Sparta Warriors

Ishockeyklubben Sparta Sarpsborg, commonly referred to as the Sparta Warriors, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Sarpsborg, Norway. They currently play in the Fjordkraft League. They play their home games in the Sparta Amfi arena and is Norway's oldest ice hockey rink. The team colours are blue and white.

Sparta Warriors
CitySarpsborg, Norway
LeagueFjordkraftligaen
Founded1928 (1928)
Home arenaSparta Amfi
ColorsBlue, gold and white
     
Head coachSjur Robert Nilsen
CaptainNiklas Roest
AffiliateComet Halden (1. div)
Websitesparta.no
Championships
Regular season titles4
Playoff championships1984, 1989, 2011

History

The ice hockey department of IL Sparta was founded in 1958, and got off to a fantastic start when Norway's first indoor hockey arena, Sparta Amfi, was opened in 1963. Within three years, they earned promotion to the Eliteserien (first division) as the first team outside Oslo to do so. It was only to be a short stint, and through most part of the late 1960s and 1970s, Sparta spent their time in the second division, with occasional visits to the top flight.

The 1980s was to be Sparta's greatest decade. Under the leadership of coach Lasse Bäckman and strengthened by several strong signings from other Norwegian clubs and a couple of Swedish stars, they claimed the Norwegian Championships in 1984. The feat was repeated in 1989, when the club beat heavily favoured Trondheim in the final after claiming the last playoff spot.

Economic problems followed this success, and in 1995 Sparta filed for bankruptcy, the only sports club in Norway ever to do so. This meant that they had to start from scratch in the third division, and they lost their best players to other clubs in Norway. However, many of these players subsequently returned to Sparta, and in 1997 they were back in the Eliteserien, where they have remained since.

In the 2008-09 season, the team won the league, and won silver in the Norwegian Championship after being defeated by Vålerenga in the final.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sparta Warriors. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Sparta Warriors seasons.

Norwegian Champions Regular Season Champions Promoted Relegated
Season League Regular season[1] Playoffs
GP W L OTW OTL GF GA Pts Finish
2013–14 Eliteserien 45 23 16 3 3 136 104 78 4th Lost in Quarter-finals, 1–4 (Storhamar)
2014–15 Eliteserien 45 26 14 0 5 176 122 83 3rd Lost in Semi-finals, 1–4 (Storhamar)
2015–16 Eliteserien 45 24 12 5 4 172 138 86 4th Lost in Quarter-finals, 2–4 (Storhamar)
2016–17 Eliteserien 45 18 20 1 6 128 111 62 8th Lost in Semi-finals, 0–4 (Stavanger)
2017–18 Eliteserien 45 35 7 0 3 152 109 93 2nd Lost in Semi-finals, 0–4 (Lillehammer)

Records and statistics

Scoring leader statistics for regular season only. Matches played statistic includes playoff games.

  •   – current active player

Famous players

References
  1. Code explanation; GP—Games Played, W—Wins, L—Losses, OTW—Overtime/Shootout wins, OTL—Overtime/Shootout losses, GF—Goals For, GA—Goals Against, Pts—Points


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