The Erste Liga (formerly the MOL Liga) is an international

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

league organized for clubs based in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is sponsored by the Erste Bank Hungary. The games played between the Hungarian teams count towards the Hungarian National Championship in the OB I Bajnokság. The Romanian teams also compete in the Romanian National Championship Liga Naţională.

History

In the first season, the league comprised six Hungarian teams and four Romanian teams. HC Csíkszereda went undefeated in the post-season to win the first MOL Liga title. In 2009–10, the number of teams went down to five Hungarian and two Romanian teams. Following the regular season, they decided the winner in a final four system. The Budapest Stars met

Újpesti TE Újpesti Torna Egylet (Újpesti TE or UTE) is a Hungarian sports society, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club, which was founded in 1885, includes sports sections that represent the club at ice hockey, men's water polo, women's volleyball, ath ...

in the final, after they beat SC Csíkszereda and DAB-Docler, respectively. Újpest started the match better, taking the lead just after one and a half minutes. However, the events took an U-turn and about two hours later, it was the Budapest Stars who lifted the trophy, after winning the match 3–1. The 2010–11 MOL Liga season was the third edition of the international ice hockey championship for teams from Hungary and Romania. This season, nine teams participated, including defending champions Vasas Budapest Stars, the second team of

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

outfit SAPA AV19 Székesfehérvár, and HSC Csíkszereda from

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt Ri ...

The 2011–12 MOL Liga season was the fourth edition of the international ice hockey championship for teams from Hungary and Romania. Following the withdrawal of Vasas HC, the field is composed of eight clubs this season, including five Hungarian and three Romanian. The regular season ran from 6 September 2011 to 20 January 2012. After the conclusion of the regular season, the six best ranked teams won the right to participate in the playoffs. The top two clubs had byes in the first round of the playoffs, while the remaining four teams were drawn together according to their final position in the regular season (3–6, 4–5). The winners of the match-ups advanced to the semifinals, where they met DAB-Docler and HSC Csíkszereda, respectively. Eventually, Miskolci JJSE beat HSC Csíkszereda and thus secured their spot in the finals, where they faced Dunaújváros, which won their duel in straight matches against Corona Fenestela Braşov. Dunaújváros enjoyed the home ice advantage in the best-of-seven series final, where they swept away Miskolc 4–0 and took the 2011–12 MOL Liga title, the first ever of its kind in the history of the club. The 2012–13 MOL Liga season was the fifth season of the MOL Liga, a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. Seven teams participated in the league, and DAB-Docler won the championship. The league also served as the Hungarian Championship for 2012-13. DAB-Docler, the MOL Liga champion, was also the Hungarian national champion. The 2013–14 MOL Liga season was the sixth season of the MOL Liga, and HC Nové Zámky won the title. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

Balázs Ladányi Balázs Ladányi (born 6 January 1976) is a Hungarian former professional ice hockey left winger. Ladányi played for Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák, Újpesti TE, Diables Rouges de Briançon, Alba Volán Székesfehérvár, HC Bolzano and Debrece ...

from DAB-Docler was the season's leading scorer with 63 points. The 2014–15 MOL Liga season was the seventh season of the MOL Liga. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. HC Nové Zámky were the defending Champions after defeating ASC Corona Braşov in the 2014 Championship, but they lost their championship to Miskolci Jegesmedvék in a 4–0 sweep against them. The 2015–16 MOL Liga season was the 8th season of the MOL Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék was the defending champion after defeating HC Nové Zámky in the 2014-2015 season. They successfully defended their title after sweeping MAC Budapest in the finals. The league is a multi-national ice hockey league consisting of teams from Hungary and Romania. A new team,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

based MAC Budapest, joined the league while Slovakian based, and previous season's finalist, HC Nové Zámky left. The 2016–17 MOL Liga season was the 9th season of the MOL Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék was the two-time defending champion after defeating MAC Budapest in the 2015-2016 season. They once again successfully defended their title after beating MAC Budapest in the finals, this time in 5 games (4-1). A new team from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, the

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

based

HK Beograd HK Beograd were a Serbian ice hockey team that currently played in the Eastern European MOL Liga for one season. Their home arena was Ledena dvorana Pionir in Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and ...

, joined the league. In July 2017, MOL, who was formerly the league's naming sponsor, decided against renewing their sponsorship. From the 2017-18 season onwards, the league will be known as the Erste Liga. DVTK Jegesmedvék is the three-time defending champion after defeating MAC Budapest in the 2016-2017 season. A new team from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the second team of

outfit

Vienna Capitals Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Albert Schultz Eishalle. In the 2004–05 season, the Capit ...

, joined the league while three clubs, Hungarian based Debreceni HK, Romanian based Dunărea Galați and Serbian based

, all left the league.

Teams

Champions

All-time standings

* ¹ Played as ''Miskolci Jegesmedvék JSE (Miskolci JJSE)'' from 2008–09 to 2014–15. * ² Played as ''Alba Volán Székesfehérvár 2'' from 2008–09 to 2009–10 and as ''SAPA Fehérvár AV19 2'' from 2010–11 to 2015–16. * ³ Played as ''SC Miercurea Ciuc'' from 2008–09 to 2009–10. * ⁴ Played as ''DAB-Docler'' from 2008–09 to 2014–15. * ⁵ Played as ''SCM Fenestela 68 Brașov'' from 2008–09 to 2010–11, as ''Corona Fenestela Brașov'' from 2011–12 to 2012–13 and as ''Corona Brașov Wolves'' from 2013–14 to 2014–15. * ⁶ Also known as ''HC Mikron Nové Zámky'' during time in league from 2012–13 to 2014–15. * ⁷ Played as ''Steaua București'' from 2008–09 to 2009–10. * ⁸ Played as '' Vasas HC Budapest Stars'' from 2008–09 to 2010–11.

Hungarian champions

*1937: Budapesti KE *1937/38: Budapesti KE (2) *1938/39: Budapesti KE (3) *1939/40: Budapesti KE (4) *1940/41: BBTE *1941/42: Budapesti KE (5) *1942/43: BBTE (2) *1943/44: Budapesti KE (6) *1944/45: ''Not held'' *1945/46: Budapesti KE (7) *1946/47:

MTK Budapest Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, fencing, canoeing, boxing, wrestlin ...

*1947/48: MTK Budapest (2) *1948/49: MTK Budapest (3) *1949/50: Bp. Vörös Meteor *1950/51: '' Bp. Kinizsi'' *1951/52: Bp. Vörös Meteor (2) *1952/53: Bp. Postás *1953/54: Bp. Postás (2) *1954/55: ''Bp. Kinizsi (2) *1955/56: ''Bp. Kinizsi (3) *1956/57: Bp. Vörös Meteor (3) *1957/58: Újpesti Dózsa *1958/59: Bp. Vörös Meteor (4) *1959/60: Újpest (2) *1960/61:

Ferencvárosi TC Ferencvárosi Torna Club, known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, or simply FTC, is a professional football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Ferencváro ...

(4) *1961/62: Ferencvárosi TC (5) *1962/63: Bp. Vörös Meteor (5) *1963/64: Ferencvárosi TC (6) *1964/65: Újpesti Dózsa (3) *1965/66: Újpesti Dózsa (4) *1966/67: Ferencvárosi TC (7) *1967/68: Újpesti Dózsa (5) *1968/69: Újpesti Dózsa (6) *1969/70: Újpesti Dózsa (7) *1970/71: Ferencvárosi TC (8) *1971/72: Ferencvárosi TC (9) *1972/73: Ferencvárosi TC (10) *1973/74: Ferencvárosi TC (11) *1974/75: Ferencvárosi TC (12) *1975/76: Ferencvárosi TC (13) *1976/77: Ferencvárosi TC (14) *1977/78: Ferencvárosi TC (15) *1978/79: Ferencvárosi TC (16) *1979/80: Ferencvárosi TC (17) *1980/81: Székesfehérvári Volán SC *1981/82: Újpesti Dózsa (8) *1982/83: Újpesti Dózsa (9) *1983/84: Ferencvárosi TC (18) *1984/85: Újpesti Dózsa (10) *1985/86: Újpesti Dózsa (11) *1986/87: Újpesti Dózsa (12) *1987/88: Újpesti Dózsa (13) *1988/89: Ferencvárosi TC (19) *1989/90: Jászberényi Lehel HC *1990/91: Ferencvárosi TC (20) *1991/92: Ferencvárosi TC (21) *1992/93: Ferencvárosi TC (22) *1993/94: Ferencvárosi TC (23) *1994/95: Ferencvárosi TC (24) *1995/96: Dunaferr SE *1996/97: Ferencvárosi TC (25) *1997/98: Dunaferr SE (2) *1998/99: Alba Volán-Riceland (2) *1999/00: Dunaferr SE (3) *2000/01: Alba Volán-FeVita (3) *2001/02: Dunaferr SE (4) *2002/03: Alba Volán-FeVita (4) *2003/04: Alba Volán-FeVita (5) *2004/05: Alba Volán-FeVita (6) *2005/06: Alba Volán-FeVita (7) *2006/07: Alba Volán-FeVita (8) *2007/08: Alba Volán SC (9) *2008/09: Alba Volán SC (10) *2009/10: SAPA Fehérvár AV 19 (11) *2010/11: SAPA Fehérvár AV 19 (12) *2011/12: SAPA Fehérvár AV 19 (13) *2012/13: DAB-Docler (5) *2013/14: DAB-Docler (6)
(MOL Liga title winner HC Nové Zámky) *2014/15: Miskolci Jegesmedvék *2015/16: DVTK Jegesmedvék (2) *2016/17: DVTK Jegesmedvék (3) *2017/18: MAC Budapest (1) *2018/19:

(26) *2019/20:

(27) *2020/21:

(28) *2021/22:

(29)

Titles by club

References

External links

Official website
{{Ice Hockey Leagues Sports leagues established in 2008 Professional ice hockey leagues in Austria Professional ice hockey leagues in Hungary Professional ice hockey leagues in Romania Professional ice hockey leagues in Slovakia Multi-national ice hockey leagues in Europe Multi-national professional sports leagues