Hello NHLGamers,
Well, that was quite an intense experience wasn't it? Several months of competitive virtual hockey in the bag with more than a few highlight reel goals, slick saucer passes and bone crushing hits along the way. If you are anything like me, the time between ECLs is spent recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of the previous tournament while at the same time anticipating the next one.
Judging by the activity in the NHLGamer forums, the amount of new members and teams registered plus the crazy Free Agent season we've seen so far - ECL 4 looks to surpass all previous tournaments in terms of participation and activity. Almost 80 teams registered, that is insane! Thank you all for making this community what it is and making sure we stay on course in building the ultimate gathering place for competitive NHL gamers. Keep up the great activity and know that the next step on the NHLGamer journey, ECL Divisions, is right around the corner.
Here is all the information that is available right now concerning ECL 4 and the format it will feature: ECL Divisions FAQ.
With 45 teams registered for the Pro division and 15 for Elite, the NHLGamer staff does have some work to do in balancing the divisions and making sure the numbers stay even in terms of division size. Look for an update this week with the finalized division placements, the tournament start date plus the schedule for the season.
With that said, before we get started with ECL 4 it is time to properly close the book on our previous tournament. What better way to do that than to celebrate the greatest individual achievements of ECL 3? As you've most likely guessed based on the news story title, it is time for the ECL 3 Regular Season Awards (featuring the Playoff MVP)!
In total, there will be 9 individual trophys handed out (6 for skaters, 3 for goalies) for the regular season and 1 for the playoffs. Most of these you might have seen before in this story where we presented the trophys for ECL 1, 2 and Summer Cup. However, you will notice two new additions for this particular tournament. Enjoy!
(If someone isn't tagged, it is because I did not know their forum name.)
ECL 3 - Regular season:
Most Points - @Joukki with 86 goals and 87 assists for 173 points in 42 games. This is joukkis second award for Most Points as he previously snagged the award in ECL 1.
Most Goals - Joukki again with his 86 goals; featuring 13 PPG, 1 SHG and 16 GWGs. joukki won this award for ECL 1 as well, so this is his second goal scoring title and fourth individual trophy in total.
Most Assists - Puantso, who breaches the 100-plateau with 106 assists in 39 games played. This is the second trophy for most assists by Puantso as he won the title for ECL 1.
NEW Most hits - Tanski87 of Rusty Blades delivered a crushing 327 hits in 46 games played. He wins this new award by a margin of more than 70 hits.
Most Points by a Defenseman - @Rullstolskalas with a total of 14+63 = 77 in 46 games played. The first defenseman scoring title for longtime Northern Stars defender "Rulle".
Best Plus/Minus - This category was completely dominated by Aapon Taikasauva who had the Top 5 spots. Winning the award is @indi969 with +179 in 44 games.
Best Save % - Just like before, the requirement to win this title is that the goaltender in question plays at the very least 50% of his teams games. Playing in 24 out of 46 games for Northern Stars, MZK-TrophyHunter qualifies and delivered a commanding 83.71 % in those games.
Most Wins by a Goalie - By many considered to be one of the top EASHL goalies in the world, @FinKonna finally manages to snag an goaltending award with his spectacular 37-8-1 record for ECL 3.
NEW Most shutouts - @SneakPeaker of X Factor and @SpiderRoyal of SIKA shares this new goaltending award with 9 shutouts each.
ECL 3 - Playoffs:
As is custom, we only award one individual trophy during the playoffs - the Playoff MVP.
This one goes to championship winners X Factors #1 center, @Penatski. With 46 points in 24 playoff games (featuring an impressive 8 points in 4 games during the finals) he finished among the top point scorers for the playoffs and was judged to be the primary X Factor in his teams success.
Yes, I know. Sorry.
Jokes aside, congratulations to you Penatski - well deserved! To finish this one off, we once again hand the mic over to X Factor captain, @nylanderi, for some choice words about his top playoff producer;
"What a player. Great two-way forward, with TOP hockey iq. In the regular season X Factor scored 199 goals... and Penatski had a point in 165 of them. He always found a way to create scoring chances without ever hurting our defense. Although he is really young, he plays a truly mature game. He came through for us in the playoffs with so many crucial OT goals. Penatski deserves this trophy without a doubt"
That is all for now. Look for the ECL 4 update this week!
Later skaters!
NHLGamer.com