DEL2

German ice hockey league

Not to be confused with Del squared.

DEL2Current season, competition or edition:
2023-24 DEL2 season

Formerly| 2nd Bundesliga
Sport| Ice hockey
Founded| 2013; 11 years ago (2013)
CEO| René Rudorisch
Administrator| DEB
Motto| "Carried by passion, at home in ice hockey" [1]
No. of teams| 14
Country| Germany
Most recent
champion(s)| Ravensburg Towerstars
(2nd title)
Most titles| Bietigheim Steelers
(3 titles)
TV partner(s)| Sprade TV
eoTV
Level on pyramid| Level 2
Promotion to| DEL (2020–21 onward)
Relegation to| Oberliga
Official website| del-2.org

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

[edit]

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).[2]

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.[3] On 18 April 2013, the Eishockeyliga Betriebsgesellschaft mbH was established by Ernst Rupp, CEO of Heilbronn Falcons.[2] 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.[4]

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.[5]

In April 2015, DEB altered its statutes so clubs associated with DEL and DEL2 could become members of the DEB again.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[5]

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.[10]

## Current teams

[edit]

The league had 12 teams participating in the 2013–14 season, before expanding to 14 teams from the 2014–15 season.[11] In season 2023–24 there will be 14 teams qualified as Bayreuth Tigers didn't receive a licence due to financial issues.[12]

Bietigheim Steelers

Eispiraten Crimmitschau

Dresdner Eislöwen

ESV Kaufbeuren

EHC Freiburg

EV Landshut

Lausitzer Füchse

Ravensburg Towerstars

Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim

Kassel Huskies

Eisbären Regensburg

Selber Wölfe

Krefeld Pinguine

Starbulls Rosenheim

class=notpageimage|

DEL2 teams for the 2023–24 season.

DEL2 Teams: 2023–24 Season

Team  | Location  | Arena  | Capacity  | Founded  | Joined league
City | State
EC Bad Nauheim | Bad Nauheim |  Hesse | Colonel Knight Stadion | 4,500  | 1982  | 2013
Bietigheim Steelers | Bietigheim-Bissingen |  Baden-Württemberg | EgeTransArena | 4,500  | 1981  | 2023
Eispiraten Crimmitschau | Crimmitschau |  Saxony | Eisstadion im Sahnpark | 5,222  | 1990  | 2013
Dresdner Eislöwen | Dresden |  Saxony | EnergieVerbund Arena | 4,200  | 1990  | 2013
EHC Freiburg | Freiburg im Breisgau |  Baden-Württemberg | Franz Siegel Stadion | 5,800  | 1984  | 2015
EC Kassel Huskies | Kassel |  Hesse | Eissporthalle Kassel | 6,100  | 1977  | 2014
ESV Kaufbeuren | Kaufbeuren |  Bavaria | Erdgas Schwaben Arena | 3,100  | 1946  | 2013
Krefeld Pinguine | Krefeld |  North Rhine-Westphalia | Yayla-Arena | 8,029  | 1936  | 2022
EV Landshut | Landshut |  Bavaria | Eisstadion am Gutenbergweg | 6,750  | 1948  | 2019
Lausitzer Füchse | Weißwasser |  Saxony | Eisstadion Weißwasser | 3,050  | 1932  | 2013
Ravensburg Towerstars | Ravensburg |  Baden-Württemberg | Eissporthalle Ravensburg | 3,300  | 1881  | 2013
Eisbären Regensburg | Regensburg |  Bavaria | Donau-Arena | 4,961  | 1962  | 2022
Starbulls Rosenheim | Rosenheim |  Bavaria | ROFA-Stadion | 5,022  | 1928  | 2023
Selber Wölfe | Selb |  Bavaria | NETZSCH Arena | 3,983  | 1953  | 2021

### Former teams

[edit]

Former DEL2 Teams

Team  | Location  | Arena  | Capacity  | Founded  | Joined league  | Left league
City | State
Deggendorfer SC | Deggendorf |  Bavaria | Eisstadion Deggendorf | 2,790  | 1996  | 2018  | 2019
Fischtown Pinguins | Bremerhaven |  Bremen | Eisarena Bremerhaven | 4,674  | 1974  | 2013  | 2016
Löwen Frankfurt | Frankfurt |  Hesse | Eissporthalle Frankfurt | 6,990  | 2010  | 2014  | 2022
Heilbronner Falken | Heilbronn |  Baden-Württemberg | Kolbenschmidt Arena | 4,000  | 1980  | 2013  | 2023
SC Riessersee | Garmisch-Partenkirchen |  Bavaria | Olympia-Eissport-Zentrum | 6,929  | 1923  | 2013  | 2018
Tölzer Löwen | Bad Tölz |  Bavaria | Hacker-Pschorr-Arena | 4,115  | 1928  | 2017  | 2022
Bayreuth Tigers | Bayreuth |  Bavaria | Kunsteisstadion | 4,555  | 2006  | 2016  | 2023

### Timeline of clubs in DEL2

[edit]

Timeline of clubs in DEL2

13/14  | 14/15  | 15/16  | 16/17  | 17/18  | 18/19  | 19/20  | 20/21  | 21/22  | 22/23  | 23/24  | 24/25
EC Bad Nauheim
| Tölzer Löwen  |
| EHC Bayreuth  |
Bietigheim Steelers  |  | SCB  |
Fischtown  |
Eispiraten Crimmitschau
| DSC  |
Dresdner Eislöwen
| Löwen Frankfurt  |
|  EHC Freiburg
SC Riessersee  |
Heilbronner Falken  |
|  Kassel Huskies
ESV Kaufbeuren
|  Krefeld
EVL |  |  EV Landshut
Ravensburg Towerstars
| Regensburg
Starbulls Rosenheim |  |  SBR
|  VER Selb
|  Weiden
Lausitzer Füchse

## Champions

[edit]

The champions, runners-up and regular season premiers of the league standings:[13]

DEL2 season-by-season results

Season  | Regular season  | Playoffs  | Top scorer  | Promoted team  | Relegated team
Premiers | Pts | Champions | Result | Runners-up | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 | G7 | Player | Pts
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 | 94 | Play-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

## League player records

[edit]

The following are the top five all-time leaders in five different statistical categories: matches played; goals; assists; points; penalty minutes[14]

| All-time appearances

#  | Name  | Pos | MP
1  |  Henry Martens  | D | 307
2  |  Marco Müller  | D | 304
3  |  Benjamin Hüfner  | D | 303
4  |  René Schoofs  | F | 302
5  |  Adriano Carciola  | F | 296
| All-time goals

#  | Name  | Pos | Gol
1  |  Richard Mueller  | F | 166
2  |  Matt McKnight  | F | 133
3  |  Tyler McNeely  | F | 123
4  |  Marc Sommerfeld  | F | 110
5  |  Adriano Carciola  | F | 105
| All-time assists

#  | Name  | Pos | A
1  |  Matt McKnight  | F | 257
2  |  Marc Sommerfeld  | F | 216
3  |  Tyler McNeely  | F | 215
4  |  Shawn Weller  | F | 194
5  |  Robin Just  | F | 171
| All-time points

#  | Name  | Pos | Pts
1  |  Matt McKnight  | F | 390
2  |  Tyler McNeely  | F | 338
3  |  Marc Sommerfeld  | F | 326
4  |  Richard Mueller  | F | 295
5  |  Shawn Weller  | F | 292
| All-time PIM

#  | Name  | Pos | PIM
1  |  Josef Frank  | D | 483
2  |  Carter Proft  | F | 447
3  |  Andrew McPherson  | F | 412
4  |  Marco Müller  | D | 403
5  |  Henry Martens  | D | 401

## See also

[edit]

* Germany portal
* Ice hockey portal

* List of ice hockey leagues
* 2nd Bundesliga
* Oberliga

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "DEL2 startet mit neuem Claim: Von Herzblut getragen. Im Eishockey zuhause" (in German). www.eishockeynews.de. 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
2. ^ a b Welck, Tobias (2013-05-03). "DEL II-GmbH ist gegründet: Trennung vom DEB kaum mehr zu verhindern - Rupp: "Herr Harnos hat uns verarscht"" (in German). www.eishockeynews.de. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
3. ^ "Kooperationsvertrag bis 2018: Kein Auf- und Abstieg – DEB und DEL einigen sich" (in German). www.kicker.de. 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
4. ^ "DEB contra ESBG: Ralph Bader in der Rolle des Mediators" (in German). www.merkur.de. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
5. ^ a b Kruchen, Vincent (2018-04-03). "Das Märchen vom funktionierenden Auf- und Abstieg". www.shorthandednews.de. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
6. ^ "DEB-Präsident Reindl setzt Reformen durch" (in German). www.faz.net. 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
7. ^ DEL: Rückkehr zu Auf- und Abstieg? Fahrplan steht! (in German) kicker.de, published: 8 September 2015, accessed: 22 September 2015
8. ^ "EUROPEAN ATTENDANCE RANKING PUBLISHED". iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
9. ^ "Bremerhaven wird DEL-Standort" [Bremerhaven joins the DEL]. kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
10. ^ Merk, Martin (2018-07-27). "Promotion returns to Germany". www.iihf.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
11. ^ "DEL II is official". Eurohockey.com. 2013-07-13.
12. ^ "Bayreuth Tigers erhalten keine Lizenz für die DEL2" [Bayreuth Tigers don't receive licence for DEL2] (in German). DEL2. 2023-06-30.
13. ^ DEL 2 (in German) kicker.de, accessed: 22 September 2015
14. ^ "DEL2 - All Time Regular Season Player Stats". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-08-27.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Elite Prospects profile
* DEL2 Facebook

* v
* t
* e

DEL2

Current teams|

* Bayreuth Tigers
* Dresdner Eislöwen
* EC Bad Nauheim
* EC Kassel Huskies
* EHC Freiburg
* Eispiraten Crimmitschau
* ESV Kaufbeuren
* EV Landshut
* Heilbronner Falken
* Krefeld Pinguine
* Lausitzer Füchse
* Ravensburg Towerstars
* Tölzer Löwen

Former teams|

* Bietigheim Steelers
* Fischtown Pinguins
* Deggendorfer SC
* Löwen Frankfurt
* SC Riessersee
* Starbulls Rosenheim

Seasons|

* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

* Related articles: DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga)
* 2nd Bundesliga
* Oberliga

* v
* t
* e

Ice hockey in Germany

Leagues:|

* DEL
* DEL2
* Oberliga
* Bayernliga
* Regionalliga

Teams:|

* Germany men's national ice hockey team
* Germany women's national ice hockey team
* Ice hockey teams in Germany

* Related articles: German champions
* IIHF
* IIHF Continental Cup
* IIHF European Champions Cup

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