The German Women's Ice Hockey League () or DFEL, also known as the German Women's Ice Hockey Bundesliga (), is the top-tier women's ice hockey league in Germany. An amateur league, it was founded in 1988 by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB, ).

History The German Women's Ice Hockey League was created in 1988–89. Previously, the national championship took the form of a tournament featuring the best teams from the various regional federations. The Bundesliga was initially split into two divisions, North and South, with a final championship tournament at the end of the season, but in April 2006, the participating teams voted to have only a single division, starting from the 2006–07 season.

2022–23 season Six teams participated in the 2022–23 DFEL season, following the withdrawal of Düsseldorfer EG after the 2019–20 season and the withdrawal of EC Köln ("Die Haie") after the 2021–22 season. The regular season began on 1 October 2022 and concluded on 19 February 2023. ECDC Memmingen were the regular season champions; the team featured both the league’s top scorer, American forward Theresa Knutson, and best goaltender, Emma Schweiger.

The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs, which were played on a best-of-five tournament schedule. In the semifinals, ECDC Memmingen swept ESC Planegg-Würmtal to take the series in three games and the Mad Dogs Mannheim bested ERC Ingolstadt in four games.

ECDC Memmingen did not slow down in the German Championship finals, sweeping Mad Dogs Mannheim in three games to claim the team’s fourth championship title.

2023–24 season With the addition of the Amsterdam Tigers, seven teams participated in the 2023–24 DFEL season; the Amsterdam Tigers were the 2022–23 winners of the Netherlands' championship. The regular season began on 23 September 2023 and concluded on 25 February 2024. Each team played 24 games, facing every opponent twice at home and twice away.

Teams

2025–26 season Team Location Home venue Head coach Captain ECDC Memmingen Memmingen Eisbären Juniors Berlin Berlin Wellblechpalast ERC Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Saturn Arena HK Budapest Budapest Tüskesátor Mad Dogs Mannheim Mannheim SAP Arena

Former teams

Championship record + Season Champion Second Third Fraueneishockey-Endrunde 1983–84 ESG Esslingen EC Bergkamener Bären ESV Kaufbeuren 1984–85 EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf EV Füssen ESG Esslingen 1985–86 EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf EC Bergkamener Bären EDM Köln 1986–87 EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf ESG Esslingen EV Füssen 1987–88 Mannheimer ERC WildCats EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf ESG Esslingen DFEL 1988–89 EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf Mannheimer ERC WildCats ESG Esslingen 1989–90 Mannheimer ERC WildCats EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf OSC Berlin 1990–91 OSC Berlin EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf Mannheimer ERC WildCats 1991–92 Mannheimer ERC WildCats Neusser EC EC Bergkamener Bären 1992–93 Neusser EC Mannheimer ERC WildCats TuS Geretsried 1993–94 TuS Geretsried Mannheimer ERC WildCats Neusser EC 1994–95 ESG Esslingen DEC Tigers Königsbrunn TuS Geretsried 1995–96 ESG Esslingen TuS Wiehl TuS Geretsried 1996–97 ESG Esslingen TuS Wiehl Grefrather EC 1997–98 ESG Esslingen Mannheimer ERC WildCats TuS Geretsried 1998–99 Mannheimer ERC WildCats TuS Geretsried ESC Planegg-Würmtal 1999–2000 Mannheimer ERC WildCats TuS Geretsried TuS Wiehl 2000–01 TV Kornwestheim TuS Geretsried EC Bergkamener Bären 2001–02 TV Kornwestheim SC Riessersee OSC Berlin 2002–03 TV Kornwestheim OSC Berlin Mannheimer ERC WildCats 2003–04 TV Kornwestheim OSC Berlin SC Riessersee 2004–05 EC Bergkamener Bären TV Kornwestheim OSC Berlin 2005–06 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal TV Kornwestheim 2006–07 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal SC Riessersee 2007–08 ESC Planegg-Würmtal OSC Berlin SC Riessersee 2008–09 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal EC Bergkamener Bären 2009–10 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal EC Bergkamener Bären 2010–11 ESC Planegg-Würmtal OSC Berlin EC Bergkamener Bären 2011–12 ESC Planegg-Würmtal ECDC Memmingen EC Bergkamener Bären 2012–13 ESC Planegg-Würmtal ECDC Memmingen OSC Berlin 2013–14 ESC Planegg-Würmtal OSC Berlin ECDC Memmingen 2014–15 ESC Planegg-Würmtal ECDC Memmingen ERC Ingolstadt 2015–16 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal ERC Ingolstadt 2016–17 ESC Planegg-Würmtal ERC Ingolstadt ECDC Memmingen2017–18 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal ERC Ingolstadt 2018–19 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal bronze medal not contested2019–20Finals between ECDC Memmingen and ESC Planegg-Würmtal cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic no bronze medal match2020–21 ESC Planegg-Würmtal Eisbären Juniors Berlin ERC Ingolstadt2021–22 ERC Ingolstadt ECDC Memmingen bronze medal not contested2022–23 ECDC Memmingen Mad Dogs Mannheim bronze medal not contested2023–24 ECDC Memmingen ERC Ingolstadt bronze medal not contested2024–25 ECDC Memmingen HK Budapest bronze medal not contested2025–26 ECDC Memmingen Eisbären Juniors Berlin bronze medal not contested

Medal table Team TotalESC Planegg-Würmtal 8 7 1 16ECDC Memmingen 7 4 2 13OSC Berlin 5 5 4 14Mannheimer ERC WildCats 5 4 2 11ESG Esslingen 5 1 3 9EHC Eisbären Düsseldorf 4 3 0 7TV Kornwestheim 4 1 1 6TuS Geretsried 1 3 4 8EC Bergkamener Bären 1 2 5 8ERC Ingolstadt 1 2 4 7Neusser EC 1 1 1 3TuS Wiehl 0 2 1 3SC Riessersee 0 1 3 4Eisbären Juniors Berlin 0 2 0 2EV Füssen 0 1 1 2DEC Tigers Königsbrunn 0 1 0 1Mad Dogs Mannheim 0 1 0 1HK Budapest 0 1 0 1ESV Kaufbeuren 0 0 1 1Kölner EC 0 0 1 1Grefrather EC 0 0 1 1

German Women's Cup Beginning in the 2001–02 season, the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) organized an annual tournament called the DEB Women's Cup (), which would be played over several days at the end of the DFEL season. It featured the top four or six teams from the most recent DFEL season, divided into two groups of two or three teams each. The tournament has not been held since 2018.

+ Record Season Champion Finalist 2001–02 Grefrather EC EHC Memmingen 2002–03 WSV Braunlage ERC Sonthofen 2003–04 Grefrather EC ECDC Memmingen 2004–05 Grefrather EC ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2005–06 EC Bergkamener Bären ECDC Memmingen 2006–07 EC Bergkamener Bären ESC Planegg/Würmtal 2007–08 OSC Berlin Hamburger SV 2008–09 OSC Berlin ECDC Memmingen 2009–10 ESC Planegg-Würmtal OSC Berlin 2010–11 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2011–12 ESC Planegg-Würmtal OSC Berlin 2012–13 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2013–14 OSC Berlin ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2014–15 ESC Planegg-Würmtal ERC Ingolstadt 2015–16 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2016–17 ECDC Memmingen ESC Planegg-Würmtal 2017–18 ECDC Memmingen ERC Ingolstadt

See also Germany women's national ice hockey team European Women's Hockey League (EWHL)

References

External links League statistics and data sourced from EliteProspects.com, or EuroHockey.com, or HockeyArchives.info (in French) Frauen-Bundesliga