2008–09 DEL season


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

TeamCityArenaBudget
Million €		Attendance
Regular Season		Attendance
Playoffs
Augsburger PantherAugsburgCurt Frenzel Stadium3.13,6785,052
Eisbären BerlinBerlinO2 World7.713,74614,083
DEG Metro StarsDüsseldorfISS Dome7.26,0849,943
Frankfurt LionsFrankfurtEissporthalle Frankfurt4.86,2085,650
Füchse DuisburgDuisburgScania Arena4.01,792-
Hamburg FreezersHamburgColor Line Arena7.17,9496,660
Hannover ScorpionsHanoverTUI Arena7.17,9496,660
ERC IngolstadtIngolstadtSaturn Arena6.23,346-
Iserlohn RoostersIserlohnEissporthalle Iserlohn4.53,864-
Kassel HuskiesKasselEissporthalle Kassel3.14,071-
Kölner HaieCologneLanxess Arena6.510,342-
Krefeld PinguineKrefeldKönig Palast4.14,4917,819
Adler MannheimMannheimSAP Arena8.011,75612,237
Sinupret Ice TigersNurembergNuremberg Arena4.84,3227,976
Straubing TigersStraubingEisstadion am Pulverturm3.74,226-
Wolfsburg Grizzly AdamsWolfsburgEisarena Wolfsburg4.52,3282,560

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, 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

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.
Series12345RS
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg–Augsburger Panther3:11:24:11:04:3 OT–
Hamburg Freezers–Frankfurt Lions3:23:41:22:12:1 OT4:2

RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Playoff brackets

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were played in the Best-of-seven mode starting March 13 until March 26.
Series1234567RS
Eisbären Berlin–Hamburg Freezers4:05:33:2 OT7:24:1−−−
Hannover Scorpions–Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg4:22:12:3 OT2:34:3 OT4:32:0−
DEG Metro Stars–Krefeld Pinguine4:32:34:3 OT1:25:4 OT2:13:45:0
Adler Mannheim–Sinupret Ice Tigers4:15:03:53:22:15:2−−

RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Semifinals

The semifinals were played in the Best-of-five mode, from March 29 to April 7, 2010.
Series12345RS
Eisbären Berlin–Adler Mannheim3:14:01:64:06:4–
Hannover Scorpions–DEG Metro Stars2:35:22:46:33:4 OT1:3

RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime

Finale

The finals were played in the Best-of-five mode, from April 9, 2010.
Series12345RS
Eisbären Berlin–DEG Metro Stars3:13:21:35:14:2–

RS = Regular season; OT = Overtime
The Eisbären Berlin won the title for the 4th time.