# 1998–99 DEL season

The 1998–99 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the 5th season of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (German Ice Hockey League).
Adler Mannheim continued their dominance in German ice-hockey and became the DEL Champion for the third time in row, winning a German title for the fourth time in their history. The league had only 14 teams, as the Kaufbeurer Adler and Düsseldorfer EG were forced out due to financial reasons.

## Regular season

The first 8 placed teams qualified for the playoffs.
| | Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF:GA | Points |
| 1. | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 52 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 199:142 | 106 |
| 2. | Eisbären Berlin | 52 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 210:163 | 91 |
| 3. | Adler Mannheim | 52 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 208:182 | 89 |
| 4. | Frankfurt Lions | 52 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 184:168 | 89 |
| 5. | Kölner Haie | 52 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 182:159 | 88 |
| 6. | EV Landshut | 52 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 163:140 | 88 |
| 7. | Krefeld Pinguine | 52 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 183:159 | 87 |
| 8. | Augsburger Panther | 52 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 175:166 | 85 |
| 9. | Kassel Huskies | 52 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 165:145 | 84 |
| 10. | Schwenninger ERC Wild Wings | 52 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 195:217 | 72 |
| 11. | Hannover Scorpions | 52 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 175:195 | 66 |
| 12. | Starbulls Rosenheim | 52 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 169:213 | 62 |
| 13. | Berlin Capitals | 52 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 146:205 | 52 |
| 14. | Revierlöwen Oberhausen | 52 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 148:254 | 33 |

## Player Awards

| Category | Name | Team | Record |
| Most points | Martin Jiranek | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 69 Points |
| Most goals | Jan Alston | Adler Mannheim | 33 Goals |
| Most assists | John Chabot | Frankfurt Lions | 52 Assists |
| Best goalie | Petr Bříza | EV Landshut | 2.51 Goals-Against-Average |
| Best defender | Chris Snell | Frankfurt Lions | 51 Points |

## Playoff

The playoffs were played in a best-of-five mode.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Augsburger Panther | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Augsburger Panther | 2 | 1 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Frankfurt Lions | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Frankfurt Lions | 3 | 4 | Frankfurt Lions | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Kölner Haie | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Kölner Haie | 2 | | | | 1 | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 2 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Adler Mannheim | 3 |
| 2 | Eisbären Berlin | 3 | | | | | | | 3 | Adler Mannheim | 3 |
| 7 | Krefeld Pinguine | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Krefeld Pinguine | 1 | 2 | Eisbären Berlin | 1 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Adler Mannheim | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Adler Mannheim | 3 | 3 | Adler Mannheim | 3 | | | |
| 6 | EV Landshut | 0 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were played starting March 12, 1999.
| | | | Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Nürnberg Ice Tigers | – | Augsburger Panther | 3:2 | 5:4 | 5:6 OT | 5:1 | 1:2 OT | 2:1 |
| Eisbären Berlin | – | Krefeld Pinguine | 3:1 | 3:2 | 2:4 | 5:4 OT | 6:5 OT | – |
| Adler Mannheim | – | EV Landshut | 3:0 | 2:0 | 5:3 | 5:2 | – | – |
| Frankfurt Lions | – | Kölner Haie | 3:2 | 5:4 | 1:2 | 5:2 | 2:3 OT | 4:3 OT |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were played starting March 26, 1999. The regular season best placed team left played against the worst, and the second best vs. third best.
| | | | Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Nürnberg Ice Tigers | – | Frankfurt Lions | 3:0 | 5:1 | 3:2 | 2:1 | – | – |
| Eisbären Berlin | – | Adler Mannheim | 1:3 | 2:4 | 0:6 | 2:1 OT | 3:9 | – |

### Finals

The finals were played starting April 18 with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers playing home first, due to better regular season placement.
| | | | Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Nürnberg Ice Tigers | – | Adler Mannheim | 2:3 | 2:1 OT | 1:5 | 3:2 | 3:4 | 2:3 |
With the last game, Adler Mannheim continued their dominance in German ice-hockey and became the DEL Champion for the third time in row, winning a German title for the fourth time in their history.