The 2004–05 UPC-ligaen was the 66th season of Norway's premier ice hockey league, Eliteserien, which as of this season became known as the UPC-ligaen after UPC had acquired the naming rights for five years.[1] Vålerenga won both the League Championship and the Norwegian Championship, completing their nineteenth "double". A total of ten teams contested the league, including newcomers Comet who competed at the highest level for the first time.
| 2004–05 UPC-ligaen season | |
|---|---|
| League | UPC-ligaen |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Regular-season winner | Vålerenga |
| Champions | Vålerenga |
The regular season commenced on 19 September 2004 and concluded on 20 February 2005.[2] Vålerenga clinched their twenty-fifth league title after winning 3–2 in overtime against the Sparta Warriors on 17 February.[3] This left them with an unassailable lead of seven points over the Trondheim Black Panthers, with only one round left to play. The result also confirmed Trondheim as runners-up ahead of the Storhamar Dragons.
The playoffs to determine the 2005 Norwegian Ice Hockey Champions were contested from 22 February to 20 March 2005.[4] Vålerenga were crowned champions for the twenty-third time after defeating Trondheim by 4 games to 1 in the best-of-seven Final.[5]
Regular season edit
Final standings edit
| Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | OTL | SOL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
| 1 | Vålerenga (C) | 42 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 210 | 113 | 93 |
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 154 | 101 | 83 |
| 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 42 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 138 | 87 | 79 |
| 4 | Stjernen | 42 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 144 | 113 | 76 |
| 5 | Frisk Tigers | 42 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 143 | 137 | 76 |
| 6 | Sparta Warriors | 42 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 125 | 143 | 63 |
| 7 | Stavanger Oilers | 42 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 132 | 148 | 55 |
| 8 | Lillehammer | 42 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 116 | 161 | 44 |
| 9 | Comet | 42 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 109 | 174 | 37 |
| 10 | Bergen Flyers | 42 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 114 | 212 | 24 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTW = Overtime Wins; OTL = Overtime losses; SOW = Shootout Wins; SOL = Shootout losses; PCT = Percent of possible points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points; C = Champions
Source: hockey.no
Statistics edit
Scoring leaders edit
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.[6]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ilya Dubkov
|
Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 27 | 42 | 69 | +32 | 52 |
 Nick Smith
|
Trondheim Black Panthers | 38 | 28 | 32 | 60 | +32 | 81 |
 Lars Erik Spets
|
Trondheim Black Panthers | 42 | 29 | 26 | 55 | +33 | 12 |
 Tomi Pöllänen
|
Frisk Tigers | 40 | 19 | 32 | 51 | +18 | 22 |
| Markku Takala
|
Sparta Warriors | 41 | 19 | 31 | 50 | −8 | 62 |
 Tomáš Sršeň
|
Lillehammer | 41 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 0 | 102 |
| Teemu Kohvakka
|
Stavanger Oilers | 42 | 18 | 24 | 42 | +8 | 30 |
| Tomi Suoniemi
|
Stavanger Oilers | 37 | 16 | 25 | 41 | +14 | 39 |
| Ondřej Steiner
|
Stjernen | 37 | 16 | 24 | 40 | +9 | 41 |
| Michal Kaňka
|
Lillehammer | 42 | 25 | 14 | 39 | +9 | 20 |
| Vegar Barlie
|
Vålerenga | 37 | 19 | 20 | 39 | +24 | 22 |
| Kenneth Larsen
|
Vålerenga | 42 | 15 | 24 | 39 | +30 | 18 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Leading goaltenders edit
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the conclusion of the regular season.[7]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Mason
|
Vålerenga | 20 | 1,203:56 | – | – | 36 | 1 | 93.5 | 1.79 |
| Jonas Norgren
|
Storhamar Dragons | 35 | 2,028:03 | 21 | 14 | 61 | 6 | 93.4 | 1.80 |
| Joakim Wiberg
|
Trondheim Black Panthers | 31 | 1,847:22 | – | – | 73 | 2 | 91.6 | 2.37 |
| Kimmo Kytölaakso
|
Stjernen | 38 | 2,243:44 | – | – | 95 | 4 | 91.5 | 2.54 |
| Arne Villy Skrøder
|
Sparta Warriors | 18 | 1,018:25 | – | – | 48 | 0 | 90.2 | 2.83 |
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Attendance edit
For the 2004–05 season, the league attendance totaled 292,711 spectators for an average of 1,394.[8] This was a 9.3% increase from the previous season's total of 267,707 spectators and average of 1,275.[9]
| Team | Arena | Capacity | Total | Games | Average | % of Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storhamar Dragons | Hamar OL-Amfi | 6,091 | 44,175 | 21 | 2,104 | 34.5% |
| Vålerenga | Jordal Amfi | 4,450 | 38,486 | 21 | 1,833 | 41.2% |
| Sparta Warriors | Sparta Amfi | 3,707 | 27,285 | 21 | 1,299 | 35.0% |
| Lillehammer | Kristins Hall | 3,194 | 23,679 | 21 | 1,128 | 35.3% |
| Bergen Flyers | Bergenshallen | 3,000 | 12,133 | 21 | 578 | 19.3% |
| Trondheim Black Panthers | Leangen Ishall | 3,000 | 39,076 | 21 | 1,861 | 62.0% |
| Stavanger Oilers | Siddishallen | 2,582 | 37,665 | 21 | 1,794 | 69.5% |
| Stjernen | Stjernehallen | 2,473 | 31,105 | 21 | 1,481 | 59.9% |
| Frisk Tigers | Askerhallen | 2,400 | 23,210 | 21 | 1,105 | 46.0% |
| Comet | Halden Ishall | 1,200 | 15,897 | 21 | 757 | 63.1% |
| Total | Games | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 292,711 | 210 | 1,394 |
Playoffs edit
Bracket edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Vålerenga | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Stavanger Oilers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Vålerenga | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Stjernen | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Lillehammer | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Vålerenga | 4 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Sparta Warriors | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Trondheim Black Panthers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Storhamar Dragons | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Stjernen | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Frisk Tigers | 1 | ||||||||||||
Source: hockey.no
| Norwegian Champions 2005 |
|---|
| Vålerenga 23rd title |
Qualifying for UPC-ligaen 2005–06 edit
Final standings edit
| Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | OTL | SOL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
| 1 | Comet (Q) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 9 | 14 |
| 2 | Manglerud Star (Q) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 9 |
| 3 | Bergen Flyers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 9 |
| 4 | Furuset | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 4 |
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTW = Overtime Wins; OTL = Overtime losses; SOW = Shootout Wins; SOL = Shootout losses; PCT = Percentage of possible points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points; Q = Qualified
Source: speaker.no
Game log edit
| Qualifying for UPC-ligaen 2005–06 Game Log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rounds 1–6
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Awards edit
All-Star team
The following players were selected to the 2004–05 UPC-ligaen All-Star team:[10]
- Goaltender: Chris Mason (Vålerenga)
- Defenceman: Duane Harmer (Trondheim)
- Defenceman: Anders Myrvold (Vålerenga)
- Center: Ilya Dubkov (Trondheim)
- Winger: Lars Erik Spets (Trondheim)
- Winger: Nick Smith (Trondheim)
Other
- Coach of the year: Tommy Sandlin[10] (Trondheim)
References edit
- ^ "UPC kjøper hockey-liga". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). 2004-09-20. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Fixtures — UPC-ligaen 04/05". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Vålerenga seriemester". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Sluttspill om Norgesmesterskapet menn 2004/2005". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (in Norwegian). 2005-03-20. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Vålerenga gode some gull". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 2005-03-20. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Scoring Leaders – UPC-ligaen 04/05". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Leading Goaltenders – UPC-ligaen 04/05". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Tilskuere Eliteserien 2004–2005". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (in Norwegian). 2005-03-22. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Tilskuere i Eliteserien" (PDF). Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (in Norwegian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ a b "Årets Lag 2005". Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (in Norwegian). 2005-03-18. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-07.