16 teams competed in four divisions. The two best clubs of each divisions advanced to the semi-final round, which was played as home and away games. The four winners of the semi-finals qualified for the EHL Top Four Final. In that final, Metallurg Magnitogorsk defended its title, this time beating Czech side Sparta Prague 2-0.

Following consultation with its commercial partner, now CWL Holding AG, the IIHF decided to suspend the running of the European Hockey League for the 2000-2001 season. Despite financial investment and the improved quality of the contest, attention from the media, spectators and TV networks in Europe was not seen as satisfactory. In order to optimise exposure of the league in Europe, the IIHF decided to consult with European broadcasters starting from the 2001-2002 season. An international club competition, in the tradition of the previous European Cup, was staged by the IIHF for the 2000-2001 season, but the European Hockey League did not restart.

Year	Winner	Goals	Runner-up	Goals	Venue
1997	TPS	5	HC Dynamo Moscow	2	Turku, Finland
1998	VEU Feldkirch	5	Dynamo Moscow	3	Feldkirch, Austria
1999	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	2	HC Dynamo Moscow	1	Moscow, Russia
2000	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	2	Sparta Prague	0	Lugano, Switzerland

The competition features the reigning club champions from the top six European hockey nations according to the IIHF World Ranking, which are known as the Super Six. Two groups of three play a round-robin, with the winner of each group facing each other in a championship game. The two groups are named after international hockey legends Alexander Ragulin and Ivan Hlinka.

Group A

• HC Hamé Zlin
• Avangard Omsk
• HV71

Group B

• Kärpät
• Frankfurt Lions
• Dukla Trencin

Group A
Dukla Trencin - Avangard Omsk - 1:6
HV71 - Dukla Trencin - 4:1
Avangard Omsk - HV71 - 9:0

Group B
HC Hamé Zlin - Frankfurt Lions - 4:3
Kärpät - HC Hamé Zlin - 4:1
Frankfurt Lions - Kärpät - 3:6

Final

Avangard Omsk - Kärpät - 2:1 (OT)

Alexander Ragulin division:

• HC Dynamo Moscow
• HC Moeller-Pardubice
• Slovan Bratislava

Ivan Hlinka division:

• Kärpät
• Frölunda HC
• HC Davos

Alexander Ragulin division
HC Dynamo Moscow - Slovan Bratislava - 3:1
Slovan Bratislava - HC Moeller-Pardubice - 0:2
HC Moeller-Pardubice - HC Dynamo Moscow - 1:5

Ivan Hlinka division
Kärpät - HC Davos - 3:1
HC Davos - Frölunda HC - 6:2
Frölunda HC - Kärpät - 0:3

Final
HC Dynamo Moscow - Kärpät - 5:4 after OT and Game Winning Shot

Alexander Ragulin division:

• HPK
• HC Sparta Prague
• MsHK Žilina

Ivan Hlinka division:

• Ak Bars Kazan
• Färjestads BK
• HC Lugano

Alexander Ragulin division:

HPK - MsHK Žilina - 7:0 (2:0; 3:0; 2:0)
MsHK Žilina - HC Sparta Prague - 4:2 (0:1; 2:1; 2:0)
HC Sparta Prague - HPK 2:3 (1:1; 1:2; 0:0)

Ivan Hlinka division:

Ak Bars Kazan - Färjestads BK - 6:4 (2:2; 2:1; 2:1)
Färjestads BK - HC Lugano - 0:3 (0:1; 0:1; 0:1)
HC Lugano - Ak Bars Kazan - 0:3 (0:1; 0:1; 0:1)
Final:
HPK - Ak Bars Kazan - 0:6 (0:3, 0:0, 0:3)

Alexander Ragulin division:

• Metallurg Magnitogorsk
• MODO Hockey
• HC Slovan Bratislava

Ivan Hlinka division:

• Kärpät
• HC Sparta Prague
• HC Davos

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Venue
2007	Ak Bars Kazan	HPK	St. Petersburg, Russia
2006	HC Dynamo Moscow	Kärpät	St. Petersburg, Russia
2005	Avangard Omsk	Kärpät	St. Petersburg, Russia

• Continental Cup
• IIHF European Championship
• Champions Hockey League

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Related articles: IIHF  · Continental Cup  · IIHF European Champions Cup