UNIS Flyers
Ice hockey team in Heerenveen, Netherlands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The UNIS Flyers are a professional ice hockey club located in Heerenveen, Netherlands. The team competes in the BeNe League and also takes part in the Dutch Cup. Home games are played in the ice hockey arena which forms part of the Thialf complex.
| UNIS Flyers Heerenveen | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| League | BeNe League 2015-present Eredivisie 1971-2015 Dutch Cup |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Home arena | Thialf (capacity: 2,500) |
| Colours | Blue, white, red |
| General manager | Rob van Aalderen |
| Head coach | Mike Nason |
| Asst. coach |
|
| Website | UNIS Flyers |
History
The UNIS Flyers were founded in 1967[1] and played their first season in the Eredivisie in 1971-72. The Flyers set the Eredivisie record for the most consecutive championships with 7 between 1976 and 1983.
Heerenveen is the smallest Dutch city currently represented in the BeNe League (although the Belgian city of Herentals is smaller).
Over the years, the Flyers have competed under a variety of different names, since 2013 they have been known as the UNIS Flyers, due to a sponsorship deal with industrial electronics company UNIS Group.
- Names marked with * are sponsorship names.
| Competed name | Seasons | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thialf Heerenveen | 1971/72 - 1973/74 | |
| Peters & Jagers Heerenveen* | 1974/75 | |
| Feenstra Verwarming Heerenveen* | 1975/76 - 1977/78 | |
| Feenstra Flyers* | 1978/79 - 1983/84 | |
| Freriks Flyers* | 1984/85 | |
| BP Flyers* | 1985/86 - 1989/90 | |
| Forbo Flyers* | 1990/91 - 1991/92 | |
| Flyers | 1992/93 - 1994/95 | (until January 1995) |
| Pelgrim Flyers* | 1994/95 - 1999/00 | (from January 1995) |
| Formido Flyers* | 2000/01 - 2003/04 | |
| Vadeko Flyers* | 2004/05 - 2007/08 | |
| Hajé Flyers* | 2008/09 - 2009/10 | |
| A6.nl Flyers* | 2010/11 | |
| Friesland Flyers | 2011/12 - 2012/13 | (until January 2013 still sponsored by A6.nl) |
| UNIS Flyers* | 2013–present |
Championships
- National Championship
- 9 times Champion: 1976-77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2015-16, 2016-17
- Dutch Cup
- 12 times winner: 1976-77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1997–98, 2001-02, 2015-16, 2016-2017
Season results
- Recent seasons from 2005-06 to 2012-13.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime Wins, OTL = Overtime Losses, L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
| Season | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2012–13 | 36 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 138 | 97 | 70 | 3rd, Eredivisie | Lost semi-finals to Tilburg (0W-3L) |
| 2011–12 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 63 | 16 | 6th, North Sea Cup | Lost qtr.final round-robin to The Hague and Tilburg(0W-1OTL-7L) |
| 2010–11 | 28 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 118 | 105 | 53 | 3rd, North Sea Cup | Lost quarter-finals to Geleen (0-2) |
| 2009–10 | 28 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 125 | 88 | 51 | 5th, Eredivisie | Lost quarter-finals to Geleen (0-2) |
| 2008–09 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 87 | 79 | 37 | 5th, Eredivisie | Lost quarter-finals to Nijmegen (0-3) |
| 2007-08 | 24 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 119 | 53 | 57 | 2nd, Eredivisie | Lost finals to Tilburg (1-4) |
| 2006-07 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 80 | 78 | 30 | 4th, Eredivisie | Lost semi-finals to Geleen (0-3) |
| 2005-06 | 20 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 92 | 56 | 41 | 2nd, Eredivisie | Lost finals to Nijmegen (2-3) |
Roster
Updated February 25, 2024 [2]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 41 |  |
Martijn Oosterwijk | L | 2019 | Groningen, Netherlands |
| 43 | |
Almer de Boer | L | 2022 | Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 3 |  |
Pippo Limnell Finocchiaro | R | 2015 | Catania, Italy | |
| 14 | |
Niels van der Vossen | L | 2011 | Netherlands | |
| 18 | |
Kenny Welles | L | 2010 | Oudeschoot, Netherlands | |
| 24 |  |
Trevor Hunt | L | 2018 | Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada | |
| 52 | |
Mark Hoekstra | R | 2010 | Heerenveen, Netherlands | |
| 76 | |
Viktor Nordemann | L | 2018 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| 91 | |
Ernesto Klem | R | 2016 | The Hague, Netherlands | |
| 91 |  |
Todd Ratchford | R | 2018 | Howell, Michigan, United States | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 7 | |
Jasper Nordemann | R | F | 2018 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 10 | |
Brent Janssen | R | F | 2013 | Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| 15 | |
Wessel Copier | R | F | 2021 | De Meern, Netherlands |
| 19 | |
Tom Speel | R | F | 2021 | Netherlands |
| 21 | |
Tony Demelinne | L | LW | 2012 | The Hague, Netherlands |
| 22 | |
Dave van den Bos | L | F | 2019 | Netherlands |
| 27 | |
Jesse Barwell | L | C | 2023 | Oakville, Canada |
| 28 | |
Lars den Edel | R | F | 2016 | Leeuwarden, Netherlands |
| 84 | |
Kevin Nijland | L | F | 2008 | Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| 92 | |
Dennis Sikma | L | F | 2014 | Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| 97 | |
Marc Nijland | L | F | 2015 | Netherlands |
Staff
- Mike Nason – Head Coach
- Pippo Limnell Finocchiaro – Assistant Coach
- Rob van Aalderen – Team manager
- Jan Berkenpas - Equipment manager
- Sean Berkenpas - Assistant to the Equipment manager
- Erik Veen – Physiotherapist
- Piety Elsinga - Physiotherapist
Former coaches
Alex Andjelic
Dave Hyrsky
Notable players
Alwin Assenberg- Jolke Balt
- Jeroen Beeksma
- Pim van de Strijkerburg
- Cole Byers