Andorra men's national ice hockey team

Andorra
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFederació Andorrana d'Esports de Gel
Head coachOriol Boronat
Top scorerGerard Ávila (12)
Most pointsGerard Ávila (16)
Home stadiumPalau de Gel d'Andorra[1]
Team colors       
IIHF codeAND
Ranking
Current IIHFNR (27 May 2024)[2]
First international
Portugal  3–2  Andorra
(Canillo, Andorra; 29 September 2017)
Biggest win
Andorra  12–0  Portugal
(Füssen, Germany; 6 May 2022)
Biggest defeat
Portugal  11–2  Andorra
(Füssen, Germany; 19 November 2018)
Algeria  14–5  Andorra
(Füssen, Germany; 4 May 2022)
IIHF Development Cup
Appearances3 (first in 2017)
Best result4th (2017, 2018)
International record (W–L–T)
1–12–1

The Andorra national ice hockey team (Catalan: Selecció d'hoquei sobre gel d'Andorra) is the national men's ice hockey team of Andorra. The team is controlled by the Federació Andorrana d'Esports de Gel (FAEG) and has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

History

Ice hockey in Andorra as a sport began in 1987, with the opening of the Palau de Gel, the principality's only ice rink, in the town of Canillo. The Andorran Federation of Ice Sports, known in Catalan as the Federació Andorrana d'Esports de Gel (FAEG), was established in 1992 and later joined the IIHF on 4 May 1995.[3] Despite not having a national team nor entering in any IIHF tournaments, Canillo was the host city of the 1997 IIHF World Championship Group D tournament, as well as the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II A tournament.

However, it was only in 2017, when an official Andorra national team was organized. The national team made its debut at the 2017 IIHF Development Cup which was hosted in Canillo. Andorra played Portugal, Ireland, and Morocco. They lost all of their matches in the tournament, including a 5–3 defeat to Portugal in the bronze medal match.[3] Andorra's first match was on 29 September 2017 against Portugal, the match ended in a 3–2 defeat in penalty shootout.[4]

In 2022, Andorra applied to participate in the IIHF World Championships, though the Andorran federation noted that the country had difficulty fulfilling IIHF criteria, which include having 60 registered players and a domestic league.[5]

Tournament record

World Championship

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
1930 through 1994 Not a member of the IIHF
1995 through 2022 Did not enter
Total 0/0 – – – – –

IIHF Development Cup

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
2017 Andorra Canillo 4th place 4 0 0 1 3
2018 Germany Füssen 4th place 5 0 0 0 5
2022 5th place 5 1 – 1* 3
Total 3/3 14 1 0 2 11

All-time record against other national teams

As of 7 May 2022[6]
Team GP W T L GF GA
 Algeria 1 0 0 1 5 14
 Colombia 1 0 0 1 3 8
 Ireland 4 0 1 3 20 25
 Liechtenstein 1 0 0 1 4 8
 Morocco 1 0 0 1 3 9
 North Macedonia 2 0 0 2 7 15
 Portugal 4 1 0 3 19 19
Total 14 1 1 12 61 98

References

  1. ^ Palau de Gel - Andorra (in Catalan)
  2. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Andorra slowly growing". International Ice Hockey Federation. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Andorra". National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Andorra formarà part de la Federació Internacional d'Hoquei Gel a". Andorra Difusió (in Catalan). 5 October 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Ice Hockey in Andorra". National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 30 April 2023.