The 2008–09 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 15th season since the founding of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (). 16 Teams played after the 2. Bundesliga Champion, the Kassel Huskies received the license to play in the DEL. After 52 rounds and the play-off's, the Eisbären Berlin won its 4th German Championship in the last five years.

Teams

TeamCityArenaBudgetMillion €AttendanceRegular SeasonAttendancePlayoffsAugsburger PantherAugsburgCurt Frenzel Stadium 3.1 3,678 5,052Eisbären BerlinBerlinO2 World 7.7 13,746 14,083DEG Metro StarsDüsseldorfISS Dome 7.2 6,084 9,943Frankfurt LionsFrankfurtEissporthalle Frankfurt 4.8 6,208 5,650 Füchse Duisburg Duisburg Scania Arena 4.0 1,792Hamburg FreezersHamburgColor Line Arena 7.1 7,949 6,660Hannover ScorpionsHanoverTUI Arena 7.1 7,949 6,660ERC IngolstadtIngolstadtSaturn Arena 6.2 3,346Iserlohn RoostersIserlohnEissporthalle Iserlohn 4.5 3,864Kassel HuskiesKasselEissporthalle Kassel 3.1 4,071Kölner HaieCologneLanxess Arena 6.5 10,342Krefeld PinguineKrefeldKönig Palast 4.1 4,491 7,819Adler MannheimMannheimSAP Arena 8.0 11,756 12,237Sinupret Ice TigersNurembergNuremberg Arena 4.8 4,322 7,976Straubing TigersStraubingEisstadion am Pulverturm 3.7 4,226Wolfsburg Grizzly AdamsWolfsburgEisarena Wolfsburg 4.5 2,328 2,560

In accordance to the cooperation contract between the DEL and the German Ice Hockey Federation, and after concluding that necessary reforms where not done in the 2. Bundesliga, a decision was made not to have playdowns and no teams were relegated. However, after ensuring compliance with the DEL regulations, the 2. Bundesliga Champions, the Kassel Huskies, were allowed to enter the league on July 4, 2008,Grünes Licht für die Huskies, kicker.de (de) expanding the league to 16 teams. This is also the first season where the Eisbären Berlin played in the brand new O2 World arena.

The number of regular seasons rounds was reduced to 52 from 56 in the previous season. The 6-best placed teams qualified for the playoffs, the teams in 7-10th position where to play a qualification round.

The average team budget was estimate at Euro € 5.24 million, raising the league total to Euro € 84.3 million from Euro € 78.7, mainly due to the addition of 1 team.

Regular season Team GP W OTW SOW OTL SOL L Goals Points 1. Eisbären Berlin 52 31 1 4 0 2 14 214:143 105 2. Hannover Scorpions 52 30 2 1 3 2 14 173:151 101 3. DEG Metro Stars 52 24 2 3 3 3 17 159:134 88 4. Adler Mannheim 52 22 3 4 3 2 18 144:131 85 5. Sinupret Ice Tigers 52 23 6 1 1 1 20 153:142 85 6. Krefeld Pinguine 52 24 3 1 3 1 20 167:140 84 7. Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 52 25 0 1 5 1 20 180:141 83 8. Hamburg Freezers 52 22 1 4 2 4 19 158:147 82 9. Frankfurt Lions 52 21 3 3 1 4 20 152:152 80 10. Augsburger Panther 52 24 1 1 2 2 22 156:178 80 11. Iserlohn Roosters 52 15 4 3 5 7 18 171:187 71 12. ERC Ingolstadt 52 18 3 1 4 2 24 144:155 68 13. Straubing Tigers 52 17 3 4 1 2 25 144:164 68 14. Kassel Huskies 52 15 2 6 2 2 25 147:171 65 15. Kölner Haie 52 15 4 0 5 5 23 147:166 63 16. Füchse Duisburg 52 9 3 3 1 0 36 118:225 40 GP = Games Played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime win, SOW = Shootout win, OTL = Overtime loss, SOL = Shootout loss, L = Loss Color code: = Direct Playoff qualification, = Playoff qualification round, = No playoff

Playoffs

Playoff qualifications The playoff qualifications were played between March 5 and 11, 2009 in the Best-of-five mode.

Series 1 2 3 4 5 RS Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg – Augsburger Panther 3:1 1:2 4:1 1:0 4:3 OT – [2:2] Hamburg Freezers – Frankfurt Lions 3:2 3:4 1:2 2:1 2:1 OT 4:2 [1:3] RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Playoff brackets

Quarterfinals The quarterfinals were played in the Best-of-seven mode starting March 13 until March 26.

Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RS Eisbären Berlin – Hamburg Freezers 4:0 5:3 3:2 OT 7:2 4:1 − − − [3:1] Hannover Scorpions – Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 4:2 2:1 2:3 OT 2:3 4:3 OT 4:3 2:0 − [1:1] DEG Metro Stars – Krefeld Pinguine 4:3 2:3 4:3 OT 1:2 5:4 OT 2:1 3:4 5:0 [3:1] Adler Mannheim – Sinupret Ice Tigers 4:1 5:0 3:5 3:2 2:1 5:2 − − [0:4] RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Semifinals The semifinals were played in the Best-of-five mode, from March 29 to April 7, 2010.

Series 1 2 3 4 5 RS Eisbären Berlin – Adler Mannheim 3:1 4:0 1:6 4:0 6:4 – [2:2] Hannover Scorpions – DEG Metro Stars 2:3 5:2 2:4 6:3 3:4 OT 1:3 [1:1] RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Finale The finals were played in the Best-of-five mode, from April 9, 2010.

Series 1 2 3 4 5 RS Eisbären Berlin – DEG Metro Stars 3:1 3:2 1:3 5:1 4:2 – [3:1] RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

The Eisbären Berlin won the title for the 4th time.

References