1997–98 DEL season

1997–98 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season
LeagueDeutsche Eishockey Liga
SportIce hockey
Number of teams16
1997–98
Season championsAdler Mannheim
DEL seasons

The 1997–98 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 4th season of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (German Ice Hockey League).

Adler Mannheim became the DEL Champion for the second time in a row, winning a German title for the third time in their history. The season had its share of instability. After the 15th regular season round, the Kaufbeurer Adler were insolvent and the Düsseldorfer EG left the league after season end.

Regular season

As in the previous season two rounds/phases were played. In the first round, all teams played one home and one away game with each other for a total of 28 rounds. The first 6 placed teams continued playing for the playoff placements German: Meisterrunde). The 9 last placed teams had to fight it out for the last 2 playoff spots.

Phase I

Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. Adler Mannheim 28 20 2 1 5 111:74 43
2. Düsseldorfer EG 28 20 0 0 8 113:88 40
3. EV Landshut 28 18 2 1 7 100:64 39
4. Frankfurt Lions 28 16 4 1 7 92:74 37
5. Eisbären Berlin 28 15 4 0 9 97:79 34
6. Kölner Haie 28 14 4 1 9 104:94 33
7. Krefeld Pinguine 28 14 2 1 11 85:84 31
8. Hannover Scorpions 28 12 3 2 11 88:96 29
9. Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 28 11 5 2 10 98:100 29
10. Berlin Capitals 28 11 2 4 11 73:81 28
11. Kassel Huskies 28 10 2 3 13 82:86 25
12. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 28 9 2 2 15 93:107 22
13. Revierlöwen Oberhausen 28 9 3 1 16 81:103 22
14. Augsburger Panther 28 10 0 2 16 78:107 22
15. Starbulls Rosenheim 28 3 1 0 24 70:138 7
16. Kaufbeurer Adler disqualified
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals for : Goals against
   = Continue play for playoff spots,    = Continue qualifications for last 2 playoff spots,    = Disqualified

Phase II - "Meisterrunde"

Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. Eisbären Berlin 48 27 6 1 14 179:139 61
2. Frankfurt Lions 48 27 6 1 14 160:126 61
3. Kölner Haie 48 26 6 2 14 160:1474 60
4. Adler Mannheim 48 26 3 3 16 170:145 58
5. Düsseldorfer EG 48 27 1 2 18 166:164 57
6. EV Landshut 48 25 4 2 17 148:118 56
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals for : Goals against

Phase II

Two teams qualified for the playoff spots 7 and 8.

Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. Hannover Scorpions 44 22 6 2 14 160:142 52
2. Berlin Capitals 44 19 7 4 14 136:119 49
3. Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 44 19 5 3 17 157:148 46
4. Kassel Huskies 44 19 3 4 18 140:128 45
5. Krefeld Pinguine 44 18 6 1 19 126:141 43
6. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 44 18 4 2 20 126:141 42
7. Augsburger Panther 44 16 2 2 24 122:160 36
8. Revierlöwen Oberhausen 44 14 4 1 25 132:184 33
9. Starbulls Rosenheim 44 6 3 0 35 105:204 15
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals For : Goals Against
Color code:    = Playoff    = Season end

Round 1 playoff qualifications

The first round of playoff qualifications was played as a best-of-five series.

Game 1 2 3 4 5
Hannover Scorpions – Revier Löwen Oberhausen 3:0 6:2 5:2 5:4 – –
Berlin Capitals – Augsburger Panther 1:3 3:2 1:3 0:2 1:4 –
Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings – Nürnberg Ice Tigers 3:2 6:2 4:5 OT 5:2 2:4 6:2
Kassel Huskies – Krefeld Pinguine 1:3 3:5 2:5 5:3 1:2 –
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Round 2 Playoff Qualifications

The second round of playoff qualifications was played as a best-of-three series.

Game 1 2 3
Hannover Scorpions – Augsburger Panther 2:0 4:3 5:2 –
Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings – Krefeld Pinguine 1:2 4:3 2:6 2:5
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

The Hannover Scorpions and Krefeld Pinguine qualified for the playoffs.

Playoff

The playoffs were played in a best-of-five format.

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
5 Eisbären Berlin 3
7 Krefeld Pinguine 0
5 Eisbären Berlin 3
3 EV Landshut 0
6 Kölner Haie 0
3 EV Landshut 3
5 Eisbären Berlin 1
1 Adler Mannheim 3
4 Frankfurt Lions 3
8 Hannover Scorpions 1
4 Frankfurt Lions 0
1 Adler Mannheim 3
1 Adler Mannheim 3
2 Düsseldorfer EG 0

Quarterfinals

Game 1 2 3 4 5
Eisbären Berlin – Krefeld Pinguine 3:0 4:3 OT 4:3 n.V. 5:1 – –
Frankfurt Lions – Hannover Scorpions 3:1 4:3 OT 4:1 2:4 4:2 –
Kölner Haie – EV Landshut 0:3 3:4 OT 1:9 4:3 SO – –
Adler Mannheim – Düsseldorfer EG 3:0 7:2 4:3 6:1 – –
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Semifinals

Game 1 2 3 4 5
Eisbären Berlin – EV Landshut 3:0 7:4 2:1 2:0 – –
Frankfurt Lions – Adler Mannheim 0:3 2:6 1:5 3:4 SO – –
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Finals

Game 1 2 3 4 5
Eisbären Berlin – Adler Mannheim 1:3 0:2 2:4 8:7 1:4 –
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

With the last game, Adler Mannheim became repeat DEL Champion and won the German Champion title for the third time in the club's history.

Player awards

Category Name Team Record
Most points GermanyCanada Mark MacKay Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 57 Points
Best goalie Czech Republic Petr Bříza EV Landshut 2.41 Goals-Against-Average
Best defender Canada Marc West Revierlöwen Oberhausen 42 Points

References