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 Wolfs) were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga after a single season.
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 4th, 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 lastplaced teams Hannover Scorpions and Wölfe Freiburg played a Best-of-seven series play-down starting March 10th, 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==
==Team Photos==
03-04EisBer.jpg|Eisbären Berlin
03-04Fra Lio.jpg|Frankfurt Lions
03-04ERCIng.jpg|ERC Ingolstadt
==References==
Category:2003 in hockey
Category:2004 in hockey
Category:Deutsche Eishockey Liga season