Playoff integration North and South from the round of 16 onwards
The general data for the 2017/18 season of the North and South leagues are available. A consensus was reached on this at meetings of the respective committees.
The northern season of the Oberliga starts on Friday September 29.09th. into the 2017/18 season. 14 teams take part in the main round, which takes place in a single round until December 28.12th. is played out. The field is then divided into two groups of seven, each of which plays a one and a half round. Places 1 to 7 will be played in the championship round, and places 8 (last playoff place) to 14 (sporting relegated team) will be played in the qualifying round.
In the Oberliga Süd, also on September 29.09th. starts, 12 teams will again play a one and a half round that lasts until January 14th. The last four go into relegation where, like this year, they have already been very successful with the strongest teams from the Bayernleague measure. Places one to eight play to become the champion in a single round Oberliga Süd and the playoff seeding list.
In the North, 44 games are played in the regular season, with 22 home games each, and in the South, 46 games are played, 23 of which are at home.
The playoffs begin on March 09.03.2018, XNUMX. Unlike the last two seasons, there will be a tie in the round of XNUMX. For example, the first from the north plays against the eighth from the south and vice versa.
The goal of the number of participants in the two leagues was also defined together with the clubs. This is how it should be from the 2018/19 season Oberliga Nord again with 16, the southern relay will start with 14 clubs. For this purpose, the last DEB-Members' meeting on April 08.04.2017, XNUMX decided on changes to the statutes and, in the process, created significant financial relief for those promoted to the upper league. Appropriate conditions should now be found in agreement with the state associations in order to achieve this goal.
Marc Hindelang (Vice President Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e.V.): “The unity of the clubs, no matter how different their requirements may be, shows that we are on the right track with the structure of the upper leagues, especially at the important interface with the regional associations.”