Frederikshavn White Hawks

The Frederikshavn White Hawks are a Danish professional ice hockey team playing in the top Danish ice hockey league currently called the Metal Ligaen. The team is based in the town of Frederikshavn on the east coast of Northern Jutland, Denmark, and is run by the Frederikshavn Ishockey Klub (F.I.K).

Frederikshavn White Hawks
CityFrederikshavn, Denmark
LeagueMetal Ligaen
Founded1964
Home arenaScanel Hockey Arena
ColoursWhite and Blue
Head coachJari Pasanen

History

The White Hawks were founded in 1964 and have won the Danish title twice (1989, 2000) and have been runners-up three times (1999, 2008, 2011).

Recent history

2007/08

In 2008 they progressed to the final after finishing the regular season seeded 8th (the first team in Danish league history to do so) knocking top seed Rødovre out in the first best of 7 series in the 7th game by scoring two late goals to win by 1. They beat SønderjyskE in the semifinal series, but lost the final in five games to the then reigning champions Herning.

2008/09

2009 saw them seeded 7th. If not for the bankruptcy of Hvidovre they would have finished 8th and probably faced Herning and forced their local rivals AaB out of the finals by 1 goal differential. However Hvildovre's bankruptcy left an open slot for AaB and put the White Hawks up a place to face Rødovre (second seed) again in the quarterfinals. This was also a very close series with the White Hawks winning three games over the much favored Rødovre, and pushing them to game 7 again. Rødovre won game 7 fairly easily, but the decisive moment was really Rødovre's overtime win in game 4, without which the White Hawks would have progressed after winning game 6. Rødovre went on to lose the semifinals to SønderjyskE who beat Herning in the finals.

2009/10

The 09/10 season was a Jekyll and Hyde one for The White Hawks, they were virtually unbeatable at home yet struggled to take points away. Despite this they finished the regular season in a very impressive 3rd behind the 2 favorites SønderjyskE & AaB. 3rd giving them home advantage in the quarterfinals they choose to play Rødovre again for the 3rd straight year. Some experts doubted they could progress saying "The White Hawks can't win away so all Rødovre needs to do is win 1 game away and they will win the series". This series would turn out to be another classic, Rødovre won the first 2 games despite the White Hawks dominating the first, the 3rd game saw an impressive come from behind win by The White Hawks. The series was really decided with the White Hawks away win in the 4th game, a game that saw a goal scored by White Hawks goalkeeper Frederik Andersen. Andersen had tried to score in game 3 after Rødovre pulled their keeper but just missed, in game 4 he made sure of his aim and scored in the empty net. The White Hawks went on to win a close game 5 and then game 7 easily. They were then put out in the semifinals after just 4 games by a dominant SønderjyskE who progressed to easily beat AaB in the finals in only 4 games to claim another championship. The White Hawks lost the bronze playoff to Herning and finished 2009/10 in 4th.

Current state

2011 saw the White Hawks finish second to Herning, this along with a profit from the year saw the team sign many import players for the 2011/12 season for the first time in several years. There was a high expectation in the Danish Hockey community that the team could win the title but they never jelled and finished in seventh place losing the quarterfinals to eventual runners-up Odense in four straight games. Looking forward to 2012/13 the team has changed and is again expected to do well.

Team

Goaltenders
  1. Rob Nolan
  2. Matthias Hansen

Defencemen
  1. Phil Paquet
  2. Anders Thode
  3. Christian Schioldan
  4. Kasper Kristensen
  5. Rasmus Christiansen
  6. Mads Bech Christensen
  7. Rasmus Søndergaard
  8. Alexander Ytterell

Forwards
  1. Thomas Søndergaard
  2. Oscar Andersson
  3. Kennie Christensen
  4. Rasmus Bjerrum
  5. Tobias Kisum
  6. Lasse Overgaard
  7. Morten Lie
  8. Christian Chapman
  9. Nicolai Meyer
  10. Trent Daavettila
  11. Kristoffer Jonsson
  12. Robin Bergman
  13. Christopher Frederiksen

Coach

Assistant coaches
  • Frederik Åkesson

Notable players
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