2003–04 DEL season

The 2003–04 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 10th season since the founding of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (German Ice Hockey League). The Frankfurt Lions became German Champions, and the Wölfe Freiburg (Freiburg Wolves) were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga after a single season.

2003-04 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season
League	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of teams	14
2003-04
Season champions	Frankfurt Lions

A visible change for the fans was the league corporate sponsorship by the German Yellow Pages (Gelbe Seiten) who signed a 3-year agreement, later extended ending 2009.

Regular season

The regular season start was on September 4, 2003. The first 8 teams qualified for the playoffs, the last two are to go into playdowns, to determine which team will be relegated.

	Team	GP	Win	SOW	SOL	Lost	GF:GA	Points
1.	Eisbären Berlin	52	29	5	6	12	171:126	103
2.	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	52	26	8	2	16	179:128	96
3.	Hamburg Freezers	52	28	4	3	17	151:115	95
4.	Kölner Haie	52	26	3	9	14	160:134	93
5.	Frankfurt Lions	52	26	5	4	17	177:148	92
6.	Adler Mannheim	52	26	4	6	16	151:124	92
7.	ERC Ingolstadt	52	28	3	2	19	132:118	92
8.	DEG Metro Stars	52	24	4	2	22	141:129	82
9.	Augsburger Panther	52	21	5	5	21	180:177	78
10.	Krefeld Pinguine	52	16	6	4	26	127:149	64
11.	Kassel Huskies	52	16	6	4	26	129:166	64
12.	Iserlohn Roosters	52	14	5	7	26	137:169	59
13.	Hannover Scorpions	52	13	2	5	32	127:175	48
14.	Wölfe Freiburg	52	7	4	5	36	142:241	34

GP = Games Played; SOW = Shootout win; SOL = Shootout loss; GF:GA = Goals for and against
Color code:    = Direct Playoff qualification,    = Season ends,    = Playdown/Relegation

Playdowns

The two lowest placed teams Hannover Scorpions and Wölfe Freiburg played a Best-of-seven series play-down starting March 10, 2004.

			Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Hannover Scorpions	–	Wölfe Freiburg	4:1	5:2	2:6	2:1 OT	4:0	1:0	–	–

OT = Overtime

The Wölfe Freiburg had to leave the DEL after only one season, returning to the 2. Bundesliga.

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
	1	Eisbären Berlin	4
	8.	DEG Metro Stars	0
						1.	Eisbären Berlin	3
						7.	ERC Ingolstadt	0
	2.	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	2
	7.	ERC Ingolstadt	4
											1.	Eisbären Berlin	1
											5.	Frankfurt Lions	3
	3.	Hamburg Freezers	4
	6.	Adler Mannheim	2
						3.	Hamburg Freezers	2
						5.	Frankfurt Lions	3
	4.	Kölner Haie	2
	5.	Frankfurt Lions	4

References