The last day of the German ice hockey league ensures clarity in the playoff ranks – and for two local rivals to swap places. As the first defending champion in 19 years, the Eisbären Berlin miss the championship round, while Cologne still overtakes Düsseldorf.

Defending champions Eisbären Berlin gambled away their last chance to take part in the pre-playoffs, the team coached by Serge Aubin, so spoiled by success, has to watch the hot phase of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) this time. Berlin lost 3:4 (0:0, 2:1, 1:2, 0:0, 0:1) against the Schwenninger Wild Wings on the last day of the game after a penalty shootout and ended this botched season in eleventh place. “We just weren’t good enough. We can’t blame others. Anyone who starts the season the way we did deserves it,” said Berlin’s Morgan Ellis at MagentaSport: “We have to make the difference on the ice, we just couldn’t do that.”

With a victory in the regular season and a simultaneous defeat of the Löwen Frankfurt, the Berliners would have saved themselves in the last few meters into the pre-playoffs. However, the promoted team from Hesse defeated the Augsburg Panthers 4:3 (1:1, 1:1, 1:1, 1:0) after extra time anyway and remains tenth. The last time the defending champion missed the playoffs was in 2004 – that was the fate of the Krefeld Penguins.

For Frankfurt it is in the pre-playoffs against the Düsseldorfer EG, which after a 0:4 (0:1, 0:2, 0:1) against the Adler Mannheim had to let their arch-rivals pass them: the Kölner Haie outperformed the DEG and secured direct participation in the quarter-finals by beating the Bietigheim Steelers 8:2 (2:1, 4:0, 2:1).

Cologne will face Mannheim in the quarterfinals, where the Straubing Tigers (5:1 against Iserlohn Roosters) will meet the Grizzlys Wolfsburg (1:4 against ERC Ingolstadt). Ingolstadt as second and the main round winner Red Bull Munich have to wait for their opponents. They meet the teams that make it through the pre-playoffs.

In addition to Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, these are the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven and the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, who separated in a direct duel 2:3 (2:0, 0:1, 0:1, 0:0, 0:1) after a penalty shootout. Fischtown and Nuremberg will see each other again on Tuesday.