2003–04 DEL season

2003-04 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season
LeagueDeutsche Eishockey Liga
SportIce hockey
Number of teams14
2003-04
Season championsFrankfurt Lions
DEL seasons

The 2003–04 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 10th season since the founding of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (German Ice Hockey League). The Frankfurt Lions became German Champions, and the Wölfe Freiburg (Freiburg Wolves) were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga after a single season.

A visible change for the fans was the league corporate sponsorship by the German Yellow Pages (Gelbe Seiten) who signed a 3-year agreement, later extended ending 2009.

Regular season

The regular season start was on September 4, 2003. The first 8 teams qualified for the playoffs, the last two are to go into playdowns, to determine which team will be relegated.

Team GP Win SOW SOL Lost GF:GA Points
1. Eisbären Berlin 52 29 5 6 12 171:126 103
2. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 52 26 8 2 16 179:128 96
3. Hamburg Freezers 52 28 4 3 17 151:115 95
4. Kölner Haie 52 26 3 9 14 160:134 93
5. Frankfurt Lions 52 26 5 4 17 177:148 92
6. Adler Mannheim 52 26 4 6 16 151:124 92
7. ERC Ingolstadt 52 28 3 2 19 132:118 92
8. DEG Metro Stars 52 24 4 2 22 141:129 82
9. Augsburger Panther 52 21 5 5 21 180:177 78
10. Krefeld Pinguine 52 16 6 4 26 127:149 64
11. Kassel Huskies 52 16 6 4 26 129:166 64
12. Iserlohn Roosters 52 14 5 7 26 137:169 59
13. Hannover Scorpions 52 13 2 5 32 127:175 48
14. Wölfe Freiburg 52 7 4 5 36 142:241 34
GP = Games Played; SOW = Shootout win; SOL = Shootout loss; GF:GA = Goals for and against
Color code:    = Direct Playoff qualification,    = Season ends,    = Playdown/Relegation

Playdowns

The two lowest placed teams Hannover Scorpions and Wölfe Freiburg played a Best-of-seven series play-down starting March 10, 2004.

Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Hannover Scorpions – Wölfe Freiburg 4:1 5:2 2:6 2:1 OT 4:0 1:0 – –
OT = Overtime

The Wölfe Freiburg had to leave the DEL after only one season, returning to the 2. Bundesliga.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1 Eisbären Berlin 4
8. DEG Metro Stars 0
1. Eisbären Berlin 3
7. ERC Ingolstadt 0
2. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 2
7. ERC Ingolstadt 4
1. Eisbären Berlin 1
5. Frankfurt Lions 3
3. Hamburg Freezers 4
6. Adler Mannheim 2
3. Hamburg Freezers 2
5. Frankfurt Lions 3
4. Kölner Haie 2
5. Frankfurt Lions 4

References