2019–20 Oberliga (ice hockey) season
The 2019/20 Oberliga season was the 61st season of the Oberliga, the third-tier of German ice hockey. The Oberliga operated with two regional leagues, North and South. 24 teams competed in the season that spanned from 28 September 2019 till 11 March 2020. The regular season and championship playoff qualifiers was completed, but the season was then cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the remainder of the Oberliga season was cancelled by DEB.[1] The championship playoffs were not contested so no Oberliga champion was named. There was also no sporting promotion or relegation, with ERC Sonthofen the only team to be relegated due to the club entering insolvency. Tilburg Trappers were crowned Oberliga North premiers, while Eisbären Regensburg were crowned Oberliga South premiers.
| 2019–20 Oberliga season | |
|---|---|
| League | Oberliga |
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
| Duration | 28 September 2019 – 11 March 2020 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| TV partner(s) | Sprade TV (select teams) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Tilburg Trappers (North) Eisbären Regensburg (South) |
| Top scorer | Brad Snetsinger (North) Ian McDonald (South) |
| Promoted to DEL2 | N/A (no promotion playoffs due to COVID-19) |
| Relegated to Regionalliga | ERC Sonthofen Bulls (bankruptcy) |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | No champion (Championship playoffs not contested) |
Teams
| Oberliga North Teams: 2019–20 Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined league | |
| City | State | |||||
| Füchse Duisburg | Duisburg |  North Rhine-Westphalia | Scania Arena | 4,800 | 1971 | 2010 |
| Black Dragons Erfurt | Erfurt |  Thuringia | Kartoffelhalle Erfurt | 1,200 | 2010 | 2010 |
| Moskitos Essen | Essen | North Rhine-Westphalia | Eissporthalle Essen-West | 3,850 | 1994 | 2015 |
| Saale Bulls Halle | Halle (Saale) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Saxony-Anhalt | Eissporthalle Halle | 2,200 | 2004 | 2010 |
| Hamburg Crocodiles | Hamburg |  Hamburg | Eisland Farmsen | 2,300 | 1990 | 2010 |
| Hannover Indians | Hannover |  Lower Saxony | Eisstadion am Pferdeturm | 4,608 | 1948 | 2013 |
| Hannover Scorpions | Hannover | Lower Saxony | Eishalle Langenhagen | 3,800 | 1996 | 2013 |
| Herner EV 2007 | Herne | North Rhine-Westphalia | Gysenberghalle | 3,700 | 2007 | 2012 |
| Krefeld Pinguine U23 | Krefeld | North Rhine-Westphalia | König Palast | 9,000 | 1995 | 2011 |
| IceFighters Leipzig | Leipzig |  Saxony | Kohlrabizirkus Eisarena | 2,500 | 2010 | 2010 |
| Rostock Piranhas | Rostock |  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Eishalle Rostock | 2,000 | 1990 | 2010 |
| Tilburg Trappers | Tilburg |  North Brabant | IJssportcentrum Tilburg | 2,500 | 1938 | 2015 |
Three Regionalliga teams declined promotion to Oberliga North (ECW Sande, Herford EV and Schönheider Wolves).[2][3] DEL team, Krefeld EV applied for a licence for their U23 team to compete in Oberliga North, this was accepted.[4] EC Harzer Falken withdrew from the league after beginning insolvency proceedings.[5] ECC Preussen Berlin had the chance to apply for a licence, even though they were relegated from the previous season but they could not meet the conditions so remained in Regionlliga Ost.[6]
| Oberliga South Teams: 2019–20 Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined league | |
| City | State | |||||
| EV Füssen | Füssen | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bavaria | Bundesleistungszentrum | 4,700 | 1922 | 2019 |
| Höchstadter EC | Höchstadt | Bavaria | Eisstadion Höchstadt | 2,000 | 1993 | 2018 |
| ECDC Memmingen | Memmingen | Bavaria | Eissportstadion am Hühnerberg | 3,850 | 1992 | 2017 |
| EV Lindau Islanders | Lindau | Bavaria | Eichwaldstadion | 1,100 | 1976 | 2016 |
| EC Peiting | Peiting | Bavaria | Eisstadion Peiting | 2,500 | 1973 | 2000 |
| SC Riessersee | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Bavaria | Olympia-Eissport-Zentrum | 6,926 | 1920 | 2018 |
| ERC Sonthofen 1999 | Sonthofen | Bavaria | Eissporthalle Sonthofen | 2,860 | 1999 | 2014 |
| Eisbären Regensburg | Regensburg | Bavaria | Donau Arena | 4,961 | 1962 | 2010 |
| Starbulls Rosenheim | Rosenheim | Bavaria | Emilo Stadion | 4,750 | 2000 | 2017 |
| Selber Wölfe | Selb | Bavaria | Hutschenreuther Eissporthalle | 4,082 | 2004 | 2010 |
| 1. EV Weiden | Weiden | Bavaria | Eisstadion Weiden | 2,560 | 1985 | 2012 |
| Deggendorfer SC | Deggendorf | Bavaria | Eissporthalle an der Trat | 4,000 | 2002 | 2019 |
Deggendorf SC joined Oberliga South for 2019/20 after being relegated from DEL2. EV Landshut left the league after being promoted to DEL2. EV Füssen joined the league from the Bayernliga while EHC Waldkraiburg went the other direction. The champions of Regionalliga Südwest, SC Bietigheim-Bissingen were not eligible for promotion to Oberliga South due to their first team playing in DEL2 (Bietigheim Steelers)
Oberliga North
Oberliga North ran from 21 September 2019 till 10 March 2020. The league operated with a 44 match (4 matches against each team) regular season. The top six teams automatically qualified for the championship & promotion playoffs. The next four teams advanced to the qualification playoffs for two spots in the championship playoffs. The team finishing eleventh, had their season end after the regular season while the team that finished twelfth, was relegated to the Regionalliga. Tilburg Trappers topped the league standings at the end of the regular season, being crowned Oberliga North premiers.[7] Krefeld EV U23's finished last and would have been relegated until the league decided to suspend all promotion and relegation for the season due to COVID-19 ending the season early.[1]
Regular season
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tilburg Trappers | 44 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 209 | 116 | +93 | 106 | Oberliga Championship playoffs |
| 2 | Herner EV 2007 | 44 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 198 | 141 | +57 | 97 | |
| 3 | Hamburg Crocodiles | 44 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 184 | 122 | +62 | 84 | |
| 4 | Hannover Indians | 44 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 140 | 117 | +23 | 78 | |
| 5 | Icefighters Leipzig | 44 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 168 | 134 | +34 | 75 | |
| 6 | Hannover Scorpions | 44 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 174 | 153 | +21 | 72 | |
| 7 | Saale Bulls Halle | 44 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 168 | 154 | +14 | 68 | Nord Qualification playoffs |
| 8 | Füchse Duisburg | 44 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 151 | 161 | −10 | 60 | |
| 9 | Rostock Piranhas | 44 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 133 | 167 | −34 | 53 | |
| 10 | ESC Moskitos Essen | 44 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 137 | 202 | −65 | 40 | |
| 11 | Erfurt Black Dragons | 44 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 117 | 189 | −72 | 35 | |
| 12 | Krefelder EV U23 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 119 | 242 | −123 | 24 | Regionalliga |
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
Qualification playoffs
Teams finishing seventh to tenth play best of three match series in the qualification playoffs to determine the final two places from Oberliga North in the Championship playoffs. The matches occurred between 6 March and 10 March 2020.
| Qualified for Championship playoffs |
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Series result | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saale Bulls Halle | ESC Moskitos Essen | 2:0 | 7–2 | 5–4 | – |
| Füchse Duisburg | Rostock Piranhas | 1:2 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 2–3 (OT) |
Oberliga South
Oberliga South ran from 27 September 2019 till 8 March 2020. The league was broken into two stages. Stage one, the regular season, had all twelve teams compete in a home and away round before splitting into two regional groups for a second home and away round for a total of 32 matches. The top ten teams advanced to the Oberliga South qualification round to determine the league premier and eight qualifiers for the Oberliga championship playoffs. The bottom two teams advanced to the relegation playoffs with six Bayernliga teams. Memmingen Indians finished top of the regular season but Eisbären Regensburg topped the fifty match qualification round to claim the Oberliga South premiership.[8] ERC Sonthofen Bulls and Höchstadter EC finished in the bottom two, but the relegation playoffs were cancelled due to COVID-19, so neither team was relegated on sporting performance.[1] However, ERC Sonthofen declared bankruptcy and withdrew from the league, confirming their relegation next season.[9]
Regular season
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ECDC Memmingen | 32 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 127 | 89 | +38 | 66 | Süd Qualification round |
| 2 | Deggendorfer SC | 32 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 154 | 114 | +40 | 60 | |
| 3 | Starbulls Rosenheim | 32 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 134 | 100 | +34 | 60 | |
| 4 | Eisbären Regensburg | 32 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 141 | 113 | +28 | 54 | |
| 5 | EV Füssen | 32 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 98 | 100 | −2 | 54 | |
| 6 | SC Riessersee | 32 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 121 | 101 | +20 | 51 | |
| 7 | EC Peiting | 32 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 112 | 98 | +14 | 51 | |
| 8 | EV Lindau Islanders | 32 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 100 | 130 | −30 | 45 | |
| 9 | Selber Wölfe | 32 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 117 | 122 | −5 | 42 | |
| 10 | 1. EV Weiden | 32 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 105 | 132 | −27 | 41 | |
| 11 | ERC Sonthofen Bulls | 32 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 117 | 131 | −14 | 40 | Regionalliga relegation playoffs |
| 12 | Höchstadter EC | 32 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 67 | 163 | −96 | 12 |
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
Qualification round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eisbären Regensburg | 50 | 29 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 216 | 155 | +61 | 96 | Oberliga Championship playoffs |
| 2 | ECDC Memmingen | 50 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 186 | 144 | +42 | 95 | |
| 3 | SC Riessersee | 50 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 196 | 138 | +58 | 92 | |
| 4 | Deggendorfer SC | 50 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 226 | 184 | +42 | 91 | |
| 5 | Starbulls Rosenheim | 50 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 200 | 156 | +44 | 86 | |
| 6 | EC Peiting | 50 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 174 | 163 | +11 | 79 | |
| 7 | EV Füssen | 50 | 23 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 168 | 176 | −8 | 77 | |
| 8 | Selber Wölfe | 50 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 23 | 177 | 186 | −9 | 66 | |
| 9 | 1. EV Weiden | 50 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 164 | 218 | −54 | 58 | |
| 10 | EV Lindau Islanders | 50 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 142 | 219 | −77 | 54 |
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
Championship playoffs
The championship playoffs to determine the Oberliga champion and promotion to DEL2 did not go ahead for the 2019/20 season. All ice hockey in Germany was cancelled on 11 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Qualified teams
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References
- "Vorzeitiges Saisonende aller Ligen des DEB-Spielbetriebs" [Early season end to all DEB sanctioned leagues] (in German). Deutscher Eishockey-Bund. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- Busch, Henning (8 February 2019). "Nach der Meisterfeier ist vor den Playoffs" [Early season end to all DEB sanctioned leagues] (in German). www.NWZonline.de. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- Voss, Markus (3 April 2019). "Herforder Ice Dragons feiern den größten Triumph der Vereinsgeschichte" [Herford Ice Dragons celebrate the greatest triumph in club history] (in German). www.nw.de. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- Schoofs, H (6 February 2019). "Der KEV'81 kehrt in die Oberliga zurück" [The KEV’81 returns to the top division] (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- "Harzer Falken planen für die Regionalliga Nord" [Harzer Falken plan for the Regionalliga Nord] (in German). Harzer Falken. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- Thelen, Friedhelm (12 July 2019). "ECC Preussen Berlin zieht sich in die Regionalliga zurück" [ECC Preussen Berlin withdraws to the Regionalliga] (in German). www.hockeyweb.de. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- "Tilburg Trappers als Oberliga Nord Meister de play-offs in" [Tilburg Trappers enter the play-offs as Oberliga Nord Meister] (in Dutch). www.tilburg.com. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- Wotruba, Claus-Dieter (8 March 2020). "Sagenhaft: Die Eisbären sind Meister!" [Legendary: The polar bears are masters!] (in German). www.mittelbayerische.de. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- "ERC Sonthofen Spielbetriebsgesellschaft mbH meldet Insolvenz an" [ERC Sonthofen files for bankruptcy] (in German). www.hockeyweb.de. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.