SC Langenthal
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Schlittschuh Club Langenthal, better known as SC Langenthal, is a Swiss amateur ice hockey club now playing in the third-tier MyHockey League. For over two decades, from 2001 until 2023, the team competed in the Swiss League, the country’s second professional division. During that stretch, they captured the league championship three times—in 2012, 2017, and 2019. Following the 2022–23 season, the club stepped away from professional hockey.
The team first reached the second tier in the 2001–02 season after winning the amateur Regio league title. Their debut season in National League B ended with a tenth-place finish, but by the following year they made the playoffs for the first time, losing in the semifinals to EHC Basel.
Langenthal’s first championship came in 2012. After finishing second in the regular season, they swept EHC Basel in the quarterfinals, then edged HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in a seven-game semifinal series, winning the decisive game 2–1 at home in front of 3,741 fans. In the final, they dropped the first two games to Lausanne HC but rallied to win four straight, claiming the NLB title. A subsequent promotion bid against HC Ambrì-Piotta ended in a 1–4 series loss.
The following season, Langenthal again placed second in qualifying. They swept GCK Lions in the quarterfinals but fell to local rivals EHC Olten in the semifinals, 2–4.
In 2017, under head coach Jason O’Leary, the club won its second NLB championship, defeating SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 4–3 in the final. Once more, they lost the National League qualifiers to HC Ambrì-Piotta, this time in a sweep.
O’Leary departed after that season, and Swede Per Hånberg took over. In 2017–18, Langenthal finished second in qualifying, beat EHC Visp 4–2 in the quarterfinals, but lost to Olten in five games in the semifinals.
Hånberg led the team to its third Swiss League title in 2019. Despite HC La Chaux-de-Fonds winning the regular season, Langenthal swept the final series 4–0 with strong defensive play, clinching the championship.
Background
In the 2001–02 season, SC Langenthal succeeded as Swiss amateur champion in the Regio league to gain promotion to the second-tier National League B. In the 2002–03 season, the team won six wins and five draws and reached tenth place. The following season, they reached the play-offs for the first time, dropping out in the semi-final against EHC Basel.
In the 2011–12 season, Langenthal finished second in the regular season behind Lausanne HC. They swept EHC Basel 4–0 in the quarter-final, then defeated HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in a seven-game semi-final series, winning the decisive game 2–1 at home in front of 3,741 spectators on goals from Noël Guyazand and Jeff Campbell. In the final, after two initial losses, Langenthal won four consecutive games against Lausanne HC to claim their first National League B championship. They lost the National League A qualification 1–4 to HC Ambrì-Piotta.
In the 2012–13 season, Langenthal again finished second in qualifying, swept the GCK Lions 4–0 in the quarter-final, but lost the semi-final 2–4 to local rivals EHC Olten. They returned to win the championship in 2016–17 under head coach Jason O'Leary, defeating SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 4–3 in the final, then lost the National League Qualifiers 0–4 to HC Ambri-Piotta.
After O'Leary left, Per Hånberg became head coach. In 2017–18, Langenthal reached second place in qualification, won the quarter-final against EHC Visp 4–2, but lost the semi-final to EHC Olten in five games. Hånberg led the team to a third Swiss League title in 2019, sweeping regular-season leaders HC La Chaux-de-Fonds 4–0 in the final.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: SC Langenthal (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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