Our history
Founding 1931
SC Berne was launched by Dr. Fredi Müller on November 3, 1930. At that time 16 active players were part of the team who mostly converted from the «IceFellows» to SCB, The game venue was at Kirchenfeldstrasse 70 where you will find the facility of Tennis Sporting Club Berne today. The ice hockey section started its activity with the official founding date on January 1, 1931. It was in the same year that SCB ordered their own boards as an outline of the matchfield. These boards were never paid for. The unknown supplier was therefore noted as the first sponsor in the history of SCB…
On to the Ka-We-De
1933 followed SCB-s move to the legendary Ka-We-De. The first opponent in the new arena were ZSC on December 3, 1933. It took a couple of more weeks though until the first victory: on January 8, 1934 SCB beat the Canadians of the Cambridge University with 6:2. In the season of 1936/37 it happened: SCB could afford their very own jersey. SCB played fairly well in the league of the big but it was not enough to reach the top in this phase.
The first championship title
A first bitter moment for SCB followed in the season 1955/56: the decent to the NLB was unavoidable. Fortunately, the resurgence was realized in the following season. One year later, it was reality: SCB celebrated its first championship title in the season 1958/59. An average of 7'857 spectators appeared to the home games on the KA-WE-DE back then.
Move to the Allmendstadium
On June 30, 1963 the city of Berne said «YES» to the construction of the ice stadum Allmend. However, the start of the construction was delayed by 3 years due to various objections… 1964/65 SCB celebrated its second championship title. An average of 7'711 spectators were present. The first appearance with the jersey advertisement helped little: SCB descended to the NLB in the 1966/67 season. Exactly at this time the move to the Allmend – without a roof yet – was waiting for SCB.
Question with consequences
In the season 1968/69 the resurgence to the NLA took place. This had a beneficial effect on the political mood. Mayor Reynold Tschäppät asked the legendary question in the stadium: “Do you want a roof?” The local council then decided on November 13, 1969 that the Allmendstadium would get a roof. However, SCB could not exploit this thrust and descended again to the NLB in the season of 1969/70. Therefore, the premiere of the covered Allmend in the lower league became a fact. On November 28, 1970 7’100 spectators witnessed the first SCB victory (5:4 against Küsnacht) in the covered Allmend.
The glorious 70s
As the team was then on the rise again in the 1971/72 season the crowd showed up in droves: 13’759 spectators meant peak at that time. Then, 1973/74 a great era with four championship titles in six years was initiated. SCB won its third title which was then defended in 1974/75. After the canton rival from Langnau was successful a year later, SCB immediately took the title back again in the season of 1976/77. The championship title 1978/79 should then be the last great success for 10 years. In the 1979/80 season SCB scored the until then highest cut in its history with 14’595 spectators per game. The power curve of the relatively old team however showed down already at this time.
Phase in the NLB
The low was reached at the end of the 1981/82 season when SCB relegated to the NLB. In the following four years SCB did not succeed in rising on its own again. Due to the impending bankruptcy EHC Arosa voluntary descended to the 1st league which came as a rescue in the 1985/86 season. Thanks to a controversial verdict at the green table SCB was first class again although surprisingly it had previously lost the series for the rise against EHC Chur.
Championlike again – and how!
The next championship title for SCB followed just three years later in 1988/89. The way to the seventh title against the supposedly overpowering HC Lugano which was won by the team of Bill Gilligan was hard to beat on drama. The final series with home advantage for HC Lugano went over the full distance of five games, SCB won 3:2 (2:6, 5:1, 4:3, 1:5, 4:2). Another great era was ushered in, also thanks to the great imports Reijo Ruotsalainen and Alan Haworth: In the seasons 1990/91 and 1991/92 two more championship titles followed under the American Gilligan. In 1991 SCB defeated HC Lugano again in the final – this time with 3:1 (3:2, 4:3 OT, 2:4, 2:1 OT). In 1992 they met the winner of the qualification, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, in the finals whom they defeated in five games 4:3, 11:2, 1:5, 0:3 and 4:1.
Low point – Champion – Collapse
After a down phase it was under coach Brian Lefley that in the season 1994/95 things went back up again. The three years in which Gaetano Orlando led the team with his fighting spirits were crowned with the 10th championship title in 1996/97. SCB won the final series against EV Zug with 3:1 (1:4, 5:2, 3:2 n.V., 4:0). After that a radical reconstruction had to be tackled – not only sporty. For financially, things had gotten a bit out of hand at SCB. SCB was facing bankruptcy which could only be averted thanks to the entry of Valora Holding AG on January 11, 1999. Thanks to this commitment top ice hockey could continue to be played in the city of Berne. On October 1, 2002 the Allmendstadium was renamed into BernArena. The event hall should no longer be used only for icehockey but also for music events, congresses and exhibitions.
40’000 at the championship-parade
After seven years which more or less were lean the season of 2003/04 became a success with winning the 11th championship title. After a very constant qualification phase SCB, under Kent Ruhnke, stormed back to the top of Swiss ice hockey, despite of many injured top performers. In the final Berne met HC Lugano as in 1989, 1990 and 1991 and won 3:2 (3:1, 2:1, 1:5, 3:4, 4:3 OT) and again the title win was secured away as in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1997. At 11:22 pm on April 10, 2004, Marc Weber scored the golden goal for SCB in the overtime of the fifth and last final in Lugano, sweeping an entire region into a collective frolic of joy: 40,000 fans celebrated the team on Easter Monday’s grandiose parade through the city of Berne,
NHL-Lockout
The bar for the following season was high: SCB fought unhappy for a long time under head coach and SCB legend Alan Haworth who had replaced Kent Ruhnke. On November 6, 2004 Haworth was fired after a 1:2 home defeat to Geneva. Alpo Suhonen took over. The coach’s change only brought little movement in the beginning but SCB did reach the playoffs thanks to a 10:1 win against Kloten Flyers in the last game of the qualification round. After the surprise win over the first of the qualification, HC Lugano, in the quarter finals there was nothing else to get against HC Davos in the semi-finals. The season also provided lots of stuff to discuss: Because of the NHL-lockout there were a lot of changes on the import positions (not only with SCB). No less than ten imports played for SCB in that crazy season. Although the season was peppered with ups and downs as many people as never before visited the games: on average 15’261.
Circulation
SCB won the qualification round in the season 2005/06. But in the quarter finals against Kloten SCB lost the series surprisingly clear with 2:4. The fans were on top of Europe though also in this season. For the fifth time in a row SCB had the highest number of spectators in all of Europe during the qualification round. An average of 15’917 spectators travelled to the stadium. The loss in the quarterfinals had consequences though. Coach Alpo Suhonen was let go and GM Roberto Triulzi was removed from office as well. His job was taken over by Sven Leuenberger, the former defender and captain of SCB. In year 1 under the new headcoach John van Boxmeer SCB played a strong season and finished the qualification round in second place behind HC Davos. The playoffs of the 2006/07 season lasted for a whole 17 games for SCB who was defeated only in the very last game.
Score record
After the just lost final series the hunger for the next title win was even bigger now. SCB convinced in every way in the qualification round of the 2007/08 season, set a new record with 111 points in 50 games and took on the playoffs with 22 points ahead of the second-ranked – Genève-Servette HC. HC Fribourg-Gottéron who had scored 41 points less than SCB in the qualification round awaited SCB in the quarterfinals. The high favorite was dominant in all games of the series but failed with 2:4 wins clearly.
2007/08
The best fans
Reparation and reconstruction were the slogans for the season 2008/09 but once again after winning the regular season the bitter realization that the team of SCB was not good enough in the playoffs and lost the quarterfinal against Zug. Despite the freezing cold and the icy wind in the PostFinance-Arena, which was being remodelled, an average of 16’200 paying spectators found their way to the games – a new record. But the faithful followers were again badly disappointed.
2008/09
Epic championship
For the third time in a row SCB finished the qualification as winner and starts with 102 points out of 50 games into the playoffs. In the final against the second of the qualification, Genève-Servette HC, SCB initially leads with 3;1 but then allows the “Belle”. In game 7 the team of Larry Huras falls behind already after 80 seconds. However, the Bernese can turn the tide in the first period already and finally win the 12th championship title with 4:1. For the first time since the playoffs were launched SCB was able to accept the championship cup in its own stadium on April 24, 2010.
2009/10
Top class in Europe
The year of the title defense began excellent for SCB: at the newly created preparatory tournament for the European Trophy the Bernese qualified the the final tournament and win the game for 3rd place against Färjestad BK with 3;1. Three international games within 3 days one week before the season starts did not pass by the team without a trace: SCB seeks its rhythm in the qualification for a long time and ends the regular season in 3rd place. In the quarterfinals SCB wins the series with 4:0 against playoff rookies SCL Tigers. In the semi-finals against Kloten Flyers SCB falls behind fast with 0:3 wins. With an inspiring chase the team fights for the 3:3 equalizer but then loses game 7 with 0:1.
2010/11
Drama against ZSC
On October 21 the era Larry Huras is over. New headcoach ist Huras’ assistant Antti Törmänen with whom SCB wins nine out of the following eleven games and ends the qualification in 5th place. Opponents in the playoff quarterfinals are the Kloten Flyers again which SCB eliminates with 4:1 just as convincingly as afterwards HC Fribourg-Gottéron in the semi-finals. In the final round SCB first leads 3:1 against ZSC Lions and thus has the opportunity to win the 13th championship title in the fifth game. But the “Z” wins this game as well as game 6 at home. Like two years ago the decisive seventh game had to be played at PostFinance-Arena in which SCB receives the (irregular) 1:2 just 2.5 seconds before the regular game time. The Berne players as well as the spectators showed greatness in defeat and maintained exemplary fair.
2011/12
Unprecedented turnaround
The following season starts badly and SCB is classified only on rank 8 at times. Also the NHL-shutout and the temporary top-engagements of Roman Josi, Mark Streit and John Tavares do not bring any improvement for the time being. Only a startling 0:3 in Rapperswil and a legendary speech by CEO Marc Lüthi bring the turnaround: until Christmas the Bernese win eleven out of 14 games. The return of the NHL loans did not lead to another performance loss. Following the motto “now more than ever” SCB builds on the previous successes. In the playoffs SCB is with their backs to the wall at first against Genève-Servette but they can stay in the series in extremis and finally win the quarterfinals with 4:3. Also in the semi-finals against EV Zug and in the finals against HC Fribourg-Gottéron SCB shows a great fighting heart and wins both series with 4;2. On April 16 SCB can celebrate their 13th championship title at home at PostFinance-Arena.
2012/13
Missed playoffs
The main goal of the defending champion is to get out of the starting blocks betten than in the previous years. But already in the European Trophy the newly manned team showed fluctuating performances in numerous positions. Also in the first phase of the qualification the SCB engine is not revving up and after 15 rounds SCB ranks in 9th place. After the 15th defeat in the 24th game coach Antti Törmänen is released and replaced through his assistant Lars Leuenberger. A positive series follows until Christmas with 9 wins out of 10 games. At the beginning of the new year, however, numerous chances are lost to get some air. At the end of January there is another change of coaches. NHL-coach Guy Boucher cannot turn the oar around in time. So it happens that 25 years after the introduction of the playoffs with eight teams SCB did not qualify for them for the very first time.
2013/14
Start to great success
After the first failure to reach the playoffs this will be the season of a new start. With coach Guy Boucher and numerous new signings the team needed time to exploit their full potential. In the Champions Hockey League SCB starts with a 0:7 loss against Ocelari Trinex and in the national league it took them one month to get going. Just before Christmas SCB took over the lead in ranking for the first time and at the beginning of the new year the cup victory over the Kloten Flyers followed. At the end it was 2nd place In the qualification. The Bernese win the quarterfinals against Lausanne in seven games but then lose the semi-finals against the later champion HC Davos without discussion with 0:4. Really top are the SCB-fans: for the fifth time over half a million spectators travelled to the 31 games at PostFinance-Arena.
2014/15
From Zero to Hero
Probably the most turbulent season of SCB since the playoffs were launched. Not the least because of bad luck with injuries the team does not get off the mark. Shortly after the November break Guy Boucher is released and replaced by Lars Leuenberger. But the injury witch cannot be driven away, at some phases up to ten players are missing. At the beginning of the new year there are seven defeats in series and the fall out of the playoff ranks onto rank 9. It is only in the second to last qualification round that the liberation blow succeeds with a 3:2 home win against Lausanne. In the playoff quarterfinals SCB starts with a lucky 4:3 win away after shootout against the sovereign qualification winner ZSC Lions. This is the start of a run that no opponent can slow down anymore. ZSC Lions are beaten with 4:0, HC Davos in the semi-finals with a whooping 4:1. In the finals SCB loses the starting game against Lugano but then succeeds in the following three games and celebrates its 14th championship title of club history on April 12 in Lugano with a 3:2 win.
2015/16
Title defense
After the nerve-wrecking previous year SCB follows with a relaxed season. Under the new headcoach Kari Jalonen the Bears make it into the quarterfinals in the Champions Hockey League in which the team is eliminated against Sparta Prag. At the national level it takes longer for the system Jalonen to grip. But starting October the Bernese show rising tendencies and at the end of the month they are in rank 2 after seven wins out of nine games. SCB increases in November and even scores the maximum out of seven games in December. With 109 points in the regular season the Bernese confidently secure the 1st place in the end. In the playoffs the team shows itself in better shape from round to round and impresses with team spirit and nerve strength. In the quarter- and in the semi-finals SCB wins against Biel as well as against Lugano with 4:1. With a total score of 4:2 the Bernese also beat EV Zug and with that they succeed as the first team since ZSC Lions 2001 to defend the title.
2016/17
Missed triple
After the switch to Kari Jalonen’s system took some time 2016/17 the team starts the season successfully now. SCB takes over the top of the table in mid-October already and does not give that up until the end of the season. In the Champions Hockey League the quarterfinals against Växjö Lakers mean the end of the road. In the Swiss Cup SCB reaches the round of the last eight as well but is defeated by EHC Biel with 3:5. After the turn of the year, however, SCB can no longer build on the sometimes outstanding performances from before Christmas. Although the Bernese initially prevail in the playoffs 4:1 against Genève-Servette they are defeated by ZSC Lions in the intensive semi-final series with 4:2. With 16’437 spectators in average and a total of 8 sold out home games SCB surpassed the average of 16’000 for the 11th time in series and is Europe’s crowd puller Number 1 for the 17th time in a row.
2017/18
The 16th title
As in the two years before SCB dominates the league also in the third season under Kari Jalonen. Despite a rather moderate yield in October the Bernese can place themselves in the front positions of the table early on. The highlight of the first phase of the season is the NHL game against the New Jersey Devils in which the host lost with a close 2:3 OT in the sold-out PostFinance-Arena. The only drawbacks are only the retirement in the CHL round of 16 against Malmö and the defeat in the Cup semi-final against Zug. SCB finished the qualification in 1st place with 101 points. In the playoffs the team is challenged to the utmost but overcomes all hurdles against Genève-Servette, Biel and EV Zug and therefore wins the third championship title in four years (the 16th in the Club’s history). The fans remain world class with their loyalty as well. With an average of 16’403 spectators and nine sold-out home games SCB again is Europe’s Number 1 team for the 18th time in a row.
2018/19
