The Kölner Haie (English: Cologne Sharks) are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany, that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.
The Kölner Haie play their home games in the DEL and the German Cup (DEB-Pokal) at the Lanxess Arena, which opened in 1998, located in the district Deutz. With room for 18,600 spectators, Lanxess Arena is amongst the biggest multi-functional arenas in Europe, and the Kölner Haie have the second highest average attendance in European ice hockey behind Swiss team SC Bern. Previously, the Kölner Haie played their home games at the Eisstadion an der Lentstraße. A strong local rivalry exists between the Kölner Haie and the Düsseldorfer EG, of neighboring Düsseldorf. Games between the two teams often sell out.
History 1972 to 1976: Founding of Kölner EC In the summer of 1972, the hockey department of the Kölner EK (KEK), which had made hockey in Cologne possible for different lower classes since 1936, separated from its parent association. The members of the hockey department sought to play as an independent association, due to the freedom of choice and better financial possibilities. On 10 August 1972, the independence of the hockey department was established, and Peter Rentergent was appointed the president of the new Kölner Eishockey Club (KEC).
The KEC remained associated with KEK, but as an independent department, and the team began play directly in the second division, then called the Oberliga. The KEK was a member of the German Ice Hockey Federation, granting them access to this division. The new association was to be called Kölner EC – but to no avail, however, because of the resemblance to the Kölner EK name. Hence, the addition "Sharks" was added to the logo, and years later, the association name. In the first logo, artist and team goaltender Dieter Horký sketched the shark logo. Today, the shark is the unmistakable brand image of the club, and since 1995, officially part of the club name.
The team found immediate success in their first season, 1972-73. With top players like Detlef Langemann, Wilhelm Hospelt, and player-manager Günter Peter, the team dominated opponents en route to winning the Oberliga, while being coached by Ondrej Bendik. The KEC scored 251 goals in 30 games to handily claim the Oberliga title, and gain promotion to the top hockey league, Eishockey-Bundesliga, for their second season. In their first Bundesliga season, 1973-74, there was a fair number of problems in and around the team. These problems compounded when captain Sigbert Stotz was forced to retire due to injury, furthering problems within the board of directors. Team manager Peter, plagued with financial troubles, fled the city, and the team ultimately finished the season in 8th place out of 10.
In the off-season, KEC fired head coach Jiri Hanzl, and rehired Ondrej Bendík to the team. The 1974-75 season saw a jump in performance by KEC; while only finishing one spot higher in the final standings, 7th, the team was closer to a .500 winning percentage. 1975-76 saw sparks fly in the Sharks front office, as at the beginning of the season, team president Rentergent resigned after coming under fire due to mismanagement of KEC's amateur star players. To add to this, in the middle of the season, head coach Bendík was dismissed due to poor performance – the team's attendance strongly decreased, leading to a financial deficit for KEC.
1976 to 1983: first successes Despite the financial issues following the Sharks, they made a splash with a big transfer. New team president Jochem Erlemann welcomed in Gerhard Kiessling as head coach, with his son Udo joining on defense. However, the purchase of Erich Kühnhackl from EV Landshut for a record transfer fee at that time of more than 600,000 DM, was even more spectacular. This deal came with its fair share of oddities: multiple times, Jochem Erlemann had sent employees to Landshut with cash to negotiate directly with Kühnhackl, which was ultimately unsuccessful, however, the star player still changed sides to Cologne in the end. Though, even as KEC established itself in the top league, additional tax payments and debts emerged at a rate of more than two million DM. Only by immediate measures did the association president succeed in avoiding bankruptcy while maintaining the upward trend of the club. Thus, the Sharks, in March 1977, were able to win their first championship, beating the former champions Eisbären Berlin, as well as the Rhenish rivals from Düsseldorfer EG and Krefeld Pinguine in the championship rounds.
After KEC did not manage to defend their title the next season, the president signed many new players; among them, Miroslav Sikora who would remain for the following 20 years as a player and manager in Cologne. Also, Gerhard Kiessling, head coach in 1977, returned to the Sharks, after he had been dismissed unexpectedly immediately after the first championship. The Sharks, in the next season, managed to achieve their second championship, which was overshadowed by the resignation of the team president. Heinz Landen was appointed as successor to Jochem Erlemann, while Clemens Vedder became the treasurer.
The next several seasons brought a period of mediocrity, as well as financial consolidation of the club. In the 1980-81 season, KEC became entangled in a passport forgery scandal involving applications of Canadian and American players to be registered as German players. As punishment, the Haie were moved into the relegation round. Additionally, on 9 March 1981, KEC was involved in a mass brawl in a Bundesliga match against VfL Bad Nauheim. The referees dealt out game misconducts, major and minor penalties, accruing a total of 166 penalty minutes.
Through 1983, the club formed a team with new players including Miroslav Sikora, Gerd Truntschka, Uwe Krupp and Helmut de Raaf, as well as experienced players such as Udo Kiessling and Uli Hiemer.
1983 to 1988: four championships in five years With Jozef Golonka, an experienced trainer was found, who led the team to the finale of the playoff round where KEC faced EV Landshut. The sharks defeated Landshut with a 5-0 score in the fifth and determining match, celebrating another German championship.
A year later the Sharks begun once more as favorites but had to be content with third place in the end. Due to injury the club lined up in the semi-final against Mannheim ERC with only eleven healthy players. The season, nevertheless, was overshadowed by the penalty against Mannheim's Roy Roedger, who highsticked the KEC forward Steve McNeill in the right eye area. Only thanks to several operations, was part of McNeill's vision saved. Roedger was suspended several matche and was ordered to make a compensation payment of 200,000 DM. Moreover, the Shark forward Peter Schiller provided a sensational moment, when in the European Cup play against Bolzano HC which KEC won 6-1, went from boredom with the puck behind own gate and made push-ups.
The 1985/86 season, the first time in which the former Shark player Hardy Nilsson stood as a coach on the Cologne bench, became one of the most successful eras in KEC history. From the beginning, the team dominated the league and went as a heavy favourite into the playoffs. There they lost only one match, winning the deciding final match against Düsseldorf EC with a 3-0 score to celebrate a championship once more. Before that the club had already finished second in the European Cup. However, the season was also marked by tragedy for the Sharks: 19-year-old Ralph Philipp, nephew of the long-standing KEC forward Rainer Philipp, died in a car accident. Since then the jersey number 8 which the young prospect had inherited from his uncle any more has been taken out of use.
In the 1986/87 season KEC, for the first time since the introduction of the playoffs, succeeded with defending its title. In the playoffs where they entered in the qualifying round, the Sharks went undefeated, and beat Schwenningen, DEG and Mannheim in three matches in each case. Before the season, Clemens Vedder had stepped down as treasurer for personal reasons. A year later, the Sharks made it three championship wins in a row when they won the fifth determining match 4-1 in the against Rosenheim. With this, they defeated the team placed ahead of it in the qualifying round. At the beginning of the playoffs, KEC set a record unequalled to this day: including three victories each against Frankfurt and Mannheim, the team won 20 playoff matches in a row.
1988 to 1994: the Rhine rivals After three straight titles, the Sharks were seen as favorites in the 1988/89 season. After claiming the vice title in the European Cup, nevertheless, the team from Cologne exited in the championship semi-final against DEG. The Sharks traded goalkeepers with DEG before the season (Joseph "Peppi" Heiss in exchange for Helmut de Raaf), besides, during the season the changes were announced by Dieter Hegen and Gerd Truntschka to the Rhine rival. In the 1989/90 season everything seemed to point again to another duel between the Rhenish rivals. The Sharks clinched at the end of the qualifying round second place behind DEG. KEC lost in the semi-final against Rosenheim. What remained was a record existing still today: nine wins in succession.
In the following season not everything went as hoped with the Sharks. In 1990/91 the team dealt with many injuries, however, the qualification for the playoffs still resulted in them being a front runner. They earned victories against Hedos München and BSC Preussen to reach the finale against DEG. KEC was defeated in the determining fifth match with an 0-4 score. In 1991/92, when the 19-year-old Jozef Stümpel began his international career, riots in the city were the beginning of further problems. The anticipated replacement of the ice arena was rejected first by the city. Shortly after the start of the season, NHL forward Ray Whitney barely spent any time with the Sharks before returning to North America. After a difficult start to the season, coach Nilsson came under fire and after the elimination in the quarterfinal against Mannheim, a power struggle began behind the scenes which culminated in resignations of several board members.
In the 1992/93 season the Kölner Haie again experienced financial bottlenecks. In spite of some departures of players, the team reached second place after the qualifying round. In the playoffs, KEC asserted himself first against Kaufbeuren (3-0) and Mannheim (3-1), before another matchup with DEG in the finals. In one of the most exciting final series of Bundesliga history, the determining fifth game was won by DEG in Brehmstrasse in Düsseldorf by a 2-1 score in overtime.
The financial problems of the Sharks worsened when the team president Landing suffered a heart attack shortly after end of the season and fell into a coma. The vice president who had been appointed shortly before became responsible for nearly seven million DM of debt; player's salaries were only partially paid at this point. Landing announced his resignation at the end of the 1993/94 season. Bernd Schäfer became interim president of the club. In spite of the troubles with the board of directors KEC qualified fifth for the playoffs, where it was defeated in the semi-final by the eventual champions Hedos München.
1994 to 2001: new league, new arena