Nikkō Ice Bucks

HC Nikkō Ice Bucks
City	Nikkō, Tochigi
League	Asia League Ice Hockey
Founded	1999 (1999)
Home arena	Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena (capacity 2,000)
Colors
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 Nikkō, Tochigi, 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.

History

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.

Honours

• Japan League championships: none

• Asia League championships: none

Year-by-year record

Sumida Yousuke wearing the team's away jersey which was introduced in 2011

JIHL 1999-2004

Season	GP	W	W(OT)	W(PS)	T	L(PS)	L(OT)	L	GF	GA	PTS	Finish	Playoffs
1999-00	30	3			5			22	45	106	11	6th/6	Out of playoffs
2000-01	40	10			1			29	91	164	21	6th/6	Out of playoffs
2001-02	40	6	2	2		2	2	26	103	163	23.0	6th/6	Out of playoffs
2002-03	32	7	0	4		1	2	18	68	114	23.0	5th/5	Out of playoffs
2002-03	24	1	0	1		0	1	21	33	112	4.5	4th/4	?
2003-04	12	0	0	0		0	0	12	19	56	0.0	4th/4	?

ALIH 2003-present

complete records for previous seasons^[1]

Season	GP	W	W(OT)	W(GWS)*	T	L(GWS)*	L(OT)	L	GF	GA	PTS	Finish	Playoffs
2003–04	16	2	0	—	2	—	0	12	38	67	6	5th/5	No Playoffs due to shortened season
2004–05	42	13	1	—	2	—	2	24	110	125	45	6th/8	N/A
2005–06	38	16	2	—	2	—	1	17	103	118	55	6th/9	Lost in quarter-final
2006–07	34	12	0	—	1	—	0	21	90	158	37	6th/8	Lost in semi-final
2007–08	30	8	2	—	2	—	0	18	60	109	30	6th/7	Lost in quarter-final
2008–09	36	4	2	1	—	1	1	27	74	161	20	7th/7	N/A
2009–10	36	12	2	1	—	2	2	17	103	118	46	6th/7	N/A

*prior to the 2008–2009 season, there were no shoot-outs and games ended in a tie

Current roster

Goaltenders
#	Country	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
29		Ito Keisuke	L	2010	Nikko, Japan
38		Ono Kohei	L	2011	Machida, Japan
44		Fukufuji Yutaka (A)	L	2010	Kushiro, Japan

Defencemen
#	Country	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2		Ohkubo Tomohito	L	2009	Tomakomai, Japan
3		Yamaguchi Kazuyoshi	L	2009	Kushiro, Japan
6		Sumida Yousuke	L	2010	Soja, Japan
7		Fukuzawa Noaya	R	2008	Tomakomai, Japan
8		Ono Takayuki (A)	R	2011	Tomakomai, Japan
9		Yamada Yuya	R	2011	Tomakomai, Japan
22		Nakai Hayato	L	2011	Hachinohe, Japan
34		Takahashi Junichi	R	2011	Nikko, Japan

Forwards
#	Country	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
10		Saito Kenta	LW	L	2011	Kushiro, Japan
11		Tsukada Hiroyuki	C	L	2008	Tomakomai, Japan
12		Uchiyama Tomohiko	LW	L	2009	Kushiro, Japan
18		Suzuki Takahito (C)	RW	R	2009	Tomakomai, Japan
19		Nakai Musashi	C/RW	L	2007	Hachinohe, Japan
20		Tonosaki Kei	LW	L	2011	Sapporo, Japan
21		Omachi Noritoshi	RW	L	2011	Japan
45		Setaka Tetsuo	C	L	2005	Tomakomai, Japan
48		Ueno Hiroki	LW/RW	L	2011	Nagano, Japan
51		Dave Bonk	C	L	2011	Brandon, MB, Canada
67		Andrew Kozek	LW	L	2011	Revelstoke, BC, Canada
86		Song Dong-hwan	RW	R	2011	Seoul, South Korea

Past import players

• Curt Bennett 1980-82, F
• Harvey Bennett, Jr. 1980-82, D
• Eduard Novak 1982-84, F
• Frantisek Kaberle Sr. 1982-84, D (Father of Frantisek Kaberle and Tomas Kaberle)
• Martin Kariya 2004-05, LW (Brother of Paul Kariya and Steve Kariya)
• Shjon Podein 2005-06, LW (Former Oilers/Flyers/Avalanche/Blues)
• Chris Paradise 2005-06, C
• Mike Henderson 2006-07, RW
• Eric LaFreniere 2008-09, RW
• Mickey Gilchrist 2008-09, C
• Bud Smith 2009-11, C
• Richard Rochefort 2010-11, D/C

References

1. ^ "Archive Record". Alhockey.com. http://www.alhockey.com/schedule_record/archive_record/index.html. Retrieved 12 January 2009. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• (Japanese) Nikko Ice Bucks - official website