Questions and answers about the play-offs of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL)

Cologne (SID) The 24th season of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) is entering its decisive phase. The play-off quarter-finals for the 98th German championship begin on Wednesday. The Sports Information Service (SID) answers the most important questions.

Who will be champion? Defending champion Red Bull Munich is the top favorite. The team of record coach Don Jackson, who has already won the DEL championship seven times, finished the main round first again. The squad with seven Olympic heroes from Pyeongchang around the best German center forwards Dominik Kahun and Patrick Hager is exquisitely staffed thanks to the highest budget (12,5 million euros). In the quarterfinals, Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven, ninth in the main round, is the easiest opponent on paper. Who else has a chance? The Eisbären Berlin and the Nuremberg Ice Tigers also cracked the 100-point mark in the main round. Both played a very consistent season and fought for first place with Munich. The DEL record champions from Berlin will immediately have to deal with the runner-up Grizzlys Wolfsburg - who are, however, heavily weakened. Things will be even more difficult for DEL record scorer Patrick Reimer and the “Eistiger” against the Kölner Haie around Olympic standard-bearer Christian Ehrhoff, who only slipped into the top six on the last match day. Who are the stars of the play-offs? Of course the silver heroes from the Olympics. With the exception of the injured Gerrit Fauser from Wolfsburg, everyone in national coach Marco Sturm's squad is playing for the championship title. They bring the euphoria after the greatest success in German ice hockey history to their clubs and, after the unfortunate loss in the final in Pyeongchang, hope for even more silver - the DEL Cup. Who is the biggest underdog? Like last year, the Fischtown Pinguins. The fact that the Bremerhaven team reached the quarter-finals in their second DEL year is extraordinary. The renewed success with the smallest budget in the league (4,1 million euros) confirms the work of manager Alfred Prey and coach of the year Thomas Popiesch. How are the playoffs going? The game is played according to the “best of seven” mode. Four wins are necessary to advance. If the score is tied after 60 minutes, the game will be extended in 20-minute increments until a goal is scored. The longest play-off game lasted 168 minutes and 16 seconds (Cologne vs. Mannheim, 5:4 on March 22, 2008). Who will broadcast the playoffs? Sport1 shows up to 20 games live on free TV. It starts on Wednesday (19.30 p.m.) with the duel between Nuremberg and Cologne. Deutsche Telekom broadcasts all games live via live stream via TV, PC, tablet or smartphone - free of charge for Telekom customers and for a monthly fee for everyone else.

OF Germany	SP	TV	P
1. Bremerhaven	51	160:115	104
2. Eisbären Berlin	51	180:132	102
3. Straubing Tigers	51	161:127	91
4. Grizzly's Wolfsburg	51	149:139	87
5. EHC Munich	51	152:129	86
6. Schwenningen	51	154:142	82
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Questions and answers about the play-offs of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL)

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