Nikko Icebucks
| Nikkō Ice Bucks | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | |
| League | Asia League Ice Hockey |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Home arena | Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena (capacity 2,000) |
| Colours | |
| Owner(s) | Kobayashi Sumio |
| Head coach | Mark Pederson |
| Captain | Setaka Tetsuo |
| Website | http://www.icebucks.jp/ |
The HC Nikkō Ice Bucks (ホッケークラブ日光アイスバックス? Hokkē Kurabu Nikkō Aisu Bakkusu) are an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in , Japan.
Logo design: The word IceBucks in italicized English in black with white trim, with the words "NIKKO KOBE" in bold italics in orange trimmed with white
Mascot: An orange and white furred male deer wearing a hockey helmet.
The Nikkō area has a long history of ice hockey, with the Furukawa Electric semi-professional team (one of the oldest in Japan) having been established in 1925, and becoming a founding member of the Japanese Ice Hockey League in 1966. In 1999, however, the team was forced to disband due to financial difficulties.
A outflow of support from the city and local financing allowed the team to be recreated as a club team, supported locally. It was renamed the HC Nikkō IceBucks and joined the league in time for the next season's start. The team, despite fervent local support, was never one of the successes of the JIHL even when they were supported as Furukawa Electric, and had a rocky start as the HC Nikkō IceBucks, having to relaunch their business model in 2001. The team has consistently placed near or at the bottom of the league.
When the league expanded into the Asia League Ice Hockey, Nikkō was one of the teams that was part of the new league. In the summer of 2005, the team arranged to play a number of its home games in Kobe, Hyogo, and changed its name to the Nikkō Kobe IceBucks to reflect its new two-city home. In 2007–2008 season Kobe is no longer home and the name was reverted to the older HC Nikkō Ice Bucks.
complete records for previous seasons
*prior to the 2008–2009 season, there were no shoot-outs and games ended in a tie
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Wikipedia