Munich, Germany - Swedish head coach Gunnar Leidborg was sacked by the Hannover Scorpions Friday night, marking the third coaching change in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) this season. Hanover, which ranks next to last in the DEL standings, decided to release the hapless coach after the team's fifth straight loss.

Prior to Leidborg's release, two other DEL teams had already made coaching changes this season: Butch Goring replaced Mike Komma in Düsseldorf and Bob Leslie took over Mario Simioni's job in Krefeld.

A successor for Leidborg has yet to be found.

Leidborg, whose prior DEL coaching stints include the Berlin Capitals (defunct), Revier Löwen Oberhausen (defunct) and Kassel Huskies, joined the Scorpions in May 2003. After a desastrous first season, the Scorpions finished next to last in the standings with a 15-37 record. They managed to avoid relegation, going 4-1 in the so-called "playdowns" against the Freiburg Wolves.

Hanover had high hopes going into the 2004-05 campaign. With a new owner in charge, the team was revamped in the off-season. Only nine players from last year's team remained on the roster. DEL veterans like goalie Christian Künast and forwards Marian Cisar, Jason Cipolla, Andreas Morczinietz and Patrik Augusta were brought in. After a promising 3-3 start, the team fell into a deep slump, going 2-12 thereafter.

Leidborg missed three weeks with an injury earlier this season after being hit by a puck behind the bench in a game against the Mannheim Adler.