Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
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| Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | |
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| Founded | 1949 |
| Home ice | Lokomotiv Arena 2000 |
| Based in | Yaroslavl, Russia |
| Colours | Red, white, blue |
| League | Russian Hockey Super League |
| Head coach | Vladimir Yurzinov |
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (ru: Локомотив Яросла́вль) is a professional ice hockey team from Russia.
- Founded: 1949
- Home arena: Lokomotiv Arena 2000 (capacity 9,046)
- Russian Championships won: 3 (1997, 2002, 2003)
[edit] History
The team has been known previously by several different names, with the current name being the original, re-adopted in 2000:
- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (1949-1955)
- Spartak Yaroslavl (1955-56)
- Khimik Yaroslavl (1956-57)
- HC YMZ (1959-1963)
- Trud Yaroslavl (1963-1964)
- Motor Yaroslavl (1964-1965)
- Torpedo Yaroslavl (1965-2000)
The team played generally in the Second League of the Class "A" group during the Soviet era, being promoted to the First League of Class "A" for the 1983-1984 season. Known as Torpedo Yaroslavl at that time, the team enjoyed moderate success under head coach Sergei Alekseyevich Nikolaev. Never a powerful club during the Soviet era, the team became a consistent winner during the 1990s, and won their first league championship in 1997 under coach Petr Vorobev. The club moved from Avtodizel Arena to the new Arena 2000 early in the 2001-2002 season, and won consecutive league championships in 2002 and 2003 under Czech head coach Vladimir Vujtek, Sr. Vujtek left the club after the 2002-03 season for a lucrative contract offer from rival Ak Bars Kazan. Lokomotiv have not been able to replicate their success since that time, but remain a perennial contender in the Russian Hockey Super League.
