Metal Ligaen

AL-Bank Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The teams are semi-professional with only the best Danish and foreign players being fully professional.

History
The name is a result of a sponsorship deal with a Danish bank Arbejdernes Landsbank. It is also known as Superisligaen or Eliteserien, which is the name used in the past and in times where no naming rights agreement is in place.

In the past, the league has consisted of as many as 10 teams. Despite the introduction of a salary cap as well as a limit to the number of import players allowed, several teams have struggled financially in recent years. As a result, the Herlev Hornets and the Rungsted Cobras have withdrawn from the league, reducing the number of active teams from 10 to 8. Teams from the second tier league were offered the empty spots, but no team were able to accept the offer, citing financial issues as their main concern.

League format
The reduced number of teams have led to a revised league format for the 2010-11 season:

The regular season will see each team play every club five times with an additional four games against geographically determined 'derby' teams for a total of 39 games. The top six teams will progress to the next round. The six teams will be divided into two pools where they will play in a home and home round-robin format. The top teams in each group will carry over three points while the second-placed teams will carry over one point. At the conclusion of the group stage, the top two teams in each group will move on to the semifinals which will be played in the best-of-seven format.League format (in Danish)

The derby pools are:


 * Hvidovre and Rødovre
 * Frederikshavn and AaB Aalborg
 * Herning, Esbjerg, SønderjyskE and Odense.