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2015–16 DEL2 season
2015–16 DEL2 season
League	DEL2
Sport	Ice Hockey
Duration	11 September 2015–April 2016
Number of games	364 (52 per team)
Number of teams	14
Regular season
Season champions	Bietigheim Steelers
Finals
Champions	EC Kassel Huskies
DEL2 seasons
	← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 DEL2 season was the third season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

The regular season started on 11 September 2015 and was completed on 1 March 2016,^[1] followed by the play-offs, which finished on 22 April 2016 with EC Kassel Huskies winning the league title.^[2]

In the 2015–16 season the league was the best-supported second-tier ice hockey league in Europe with an average of 2,688 spectators per game.^[3]

Modus

Fourteen teams played a regular season where each team played the other twice home and away. The teams placed first to sixth directly qualified for the play-offs while the teams placed seventh to tenth played a pre-play-off in the best-of-three format. The remained of the play-offs were staged in a best-of-seven format. The teams placed eleventh to fourteenth qualified for the play-downs, also played in the best-of-seven format with the losers of the first round advancing to the second. The loser of the second round was nominally relegated,^[2] but Heilbronn retained its league place once more after the Fischtown Penguins were elevated to the DEL for the following season.

The league champion does not have the right for direct promotion to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga but, in September 2015, the DEL and DEL2 agreed to reintroduce promotion and relegation between the two leagues from the 2017–18 season onwards. The DEL2 champion would then have the opportunity to be promoted, provided it fulfilled the licensing requirements of the DEL, while the last-placed DEL club would be relegated.^[4]

After DEL club Hamburg Freezers returned their licence in May 2016 the Fischtown Pinguins announced that they had applied for a DEL licence and were interested in taking up Hamburg's place in the league, with the DEL intending to keep the number of clubs in the league at 14.^[5] On 1 July 2016 it was announced that the Pinguins had been granted a DEL licence for 2016–17.^[6]

Regular season

The regular season saw one new club in the league, EHC Freiburg while the Heilbronner Falken, originally relegated at the end of the 2014–15 season, remained in the league after EV Landshut was relegated for financial reasons.^[7]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bietigheim Steelers	52	34	3	3	12	207	130	+77	111	Advanced to playoffs
2	Fischtown Pinguins (P)	52	31	7	4	10	203	135	+68	111
3	Ravensburg Towerstars	52	24	10	0	18	202	136	+66	92
4	EC Kassel Huskies (C)	52	23	8	7	14	201	164	+37	92
5	Löwen Frankfurt	52	26	3	5	18	181	146	+35	89
6	EC Bad Nauheim	52	24	4	8	16	158	158	0	88
7	Dresdner Eislöwen	52	23	6	5	18	193	164	+29	86	Advanced to pre-playoffs
8	Starbulls Rosenheim	52	21	6	5	20	176	124	+52	80
9	SC Riessersee	52	18	5	6	23	165	176	−11	70
10	Eispiraten Crimmitschau	52	20	1	4	27	158	188	−30	66
11	Lausitzer Füchse	52	15	5	5	27	121	166	−45	60	Advanced to play-downs
12	ESV Kaufbeuren	52	15	1	9	27	153	199	−46	56
13	EHC Freiburg	52	14	4	5	29	128	179	−51	55
14	Heilbronner Falken	52	7	6	3	36	131	225	−94	36

Source: kicker.de
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted

Playoffs

Championship

The championship play-offs:^[8]

First round			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

			1	Bietigheim Steelers	4
7	Dresdner Eislöwen	2	8	SB Rosenheim	1
10	Crimmitschau	1				1	Bietigheim Steelers	4
						7	Dresdner Eislöwen	1
			3	Ravensburg	4	(Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
			6	EC Bad Nauheim	1
									1	Bietigheim Steelers	0
									4	EC Kassel Huskies	4
			2	Fischtown Pinguins	3
8	SB Rosenheim	2	7	Dresdner Eislöwen	4
9	SC Riessersee	1				3	Ravensburg	2
						4	EC Kassel Huskies	4
			4	EC Kassel Huskies	4
			5	Löwen Frankfurt	0

Relegation

The relegation play-offs:^[9]

Semifinals			Finals

9	Lausitzer Füchse	4

12	Heilbronner Falken	1
			12	Heilbronner Falken	3

			10	ESV Kaufbeuren	4
10	ESV Kaufbeuren	3

11	EHC Freiburg	4

References

^ "DEL 2 - Spieltag / Tabelle" [DEL2 Match day/Table]. kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Spielmodus" [Modus]. del-2.org (in German). DEL2 website. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ "EUROPEAN ATTENDANCE RANKING PUBLISHED". iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
^ "DEL: Rückkehr zu Auf- und Abstieg? Fahrplan steht!" [DEL: Return of relegation and promotion? Schedule decided!]. kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). 8 September 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ "Hamburg weint - Bremerhaven hofft" [Hamburg in tears - Bremerhaven hopes]. kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). 25 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
^ "Bremerhaven wird DEL-Standort" [Bremerhaven joins the DEL]. kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
^ "Heilbronner Falken komplettieren die DEL2" [Modus Heilbronner Falken remain in DEL2]. del-2.org (in German). DEL2 website. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ "DEL 2 Play-offs - 2016". kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
^ "DEL 2 Play-downs - 2016". kicker.de (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). Retrieved 13 March 2016.