2020–21 DEL2 season

The 2020–21 DEL2 season was the eighth season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The season began on a delayed start date of 6 November 2020 after being rescheduled from 2 October 2020,[1] and concluded with the end of the playoffs on 22 May 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DEL2 along with DEL and DEB agreed to a set of health rules and guidelines to ensure a safe and consistent work environment for everyone involved with hockey in Germany.[2] Fans were excluded from attending matches.[2] The DEL2 board agreed to suspend relegation to the Oberliga for the season, resulting in no relegation play-offs being contested.[3] The season also marked the first time the league implemented promotion to DEL.[4]

2020–21 DEL2 season
LeagueDEL2
SportIce Hockey
Duration6 November 2020 – 22 May 2021
Number of games364 (52 per team)
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)Sprade TV
eoTV
Regular season
Season championsEC Kassel Huskies
Top scorerMarco Pfleger (Tölzen Löwen)
Relegated to OberligaNo relegation
(relegation suspended for season)
Playoffs
ChampionsBietigheim Steelers
Finals MVPNorman Hauner (Steelers)

Teams
DEL2 teams for the 2020–21 season.

In 2020–21 the DEL2 had 14 teams competing in the league.[5]

2020–21 DEL2 teams
TeamCityArenaHead coachCaptain
EC Bad NauheimHesse Bad NauheimColonel-Knight-StadionFinland Hannu JärvenpääGermany Marc El-Sayed
Tölzer LöwenBavaria Bad TölzHacker-Pschorr-ArenaCanada Kevin GaudetGermany Philipp Schlager
Bayreuth TigersBavaria BayreuthKunsteisstadionFinland Petri KujalaSlovakia Ivan Kolozvary
Bietigheim SteelersBaden-Württemberg Bietigheim-BissingenEgeTrans ArenaCanada Daniel NaudGermany Nikolai Goc
Eispiraten CrimmitschauSaxony CrimmitschauEisstadion im SahnparkCanada Mario RicherGermany Adrian Grygiel
Dresdner EislöwenSaxony DresdenEnergieVerbund ArenaGermany Andreas BrockmannGermany Thomas Pielmeier
Löwen FrankfurtHesse FrankfurtEissporthalle FrankfurtGermany Franz-David FritzmeierCanada Adam Mitchell
EHC FreiburgBaden-Württemberg FreiburgFranz Siegel StadionScotland Peter RussellGermany Philipp Rießle
Heilbronner FalkenBaden-Württemberg HeilbronnKolbenschmidt ArenaCanada Bill StewartUnited States Derek Damon
EC Kassel HuskiesHesse KasselEissporthalle KasselCanada Tim KehlerGermany Denis Shevyrin
ESV KaufbeurenBavaria KaufbeurenErdgas Schwaben ArenaUnited States Rob PallinCanada Tyler Spurgeon
EV LandshutBavaria LandshutEisstadion am GutenbergwegSweden Leif CarlssonGermany Tim Brunnhuber
Lausitzer FüchseSaxony WeißwasserEisstadion WeißwasserCanada Corey NeilsonCanada Clarke Breitkreuz
Ravensburg TowerstarsBaden-Württemberg RavensburgEissporthalle RavensburgCanada Rich ChernomazGermany Vincenz Mayer

Format

Fourteen teams competed in the 2019–20 DEL2 regular season that ran from 6 November 2020 to 11 April 2021. No team was promoted or relegated to Oberliga. Each team played each other twice in the regular season, home and away, for a total of 52 matches each. The top eight teams qualified for the championship playoffs, played in a best of five format.[6]

For the first time in DEL2 history, sporting promotion to DEL was introduced. Relegation from DEL to DEL2 was suspended for the season. Financial account examination was an additional requirement for the DEL2 champion to obtrain a DEL licence to secure promotion. Löwen Frankfurt, EC Kassel Huskies and Bietigheim Steelers all applied for their financial accounts to be examined.[7]

Regular season

Results
Home \ Away BN TL BT BS EC DE LF EF HF KH EK EL FU RT BN TL BT BS EC DE LF EF HF KH EK EL FU RT
EC Bad Nauheim – 4–1 6–3 3–7 3–2 6–2 – 7–1 0–8 – 4–3 4–2 6–0 – 4–1 2–6 – – – – – – – – – –
Tölzer Löwen 7–2 4–2 2–3[lower-alpha 1] 8–1 3–4 – 4–2 6–3 4–5[lower-alpha 1] – 5–2 7–1 3–6 – – 5–2 – – – – – – – – – 1–4
Bayreuth Tigers 7–2 2–1 2–5 1–4 4–1 – 3–4 3–1 3–4[lower-alpha 2] 4–3 4–7 2–3 3–1 – 0–5 – 6–7[lower-alpha 2] – – – – – – – – –
Bietigheim Steelers 1–0 8–7 3–7 4–2 – 7–2 3–4[lower-alpha 1] 4–1 5–4[lower-alpha 2] 7–2 9–4 3–5 3–8 – – – – 4–1 – 1–2[lower-alpha 2] – – 6–4 – – –
Eispiraten Crimmitschau 5–1 4–5[lower-alpha 2] 2–4 0–3 2–1[lower-alpha 1] – 5–3 3–4 3–2 7–6 6–7 3–2 4–1 – – – – 2–4 – – – – – 4–2 – –
Dresdner Eislöwen 2–3[lower-alpha 1] 0–1 3–0 3–2 3–2[lower-alpha 1] 3–2[lower-alpha 1] 1–5 4–2 3–4[lower-alpha 2] 2–6 5–2 5–4[lower-alpha 1] 0–3 – – – – – 2–10 – – – – – 1–0[lower-alpha 1] –
Löwen Frankfurt 5–1 1–4 5–3 – 2–0 – 5–4[lower-alpha 2] 2–3[lower-alpha 1] 4–3[lower-alpha 2] 5–3 2–1[lower-alpha 1] 6–1 5–2 – – – – – – – 2–1 2–1 – – – –
EHC Freiburg 8–1 4–3[lower-alpha 1] 4–2 2–5 3–4 5–4 2–3 5–2 0–3 4–3 7–3 6–1 2–3[lower-alpha 2] – – – – – – – 3–4[lower-alpha 1] – – – – 3–2[lower-alpha 2]
Heilbronner Falken – 3–6 – 6–2 5–2 2–5 1–3 4–7 – 3–6 8–4 4–1 7–0 – 2–4 – – – – – – – 1–3 – – –
EC Kassel Huskies 3–4[lower-alpha 1] 5–3 6–2 3–1 4–5 4–1 7–0 1–0 4–3 5–0 3–1 5–1 4–2 4–1 – – – – – – 5–1 – – – – –
ESV Kaufbeuren 3–2 2–6 5–7 3–2[lower-alpha 2] 3–2 8–1 5–4[lower-alpha 1] 5–0[lower-alpha 3] 4–2 1–4 5–6[lower-alpha 2] – 1–4 – – – – – 1–4 – – – – 3–2 – –
EV Landshut 3–2[lower-alpha 2] 3–2[lower-alpha 2] 5–3 1–2[lower-alpha 1] 3–4[lower-alpha 1] 5–2 4–2 4–2 – – 2–3[lower-alpha 2] 4–2 2–3 – – – – – – 3–1 – – – – 3–4 –
Lausitzer Füchse 7–3 3–2[lower-alpha 1] 2–3[lower-alpha 1] 6–0 3–4 3–2 2–1 – 4–5[lower-alpha 1] 4–3 0–1 1–3 1–3 – – 1–3 – – – – – – 2–3 – – –
Ravensburg Towerstars 7–1 2–3 3–2[lower-alpha 1] 4–1 4–1 6–3 1–2 3–4[lower-alpha 1] – 2–4 7–5 4–2 3–5 2–4 – – – 2–3[lower-alpha 2] – – – – – – – –
Updated to match(es) played on 9 February 2021. Source: DEL2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  1. Overtime
  2. Shootout
  3. Match forfeited by Freiburg retrospectively for not icing enough U21 players. ESV Kaufbeuren handed a 5-0 victory despite the match finishing 6-2 on the night.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 EC Kassel Huskies 49 32 6 4 7 210 108 +102 112 2021 DEL2 Championship Playoffs
2 Tölzer Löwen 50 28 1 6 15 210 153 +57 92
3 EHC Freiburg 49 23 8 4 14 177 149 +28 89
4 Bietigheim Steelers 49 26 4 3 16 183 165 +18 89
5 Löwen Frankfurt 49 22 8 5 14 158 141 +17 87
6 ESV Kaufbeuren 50 22 6 2 20 181 187 −6 80
7 Ravensburg Towerstars 50 20 2 8 20 155 161 −6 72
8 Heilbronner Falken 49 20 3 2 24 173 175 −2 68
9 Eispiraten Crimmitschau 49 17 6 3 23 156 166 −10 66
10 EV Landshut 50 15 4 7 24 162 191 −29 60
11 EC Bad Nauheim 49 16 4 4 25 156 187 −31 60
12 Lausitzer Füchse 50 15 3 7 25 141 175 −34 58
13 Dresdner Eislöwen 49 12 7 6 24 140 184 −44 56
14 Bayreuth Tigers 50 12 4 5 29 145 205 −60 49
Updated to match(es) played on 08 April 2021. Source: www.kicker.de www.del-2.org
Rules for classification:
Tie-break: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Points: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss

Top scorers

These are the top-ten scorers in DEL2 for the 2020–21 season. (Table is created at the conclusion of the DEL2 regular season)

Top goaltenders

These are the top-ten goaltenders in DEL2 for the 2020–21 season. (Table is created at the conclusion of the DEL2 regular season)

Playoffs

Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, the relegation play-offs were suspended for the season.[3] The championship play-offs saw the DEL2 champion qualify for promotion to DEL for the first time, as long as the winning team also met financial requirements to obtain a DEL licence.[4]

Championship

The championship playoffs reference:[8]

The championship playoffs ran from 22 April 2021 to 22 May 2021. The top eight teams from the regular season qualified and played best-of-five series. Teams were reseeded following the quarter-finals, which meant that Ravensburg, the only lower seed to advance, had to face top seed Kassel in the semi-finals. In the finals, Bietigheim came back from two games down to win the series and the DEL2 championship, 3 games to 2.

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
1 EC Kassel Huskies 3
8 Heilbronner Falken 0
1 EC Kassel Huskies 3
7 Ravensburg Towerstars 1
2 Tölzer Löwen 1
7 Ravensburg Towerstars 3
1 EC Kassel Huskies 2
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
4 Bietigheim Steelers 3
3 EHC Freiburg 3
6 ESV Kaufbeuren 2
3 EHC Freiburg 2
4 Bietigheim Steelers 3
4 Bietigheim Steelers 3
5 Löwen Frankfurt 2

Note: All numbers represent series results, not a match score


References
  1. "DEL2 gezwungen Saisonstart nochmals zu verschieben" [DEL2 forced to postpone the start of the season again] (in German). DEL2. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  2. "Task Force Eishockey präsentiert umfassendes Hygiene- und Zuschauerkonzept" [Task Force Ice Hockey presents a comprehensive hygiene and spectator concept] (in German). Deutscher Eishockey Bund. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  3. "DEL2 beendet Saison vorzeitig" [DEL2 ends season prematurely] (in German). DEL2. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  4. "PENNY DEL und DEL2 einigen sich über Auf- und Abstieg für die Saison 2021/22" [PENNY DEL and DEL2 agree on promotion and relegation for the 2021/22 season] (in German). Deutsche Eishockey Liga. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  5. "DEL 2: 2020-2021 Standings". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  6. "Spielmodus Saison 2020/2021" [Game mode for the 2020/2021 season] (in German). www.del-2.org. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. "Grizzlys geben Lizenzunterlagen ab" [Grizzlys hand in license documents] (in German). Grizzlys Wolfsburg. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  8. "DEL2 | Statistik | Spielpläne - Archiv der DEL2". www.del-2.org. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
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