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IIHF Honour Roll
Ernest Aljancic Sr.


Born on December 6, 1916 in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. A true pioneer to the sport of ice hockey in Slovenia, Aljancic helped introduce the game in his hometown of Ljubljana back in 1929. His club, the Ilirija Sports Club of Ljubljana, then of Yugoslavia, defeated the neighboring town of Kamnik in a historical match. After that, Aljancic and his teammates took it a step further and participated in the country's first-ever international match when they lined up against an Austrian opponent and it was Aljancic who scored the country's first ever international goal. He went on to represent his country for an amazing span of 25 seasons, until retiring as a player at the age of 41 back in 1957. Aljancic's contribution to the game in his country was not limited to his accomplishments on the ice. Aside from originally translating and communicating the rules of ice hockey locally, Aljancic and a couple of colleagues were credited with building the first artificial ice rink in Ljubljana, and later, the infamous Tivoli Hall. The passion for and the knowledge of the game continued with his son, Ernest Jr. guiding Slovenian ice hockey into the new millennium.

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