GIJS Groningen (''Groninger IJshockey Stichting''), currently known as GIJS Marne Groningen for sponsorship reasons, are an
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
club in
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. They currently play in the second tier Eredivisie and play their home games at the Sportcentrum Kardinge. They won the Dutch championship in 1986, and played in the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
when it was the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands until 2010, and spent one more season in the top flight when they played in the
BeNe League
The BeNe League was the highest women's football league in Belgium and the Netherlands. To increase competitiveness in their national leagues, the BeNe League was a joint cooperation between the Royal Belgian Football Association and the Royal D ...
in 2016/17.
History
Founded on December 23, 1969, as Groninger IJshockey Stichting (GIJS), the team played in the lower divisions until 1976, when it began competing in the Eredivisie. It won its first and only Eredivisie championship in the 1985-86 season, with 7 wins and 1 loss in the playoffs.
Failure to attract a major sponsor forced the team out of the Eredivisie from 1988 until 2007. In 2007-2008, after winning two straight championships in the eerste divisie (the top amateur division), the team re-entered the Eredivisie for three seasons. However, after three losing seasons and weak ticket sales, the team dropped out of the Eredivisie in the summer of 2010.
Team names
* 1969–1993: Groninger IJshockey Stichting
* 1993–2004: GIJS Bears Groningen
* 2004-2007: Groningen Grizzlies
* 2007–2010: Pecoma Grizzlies Groningen
* 2010–2014: GIJS Bears Groningen
* 2014–2020: GIJS Groningen
* 2020–2024: HEPRO/GIJS Groningen
* since 2024: GIJS Marne Groningen
Season results
''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime Wins, OTL = Overtime Losses, L = Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''
Squad 2008-09
Goalies
* 31 Mathieu Blanchard
* 35 Tom Korte
Defence
* 13 Jeroen Oosterwijk
* 14 Noel Coultice
* 19 Ronald Trip
* 4 Preston Cicchine
* 44 Blair Tassone
* 98 Ricardo Dijkema
Forwards
* 9 Derek Bachynski
* 11 Danny Kerstholt
* 14 Blair Lefebvre
* 15 Ram Sidhu
* 19 Jolke Balt
* 20 Zahir Hup
* 21 Alwin Assenberg
* 22 Reinier Holthof
* 24 Klaver Jan Middelweerd
* 29 Nick Pomponio
* 69 Arjan Peters
Coaches
* Coach: Sergey Yashin
* Team manager: Kees Lok
Championships
;Eredivisie National Championship
once: 1985-86
;Eerste divisie championship
twice: 2005-06; 2006–07
References
External links
*
Netherlands Ice Hockey Union
Ice hockey teams in the Netherlands
Ice hockey clubs established in 1969
Sports clubs and teams in Groningen (city)
1969 establishments in the Netherlands
{{Europe-icehockey-team-stub