# 2016–17 DEL2 season

The 2016–17 DEL2 season was the fourth season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The season ran from 10 September 2016 till 25 April 2017. Bietigheim Steelers was crowned league premiers by finishing top of the regular season standings. Löwen Frankfurt claimed the championship title by defeating Bietigheim Steelers 4–2 in the final series. Starbulls Rosenheim lost the relegation playoffs 2–4 against ETC Crimmitschau and were relegated from DEL2 to Oberliga.

## Modus

Fourteen teams competed in the 2016–17 DEL2 regular season. EHC Bayreuth was promoted from Germany's third division, Oberliga. Each team played each other twice in the regular season, home and away, for a total of 52 matches each. The top six teams directly qualified for the championship playoffs, played in a best of seven format. Teams placed seven to ten advanced to the championship playoff qualifiers, which followed a best of three format. The bottom four teams enter the relegation playoffs. The two losing teams from round 1 face off in the relegation final with the losing team being relegated to Oberliga.
The DEL2 champion does not automatically get promoted to DEL. 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.

## Regular season
### Results

The cross table represents the results of all matches of the regular season. The home team is listed in the middle column, the visiting team in the top row.
| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Team | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round |
| SCB | RVT | ECK | FRA | ECN | DRE | SBR | SCR | EPC | LFX | ESV | FRB | HNF | BTT | Team | SCB | RVT | ECK | FRA | ECN | DRE | SBR | SCR | EPC | LFX | ESV | FRB | HNF | BTT |
| | 1:0 | 6:2 | 2:3$^O$ | 6:2 | 7:2 | 6:1 | 5:0 | 5:2 | 3:1 | 6:3 | 2:3 | 3:1 | 8:4 | SCB | | 2:1$^S$ | 1:4 | 1:6 | 2:4 | 4:3 | 6:3 | 4:1 | 3:4$^O$ | 4:1 | 1:2 | 5:3 | 4:1 | 6:2 |
| 3:4$^S$ | | 2:3 | 4:1 | 4:0 | 2:3 | 3:2 | 2:3$^S$ | 4:3$^S$ | 4:2 | 4:1 | 3:5 | 4:0 | 5:3 | RVT | 0:4 | | 3:6 | 2:3$^O$ | 3:2 | 1:2$^O$ | 3:6 | 4:0 | 6:1 | 2:1$^S$ | 1:4 | 6:3 | 4:1 | 0:1 |
| 0:8 | 4:3$^O$ | | 2:1 | 7:1 | 1:5 | 4:3 | 2:3 | 5:2 | 3:1 | 6:0 | 2:1$^O$ | 5:3 | 6:5 | ECK | 1:6 | 5:4 | | 2:3 | 3:2 | 2:8 | 4:1 | 2:3 | 4:2 | 1:5 | 3:2 | 3:2$^S$ | 5:1 | 0:1 |
| 4:1 | 5:3 | 4:5$^O$ | | 2:3$^O$ | 6:4 | 8:2 | 6:4 | 5:2 | 5:4 | 2:3$^O$ | 4:2 | 6:4 | 6:4 | FRA | 4:5 | 3:4$^O$ | 2:3 | | 4:1 | 5:2 | 3:1 | 5:2 | 10:4 | 3:5 | 5:3 | 4:5 | 2:3$^O$ | 6:1 |
| 4:5$^O$ | 3:6 | 2:3 | 4:3$^O$ | | 3:1 | 2:3 | 3:1 | 5:2 | 2:3 | 4:1 | 6:1 | 5:1 | 4:3$^S$ | ECN | 0:2 | 4:1 | 3:4 | 2:3$^S$ | | 2:0 | 4:1 | 3:4$^S$ | 4:2 | 0:2 | 2:3$^O$ | 4:3$^S$ | 2:0 | 2:1 |
| 3:7 | 5:2 | 1:3 | 5:6 | 2:3$^S$ | | 7:1 | 6:2 | 4:1 | 2:4 | 5:1 | 3:1 | 5:4 | 3:2 | DRE | 1:2 | 2:1 | 5:3 | 4:3$^O$ | 1:0 | | 3:1 | 2:3 | 6:1 | 5:2 | 1:3 | 5:2 | 3:2$^O$ | 3:2$^O$ |
| 4:3 | 6:2 | 3:1 | 2:3 | 4:3 | 3:4 | | 0:1 | 6:1 | 0:3 | 4:3 | 3:5 | 4:3 | 3:2$^O$ | SBR | 1:7 | 4:3$^O$ | 0:3 | 1:4 | 4:3 | 0:7 | | 0:2 | 5:1 | 6:2 | 3:0 | 5:4$^O$ | 2:1$^O$ | 3:5 |
| 1:3 | 2:3$^O$ | 3:2$^S$ | 4:3 | 4:3 | 3:4$^S$ | 6:1 | | 3:1 | 2:5 | 2:3 | 2:1$^S$ | 4:0 | 4:2 | SCR | 3:4$^S$ | 0:1 | 6:3 | 2:5 | 4:7 | 4:2 | 2:5 | | 3:2 | 3:1 | 1:2$^O$ | 0:3 | 5:1 | 2:1$^S$ |
| 3:0 | 1:5 | 1:2 | 3:1 | 6:5$^S$ | 2:1 | 4:3$^O$ | 2:4 | | 1:4 | 5:4$^S$ | 3:2 | 5:3 | 6:2 | EPC | 3:4$^O$ | 3:4 | 1:4 | 3:2 | 3:5 | 3:2 | 0:1 | 2:5 | | 3:4$^O$ | 1:3 | 4:2 | 2:5 | 1:4 |
| 1:4 | 3:4 | 2:3 | 2:3$^S$ | 4:5$^S$ | 3:0 | 3:2$^S$ | 4:2 | 7:1 | | 2:1$^S$ | 1:4 | 7:5 | 4:1 | LFX | 2:8 | 0:2 | 4:3 | 3:5 | 1:2 | 3:2 | 6:3 | 2:1 | 5:3 | | 2:1 | 5:2 | 3:2 | 1:5 |
| 3:2$^O$ | 2:3 | 2:0 | 3:4$^O$ | 3:1 | 0:3 | 5:0 | 0:5 | 7:3 | 7:0 | | 3:1 | 3:4 | 2:0 | ESV | 3:0 | 6:2 | 1:2$^S$ | 3:6 | 3:2 | 2:1$^S$ | 5:2 | 3:1 | 6:1 | 5:1 | | 3:6 | 5:2 | 1:2 |
| 1:3 | 4:3$^O$ | 2:5 | 4:5 | 5:2 | 3:1 | 6:5$^O$ | 4:3 | 6:5$^O$ | 4:5$^O$ | 0:4 | | 5:6$^S$ | 3:4 | FRB | 4:2 | 3:2 | 3:0 | 5:7 | 3:2$^S$ | 2:4 | 4:2 | 6:2 | 2:3 | 0:4 | 5:2 | | 6:3 | 6:3 |
| 2:5 | 4:3 | 3:2$^O$ | 3:6 | 3:6 | 0:3 | 6:1 | 0:3 | 4:3$^O$ | 4:5$^S$ | 1:2 | 6:1 | | 3:4$^S$ | HNF | 6:2 | 2:0 | 3:5 | 4:2 | 5:3 | 1:5 | 1:3 | 5:3 | 7:2 | 1:2$^S$ | 2:4 | 3:4 | | 4:0 |
| 3:2 | 4:2 | 5:2 | 2:3 | 4:1 | 2:5 | 2:1 | 3:0 | 3:1 | 4:5$^O$ | 1:2$^O$ | 3:4$^S$ | 3:2$^O$ | | BTT | 2:3 | 3:1 | 3:6 | 7:1 | 2:3 | 2:3$^O$ | 4:0 | 4:2 | 4:3 | 4:2 | 2:5 | 2:4 | 4:0 | |
Note: $^O$ Overtime; $^S$ Shootout

### Standings

| Pos | Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | OTL | SOL | L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | PIM | HF | AF |
| 1. | Bietigheim Steelers (P) | 52 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 109 | 199 | 121 | +78 | 654 | 18–1–2–5 | 14–4–1–7 |
| 2. | Löwen Frankfurt (C) | 52 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 104 | 211 | 159 | +52 | 681 | 17–0–5–4 | 12–5–2–7 |
| 3. | EC Kassel Huskies | 52 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 96 | 161 | 147 | +14 | 839 | 14–3–0–9 | 14–2–2–8 |
| 4. | Dresdner Eislöwen | 52 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 89 | 169 | 128 | +41 | 727 | 15–3–1–7 | 10–3–1–12 |
| 5. | ESV Kaufbeuren | 52 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 88 | 148 | 125 | +23 | 623 | 15–2–2–7 | 9–4–2–11 |
| 6. | Lausitzer Füchse | 52 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 83 | 154 | 152 | +2 | 722 | 13–2–2–9 | 9–5–1–11 |
| 7. | EHC Freiburg | 52 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 77 | 170 | 177 | −7 | 555 | 11–4–2–9 | 9–1–5–11 |
| 8. | EHC Bayreuth | 52 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 75 | 146 | 155 | −9 | 632 | 14–1–4–7 | 7–1–4–14 |
| 9. | SC Riessersee | 52 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 74 | 135 | 147 | −12 | 630 | 11–3–4–8 | 9–2–0–15 |
| 10. | Ravensburg Towerstars | 52 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 73 | 144 | 145 | −1 | 720 | 12–2–4–8 | 7–2–4–13 |
| 11. | EC Bad Nauheim | 52 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 72 | 150 | 151 | −1 | 590 | 12–3–4–7 | 6–3–2–15 |
| 12. | Starbulls Rosenheim (R) | 52 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 59 | 130 | 183 | −53 | 652 | 11–4–0–11 | 5–0–3–18 |
| 13. | Heilbronner Falken | 52 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 50 | 141 | 185 | −44 | 846 | 10–2–3–11 | 2–2–3–19 |
| 14. | ETC Crimmitschau | 52 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 43 | 127 | 210 | −83 | 819 | 9–3–2–12 | 1–1–3–21 |
| Championship playoffs | Championship playoff qualifiers | Relegation playoffs |
Points rules: 3 points for regulation win; 2 points for OT or SO win; 1 point for OT or SO loss; 0 points for regulation loss
Tie-break rules: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Premiers; (R) Relegated
Source:

### Top scorers

| Name | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/− |
| Matt McKnight | Bietigheim Steelers | 51 | 24 | 48 | 72 | 20 | +21 |
| Matthew Pistilli | Löwen Frankfurt | 52 | 32 | 32 | 64 | 22 | +34 |
| C.J. Stretch | Löwen Frankfurt | 52 | 26 | 34 | 60 | 66 | +29 |
| Roope Ranta | Riessersee/Füchse | 51 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 34 | +6 |
| Juuso Rajala | Bad Nauheim/Dresden | 48 | 14 | 42 | 56 | 14 | −2 |
| Christian Billich | EHC Freiburg | 52 | 18 | 37 | 55 | 32 | +18 |
| Tyler Scofield | Starbulls Rosenheim | 47 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 16 | +2 |
| Marcus Sommerfeld | Bietigheim Steelers | 46 | 25 | 29 | 54 | 22 | +12 |
| Nikolas Linsenmaier | EHC Freiburg | 51 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 103 | +22 |
| Tyler McNeely | Starbulls Rosenheim | 45 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 48 | +1 |
Source:

### Top goaltenders

| Name | Team | GP | SO | MP | GA | GAA | SH | SV | SV% |
| Kevin Nastiuk | Dresdner Eislöwen | 25 | 1 | 1416:02 | 47 | 1.99 | 756 | 709 | 93.78% |
| Stefan Vajs | ESV Kaufbeuren | 47 | 6 | 2840:26 | 99 | 2.09 | 1467 | 1368 | 93.25% |
| Tomas Vosvrda | EHC Bayreuth – Tigers | 41 | 5 | 2311:35 | 102 | 2.65 | 1421 | 1319 | 92.82% |
| Andrew Hare | Heilbronner Falken | 26 | 2 | 1555:18 | 79 | 3.05 | 965 | 886 | 91.81% |
| Markus Keller | EC Kassel Huskies | 37 | 1 | 2160:12 | 100 | 2.78 | 1189 | 1089 | 91.59% |
| Matthias Nemec | SC Riessersee | 40 | 4 | 2306:08 | 98 | 2.55 | 1149 | 1051 | 91.47% |
| Jonas Langmann | Ravensburg Towerstars | 48 | 5 | 2863:32 | 127 | 2.66 | 1452 | 1325 | 91.25% |
| Stefan Ridderwall | Heilbronner Falken | 24 | 0 | 1307:01 | 78 | 3.58 | 889 | 811 | 91.23% |
| Sinisa Martinovic | Bietigheim Steelers | 46 | 5 | 2704:38 | 92 | 2.04 | 1045 | 953 | 91.20% |
| Lukas Mensator | EHC Freiburg | 34 | 2 | 2015:10 | 105 | 3.13 | 1184 | 1079 | 91.13% |
Note: To qualify for this list, goaltenders need to have played a minimum of 20 matches
Source:

## Playoffs
### Championship

The championship play-offs:
The qualifiers for the playoffs ran between 7 March 2017 to 12 March 2017. Four teams (7v10 and 8v9) competed in best of three series’. The two winning teams advanced to the championship playoffs. In 2017, the two higher ranked teams in the qualifiers, EHC Freiburg and EHC Bayreuth, won their series and advanced to the playoffs. Ravensburg Towerstars and SC Riessersee were knocked out and their season ended.
The championship playoffs ran between 14 March 2017 to 25 April 2017. Eight teams competed in best of seven series'. The series winning teams advanced through from the quarter-finals to the final. In 2017, the top two seeds Bietigheim Steelers and Löwen Frankfurt each won their quarter and semi-finals to reach the final. The Lions defeated the league premiers 4–2 in the finals series to secure the division 2 championship title, their first DEL2 championship trophy.
| First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | 1 | Bietigheim Steelers | 4 | | | | | | |
| 8 | EHC Bayreuth | 2 | 8 | EHC Bayreuth | 1 | | | | | | |
| 9 | SC Riessersee | 1 | | | | 1 | Bietigheim Steelers | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | ESV Kaufbeuren | 0 | | | |
| | | | 3 | EC Kassel Huskies | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | 6 | Lausitzer Füchse | 1 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 1 | Bietigheim Steelers | 2 |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 2 | Löwen Frankfurt | 4 |
| | | | 2 | Löwen Frankfurt | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 7 | EHC Freiburg | 2 | 7 | EHC Freiburg | 0 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 10 | Ravensburg Towerstars | 1 | | | | 2 | Löwen Frankfurt | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | EC Kassel Huskies | 0 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Dresdner Eislöwen | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | ESV Kaufbeuren | 4 | | | | | | |
Note: All numbers represent series results, not a match score

### Relegation

The relegation play-offs:
The relegation playoffs is contested between the four teams who finish bottom of the regular season standings. Run between 14 March 2017 and 11 April 2017, the four teams play best of seven series’. The teams that lose their first round advance to the second round. The winners secure their DEL2 status and avoid relegation. Whoever loses the second round is relegated to Oberliga. The 2017 edition saw Starbulls Rosenheim relegated to Oberliga after losing their first round series 2–4 against ETC Crimmitschau, who finished last in the regular season, before losing in six matches against ETC Crimmitschau in the second round.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 11 | EC Bad Nauheim | 4 | | | |
| 14 | ETC Crimmitschau | 1 | | | |
| 14 | ETC Crimmitschau | 1 | 12 | Starbulls Rosenheim | 2 |
| | | | 14 | ETC Crimmitschau | 4 |
| 12 | Starbulls Rosenheim | 2 | 14 | ETC Crimmitschau | 4 |
| 13 | Heilbronner Falken | 4 | | | |
Note: All numbers represent series results, not a match score