With over 80 years of experience and 14 Swiss national championships, SC Bern is one of Switzerland's most storied hockey clubs. They're also the most watched, as their loyal fans have made them a fixture atop the annual European attendance rankings.
by Efraim Larsson
Formed in November 1930, SC Bern officially began playing in early 1931 and quickly established themselves in the top Swiss league before running into a bit of trouble from the late 1940s until the late 1950s. Between 1946–47 and 51–52, Bern had to play in the relegation round in five of six seasons, saving their spot in the NLA each time. In 1956 they couldn’t hold on any longer and got relegated after losing against EHC Basel-Rotweiss in the relegation round.
A championship club
After two seasons in the National League B, Bern managed to get promoted back to NLA and actually took their first NLA Title the following season, in 1958–59, led by goaltender Rene Kiener and centre Peter Stammbach. They remained near the top of the league and eventually won a second title in 1964–65.
The late '60s and early '70s were another little roller-coaster for the club, as they shuttled between the NLA and NLB for a couple of seasons, but once again they managed to spring back from that into a series of successful seasons. Back in the NLA for 1972–73, Bern put together a dynasty in the mid to late '70s, winning the NLA in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979. Forwards Roland Dellsperger and Renzo Holzer were on all four championship teams in the decade.
The team peaked again in the late '80s and early '90s, winning three titles in four seasons between 1988–89 and 1991–92, plus another in 1997, bringing their overall count to nine. Stars from these teams included goaltender Renato Tosio, defenceman Sven Leuenberger and wingers Martin Rauch and Patrick Howald.
Thanks to making the NLA finals in back-to-back seasons in 1996 and 1997, Bern qualified for the European Hockey League in 1996–97 and 1997–98. However, up against tough opponents, they were unable to advance past the group stage either year.
Leuenberger retired in 2003 and became the club's general manager. Bern won another title in 2004 and under Leuenberger's guidance the club added two more in 2010 and 2013 – right-winger Ivo Ruthemann was a member of Bern's first three championship squads in the 21st century before retiring in 2014.
Leuenberger stepped down as general manager in December 2015 during the middle of a season that the club struggled and barely squeeked into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. However, they went on a roll in the playoffs, ousting top-seeded ZSC Lions Zurich followed by HC Davos and HC Lugano to surprisingly win title number 14.
Bern's regular season title in 2007–08 gave them the chance to qualify for the first edition of the Champions Hockey League the following season. After qualifying for the final 12-team tournament, however, they were once again unable to advance past the group stage.
In 2010, SC Bern joined the European Trophy, and participated for three seasons before the Champions Hockey League was re-established in 2014. In two seasons they have so far not escaped the group stage.
The best attendance in Europe
SC Bern play their home games at PostFinance Arena (formerly known as Eisstadion Allmend Bern Arena). PF Arena was built in 1967 and currently accommodates 17,131 spectators, which makes it the third-biggest ice hockey arena outside North America.
A distinguishing characteristic of PostFinance Arena is that the upper level of one of the arena's long sides is standing room only, and can hold more than 10,000 standing patrons alone. Attracting fans to the arena hasn’t been a problem for the popular SC Bern. Starting in 2001–02, the club has led all European hockey clubs in attendance each season, reaching 16 consecutive seasons in 2015–16.
Famous players
SC Bern have honoured nine players throughout their history by retiring the uniform numbers they wore with the club. Bern has strict standards for retiring numbers – the player must begin and end his National League career with SC Bern and play at least 10 seasons with the club. Additionally, the player must win two national titles with the club and play at least 50 games for his national team.
In addition to these nine players, who are named throughout the article, Swiss NHL regular Roman Josi is a product of the club and has played for the NLA team periodically in his career, including a starring role on the 2010 championship team. SC Bern has also attracted star players who played briefly with the club during NHL lockouts, including Daniel Briere, Dany Heatley, and John Tavares.
Team facts
| Founded | 1931 | Domestic titles | 14 (1959, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2016) | |
| Seasons in top league | 82 | Retired numbers | 0 – Rene Kiener (1955–73), 6 – Peter Stammbach (1953–67, 71–73), 7 – Martin Rauch (1983–2000), 12 – Roland Dellsperger (1964–82), 16 – Sven Leuenberger (1988–92, 94–2003), 18 – Renzo Holzer (1968–82), 22 – Patrick Howald (1986–92, 94–2001), 31 – Renato Tosio (1987–2001), 32 – Ivo Ruthemann (1999–2014) | |
| 2015–15 domestic finish | 1st | Home rink | PostFinance Arena (Capacity 17 131) |
CHL seasons
2015-16: 3rd in Group A
2014-15: 4th in Group E
NOTE: This article has been updated since its original publication.