Austria women's ice hockey Bundesliga
| Austria women's ice hockey Bundesliga | |
| |
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
| Founded | 1998 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country(ies) |  Austria
|
| Official website | http://www.dameneishockey.org |
The Austria women's ice hockey Bundesliga (German: Dameneishockey-Bundesliga or DEBL) is the upper league in Women's ice hockey in Austria. It is organized by the Austrian Ice Hockey Association. Austria had 644 female players in 2011.[1]
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 (EWHL). 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 (National Championship), 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 Austrian men's ice hockey league, the DEBL has also featured teams from neighboring Slovenia.
Championship record
| Team | Titles | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EHV Sabres Vienna | 18 |
| 2 | EC The Ravens Salzburg | 2 |
| - | Gipsy Girls Villach | 2 |
| 4 | EHC Vienna Flyers | 1 |
| - | Neuberg Higlanders | 1 |
DEBL II
In 2004, due to the increasing number of teams, a second division titled DEBL II was created. There was no matchplay 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.[3]
| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Kundl Crocodiles |
| 2005-06 | EHV Sabres Vienna 2 |
| 2006-07 | EC The Ravens Salzburg 2 |
| 2009-10 | FTC Eagles Budapest  Hungary
|
| 2010-11 | EC "Die Adler" Kitzbühel |
| 2011-12 | Neuberg Highlanders II |
| 2012-13 | DEC Devils Graz |
| 2013-14 | DEC Devils Graz |
| 2014-15 | Kitzbuhel/Kufstein |
| 2015-16 | HDK Maribor |
| 2016-17 | Red Angels Innsbruck |
| 2017-18 | DEC Dragons Klagenfurt |
| 2018-19 | Red Angels Innsbruck |
| 2019-20 | EHC Lustenau |
| 2020-21 | not awarded |
| 2021-22 | DEC Dragons Klagenfurt |
| 2022-23 | Villach Lady Hawks II |
| 2023-24 | SPG Kitzbuhel/Kufstein |
See also
References
- ↑ IIHF, http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/countries/austria.html
- ↑ Life the Dream, Kiira Dosdall and the Vienna Sabres Capture Gold, http://www.womenshockeylife.com/blogs_view_dsp.cfm?BlogId=266&CatId=6 , April 12, 2011.
- ↑ "DEBL II – Austragungsmodus" (description of 2nd league format), ÖEHV Women"s Ice Hockey website
- This article incorporates information from the French and German Wikipedias.
| Dameneishockey-Bundesliga seasons |
|---|
| 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 - 2023–24 |