LNHH · History

The Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo (LNHH) is the top tier of club ice hockey in Spain. The first season, 1972-73, had six teams. Real Sociedad won it, with Club Hielo Madrid second, FC Barcelona third and Club Hielo Valladolid fourth. The league has been run by the Royal Spanish Ice Sports Federation since that body was formed in 2006. Before that, from 1977, it was run by the Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation.

The first championships (1972-1985)

Real Sociedad won the first three titles, from 1972-73 to 1974-75. In those seasons only Spanish players were allowed, because the San Sebastián club had asked for that rule to help the sport grow at home. Two other Basque clubs followed. Txuri Urdin, also from San Sebastián, won in 1975-76. Casco Viejo Bilbao won in 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79 and again in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 1982-83, six titles in all. Txuri Urdin won the 1979-80 title in between. From the 1978-79 season onwards, the Spanish champion was invited to play in the European Cup. Club Hielo Jaca won its first league in 1983-84, and Txuri Urdin took the title back in 1984-85.

Puigcerdà, Barcelona and Jaca win titles (1985-1996)

Club Gel Puigcerdà won its first league in 1985-86. FC Barcelona were champions in 1986-87 and 1987-88, and Puigcerdà won again in 1988-89. After that, Txuri Urdin and Jaca shared the title. Txuri Urdin won in 1989-90, 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1994-95, and Jaca in 1990-91, 1993-94 and 1995-96. The 1994-95 season brought a playoff format that lasted for decades. After a double round-robin regular season, first played eighth, second played seventh and so on. Quarter-finals were best of three, and the semi-finals and final were best of five. The winner of the final could enter the IIHF European Cup.

Three titles in a row (1996-2011)

Barcelona won again in 1996-97. The following season, Majadahonda won its only league title, in 1997-98. Txuri Urdin won in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, Jaca in 2000-01 and Barcelona in 2001-02. Two teams then won three titles in a row: Jaca in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05, and Puigcerdà in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. Barcelona were champions in 2008-09, and Jaca ended the decade with the 2009-10 and 2010-11 titles.

Bipolo and changing champions (2011-2020)

Jaca also won in 2011-12, beating Puigcerdà in the final. The next two leagues, 2012-13 and 2013-14, went to CD Hielo Bipolo of Vitoria, which beat Puigcerdà in both finals. Jaca were champions again in 2014-15 against Puigcerdà and in 2015-16 against Txuri Urdin. The San Sebastián club then won three titles in a row: 2016-17 and 2017-18 against Jaca, and 2018-19 against Puigcerdà. In 2019-20, Puigcerdà beat Txuri Urdin in the final.

Foreign teams in the league (2020-2024)

Barcelona won the 2020-21 and 2021-22 titles, beating Puigcerdà in both finals. In 2021-22 the league also included Nordic Vikings, a Swedish club based in Madrid. Foreign teams cannot play in the playoffs, and neither can Spanish teams that field more than three foreign players in the regular season. Jaca won the 2022-23 title against Barcelona and the 2023-24 title against Majadahonda. Ice Hockey Club Porto joined in 2023-24 because Portugal had no league of its own.

The Iberian League (2024-2026)

Since 2024-25, the regular season has also served as the Iberian Ice Hockey League. It is organised by the Spanish federation and the Portuguese Winter Sports Federation, and the team that finishes first in the regular season is the Iberian champion. Seven teams took part in the first edition: HC Porto, CH Huarte, Jaca, Majadahonda, Milenio Panthers, Puigcerdà and Txuri Urdin. Jaca clinched the Iberian title in February 2025 with 50 points, 123 goals scored and 35 conceded. However, the 2024-25 Spanish title went to Puigcerdà, which beat Jaca in the final for its seventh title. Andorra Hoquei Gel joined in 2025-26 after the Andorran federation entered the Iberian league, and the top four teams in the regular season played the semi-finals. Txuri Urdin knocked out Puigcerdà, which had finished first in the regular season. Jaca beat Txuri Urdin 3-1 in the final series and won its 16th league title in March 2026, its third in four seasons.