North Sea Cup

The North Sea Cup was a short-lived hockey league that temporarily succeeded the Dutch Eredivisie from 2010-2012. It was the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond (NIJB; English: "Dutch Ice Hockey Federation") and sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation during the years that it operated.

It was created in 2010 when two top Belgian teams joined the six remaining teams of the Dutch professional league, called the "Eredivisie". In 2012, the Eredivisie was revived and the North Sea Cup tournament was disbanded, after the Dutch league admitted one of the Belgian teams of the North Sea Cup, HYC Herentals, as a full member.

The North Sea Cup was also the name of the trophy given out to the league champion. HYS The Hague was the trophy winner for both years that the league was in operation.

The teams of the North Sea Cup in 2011-2012 were:

Leuven Chiefs have announced that they will not be participating in the 2012-2013 North Sea Cup seasons, for financial reasons and to concentrate on youth development.

The North Sea Cup was both the name of the league and the trophy won by the league champion. In its first year, it consisted of a 36-game tournament with the top-placing team winning the cup. In its second year, )the league/tournament was pared down to a 14-game regular season, with a one-game playoff between the top two teams to determine the North Sea Cup champion.

The North Sea Cup teams also participated in the respective Dutch Cup and Belgian Cup tournaments, which were played prior to or concurrently with the North Sea Cup tournament.

The North Sea Cup tournament also established the rankings for the respective playoff tournaments for the Dutch National Championships and the Belgian National Championships.

The Dutch ice hockey Eredivisie was formed after World War II, with teams in Amsterdam, The Hague and Tilburg. It suspended operations from 1950 to 1964, but has organized a season of competition annually ever since. Over the years the number of teams competing fluctuated between 3 and 10 (currently 8), and the number of games played in the regular season between 4 and 36. The league featured a mix of Dutch, European and overseas players.

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