From humble beginnings, the Storhamar club has risen through the ranks of Norwegian hockey and became a league powerhouse in the late 1990s. They have maintained respectability in the 21st century. 

by Lars Nikolaisen

The history of Storhamar Hockey is a classic rags to riches story. It’s the story of a club who started with literally nothing and through sheer willpower and hard work finally got the breaks and took it’s place among Norway's finest clubs. 

It all started with a few youngsters from Hamar went to Oslo to watch the 1952 Olympics – hardly anyone in the town knew about ice hockey. In Norway, unlike in neighbouring Sweden and Finland, hockey hadn’t really caught on earlier. The boys came home with a strong wish to start playing the sport, but had nothing to start with and no club willing to take up the sport. In the end, Storhamar IL, a club in the western part of town, took them in and, with a little help from the national ice hockey association, got the much needed equipment. It would, however, go five years until they were able to start playing games and join a league. 

Hockey proved very popular in Hamar and when they finally got going there was nothing stopping the team. The small outdoor rink at times saw up to 1000 spectators as the then-black-and-yellow Storhamar team took on, and beat, the establishment. By 1963 they had made the second level and were a force to be reckoned with for many a season there. But as more and more clubs moved to indoor arenas, or at least artificially frozen rinks, Storhamar found it harder to compete and, as the 1960s drew to a close, many forecast the slow death of hockey in Hamar. Storhamar would have nothing of it and with the core of the team winning the national boys tournament in 1971 they went all the way and secured promotion to the 1st Division in 1977!

The promotion wasn’t a complete surprise, but it left the club in a difficult position. Even in cold Hamar they could not hope to play home games before late November, a couple of months after the league started. The borough council helped the club out and finally the long sought after artificially frozen rink became reality. The club, however, had bigger ideas and after struggling through two seasons amongst the elite they went all in and started planning an indoor arena. It was opened in 1981 and, despite landing the club in economic turmoil for many years, they now had the infrastructure they hardly had dreamt about only a few years earlier. Within a few years they belonged to the finest in the land, reaching the playoffs for the first time in 1985 and playing for gates of nearly 3000 people in the small arena. 

Storhamar stayed near the top all the way, but were gaining a reputation as perennial bridesmaids. When it came to the crunch the yellow and blues always wilted. Finishing second in the league and falling at the first playoff hurdle was the familiar tale of the team. Events in the neighbouring town of Lillehammer, however, set Storhamar on a new path. When they were awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics, the club soon set about getting one of the arenas to be built for the games. After much debating it was finally agreed on in 1991 and in December the next year Storhamar moved in to the new 6000-seat Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre. Hockey was opened up to the masses, the biggest names in Norwegian hockey thronged to join the club and the future looked extremely bright. 

Having won the league on a couple of occasions and reached their first final in 1994, they were finally ready for the big push. The curse was broken in 1995 when Stjernen were beaten in the final and the first championship was secured. The team repeated in 1996 and 1997 and, along with Vålerenga, remained the powerhouse of Norwegian hockey for 10 years. The two split the titles between them for a 10-year period. Storhamar won another championship in 2000, before a slight downturn. In 2004 they won the first game seven in Norwegian playoff history with a goal in the second overtime, sending a record crowd of 7405 spectators rapturous. Economically, the success was not viable and though they had been successful the club was constantly in narrow straights. They raised their game once more in 2008 and secured a sixth championship before having to cut costs.

After a few seasons in the relative wilderness of mid-table, a new dawn emerged in 2013. The team went top early on and held their own for a few months, before a new period of difficulties came about. A massive operation set about by local businessmen helped the club survive and going into a new season with some hope. Expected to finish outside the top four the team challenged for the league throughout the season and the crowds were coming in at record rates. Finishing second in the league, Storhamar went into the playoffs as one of the favourites and cast aside Lillehammer and Sparta on an impressive march to the finals. They took Stavanger to game seven, before finally having to surrender.

The season rekindled Hamar's love for hockey and left the club without debt for the first time in over 10 years, looking towards a brighter future and playing in the CHL.

Team facts

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