Austria women's ice hockey Bundesliga


The Ladies' Ice Hockey Bundesliga or DEBL is a multi-national ice hockey league. It was founded in 1998 and is organized by the Austrian Ice Hockey Association. Originally established as the Austrian Championship league in women's ice hockey, the national championshup has been contested in a separate tournament since the introduction of international teams to the DEBL in the 2008–09 season. Austria had 652 female players in 2013.
WWW dameneishockey.org

History

Founded in 1998, the league uses a format of home and away matches. In the 2004–05 season, the best Austrian teams additionally also competed in the international Elite Women's Hockey League. From the following season onward, the top teams only played in the EWHL, making the Bundesliga in a sense the second-level league of Austrian Women's ice hockey. As a result, the title of Austrian champion is decided in a separate tournament titled Staatsmeisterschaft, featuring the three teams that play in the EWHL and the top DEBL team. Exceptions were the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons where EWHL clubs were the only competing teams. Since 2008, following the example of the men's Austrian Hockey League, the DEBL has also featured teams from Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Turkey.

Format

; 2017–18 season
The nine teams of the DEBL are assembled into one division. The teams play each other three times a year.
The top DEBL team qualifies for the Staatsmeisterschaft where it meets the three Austrian teams from the EWHL. The tournament uses a home- and away-game format. The two top teams contest the final, using a best-of-three format. The better-placed team has the right to contest the first game in its home ground. The other two teams contest the third-place play-off, also using a best-of-three format.

Teams

Past participants

Austria
  • EC Grazer Eishexen, 2001–2004
  • EC Kitzbühel, 2012–13
  • SpG Kitzbühel/Kufstein, 2015–2022
  • EHC Kundl Crocodiles, 2002–2004
  • KSV Neuberg Highlanders, 2005–2013 & 2019–2021
  • DEHC Red Angels Innsbruck, 1998–2010
  • EHV Sabres, 1999–2005
  • EHV Sabres II, 2006–07 & 2010–2016
  • EC The Ravens Salzburg, 2002–2005
  • EHC Wildcats St. Johann, 1998–2002
  • WE-V Flyers II, 2005–2008
  • SpG WE-V Flyers/KSV Neuberg Highlanders, 2016–2019
Croatia
Hungary
Slovenia
  • HDK Maribor, 2011–2015
  • HK Celje, 2009–2011
  • HK Triglav, 2008–2014
  • Slovenia Select, 2022–23
  • SpG Triglav/Olimpija, 2015–16
Turkey

DEBL II

In 2004, due to the increasing number of teams, a second division titled DEBL II was created. There was no match play in this league in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons.
The team that finishes at the bottom of the DEBL league table at the end of the season meets the top team of the DEBL II over a best-of-three series. The winner of that contest then plays in the DEBL during the next season, while the loser is relegated to the second DEBL.
; Teams for 2017–18 season
  • DEC Dragons Klagenfurt
  • EHC Lustenau
  • EHV Sabres II
  • Red Angels Innsbruck
  • SPG Salzburg/Linz