2002–03 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season
Encyclopedia
The 2002–03 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 9th season since the founding of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (German Ice Hockey League). The Krefeld Pinguine
became German Champions. The Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings lost their license due to insolvency proceedings and the Frankfurt Lions
were granted a stay in the league.
GP = Games played, W = Win, SOW = Shootout Win, SOL = Shootout loss, L = Loss
= Qualified for playoffs = Season ended = Relegation playdown
Despite the Lions having a 25 point advantage in the regular season, the Wild Wings won the playdown series. However, as insolvency proceedings against the Wild Wings opened, the DEL canceled their license and the Lions were allowed to stay in the league.
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
The big surprise was the loss of Eisbären Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) to the Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Pinguins). The Eisbären were considered a strong favorite as the finished the regular season with 109 points vs. the Pinguines 78.
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
With this, the Krefeld Pinguine
won the German title for the second time in their history. They almost accomplished this feat with a playoff sweep; this was somewhat unexpected, as their regular season record was not indicative of the playoff performance.
Krefeld Pinguine
The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga...
became German Champions. The Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings lost their license due to insolvency proceedings and the Frankfurt Lions
Frankfurt Lions
The Frankfurt Lions were a professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty.-History:...
were granted a stay in the league.
Regular season
The eight best placed teams in the regular season would enter playoffs, while the last two teams would have to fight relegation in a playdown series.| Team | GP | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF:GA | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin ' are a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga , the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey and is also one of the league's founding members... |
52 | 30 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 188:134 | 109 |
| 2. | Kölner Haie Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.The team colours are red and white.... |
52 | 26 | 4 | 15 | 7 | 151:117 | 101 |
| 3. | DEG Metro Stars DEG Metro Stars The DEG Metro Stars is a German professional ice hockey team in Düsseldorf. It was Germany's most successful hockey club for a long time and had many international players... |
52 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 151:117 | 96 |
| 4. | Adler Mannheim Adler Mannheim Adler Mannheim are an ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest ice hockey league in Germany. The team is from Mannheim, a city in the north of Baden-Wurttemberg... |
52 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 152:129 | 94 |
| 5. | Nürnberg Ice Tigers Sinupret Ice Tigers The Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg are a professional ice hockey club located in Nuremberg, Germany. They play in the country's premier league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.-History:... |
52 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 133:127 | 89 |
| 6. | Krefeld Pinguine Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga... |
52 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 147:133 | 78 |
| 7. | Kassel Huskies Kassel Huskies The Kassel Huskies were a professional ice hockey team based in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. They played the majority of their seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.The club was founded as ESG Kassel in 1977 and was renamed into EC Kassel in 1987... |
52 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 118:127 | 78 |
| 8. | Hamburg Freezers Hamburg Freezers The Hamburg Freezers are a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga that play their games in Hamburg, Germany. Originally known as the Munich Barons from 1999 until 2002, team owner Philip Anschutz relocated the franchise to Hamburg for financial reasons on 3 June 2002, and renamed the team the... |
52 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 19 | 154:152 | 77 |
| 9. | Iserlohn Roosters Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North-Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as Eissporthalle am Seilersee. Playing nine years in the DEL the... |
52 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 142:132 | 75 |
| 10. | Hannover Scorpions Hannover Scorpions The Hannover Scorpions are a professional ice hockey team founded in 1975 as ESC Wedemark. The team was renamed Wedemark Scorpions in 1996 after the rock band Scorpions, who also call Hanover, Lower Saxony their home. Their games are played at TUI Arena of the Expo Plaza... |
52 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 142:150 | 69 |
| 11. | Augsburger Panther Augsburger Panther The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion.... |
52 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 127:146 | 66 |
| 12. | ERC Ingolstadt ERC Ingolstadt The ERC Ingolstadt are a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Commonly known as the Panthers, they play their games in Ingolstadt, Germany at the Saturn Arena. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ingolstadt signed NHLers Marco Sturm, Andy McDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner and Aaron Ward... |
52 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 122:135 | 65 |
| 13. | Frankfurt Lions Frankfurt Lions The Frankfurt Lions were a professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty.-History:... |
52 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 133:171 | 60 |
| 14. | Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings | 52 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 99:184 | 35 |
GP = Games played, W = Win, SOW = Shootout Win, SOL = Shootout loss, L = Loss
= Qualified for playoffs = Season ended = Relegation playdown
Playdown
The two lastplaced teams, the Frankfurt Lions and Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings played a playdown best-of-seven series against relegation.| | | | | | Game | | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt Lions | – | Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings | 2:4 | 3:6 | 1:2 | 6:4 | 4:3 | 4:7 | 2:3 | – |
Despite the Lions having a 25 point advantage in the regular season, the Wild Wings won the playdown series. However, as insolvency proceedings against the Wild Wings opened, the DEL canceled their license and the Lions were allowed to stay in the league.
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Starting March 12, 2003, the quarterfinals were played in a best-of-seven series.| | | | | | Game | | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eisbären Berlin | – | Hamburg Freezers | 4:1 | 5:2 | 5:6 SO | 3:2 | 2:1 | 4:0 | – | – |
| Kölner Haie | – | Kassel Huskies | 4:3 | 1:3 | 3:1 | 2:1 | 4:5 | 4:1 | 2:3 | 5:1 |
| DEG Metro Stars | – | Krefeld Pinguine | 1:4 | 1:2 | 5:6 OT | 1:0 | 2:5 | 1:4 | – | – |
| Adler Mannheim | – | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 4:1 | 5:4 | 1:6 | 5:1 | 4:2 | 3:0 | – | – |
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
Semifinals
On March 28, 2003, the quarterfinals best-of-five series opened.| | | | | | Game | | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eisbären Berlin | – | Krefeld Pinguine | 1:3 | 4:1 | 2:4 | 0:1 | 1:4 | – |
| Kölner Haie | – | Adler Mannheim | 3:0 | 3:2 | 5:3 | 4:3 OT | – | – |
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
The big surprise was the loss of Eisbären Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) to the Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Pinguins). The Eisbären were considered a strong favorite as the finished the regular season with 109 points vs. the Pinguines 78.
Finals
The final series started April 11, 2003 with a homegame for the Kölner Haie who were the higher placed team after the regular season.| | | | | | Game | | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kölner Haie | – | Krefeld Pinguine | 2:3 | 2:5 | 2:3 | 3:2 | 3:2 OT | 1:3 |
OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout
With this, the Krefeld Pinguine
Krefeld Pinguine
The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga...
won the German title for the second time in their history. They almost accomplished this feat with a playoff sweep; this was somewhat unexpected, as their regular season record was not indicative of the playoff performance.
Top players
| Category | Name | Team | Record |
| Most points |  Mark BeaufaitMark Beaufait Mark Beaufait is a former professional ice hockey player who played 5 games for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL during the 1992–93 season. He spent the last seven playing for the Eisbären Berlin of the DEL. He retired on April 16, 2009.-Career statistics:-External links:... |
Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin ' are a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga , the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey and is also one of the league's founding members... |
54 Points |
| Most goals |  Christoph BrandnerChristoph Brandner Christoph Brandner is an Austrian professional hockey winger. He currently plays for the EC KAC. He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, the 237th overall pick and became first Austrian hockey player to score a goal in the NHL... |
Krefeld Pinguine Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga... |
28 Goals |
| Most assists |  Brad PurdieBrad Purdie Brad Purdie is a Canadian ice hockey centre currently playing for EHC Black Wings Linz of the Austrian Hockey League.Purdie spent four seasons with the University of Maine and turned pro in 1996... |
Krefeld Pinguine | 41 Assists |
| Best goali | Frederic Chabot Frederic Chabot Frédéric Chabot is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.-Playing career:... |
Nürnberg Ice Tigers Sinupret Ice Tigers The Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg are a professional ice hockey club located in Nuremberg, Germany. They play in the country's premier league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.-History:... |
0.945 |
| Best defender | Jeff Tory Jeff Tory Jeff "Iron Fist" Tory is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman currently playing for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in the Austrian Hockey League.... |
Hamburg Freezers Hamburg Freezers The Hamburg Freezers are a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga that play their games in Hamburg, Germany. Originally known as the Munich Barons from 1999 until 2002, team owner Philip Anschutz relocated the franchise to Hamburg for financial reasons on 3 June 2002, and renamed the team the... |
46 Points |