Hokejsko drsalno društvo Jesenice, commonly referred to as HDD Jesenice or simply Jesenice, is a Slovenian ice hockey team based in Jesenice. They are members of the Alps Hockey League and Slovenian Ice Hockey League. HDD Jesenice was founded in 2013 as Team Jesenice before changing to their current name for the 2014–15 season. Jesenice previously competed in the Inter-National League from 2013 to 2016 before it was merged into the Alps Hockey League. The club won their first Slovenian Ice Hockey League in the 2014–15 season and as a result qualified for the 2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup. Jesenice plays their home games at the Podmežakla Hall. The team is also known as SIJ Acroni Jesenice due to sponsorship reasons.
History
HDD Jesenice was founded in 2013 under the name of Team Jesenice and joined the Inter-National League and the Slovenian Ice Hockey League for the 2013–14 season. The team replaced HD Mladi Jesenice in the Slovenian Ice Hockey League who withdrew from the competition after the end of the 2012–13 season due to financial reasons. In their debut Inter-National League season Team Jesenice finished the regular season in eighth place and qualified for the playoffs, however were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Following the end of the Inter-National League season, Team Jesenice joined the 2013–14 Slovenian Ice Hockey League at the playoff stage of the competition. Team Jesenice was drawn against Slavija who they defeated in two games to advance to the final against Olimpija. Team Jesenice went on to lose the final series in two games. Prior to the start of the 2014–15 season the club was renamed to HDD Jesenice. In their second Inter-National League season, Jesenice finished the regular season in third. Going into the playoffs Jesenice was drawn against Slavija for the quarterfinals. They defeated Slavija in four games and advanced to the semifinals against VEU Feldkirch. Jesenice lost the semifinal series in four games. In their second Slovenian Championship season Jesenice finished the regular season in second place, three points behind Olimpija. Following their second-place finish Jesenice advanced straight to the semifinals where they were drawn against the third placed Triglav Kranj. Jesenice defeated in two games and progressed to the final against Olimpija. Jesenice won the finals three games to one, winning their first Slovenian Championship title. As a result of winning the 2014–15 Slovenian Championship Jesenice qualified for the 2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup where they entered in the second round. Jesenice was drawn in Group B of the second round against CH Jaca, Miskolci Jegesmedve and Mogo Riga. Jesenice finished the round-robin Group B tournament in third place and failed to qualify for the third round of the tournament. In the same season, Jesenice also competed in the re-established Slovenian Cup, where they lost in the final against Olimpija. Jesenice finished the 2015–16 INL regular season in third place, 19 points behind the first placed VEU Feldkirch. The team advanced to the playoffs where they were drawn against the second placed EHC Lustenau in the semifinals. Lustenau went on to defeat Jesenice in three games. In the 2015–16 Slovenian Championship season Jesenice finished first in the standings with nine wins from ten games. In the playoffs Jesenice advanced to the finals after defeating Maribor in the quarterfinals and Celje in the semifinals. Jesenice went on to lose the final to Olimpija after five games. In June 2016 the Inter-National League was merged with the Italian Serie A to form the Alps Hockey League. HDD Jesenice applied as the only Slovenian member and was accepted into the 16 team league. In the 2016–17 season, Jesenice won their second national title after defeating Olimpija 3–0 in the finals.
