Six Nations Tournament (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
The Six Nations Tournament (, ) was an international ice hockey
club competition that took place during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
The event was sometimes called Cup of the European Leagues (, , ).
, an international league created in 1991, featuring teams from Northern Italy and the adjacent nations of Austria and Slovenia.
In 1994, the Alpenliga was temporarily merged into the Six Nations Tournament.
The Alpenliga (or Alpine League in English) retained teams from Northwestern Italy and Western Austria, and added teams from the French Alps.
3 new leagues were created:
The Adriatic League for teams from Northeastern Italy and Southern Austria.
The Atlantic League for teams from Northern France, the Netherlands and Denmark
The Danube League for teams from Eastern Austria and Slovenia.
Top ranked teams from the four leagues met in a joint tournament, which ended with HC Bolzano of Italy (led by star winger Jaromir Jagr
) defeating Rouen HC
of France in a 2-legged final.
In 1995, the Adriatic League and the Danube League were merged back into the Alpenliga, losing teams from the French Alps in the process.
Thus the Alpenliga became an Italian-Austrian-Slovenian affair again.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic League continued with its lineup of teams from Northern France, The Netherlands and Denmark.
For the 1995-96 season, the Alpenliga announced that it would hold its own playoffs again, and resurrect the Alpenliga title.
The news came to the surprise of Atlantic League members. The Atlantic League schedule only consisted of a regular season, and table leader Rouen HC fully expected some kind of post season confrontation between the best Atlantic and Alpine teams for the Six Nations crown.
A late agreement was reached between Rouen HC and Alpenliga playoff champion VEU Feldkirch
to play a grand final for the unified title.
Rouen HC took both games of the home and home series to win the second and final edition of the competition.
The Atlantic League did not play the following season and never resumed operations.
The Alpenliga remained active until 1998-99 before morphing into the Interliga
, another crossborder competition with an increased focus on Central European Slavic nations.
The now defunct Bataillon de Joinville was a unit designed to house athletically gifted servicemen.
Its headquarters were based in the Paris
suburbs.
Previously, Joinville servicemen in need of ice time had used the Palais des Sports de Paris.
For practical reasons, the Bataillon de Joinville Six Nations Tournament team used Patinoire René Froger in Briançon
, as its primary venue. The young squad went winless in its only season of competitive hockey.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
club competition that took place during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
The event was sometimes called Cup of the European Leagues (, , ).
History
The Six Nations Tournament is an offshoot of the AlpenligaAlpenliga
The Alpenliga was an international professional ice hockey league which existed between 1991 and 1999. It was contested by club teams from Austria, Italy and Slovenia....
, an international league created in 1991, featuring teams from Northern Italy and the adjacent nations of Austria and Slovenia.
In 1994, the Alpenliga was temporarily merged into the Six Nations Tournament.
The Alpenliga (or Alpine League in English) retained teams from Northwestern Italy and Western Austria, and added teams from the French Alps.
3 new leagues were created:
The Adriatic League for teams from Northeastern Italy and Southern Austria.
The Atlantic League for teams from Northern France, the Netherlands and Denmark
The Danube League for teams from Eastern Austria and Slovenia.
Top ranked teams from the four leagues met in a joint tournament, which ended with HC Bolzano of Italy (led by star winger Jaromir Jagr
Jaromir Jagr
Jaromír Jágr is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League . Jágr formerly played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and New York Rangers, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers...
) defeating Rouen HC
Dragons de Rouen
Rouen Hockey Élite 76 is a French ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus. The team is also known as "Dragons de Rouen" .The team was founded in 1982 and plays home games at the Île Lacroix.-History:...
of France in a 2-legged final.
In 1995, the Adriatic League and the Danube League were merged back into the Alpenliga, losing teams from the French Alps in the process.
Thus the Alpenliga became an Italian-Austrian-Slovenian affair again.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic League continued with its lineup of teams from Northern France, The Netherlands and Denmark.
For the 1995-96 season, the Alpenliga announced that it would hold its own playoffs again, and resurrect the Alpenliga title.
The news came to the surprise of Atlantic League members. The Atlantic League schedule only consisted of a regular season, and table leader Rouen HC fully expected some kind of post season confrontation between the best Atlantic and Alpine teams for the Six Nations crown.
A late agreement was reached between Rouen HC and Alpenliga playoff champion VEU Feldkirch
VEU Feldkirch
VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria at Vorarlberghalle. The team currently plays in the Austrian National League . VEU Feldkirch were nine-time Austrian ice hockey champions when they played in the higher level Austrian Hockey League, before being relegated....
to play a grand final for the unified title.
Rouen HC took both games of the home and home series to win the second and final edition of the competition.
The Atlantic League did not play the following season and never resumed operations.
The Alpenliga remained active until 1998-99 before morphing into the Interliga
Interliga (1999-2007)
The Interliga was an international professional ice hockey league which existed between 1999 and 2007. It was formed in 1999 to replace the Alpine League after Hungarian teams took over the Italian contingency and the base of the league shifted away from the Alps.During its existence there were...
, another crossborder competition with an increased focus on Central European Slavic nations.
Bataillon de Joinville
Among French-based organizations that joined the Alpine League for the 1994-95 season was the Bataillon de Joinville, a short-lived team consisting of players serving in the army (France then used a compulsory military service).The now defunct Bataillon de Joinville was a unit designed to house athletically gifted servicemen.
Its headquarters were based in the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
suburbs.
Previously, Joinville servicemen in need of ice time had used the Palais des Sports de Paris.
For practical reasons, the Bataillon de Joinville Six Nations Tournament team used Patinoire René Froger in Briançon
Briançon
Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
, as its primary venue. The young squad went winless in its only season of competitive hockey.
Results
| Final | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 1994 Six Nations Tournament The 1994 Six Nations Tournament was the first playing of the Six Nations ice hockey Tournament. A total of 29 teams participated in the qualifying rounds, and the tournament was won by HC Bolzano.-Atlantic League:-Alpine League:-Danube League:... |
 Rouen HCDragons de Rouen Rouen Hockey Élite 76 is a French ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus. The team is also known as "Dragons de Rouen" .The team was founded in 1982 and plays home games at the Île Lacroix.-History:... |
5–7 |  HC Bolzano |
Patinoire Ile Lacroix | N/A |
| HC Bolzano |
5–3 | Rouen HC |
Palaonda | N/A | |
| Bolzano wins 12-8 on aggregate | |||||
| 1995-96 1995–96 Six Nations Tournament The 1995-96 Six Nations Tournament was the second and final playing of the Six Nations ice hockey Tournament. A total of 23 teams participated in the qualifying rounds, and the tournament was won by the Dragons de Rouen.-Atlantic League:-Final:... |
 VEU FeldkirchVEU Feldkirch VEU Feldkirch is a professional ice hockey team from Feldkirch, Austria at Vorarlberghalle. The team currently plays in the Austrian National League . VEU Feldkirch were nine-time Austrian ice hockey champions when they played in the higher level Austrian Hockey League, before being relegated.... |
2–5 | Rouen HC |
Vorarlberghalle | 4942 |
| Rouen HC |
7–3 | VEU Feldkirch |
Patinoire Ile Lacroix | 3800 | |
| Rouen wins series 2 games to none | |||||