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UNIS Flyers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UNIS Flyers Heerenveen
CityHeerenveen, Netherlands
LeagueBeNe League
2015-present
Eredivisie
1971-2015
Dutch Cup
Founded1967
Home arenaThialf
(capacity: 2,500)
ColoursBlue, white, red
     
General managerRob van Aalderen
Head coachMike Nason
Asst. coachPippo Limnell Finocchiaro
WebsiteUNIS Flyers

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.

History

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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

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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

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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

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Updated February 25, 2024 [2]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
41 Netherlands Martijn Oosterwijk L 2019 Groningen, Netherlands
43 Netherlands Almer de Boer L 2022 Heerenveen, Netherlands
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
3 Finland Pippo Limnell Finocchiaro R 2015 Catania, Italy
14 Netherlands Niels van der Vossen L 2011 Netherlands
18 Netherlands Kenny Welles L 2010 Oudeschoot, Netherlands
24 Canada Trevor Hunt L 2018 Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
52 Netherlands Mark Hoekstra R 2010 Heerenveen, Netherlands
76 Netherlands Viktor Nordemann L 2018 Amsterdam, Netherlands
91 Netherlands Ernesto Klem R 2016 The Hague, Netherlands
91 United States Todd Ratchford R 2018 Howell, Michigan, United States
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
7 Netherlands Jasper Nordemann R F 2018 Amsterdam, Netherlands
10 Netherlands Brent Janssen R F 2013 Heerenveen, Netherlands
15 Netherlands Wessel Copier R F 2021 De Meern, Netherlands
19 Netherlands Tom Speel R F 2021 Netherlands
21 Netherlands Tony Demelinne L LW 2012 The Hague, Netherlands
22 Netherlands Dave van den Bos L F 2019 Netherlands
27 Canada Jesse Barwell L C 2023 Oakville, Canada
28 Netherlands Lars den Edel R F 2016 Leeuwarden, Netherlands
84 Netherlands Kevin Nijland L F 2008 Heerenveen, Netherlands
92 Netherlands Dennis Sikma L F 2014 Heerenveen, Netherlands
97 Netherlands Marc Nijland L F 2015 Netherlands

Staff

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  • 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

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Notable players

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  • Netherlands Alwin Assenberg
  • Netherlands Jolke Balt
  • Netherlands Jeroen Beeksma
  • Netherlands Pim van de Strijkerburg
  • Canada Cole Byers

References

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  1. ^ "Unis Flyers Heerenveen details - Eurohockey.com". www.eurohockey.com. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  2. ^ "UNIS Flyers Roster". unisflyers.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved February 25, 2019.
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