The 1994–95 Deutsche Eishockey Liga season was the inaugural season of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

( en, German Ice Hockey League). The

Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL. The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...

( en, Cologne Sharks) they won the first DEL season to become German Champions. The first season 1994-95 started with 18 teams, twelve from the old ''1st Bundesliga'', six from the '' 2nd Bundesliga''. The new league immediately attracted corporate sponsorship with the Krombacher Brewery featuring a prominent spot on the league logo.

Regular season

In the main round the 18 teams played a home-and-away schedule and, in regional groups, a second single round. After this, the play-off round of the last sixteen in the mode ''best of seven'' took place . The semi-finals and final were played in the mode ''best of five''. The hope to be able to avoid the troubles of the old ''Bundesliga'' by stricter financial controls did not materialise in the first season. ''EC Hedos München'', the ''Bundesliga's'' last champion, now renamed ''Mad Dogs Munich'', folded on 18 December 1994. GP = Games played; OTL = Overtime Loss; GF:GA = Goals for and against
Color code: = Direct Playoff qualification, = Playoff qualification round, = No playoff

Playoffs

Since 16 teams qualified for the playoffs, and the Mad Dogs München folded, only the

Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also one ...

did not participate. The first two rounds were played as a

best-of-seven There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly k ...

, and the semifinals and finals as a

best-of-five There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

First round

OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Quarterfinals

OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Semifinals

OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout

Finals

OT = Overtime; SO = Shootout With the last game, the

became the first DEL Champion and German Champions for the 7th time in the club history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1994-95 Deutsche Eishockey Liga Season 1 Ger Deutsche Eishockey Liga seasons