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 The UNIS Flyers were founded in 1967 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 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 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
Updated February 25, 2024 GoaltendersNumberPlayerCatchesAcquiredPlace of Birth 41Martijn OosterwijkL 2019Groningen, Netherlands43Almer de BoerL 2022Heerenveen, Netherlands
DefencemenNumberPlayerShootsAcquiredPlace of Birth 3Pippo Limnell Finocchiaro R 2015Catania, Italy14Niels van der Vossen L 2011Netherlands18Kenny Welles L 2010Oudeschoot, Netherlands24Trevor Hunt L 2018Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada52Mark HoekstraR 2010Heerenveen, Netherlands76Viktor NordemannL 2018Amsterdam, Netherlands91Ernesto KlemR 2016The Hague, Netherlands91Todd RatchfordR 2018Howell, Michigan, United States
ForwardsNumberPlayerShootsPositionAcquiredPlace of Birth 7Jasper Nordemann RF 2018Amsterdam, Netherlands10Brent Janssen RF 2013Heerenveen, Netherlands15Wessel CopierRF 2021De Meern, Netherlands19Tom SpeelRF 2021Netherlands21Tony DemelinneLLW 2012The Hague, Netherlands22Dave van den Bos LF 2019Netherlands27Jesse BarwellLC 2023Oakville, Canada28Lars den Edel RF 2016Leeuwarden, Netherlands84Kevin NijlandLF 2008Heerenveen, Netherlands92Dennis SikmaLF 2014Heerenveen, Netherlands97Marc NijlandLF 2015Netherlands
Staff 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 Alex Andjelic Dave Hyrsky
Notable players Alwin Assenberg Jolke Balt Jeroen Beeksma Pim van de Strijkerburg Cole Byers
References
External links UNIS Flyers Netherlands Ice Hockey Union website TYSC Tilburg