2000-present
Season 1999-2000
In the 1999-2000 season Lugano club dominates the regular season but the real exploit is attained in the Euroleague, when the black-and-white team finally reaches the semi-final round thanks in particular to Philippe Bozon, Christian Dubé, Oliver Keller, and Wes Walz. Lugano disputes the Top Four Final, the final phase of the European championship: the Russians of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk team, led by Gomoljako, beat the Sparta Prague team in the final. The play-offs begin with the easy victories over the Fribourg and Ambrì teams, but not so with the ZSC Lions (Zurich) team: Lugano team loses the play-offs at the Hallenstadion in "contest 6" when, 10 seconds to the whistle, Plavsic gets the 4 to 3 goal.
Season 2000-2001
The 2000-01 season, the HCL's 60th birthday, faithfully follows the previous season in some things. The great final with the Zurich team is extremely intense, often unfair, polemical and, unfortunately, with an extremely bitter end: on April 7, 2001, "Game 7" at the Resega, Morgan Samuelsson scores the championship winning goal in the extra time.
Season 2001-2002
In the 2001-02 season, an ex player of the "Great Russia" arrives as coach of the Lugano club: Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. With him come new players: Petteri Nummelin, Ryan Gardner and Mike Maneluk. Continental Cup elimination leads to the drastic decision of dismissing the coach: Jim Koleff takes his place once again until the end of the season. Cristobal Huet also leaves the Lugano club to join the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL.
Season 2002-2003
In the 2002-03 season, Larry Huras arrives as new coach. At the end of a very balanced regular season, the Lugano club comes in fourth. Ahead of it in the ranking there are the following teams: Davos, ZSC Lions and Berne. Lugano team manages to dominate rhythms and timing, thus attaining the qualification for the final beating both Kloten and Zurich teams. In the final against Davos team, the current champion, in six matches Lugano team brings the black-and-whites' sixth title to the shores of Lake Ceresio.
Season 2003-2004
For the 2003-2004 season, in the Swiss black-and-white team, arrives a legendary Finnish hockey player, Ville Peltonen, and the great Sandro Bertaggia (who closes his career after six titles in Lugano) is substituted by Steve Hirschi. In January, the team conquers a new bronze medal in the Continental Cup's Superfinal in Gomel, Belarus. On February 22, 2004, the Resega lives an afternoon of intense emotions. In a mood of great collective participation, Alfio Molina's jersey nr. 1, Sandro Bertaggia's jersey nr. 2 and Pat Schafhauser's jersey nr. 4 are officially collected. The last-named is connected "live" by satellite from Minneapolis. Lugano's season has an apical moment in the play-offs semi-final against the ZSC Lions team disallowing three matchballs on the part of the Zurich team: Lugano team eliminates the Lions and is in the final. But the black-and-white team loses the "best of five" final in the extra-time of the fifth games with a goal by Marc Weber.
Season 2004-2005
The season 2004-2005 will be registered into the annals of Swiss Ice Hockey history as one of the most interesting ones and for the HC Lugano as one of the strangest. The reasons are obvious: For once the lockout in the NHL. World stars such as Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Niklas Hagman and Martin St. Louis showed their skills on Swiss ice fields. Owing to the lockout, the HC Lugano committed the Swiss NHL Goalie of the Colorado Avalanche, David Aebischer and in the Resega the NHL stars replace another: Kimmo Timonen, Jason Blake and above all Alex Tanguay. HC Lugano drops out the championship during the quarter finals against the actual Swiss Master SC Bern. At the end of the season JJ Aeschlimann ends is career after 14 successful seasons with the HC Lugano.
Season 2005-2006
The new championship 2005-2006 begins: Glen Metropolit's arrival from Jokerit Helsinki allows Lugano to improve its game. Jason York, with more than 700 games in the NHL, reinforces the defence and Lugano is on the top of the league standings. Before Christmas the club announces that Larry Huras will not be the technician of the future. The new leaders, head coach Harold Kreis from partnerteam Chur and co-coach Ivano Zanatta dispatched the responsibilities and asked the players, their brains, hearts and balls (the three "C", from Italian: Cervello, Cuore e Coglioni, così come lo sono...) in order to remount the series against Ambrì-Piotta team in quarter-final. Lugano turns the series from 0-3 to 4-3, in semi-final knocked down Kloten and joins Berne in final. When the 13th of April 2006, the final siren rang at the Resega, the HCL people was at the seventh heaven for seventh title. Afterwards, the NHL knocked at Metropolit's door, and just some time later, at Nummelin's, Peltonen's and York's too: Never did a Swiss club lose four players in the same time, for a more prestigious scene.
Season 2006-2007
On the November 29, 2006, due to the magistrate's investigation on the illegal payments, the restructuration of the board of directors take place: Beat Kaufmann and of Fabio Gaggini resignes from their respective functions and they are substituted by Fausto Gianini and Paolo Rossi. For the new season, the Swedish player Dick Tärnström get hired. On the forward front, the new foreigners who signed with the club are Landon Wilson and the second Swedish man, the playmaker Rickard Wallin. In January 2007, HC Lugano played in the Super Six tournament, in St. Petersburg, Russia with the National champion teams of the six strongest European nations. Lugano defeated Färjestad (3-0), before a loss to Ak Bars Kazan of the same score. Then the team get to the playoff where the quarter finals' adversary was Kloten Flyers of Rintanen, Pittis and Hamr. Lugano defeats the series but with regret of clamorous mistake made by the referee Prugger who whistled while the puck was still in movement invalidating the equalizer.
Season 2007-2008
The approach of the 2007-2008 season is positive, the arrival of the experienced Canadian defenseman Yannick Tremblay and Timo Helbling compensate the departures. Forward Canadian playmaker Marty Murray is also recruited. The 18th of October 2007, Jukka Hentunen, HCL top scorer, leaves Lugano after being confronted with the extraordinary occasion of an extremely lucrative contract with the Russian team of the Ak Bars Kazan. As substitute, the managers sign up the NHL star Anson Carter which starts with three goals in three games but he gradually disappears from the scene. Between November and December, Lugano faces a new crisis forcing Ivano Zanatta out of the team. After a short parentheses with coach Kent Ruhnke, on 9 January John Slettvoll makes a clamorous come back. However, for the first time after twenty-two years, Lugano had to take part in the playout against Basel.
Season 2008-2009
Continuity, at least at the balustrade, was the key word of the season 2008/2009 with John Slettvoll renewing his contract, hiring of Ambrì-Piotta team leader Hnat Domenichelli and the Petteri Nummelin's come back. Revelation of the season are the sniper Brady Murray (son of Andy Murray) and the Norwegian player Patrick Thoresen. On January 7, 2009, at a derby's eve, Slettvoll abandoned the team: Hannu Virta, ex coach of TPS Turku is called from Finland to direct the team. In the quarter-finals Lugano defeats in seventh games against Davos.
Season 2009-2010
The season 2009-2010 started with a new president. Silvio Laurenti followed Paolo Rossi, after Rossi decided to leave the club for personal reasons. The former player Kent Johansson returned on the bench as head coach. In the market session, Patrick Thoresen leaved Lugano to play in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa. In his stead came Jeff Hamilton that confirmed his scorer skills but who showed poor inclination to play with the team. Johansson brought Johan Akerman for the defence who didn't give much impulse. Lugano started with a series of nine consecutive defeats between September and October. Thanks to Hnat Domenichelli, Jeff Hamilton, Randy Robitaille and Boyd Devereaux the team reacted early enough. In January the team lost five consecutive games although they quite recently reached the playoff zone. The management realized that Kent Johansson was not the right person for the Swiss hockey environment. To not risk the playout, the choice was made to change the bench director by giving its confidence to Philippe Bozon. Due to the long Vancouver Olympic Break, Bozon couldn't make the necessary changes and Lugano was easily defeated by Bern during the playoff quarter-finals. The most awaited players of Lugano literally disappeared against Larry Huras' men who won the series in four games only. The worst HCL result in all its playoff history.
Season 2010-2011
The Hockey Club Lugano commemorated the 70th anniversary of its founding. Romano Lemm, Jeff Hamilton and Johan Akerman leaved the organization. Sébastien Reuille, Sébastien Caron, Mark Popovic, Josh Hennessy, Chris Bourque and Colby Genoway joined the team. From September to November Lugano didn't manage to win two consecutive games and the playoff zone drifted away. November 29, head coach Philippe Bozon and assistant coach Sandro Bertaggia were dismissed. The management replaced them ad intermin, until the end of the regular season, with Mike Mc Namara and Patrick Fischer. For the first time within its history, Lugano is forced to the playout already at Christmas. Three days before the start of the playout, Greg Ireland, who has a significant AHL experience, came as head coach. Lugano managed to win four consecutive games against the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and conquered the fear of the playout.
Read more about this topic: HC Lugano, Team History