DEL2

DEL2 (also known as Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2 or DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and ahead of the Oberliga. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct 2nd Bundesliga, DEL2 is administered by ESBG, under licence from DEB.

History

The DEL2 league was founded on 2 May 2013 by Eishockeyliga Betriebsgesellschaft mbH. The foundation of the league was controversial as it was preceded by a long standing dispute between the operator of the second division, Eishockeyspielbetriebsgesellschaft mbH (ESBG), and the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB).

In 2011, ESBG refused to sign a cooperation agreement between DEB and DEL citing unacceptable conditions. As a result, DEB withdrew their support of ESBG and promotion and relegation between the DEL and 2nd division was removed. On 18 April 2013, the Eishockeyliga Betriebsgesellschaft mbH was established by Ernst Rupp, CEO of Heilbronn Falcons. The new company was founded with the goal of reforming a new second division league. The new company quickly aligned with DEL and officially founded the new league on 2 May 2013. The DEB responded by labelling the new league an unsanctioned breakaway competition. ESBG subsequently filed an injunction against DEB in the Munich Regional Court. On 17 July 2013, the DEB, second division clubs and ESBG came to an out of court settlement on the matter. The settlement agreement between ESBG and DEB stipulated the status-quo of ESBG running the second division operations until 2018. Post 2018, the league would then be separated and self-run.

In 2014, the league expanded to include fourteen teams, the same number as the DEL. DEL2 had started with just twelve teams in the 2013/14 season.

In April 2015, DEB altered its statutes so clubs associated with DEL and DEL2 could become members of the DEB again. This decision by DEB led to a new agreement being reached between DEL and DEL2 in September 2015 to re-enable promotion and relegation between the two leagues. This system implemented was based on sporting achievement but came with specified condition caveats on the DEL2 team wishing to obtain promotion.DEL: Rückkehr zu Auf- und Abstieg? Fahrplan steht! kicker.de, published: 8 September 2015, accessed: 22 September 2015

At the conclusion of the 2015/16 season, DEL2 was recognised as the best-supported second-tier hockey league in Europe. DEL2 had average spectator attendances of 2,688 per match.

1 July 2016, the DEL2 club Fischtown Pinguins became the first club from DEL2 to be ‘unofficially’ promoted to DEL. The Pinguins were not promoted through the DEL/DEL2 promotion system but instead applied for a vacated licence in DEL, following the withdrawal of the Hamburg Freezers who ceased operations on 24 May 2016.

In 2017, the DEL2 and Oberliga (German third division) reached agreement for the introduction of promotion and relegation between the two divisions. The first ever DEL2 relegation occurred at the end of the season with Starbulls Rosenheim relegated to Oberliga.

As of 2018, no DEL2 team had been able to meet the conditions for promotion to DEL. This led to new negotiations between the two leagues and in July 2018 a new agreement was reached to introduce automatic promotion and relegation between the two divisions, starting in the 2020/21 season, ten years after it was taken away.

Current teams The league had 12 teams participating in the 2013–14 season, before expanding to 14 teams from the 2014–15 season. In season 2023–24 there were 14 teams qualified out of a possible 15 as the Bayreuth Tigers didn't receive a licence due to financial issues. The league continues to feature 14 teams.

DEL2 Teams: 2025–26 SeasonTeamLocationArenaCapacityFoundedJoined league City StateBlue Devils WeidenWeiden Bavaria2,56019852024Düsseldorfer EGDüsseldorf North Rhine-WestphaliaPSD Bank Dome14,28219352025EC Bad NauheimBad Nauheim HesseColonel Knight Stadion4,50019822013EC Kassel HuskiesKassel HesseEissporthalle Kassel6,10019772014EHC FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau Baden-WürttembergEchte Helden Arena3,50019842015Eisbären RegensburgRegensburg BavariaDonau-Arena4,96119622022Eispiraten CrimmitschauCrimmitschau SaxonyEisstadion im Sahnpark5,22219902013ESV KaufbeurenKaufbeuren BavariaErdgas Schwaben Arena3,10019462013EV LandshutLandshut BavariaVR-Bank Landshut Arena4,44819482019Krefeld PinguineKrefeld North Rhine-WestphaliaYayla-Arena8,02919362022Lausitzer FüchseWeißwasser SaxonyEisstadion Weißwasser3,05019322013Ravensburg TowerstarsRavensburg Baden-WürttembergEissporthalle Ravensburg3,30018812013SC Bietigheim SteelersBietigheim-Bissingen Baden-WürttembergEgeTransArena4,50019812025Starbulls RosenheimRosenheim BavariaROFA-Stadion4,42519282023

Former teams Former TeamsTeamLocationArenaCapacityFoundedJoined leagueLeft league City StateDeggendorfer SCDeggendorf BavariaEisstadion Deggendorf2,790199620182019Dresdner EislöwenDresden SaxonyEnergieVerbund Arena4,200199020132025Fischtown PinguinsBremerhaven BremenEisarena Bremerhaven4,674197420132016Löwen FrankfurtFrankfurt HesseEissporthalle Frankfurt6,990201020142022Heilbronner FalkenHeilbronn Baden-WürttembergKolbenschmidt Arena4,000198020132023Onesto Tigers BayreuthBayreuth BavariaKunsteisstadion4,555200620162023SC RiesserseeGarmisch-Partenkirchen BavariaOlympia-Eissport-Zentrum6,929192320132018Selber WölfeSelb BavariaNETZSCH Arena3,983195320212025Tölzer LöwenBad Tölz BavariaHacker-Pschorr-Arena4,115192820172022

Timeline of clubs in DEL2

Champions The champions, runners-up and regular season premiers of the league standings:DEL 2 kicker.de, accessed: 22 September 2015

DEL2 season-by-season resultsSeasonRegular seasonPlayoffsTop scorerPromoted teamRelegated team Premiers Champions Result Runners-up Player 2013–14 Fischtown Pinguins 104 Fischtown Pinguins 4:1 Bietigheim Steelers 4:3 2:3 4:3 4:2 3:2 - - Harrison Reed 90 - - 2014–15 Bietigheim Steelers 114 Bietigheim Steelers 4:2 Fischtown Pinguins 4:3 3:4 4:3 4:3 1:6 4:3 - Mike Collins 81 - - 2015–16 Bietigheim Steelers 111 EC Kassel Huskies 4:0 Bietigheim Steelers 1:0 3:2 3:2 5:2 - - - Justin Kelly 85 Fischtown Pinguins - 2016–17 Bietigheim Steelers 109 Löwen Frankfurt 4:2 Bietigheim Steelers 7:5 4:0 4:2 2:3 1:2 5:2 - Matt McKnight 72 - Starbulls Rosenheim 2017–18 SC Riessersee 103 Bietigheim Steelers 4:1 SC Riessersee 3:1 3:5 2:1 6:3 2:0 - - Richard Mueller 80 - SC Riessersee 2018–19 Löwen Frankfurt 97 Ravensburg Towerstars 4:2 Löwen Frankfurt 5:3 1:3 6:5 7:4 1:3 5:1 - Roope Ranta 79 - Deggendorfer SC 2019–20 Löwen Frankfurt 94Play-offs cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic Dylan Wruck 88 - - 2020–21 Kassel Huskies 112 Bietigheim Steelers 3:2 Kassel Huskies 1:2 1:4 3:2 5:4 5:2 - - Marco Pfleger 86 Bietigheim Steelers - 2021–22 Löwen Frankfurt 112 Löwen Frankfurt 4:0 Ravensburg Towerstars 7:0 3:1 1:0 2:1 - - - Peter Quenneville 80 Löwen Frankfurt Tölzer Löwen 2022–23 Kassel Huskies 131 Ravensburg Towerstars 4:1 EC Bad Nauheim 4:2 0:3 5:2 3:1 7:3 - - Marcel Müller 70 - Heilbronner Falken 2023–24 Kassel Huskies 100 Eisbären Regensburg 4:2 Kassel Huskies 1:2(OT) 5:1 1:3 4:2 5:2 4:2 - Andrew Yogan 80 - Bietigheim Steelers 2024–25 Kassel Huskies 101 Dresdner Eislöwen 4:3 Ravensburg Towerstars 2:4 5:1 5:2 4:0 4:7 2:4 2:1(OT) Max Newton 69 Dresdner Eislöwen Selber Wölfe

League player records

The following are the top five all-time leaders in five different statistical categories: matches played; goals; assists; points; penalty minutes

All-time appearances#Name1 Henry MartensD3072 Marco MüllerD3043 Benjamin HüfnerD3034 René SchoofsF3025 Adriano CarciolaF296 All-time goals#Name1 Richard MuellerF1662 Matt McKnightF1333 Tyler McNeelyF1234 Marc SommerfeldF1105 Adriano CarciolaF105 All-time assists#Name1 Matt McKnightF2572 Marc SommerfeldF2163 Tyler McNeelyF2154 Shawn WellerF1945 Robin JustF171 All-time points#Name1 Matt McKnightF3902 Tyler McNeelyF3383 Marc SommerfeldF3264 Richard MuellerF2955 Shawn WellerF292 All-time PIM#Name1 Josef FrankD4832 Carter ProftF4473 Andrew McPhersonF4124 Marco MüllerD4035 Henry MartensD401

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