2007–08 German ice hockey league season

German ice hockey season 2007–08
Nation
 Germany
Levels
DEL
2nd Bundesliga
Oberliga
Number of leagues
3
Number of teams
48
Champions
Eisbären Berlin

The DEL, 2nd Bundesliga and Oberliga are the first three levels of ice hockey in Germany. All three leagues operate nationwide. While the DEL is an independenty operated league, the other two are run by the German ice hockey federation, the DEB, through the ESBG. The leagues below the Oberliga are operated by the state federations (German:Landesverbände) and don't run nationwide. The 2007–08 season for the three top leagues started on 6 September 2007 with the first round in the DEL and finished on 25 April 2008 with the fifth and last game of the 2nd Bundesliga finals.

Champions

Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the DEL

For main article, see Deutsche Eishockey Liga

The DEL is the highest tier of German ice hockey. The league was played with 15 clubs in the 2007–08 season, one more than the previous season, because the 2006–07 2nd Bundesliga champion EHC Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams had joined the league. The modus however remained the same. Each club played the other four times, resulting in 56 regular season games per club. The top six clubs at the end of the regular season are qualified for the first round of the play-offs. The clubs seven to ten play a preliminary round to determine the last two places for the first round. For the teams placed eleven to fifteen, the season has ended. No club will be relegated from the DEL this season. The league will however expand and admit a sixteenth team for next season.[1]

The league was won, for a third time in four years, by the Eisbären Berlin.

Final table

The final table operates under the following points system: Three points for a win, two for a win after overtime or penalties, one for a loss after overtime or penalties and no points for an outright loss.

Position Name P Won OTW PW OTL PL Lost GF GA Points
1 Sinupret Ice Tigers 56 33 1 3 3 5 11 206 144 115
2 Eisbären Berlin 56 33 2 3 3 1 14 231 165 113
3 Kölner Haie 56 28 6 3 4 3 12 192 146 109
4 Frankfurt Lions 56 24 5 3 4 5 15 188 172 97
5 Iserlohn Roosters 56 25 4 4 4 1 18 208 196 96
6 Adler Mannheim (C) 56 24 3 5 2 2 20 180 174 92
7 Hamburg Freezers 56 23 1 4 1 7 20 194 171 87
8 Hannover Scorpions 56 20 4 3 3 9 17 171 171 86
9 DEG Metro Stars 56 23 2 3 3 3 22 169 173 85
10 ERC Ingolstadt 56 19 7 4 3 1 22 180 190 83
11 Krefeld Pinguine 56 22 2 1 3 5 23 191 193 80
12 Augsburger Panther 56 16 3 4 3 2 28 158 187 67
13 EHC Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams (N) 56 14 2 3 2 1 34 152 202 55
14 Straubing Tigers 56 12 0 4 4 2 34 132 197 50
15 EV Duisburg 56 10 3 2 3 2 36 142 213 45

Play-offs

The four rounds of the 2007–08 play-offs were played under the following system:

Unlike the regular season, in the play-offs games will not be decided by penalty shoot-outs but in overtime (OT) sudden-death. In all play-off rounds the higher placed team from the regular season has home advantage in the uneven numbered games (Game 1, 3, 5, 7) and the other team in the even numbered games (Game 2, 4, 6).

Preliminary round

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Hamburg Freezers ERC Ingolstadt 3–5 5–4 OT 4–3
Hannover Scorpions DEG Metro Stars 4–3 2–4 1–2 OT

First round

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Sinupret Ice Tigers DEG Metro Stars 3–2 1–3 1–2 3–6 2–3 — —
Eisbären Berlin Hamburg Freezers 2–4 7–4 6–1 6–1 4–3 OT — —
Kölner Haie Adler Mannheim 4–3 1–2 5–4 OT 4–3 OT 4–1 — —
Frankfurt Lions Iserlohn Roosters 4–3 OT 2–3 OT 3–4 OT 1–5 4–2 4–0 4–3

Semi finals

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
Eisbären Berlin DEG Metro Stars 4–1 3–4 4–3 OT 1–5 3–1
Kölner Haie Frankfurt Lions 7–1 4–5 OT 2–1 OT 3–4 3–2

Finals

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
Eisbären Berlin Kölner Haie 3–2 OT 1–2 4–3 2–1 OT —

Play-off tree

First round Semi final Final
         
1 Sinupret Ice Tigers 1
9 DEG Metro Stars 4
2 Eisbären Berlin 3
9 DEG Metro Stars 2
2 Eisbären Berlin 4
7 Hamburg Freezers 1
2 Eisbären Berlin 3
3 Kölner Haie 1
3 Kölner Haie 4
6 Adler Mannheim 1
3 Kölner Haie 3
4 Frankfurt Lions 2
4 Frankfurt Lions 4
5 Iserlohn Roosters 3

Top Scorers

The five highest placed scores in the regular season and play-offs are:

Regular season

Player Club Games Goals Assists Points
Germany Robert Hock Iserlohn Roosters 56 24 63 87
Canada Steve Walker Eisbären Berlin 53 27 58 85
Canada Peter Sarno Hamburg Freezers 56 26 48 74
Germany Michael Wolf Iserlohn Roosters 56 44 27 71
Slovakia Ivan Čiernik Kölner Haie 56 38 28 66

Play-offs

Player Club Games Goals Assists Points
Canada Nathan Robinson Eisbären Berlin 13 4 11 15
Slovakia Ivan Ciernik Kölner Haie 14 11 2 13
Canada Chris Taylor Frankfurt Lions 12 5 8 13
Canada Peter Sarno Hamburg Freezers 8 4 9 13
Germany Sven Felski Eisbären Berlin 13 3 10 13
Canada Jason Young Frankfurt Lions 12 3 10 13

2nd Bundesliga

For main article, see 2nd Bundesliga

The 2nd Bundesliga is the second highest tier of ice hockey in Germany. The league played with 14 clubs in the 2007–08 season, the same number it had since 2001. Each club played each other four times during the regular season. The top eight teams in the league qualified for the play-offs to determined the 2nd Bundesliga champion who also has the opportunity to gain promotion to the DEL this season. For the clubs placed nine and ten, the season has finished after the regular round. The bottom four clubs play out the two relegated teams from the 2nd Bundesliga. However, due to the later insolvency of two of the leagues team, only one club, the EV Landsberg, was relegated.

The league was won by the Kassel Huskies who thereby earned the right to apply for a DEL licence and return to the league they played in until 2006.

The Moskitos Essen and Eisbären Regensburg both declared insolvency on 15 April 2008, being unable to meet their debts. Both clubs are immediately relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga. The two relegated clubs, Lausitz and Landsberg, are the first replacement for the two. The EV Landsberg is in financial trouble themselves and will probably not take part in the next 2nd Bundesliga season, therefore the Wölfe Freiburg become the next replacement as best placed semi final loser from the Oberliga. Should Regensburg be able to survive the insolvency, the team could enter in the Oberliga for the 2008–09 season, this is however seen as unlikely by the club.[2] If not it will take up the place of its reserve team in the Bavarian Landesliga (Tier V).[3] Which league the Moskitos Essen will be playing in 2008–09 is not yet clear but it will not be the 2nd Bundesliga.[4] Like Regensburg, the team could take the place of the reserve side which won promotion to the Regionalliga (Tier IV) this season.[5]

Due to the structure of the 2nd Bundesliga, where all teams playing are separate companies operated by the mother club, the insolvency of one of those does not mean the club itself becomes insolvent. Reserve teams are usually operated by the mother club and therefore unaffected by any insolvencies.

Regular season

The final table operates under the following points system: Three points for a win, two for a win after overtime, one for a loss after overtime and no points for an outright loss.

Position Name P Won OTW OTL Lost GF GA GD Points
1 Kassel Huskies 52 36 6 2 8 186 114 72 122
2 Landshut Cannibals 52 28 4 3 17 171 128 43 95
3 Heilbronner Falken (N) 52 27 4 3 18 171 132 39 92
4 SERC Wild Wings 52 25 5 6 16 185 153 32 91
5 SC Riessersee (N) 52 23 4 8 17 176 175 1 85
6 Moskitos Essen 52 24 4 2 22 196 184 12 82
7 SC Bietigheim-Bissingen 52 22 2 7 21 130 129 1 77
8 ETC Crimmitschau 52 19 5 7 21 125 140 −15 74
9 EHC München 52 19 4 5 24 150 169 −19 70
10 Eisbären Regensburg 52 18 5 4 25 134 162 −28 68
11 EV Ravensburg Tower Stars (N) 52 17 7 2 26 168 178 −10 67
12 REV Bremerhaven 52 20 2 2 28 148 164 −16 66
13 Lausitzer Füchse 52 16 1 4 31 149 184 −35 54
14 EV Landsberg 2000 52 13 4 2 33 137 214 −77 49

Play-offs

The three rounds of the 2007–08 play-offs were played under the following system:

In all play-off rounds the higher placed team from the regular season has home advantage in the uneven numbered games (Game 1, 3, 5, 7) and the other team in the even numbered games (Game 2, 4, 6). Should a game be undecided after regular time, there will be one overtime (OT) in sudden death format. Should there still be no winner, the game is decided through penalties (P).

First round

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Kassel Huskies ETC Crimmitschau 4–2 3–7 4–2 0–3 4–1 4–1 —
Landshut Cannibals SC Bietigheim-Bissingen 3–2 5–0 5–2 1–3 2–1 OT — —
Heilbronner Falken Moskitos Essen 2–6 4–3 P 6-7 OT 5–4 P 6-3 4–3 —
SERC Wild Wings SC Riessersee 2–3 2–4 4–1 2–3 4–1 2–1 4–1

Semi finals

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
Kassel Huskies SERC Wild Wings 4–1 1–3 3–0 5–3 —
Landshut Cannibals Heilbronner Falken 5–3 4–2 4–3 — —

Finals

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5
Kassel Huskies Landshut Cannibals 0–1 6–0 5–0 4–5 OT 3–2 OT

Play-downs

The play downs consists of only one round, played in a best-of-seven format. The two loser of this round are nominally relegated to the Oberliga.

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
EV Ravensburg EV Landsberg 2000 5–4 OT 7–4 7–2 4–3 — — —
REV Bremerhaven EHC Lausitzer Füchse 5–0 2–3 6–3 3–2 OT 1–2 2–3 P 6-4

Play-off tree

First round Semi final Final
         
1 Kassel Huskies 4
8 ETC Crimmitschau 2
1 Kassel Huskies 3
4 SERC Wild Wings 1
4 SERC Wild Wings 4
5 SC Riessersee 3
1 Kassel Huskies 3
2 Landshut Cannibals 2
2 Landshut Cannibals 4
7 SC Bietigheim-Bissingen 1
2 Landshut Cannibals 3
3 Heilbronner Falken 0
3 Heilbronner Falken 4
6 Moskitos Essen 2

Oberliga

For main article, see Oberliga

The Oberliga is the third tier of ice hockey in Germany and as such the lowest nationwide level; below it are currently the LEV's (Landesverbände). In the 2007–08 season the league played with 19 clubs. For the first time since 2001, the Oberliga was split into a northern and a southern group. Unlike until 2001 however, when the top teams of the two divisions only met in the finals, games between the two groups are already staged in the regular season, when teams from the same division met each other four times while teams from opposite divisions only met twice.

The first four clubs in each group qualified for the Oberliga play-offs to determine the two promoted clubs to the 2nd Bundesliga. An Oberliga final is not played as the two semifinal winners are both promoted. The regular season results between the two semifinal winners determined the Oberliga champion instead. The two fifth-placed teams and the sixth from the south finished their season with the end of the regular season. The bottom four clubs of each division played out one relegated team each, independently of each other. In turn, the three regional champions will gain promotion to the Oberliga with the possibility of more clubs moving up should the DEL, as planned, expand or a club in the top three divisions fold or withdraw.

The league was won by the Dresdner Eislöwen who are, together with the runner-up Tölzer Löwen, promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. Due to Kassel gaining entry to the DEL, the Wölfe Freiburg were also promoted. Of the bottom two clubs, only Erfurt was relegated. Weiden withdrew from the league for financial reasons.

Regular season

The regular season saw the league split into two groups, the Oberliga Nord and Oberliga Süd, a separation which had existed until the 2000–01 season.

North

Position Name P Won OTW OTL Lost GF GA GD Points
1 Dresdner Eislöwen (R) 52 33 5 4 10 240 144 96 113
2 Blue Lions Leipzig (N) 52 28 6 6 12 248 170 78 102
3 EC Hannover Indians 52 28 6 6 12 219 160 59 102
4 Blue Devils Weiden 52 22 7 7 16 215 192 23 87
5 Piranhas Rostock (N) 52 18 7 5 22 184 210 −26 73
6 Saale Bulls Halle (N) 52 14 6 3 29 167 227 −60 57
7 Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim (N) 52 15 2 7 28 185 220 −35 56
8 Eisbären Juniors Berlin 52 8 5 9 30 136 187 −51 43
9 Black Dragons Erfurt (N) 52 7 3 4 38 136 293 −157 31

South

Position Name P Won OTW OTL Lost GF GA GD Points
1 Tölzer Löwen 54 41 2 3 8 254 128 126 130
2 Wölfe Freiburg 54 34 3 2 15 241 160 81 110
3 EV Füssen 54 35 1 1 17 283 217 66 108
4 ESV Kaufbeuren (R) 54 29 5 2 18 210 155 55 99
5 EHC Klostersee 54 27 5 5 17 209 194 15 96
6 EC Peiting 54 27 3 4 20 216 179 37 91
7 Starbulls Rosenheim 54 22 3 6 23 179 200 −21 78
8 Deggendorf Fire (N) 54 18 5 2 29 207 244 −37 66
9 TEV Miesbach 54 8 5 3 38 156 278 −122 37
10 Passau Black Hawks (N) 54 8 3 3 40 126 253 −127 33

Play-offs

The Oberliga play-offs are operating on a best-of-seven modus. The winning teams of the semi finals are promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. Should the DEL expand to 16 teams, the best placed club of the two semi final losers will also gain entry to the 2nd Bundesliga.

First round

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Dresdner Eislöwen ESV Kaufbeuren 6–1 2–1 4–3 P 1-2 5–2 — —
Tölzer Löwen Blue Devils Weiden 4–0 3–1 6–1 8–1 — — —
Blue Lions Leipzig EV Füssen 6–8 5–7 6–3 3–4 OT 4–2 1–4 —
Wölfe Freiburg Hannover Indians 2–1 4–8 3–5 3–5 4–2 6–4 6–3

Semi finals

Winners promoted to 2nd Bundesliga.

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Dresdner Eislöwen EV Füssen 6–1 3–5 5–4 4–0 5–4 OT — —
Tölzer Löwen Wölfe Freiburg 5–0 6–3 7–2 6–4 — — —

Play-downs

The Oberliga play-downs are also operating on a best-of-seven modus. The two groups determine separately one relegated team each, this being the losing teams of the second round.

First round

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Saale Bulls Halle Black Dragons Erfurt 12–4 6–1 6–2 7–2 — — —
Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim Eisbären Juniors Berlin 2–1 0–1 4–3 OT 2–1 2–3 2–1 OT —
Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Starbulls Rosenheim EHF Passau Black Hawks 3–2 0–1 2–1 1–3 3–2 1–4 5–0
Deggendorf Fire TEV Miesbach 6–2 3–4 5–3 3–2 OT 3–2 OT — —

Second round

Losing teams relegated to the LEV's.

Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
Eisbären Juniors Berlin Black Dragons Erfurt 6–3 6–2 5–1 6–0 — — —
Team Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7
TEV Miesbach EHF Passau Black Hawks 6–2 2–5 5–1 1–3 4–1 6–3 —

Play-off tree

First round Semi finals Finals
         
1st N Dresdner Eislöwen 4
4th S ESV Kaufbeuren 1
1st N Dresdner Eislöwen 4
3rd S EV Füssen 1
2nd N Blue Lions Leipzig 2
3rd S EV Füssen 4
1st N Dresdner Eislöwen *
1st S Tölzer Löwen *
2nd S Wölfe Freiburg 4
3rd N EC Hannover Indians 3
2nd S Wölfe Freiburg 0
1st S Tölzer Löwen 4
1st S Tölzer Löwen 4
4th N Blue Devils Weiden 0

Leagues below the Oberliga

The levels below the Oberliga are not administrated by the DEB but rather by the local federations, the LEV's. With the ESBG's intention to increase the number of clubs in the Oberliga from 19 to 20 to balance both leagues, three promotion places will be available from the LEV's to this league in 2007–08. Should the DEL expand as well, another promotion spot would become available and it is planned to hand this one to the Regionalliga West. Only the three regional champions had the right for promotion but all clubs but the Herner EV declined:

Regionalliga West

The Regionalliga West is actually not quite a league but rather a promotion round. It contains the best six teams of the Regionalliga Nordrhein-Westfalen, and the top two teams of the Regionalliga Hessen and the Baden-Württemberg Liga each. The winner of this league is promoted to the Oberliga but this seasons runner-up, the EHC Dortmund may gain promotion to. As such, the league covers the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Hessen, Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Regionalliga Nordost

This league covers the north and north east of Germany. Again, it is more of a promotion round, compromising ten teams from two groups, the northern and the north eastern group. The Regionalliga Nordost covers the German states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Berlin, Sachsen-Anhalt, Sachsen and Thüringen.

Bayernliga

Main article see 2007–08 Bavarian ice hockey season

The Bayernliga is the only single-state league of the three, covering just Bavaria. The reason for this is that the state holds approximately one third of all ice hockey clubs in Germany and 18 of the 48 clubs in the first three divisions are from this federation.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "DEL: Neuer Modus mit Auf- und Abstieg (in German)". Hockeyweb.de. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
  2. ↑ "Aus und Vorbei! (in German)". Eisbären Regensburg. 15 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Nach Regensburg muss auch Essen Insolvenz anmelden (in German)". ESBG. 15 April 2008. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  4. ↑ "Moskitos Eishockey GmbH & Co. KG stellt Antrag auf Eröffnung eines Insolvenzverfahrens (in German)". Eishockey Magazin. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Ein schlimmer Tag: Auch Essen ist pleite (in German)". Hockeyweb.de. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
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