Ernest Aljančič Explained

Played For:SK Ilrija
HK Ljubljana
Birth Date:December 5, 1916
Birth Place:Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary
Death Place:Ljubljana, Slovenia
Career Start:1932
Career End:1957
Ntl Team:Yugoslavia

Ernest "Nestl" Aljančič (5 December 1916 – 19 November 2006) was a Slovenian ice hockey player and official.

Aljančič was one of ice-hockey pioneers in Yugoslavia. As a member of SK Ilrija he participated in the first Yugoslavian ice-hockey game against Kamnik team. He continued to play after the Second World War in the renamed HK Ljubljana team. He also played for the Yugoslavia national ice hockey team in the first international match against Austria national ice hockey team, where Aljančič scored first Yugoslav international goal. As a part of the Yugoslavia national team he participated in the 1951 and 1955 World Ice Hockey Championships, scoring two goals.[1]

In 1957, after a 25-year ice-hockey career, Aljančič retired. He later worked as an official trying to popularise the sport in Slovenia, helped to build Hala Tivoli ice-hockey rink and organize the 1966 World Ice Hockey Championships in it. As the first Slovenian, he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2002.[2] [3] In 2007, he was inducted to the Slovenian Hockey Hall of Fame.

His two sons, Ernest Aljančič and Jani Aljančič, have also played ice-hockey for Olimpija and Yugoslavia national ice hockey team. Ernest was also the president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia for 15 years.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Slovenia Is Proud to Have Two IIHF Hall of Fame Members . 2011-02-02 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711172703/http://www.hockey2010-slo.com/en/hall-of-fame . 2011-07-11 .
  2. News: Umrl je Nestl Aljančič. Siol. sl. Ljubljana, Slovenia. 25 June 2023.
  3. Web site: Eight new IIHF Hall of Famers will be celebrated in Goteborg. International Ice Hockey Federation. 2002. 8 November 2007. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191630/http://www.iihf.com/news/1newsog70130.htm. 27 September 2007.