The 1996–97 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 3rd season of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (English: German Ice Hockey League).

1996–97 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season
LeagueDeutsche Eishockey Liga
SportIce hockey
Number of teams16
1996–97
Season championsAdler Mannheim
DEL seasons

Adler Mannheim became the DEL Champion, winning a German title for the second time in their history. Both the Ratinger Löwen and Wedemark Scorpions earned their keep in the league playing against 1st League EHC Neuwied and TSV Erding.

The Bosman ruling, a 1995 decision of the European Court of Justice regarding the movement of labor in soccer, had profound influence on the league. The old Bundesliga had national character: German clubs competing for the German title with mostly German players. After the ruling European Union players were excluded from the "foreign" player quota. Within a year, the DEL teams employed 97 EU players and lowered their costs significantly, enabling the smaller teams to compete more effectively. The frequent player moves were not viewed positively by the fans.

Another visible change for the fans was the change in corporate sponsorship. The Krombacher Brewery ended their agreement with the league, resulting in a change in the league logo design. The league would not have a corporate sponsor again until 2003, when the German Yellow Pages (German: Gelbe Seiten) signed two consecutive 3-year agreements.

Regular season

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The mode of play changed for this season. In the first round, all teams played one home and one away game with each other for a total of 30 rounds. The first 6 placed teams continued playing for the playoff placements Meisterrunde), and the teams 7-16 played to against relegation/playdowns (Relegationsrunde), with only the 2 best-placed teams in this group being eligible for playoffs.

Phase I

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Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. Kölner Haie 30 22 1 7 2 157:91 47
2. Adler Mannheim 30 20 3 7 1 130:74 44
3. Berlin Capitals 30 17 4 9 2 107:79 40
4. Kassel Huskies 30 18 2 10 1 121:102 39
5. EHC Eisbären Berlin 30 18 3 9 0 118:91 39
6. Starbulls Rosenheim 30 16 2 12 3 111:113 37
7. EV Landshut 30 16 1 13 3 125:77 36
8. Krefeld Pinguine 30 15 0 15 3 105:108 33
9. Düsseldorfer EG 30 15 2 13 0 93:90 32
10. Frankfurt Lions 30 13 3 14 1 85:88 30
11. Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 30 13 1 16 3 114:128 30
12. Kaufbeurer Adler 30 12 2 16 3 112:157 29
13. Augsburger Panther 30 11 4 15 1 91:114 27
14. Wedemark Scorpions (N) 30 8 1 21 2 95:134 19
15. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 30 5 3 22 0 90:148 13
16. Ratinger Löwen 30 4 2 24 2 74:134 12
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals For : Goals Against
   = Continue play for playoff spots,    = Continue play against relegation

Phase II - "Meisterrunde"

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Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. Adler Mannheim 50 35 5 10 1 212:123 76
2. Kölner Haie 50 36 2 12 2 235:142 76
3. Kassel Huskies 50 27 4 19 1 190:167 59
4. EHC Eisbären Berlin 50 26 4 20 1 177:163 57
5. Berlin Capitals 50 23 6 21 3 162:149 55
6. Starbulls Rosenheim 50 20 2 28 5 171:209 47
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals For : Goals Against

Phase II - "Relegationsrunde"

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The first two placed teams qualified for the playoff spots 7 and 8.

Team GP W T L OTL GF:GA Points
1. EV Landshut 48 29 3 16 3 202:122 64
2. Krefeld Pinguine 48 28 2 18 3 198:166 61
3. Düsseldorfer EG 48 28 2 18 0 164:138 58
4. Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 48 23 1 24 5 200:191 52
5. Augsburger Panther 48 21 5 22 1 176:181 48
6. Frankfurt Lions 48 21 4 23 1 136:142 47
7. Kaufbeurer Adler 48 17 3 28 3 166:252 40
8. Wedemark Scorpions 48 12 1 35 3 150:231 28
9. Nürnberg Ice Tigers 48 9 6 33 1 149:229 25
10. Ratinger Löwen 48 9 2 37 2 136:219 22
GP = Games, W = Win, T = Tie, L = Loss, OTL = Overtime loss, GF:GA = Goals for : GoalsaAgainst
Color code:    = Playoff    = Playdowns

Playdowns

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First round

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The first round was played in the best-of-seven mode.

Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Düsseldorfer EG - Ratinger Löwen 4:0 5:1 5:3 2:0 6:2
Schwenninger Wild Wings - Nürnberg Ice Tigers 4:1 4:1 2:3 6:1 5:3 11:3
Augsburger Panther - Wedemark Scorpions 4:0 7:1 2:1 5:4 5:3
Frankfurt Lions - Kaufbeurer Adler 2:4 3:2 3:6 4:3 3:6 2:5 1:4

Second round

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The second round was played in a best-of-five mode.

Game 1 2 3 4 5
Wedemark Scorpions - Nürnberg Ice Tigers 1:3 4:6 4:6 5:2 2:5
Frankfurt Lions - Ratinger Löwen 3:0 6:1 5:4 5:3

Wedemark Scorpions (now known as Hannover Scorpions) and Ratinger Löwen (English: Ratinger Lions) had to play against the first two placed teams of the second league.

Relegation

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The relegation round was played in a best-of-three mode.

Game 1 2 3
EHC Neuwied - Ratinger Löwen 0:2 2:4 3:10
Wedemark Scorpions - TSV Erding 2:0 10:2 9:5

Both the Ratinger Löwen and Wedemark Scorpions earned their keep in the DEL.

Playoffs

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All playoff rounds were played in as a best-of-five series, with the better placed team playing Home-Away-Home-Away-Home.

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
2 Adler Mannheim 3
8 Krefeld Pinguine 0
2 Adler Mannheim 3
7 EV Landshut 0
1 Kölner Haie 1
7 EV Landshut 3
2 Adler Mannheim 3
4 Kassel Huskies 0
4 Kassel Huskies 3
6 Starbulls Rosenheim 0
4 Kassel Huskies 3
5 EHC Eisbären Berlin 1
5 EHC Eisbären Berlin 3
3 Berlin Capitals 1

Quarterfinals

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Game 1 2 3 4 5
Adler Mannheim - Krefeld Pinguine 3:0 4:1 4:1 8:4
Kölner Haie - EV Landshut 1:3 6:3 3:4 2:4 1:3
Kassel Huskies - Starbulls Rosenheim 3:0 6:1 4:1 5:4
EHC Eisbären Berlin - Berlin Capitals 3:1 4:3 3:4 5:0 4:1

Semifinals

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Game 1 2 3 4 5
Adler Mannheim - EV Landshut 3:0 7:5 2:4 4:3
Kassel Huskies - EHC Eisbären Berlin 3:1 4:2 4:5 6:3 3:1

Finals

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Game 1 2 3 4 5
Adler Mannheim - Kassel Huskies 3:0 5:4 5:2 4:2

With the last game, the Adler Mannheim became first time DEL Champion and won the German Champion title for the 2nd 8th time in the club history.

Player awards

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Category Name Team Record
Points     Bruno Zarrillo Kölner Haie 74 Points
Goals   Chris Lindberg Krefeld Pinguine 37 Goals
Goalie     Mike Rosati Adler Mannheim 2.35 Goals-against-average
Defense   Gordon Hynes Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings 56 Points

References

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