Nikkō Ice Bucks

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) is an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan.

Nikkō Ice Bucks
City	Nikkō, Tochigi
League	Asia League Ice Hockey
Founded	1999 (1999)
Home arena	Nikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena (capacity 2,000)
Colours
Owner(s)	Kobayashi Sumio
Head coach	Ari-Pekka Siekkinen
Captain	Setaka Tetsuo
Website	http://www.icebucks.jp/

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

Nikko Icebucks in 2018

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.

On January 29, 2020, It was announce that five players would represent Japan in the 3rd round of qualifiers for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.[1]

Honours

• Japan League championships: none
• Asia League championships: none
• All Japan Ice hockey Championship: 2015, 2019

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[2]

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	–
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	–
2009–10	36	12	2	1	—	2	2	17	103	118	46	6th/7	–
2010–11	36	10	3	1	—	0	2	20	95	112	40	6th/7	–
2011–12	36	18	0	4	—	0	1	13	158	103	63	3rd/7	–
2012–13	42	15	3	3	—	2	0	19	123	141	59	5th/7	–
Totals	346	110	15	10	9	5	9	188	954	1212	–	–	–

*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
1		Ryu Shotaro	L	2014	Taiwa, Japan
38		Ono Kohei	L	2011	Machida, Japan
44		Fukufuji Yutaka (A)	L	2010	Kushiro, Japan

Defencemen
#	Country	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
4		Sakata Shun	L	2018	Kushiro, Japan
5		Ishikawa Takahiro	L	2016	Nikkō, Japan
8		Soma Shuto	L	2018	Sapporo, Japan
9		Sato Hiroto (A)	L	2014	Kushiro, Japan
27		Joonas Hurri	L	2018	Lahti, Finland
28		Otsu Yusei	L	2014	Nikkō, Japan
49		Tanaka Kentaro	R	2017	West Vancouver, Canada
51		Watanabe Akihide	L	2018	Nikkō, Japan
54		Ito Goshi	R	2015	Tomakomai, Japan
55		Artyom Dorofeyev	L	2018	Moscow, Russia
74		Kawai Ryuichi	L	2015	Sapporo, Japan

Forwards
#	Country	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
12		Konno Mitsuyoshi	W	R	2013	Tomakomai, Japan
13		Iwamoto Kazuma (A)	C	L	2013	Tomakomai, Japan
16		Saito Tetsuya (C)	C	R	2013	Kushiro, Japan
17		Inui Jyunya	RW	R	2017	Utsunomiya, Japan
18		Furuhashi Makuru	LW	L	2016	Nikkō, Japan
22		Omuku Maito	F	L	2016	Obihiro, Japan
25		Joonas Alanne	LW/RW	L	2011	Rovaniemi, Finland
30		Gorai Takuto	C	L	2013	Sapporo, Japan
53		Terao Hiromichi (A)	LW	L	2017	Nikkō, Japan
86		Hikosaka Yu	W/C	R	2016	Tokyo, Japan
88		Terao Yuri	LW	L	2014	Nikkō, Japan
91		Saito Takeshi	RW	R	2014	Kushiro, Japan
92		Deguchi Keita	F	L	2018	Tomakomai, Japan

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)
• Patrik Degerstedt 1999–2001
• Martin Kariya 2004–05, LW (Brother of Paul Kariya and Steve Kariya)
• Shjon Podein 2005–06, LW
• 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
• Andrew Kozek 2011–12, LW
• Petteri Nummelin 2017-18, D

References

1. https://www.icebucks.jp/news/14446
2. "Archive Record". Alhockey.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2009.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)