Hannover Scorpions

Wedemark sits some 20 kilometres north of Hanover, and it was there, not in the city itself, that a hockey club took shape in 1975 under the name ESC Wedemark. It changed identity twice more before the professional side moved into Hanover in 1997 and borrowed its name from the city's most famous export, the rock band Scorpions.

The club spent seventeen seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, losing as DEL runner-up in 2001, 2006 and 2009. That changed in 2010, when Hans Zach's side beat Augsburger Panther 3-0 in the final. Len Soccio, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, had his number 20 retired by the club; Travis Scott was named playoff MVP that year.

The DEL run ended in 2013, when financial trouble forced the top-flight entity to sell its licence to Schwenninger Wild Wings and dissolve. What survived was smaller: a new club built to keep the Scorpions name alive in the Oberliga, the third tier, which in 2017 merged with ESC Wedemark Scorpions. That club now plays out of the ARS Arena in Wedemark-Mellendorf rather than Hanover, and meets the Hannover Indians in the Hannover-Derby that keeps the local rivalry alive regardless of division.