Bulgarian ice hockey team
Irbis-Skate Sofia (Bulgarian: Спортен клуб ИРБИС-СКЕЙТ) is a Bulgarian professional ice hockey team based in Sofia, that competes in the Bulgarian Hockey League. Irbis-Skate Sofia was founded in 2012 and joined the Bulgarian Hockey League for the 2015–16 season. The club won the 2015–16 season and the 2016 Bulgarian Cup and as a result qualified for the 2016–17 IIHF Continental Cup.
History
Irbis-Skate Sofia was founded in August 2012 and initially competed in small tournaments and exhibition matches against Bulgarian Hockey League teams.[1][2] The club also formed minor ice hockey teams to compete in competitions before entering their under-12 team into the national championship for the 2013–14 season.[2][3][4] In 2015 Irbis-Skate Sofia entered the Bulgarian Hockey League for the 2015–16 season with their home arena being the Winter Sports Palace.[5] The club finished the first round of the 2015–16 season in first place and as a result won the 2016 Bulgarian Cup. Irbis-Skate Sofia then went on to win all their remaining games of the season and finished in first place to claim their first Bulgarian Hockey League title.[6] As a result of winning the 2015–16 season Irbis-Skate Sofia qualified for the 2016–17 IIHF Continental Cup where they entered in the first round.[7] The club was selected as host of the Group A tournament and was drawn against HC Bat Yam, Partizan Belgrade and Zeytinburnu Belediyespor.[7][8]
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