2nd Bundesliga (ice hockey)

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2nd Bundesliga
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1973
No. of teams	14
Country(ies)	Germany
Most recent champion(s)	Kassel Huskies
Official website	Official ESBG website

The 2nd Eishockey-Bundesliga is the second tier of Ice hockey in Germany. It is organised by the DEB, the German Ice Hockey Federation. In the 2007-08 season, it features 14 teams.

[edit] History of the 2nd Ice Hockey Bundesliga

The league was first introduced in the 1973-74 season as the second tier of German ice hockey, the level below the Ice hockey Bundesliga.

[edit] History up until 1994

• From 1973-74 up until 1980-81 the league operated as the single-conference 2nd Bundesliga
• In the 1981-82 season, it was divided into two conferences: 2nd Bundesliga Süd (southern division) and 2nd Bundesliga Nord (northern division)
• For the 1982-83 season, it returned to a single-conference league due to a lack of clubs intresstet in playing in the league
• Starting from the 1983-84 season until 1991-92, it was divided into the 2nd Bundesliga Süd and Nord again, with the top four clubs from each league meeting the bottom two Bundesliga clubs for a promotion round for two places in the Bundesliga
• In the seasons 1992-93 and 1993-94, the league operated as one single division again

[edit] From 1994

The large number at insolvencies of second division clubs was in 1994 the reason for the abolition of the 2nd Bundesliga and the introduction of the Deutschen Eishockey-Liga with 18 teams, without promotion and relegation. A number of top clubs from the second division were admitted to the DEL.

Below the former 2nd Bundesliga, the Oberliga now became the highest league still under control of the DEB. The Oberliga was however renamed 1st Liga for the next couple of seasons, until returning to its old name.

[edit] From 1998

As the highest single-division for the DEB, a new league was formed in 1998, receiving the name "Bundesliga". The decision to name the new league "Bundesliga" led to conflicts between the Deutschen Eishockey-Bund and the Deutschen Eishockey-Liga, since the DEL was of the opinion that it owned the right to call itselve Bundesliga, being the highest league in the country. For this reason, the DEL logo also carries the name 1st Bundesliga in smaller letters below. Eventually, a compromise was reached, naming the new league 2nd Bundesliga instead.

[edit] From 1999

Since 1999, the league became the 2nd Bundesliga again, which is organized today by the Eishockeyspielbetriebsgesellschaft (ESBG). As in the DEL, the clubs must undergo a strict financial examination.

Despite this fact, some clubs still found themslves in financial difficulties throughout the season and had to withdraw, like the EC Bad Nauheim in the past. The Moskitos Essen and Eisbären Regensburg both declared insolvency on 15 April 2008, being unable to meet their debts. Both clubs were immediately relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga^[1]. Due to the srtucture of the 2nd Bundesliga, where all teams playing are separate companys operated by the mother club, the insolvency of one of those does not mean the club itselve becomes insolvent.

[edit] Promotion and relegation

In November 2007, the DEL has introduced promotion to the league once more. The teams placed 15th and 16th in the DEL will play a best-of-seven series to determined which club faces the 2nd Bundesliga champion for a place in the league. There is however an ongoing dispute about those games as second division clubs can only have five foreign players on contract and therefore face a handicap in comparison to the DEL clubs with currently twelve^[2]. For now, the ESBG has declared that no club from the 2nd Bundesliga would take part in these matches and therefore no promotion/relegation with the DEL will take place^[3].

The two bottom teams in the 2nd Bundesliga are relegated to the Oberliga and the top-two Oberliga teams promoted to this league^[4].

[edit] League champions

• * denotes Bundesliga club taking part in the promotion round

[edit] Placings in the 2nd Bundesliga 1999 to 2008

Colour Result Gold Champion Silver Finalist Green Semi finalist Blue 1st round White not qualified for play-offs DEL denotes club played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (I) The Hamburg Crocodiles withdrew to the Oberliga after the 1999-2000 season. The EC Wilhelmshaven folded after the 2000-01 season. The Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim folded after the 2003-04 season. [edit] See also Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the DEL Oberliga Bavarian ice hockey leagues [edit] References ^ Nach Regensburg muss auch Essen Insolvenz anmelden (in German). ESBG (2008-04-15). Retrieved on 2008-04-16. ^ DEL: Neuer Modus mit Auf- und Abstieg (in German). Hockeyweb.de (21 November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-30. ^ DEL: Kein Auf- und Abstieg(in German). kicker.de (14 March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-30. ^ DURCHFÜHRUNGSBESTIMMUNGEN SENIOREN (in German). ESBG (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-31. [edit] Sources Hockey Archives - International ice hockey website with tables and results (in French) Official website of the ESBG for the 2nd Bundesliga and Oberliga v • d • e 2nd Bundesliga Teams for the 2007-08 season: SC Bietigheim-Bissingen  · REV Bremerhaven  · ETC Crimmitschau  · ESC Moskitos Essen  · Heilbronner Falken  · Kassel Huskies  · EV Landsberg  · Landshut Cannibals  · Lausitzer Füchse  · EHC München  · EV Ravensburg  · Eisbären Regensburg  · SC Riessersee  · SERC Wild Wings Seasons:  · 2003–04  · 2004–05  · 2005–06  · 2006–07  · 2007–08 Related articles:  · DEL  · 2nd Bundesliga  · Oberliga