of the Slovak Extraliga, but they finished last and were relegated to the Slovak 1.Liga. Zvolen won the 1996–97 Slovak 1.Liga season and promoted to the Extraliga after 3 years. In the 1997–98 season they placed fifth in the regular season and were eliminated by Dukla Trenčín in the quarterfinals. In the next season they progressed to the semifinals, beating Trenčín in the quarterfinals, but were defeated by Slovan Bratislava. Zvolen played in the playoffs finals for the first time in club history in the 1999–00 season. There they lost 2–3 against Slovan. The most successful season in the club history was the 2000–01 season. Zvolen finished first in the regular season, defeated 3–0 MHC Martin in the quarterfinals, 3–0 HK Poprad in the semifinals, 3–1 Dukla Trenčín in the finals and won their first Slovak Extraliga title ever. Ján Plch (79 pts), Richard Šechný (70 pts) and Petr Vlk (64 pts) were the top three scoring leaders of the Extraliga regular season. Šechný (19 pts) was also a scoring leader in the playoffs. Since 2001 Zvolen was playoffs finalist four times but won the title only once more in the 2012–13 season. Continental Cup Besides their triumph at the Slovak championship in 2001, Zvolen is a winner of the IIHF Continental Cup. In the 8th edition of the cup in 2005 they played in the final stage against HC Dynamo Moscow, Alba Volán Székesfehérvár and the Milano Vipers. Zvolen won all three games and became the third Slovak winner after HC Košice and HC Slovan Bratislava. Honours Domestic Slovak Extraliga Winners (3): 2000–01, 2012–13, 2020–21 Runners-up (4): 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05 3rd place (3): 2002–03, 2018–19, 2021–22 Slovak 1. Liga Winners (1): 1996–97 Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 1995–96 1st. Slovak National Hockey League Winners (4): 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78 Runners-up (3): 1973–74, 1976–77, 1980–81 3rd place (1): 1971–72 International IIHF Continental Cup Winners (1): 2004–05 3rd place (1): 2001–02 Pre-season Rona Cup Winners (2): 2001, 2008 Players Current roster Sponsorship HKM Zvolen has a list of sponsors such as Urpiner, Doprastav, OS Zvolen, COOP Jednote Krupina, ZOS Loko, INMEDIA, KOŠÚT Plus, BDI, Almik, Geis, Vezopax, J&K Invest Group, Betamont, Retech and Instaforex. Notable coaches Pavel Zábojník Ernest Bokroš František Hossa Ladislav Svozil Peter Mikula Július Šupler Peter Oremus Notable players Jozef Golonka Ján Letko Ján Podkonický Bohumil Trávník Roman Čunderlík Miroslav Žabka Róbert Pukalovič Miroslav Michalek Dušan Pohorelec Ladislav Čierny