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Hello NHLGamers, It is that time of the year again, isn't it? You wake up one morning and the cold weather outside doesn't seem to bother you as much, the morning traffic you encounter when driving to work is suddenly not a nuisance but instead a reason to silently reflect on what is to come and that little knot of anticipation you know so well is back in your stomach. It is time for some ECL playoff hockey! For ECL 4 we had more teams participating than ever seen before in the European competitive hockey gaming scene, something that we here at NHLGamer.com are immensly proud of. Thank you to all 80 teams that signed up and a special thank you to the 78 teams who finished the season (a 97.5% completion rate) - continue spreading the word so we can try and grow this tournament even further together! Can we create a league with 100+ teams? Is the Xbox One side of the community ready for its first tournament? Only time will tell but us Staff members certainly hope so. I'd also like to take this opportunity to once again highlight the legacy of our previous ECL winners in order to inspire all participating teams to follow in their footsteps. Here they are; ECL 1 - Nordic Blizzard ECL 2 - MUKIMIEHET ECL SC - Team pelimies80 ECL 3 - X Factor Moving on to the business at hand, the ECL 4 playoffs and our traditional predictions. A total of 30 series kicks off today (26 playoff series and 4 relegation series) so I will keep the predicting to a solid one line of text for each series in order to preserve my sanity. I apologize in advance if I am not completely familiar with all participating teams. Also, expect slightly longer predictions the longer these playoffs proceed! (Predicted series winners will be marked in Bold text) ELITE MUKIMIEHET vs. Limitless - A tough series between two former ECL winners but I predict a 4-3 MUKI win here. MUKI has played a flawless season while Limitless has struggled to find the magic of their previous team version, X Factor. Synergy vs. Laser HT - Another tough one featuring two teams with a lot of history and rivalry. Going with 4-3 Synergy here as I believe they have moved past ghosts of playoffs past. Unknown vs. Nordic Nightmare - Never bet against Unknown in the playoffs. NN is a terrific squad but Unknown has some history on the line that they'd be eager to defend. 4-2 WHO. Written In The Stars vs. Dynasty - Probably the most lethal offensive squad versus the most structured defensive squad. I'll give the edge to Dynasty here as they are due for a deep playoff run, 4-3 DYN. PRO Carlsberg HC vs. Huppati HC - The #1 overall seed and predicted top team takes on an inexperienced #8. Going with 4-0 Car here. Sjukstugan vs. HC Checkmate - [No prediction due to me playing in the series, feel free to post your predictions in the comment section! That goes for all the series in this prediction by the way - always fun to read what the community thinks.] Rusty Blades vs. Royal Club - Two strong defensive squads but Rusty has grown from a playoff bubble team last season to a top ECL team. It will be a series of OT games but I think the Blades will come out on top, 4-2. Unlucky Boys HC vs. Germany's Finest - Unlucky Boys is another team who has grown stronger as the tournament progressed while GER has had some tough games towards the end. I predict an even series with a 4-2 win for UHC. Alliance HT vs. Shameful Knights - The Russian two-way machine has impressed me during the season, as have the Shameful Knights. I will go with a 4-3 win here for AHT. Silver Sword Griffins vs. Nocturnal Hunters - SSG is due for a deep playoff run. They will encounter tough opposition from NH but will most likely advance if they get their machine rolling. 4-1 SSG. Nordic Stars vs. White Trash - NS will take full advantage of the #1 overall scorer in Pro and get through a tough series with WT by a score of 4-2. Kattiautomaatti vs. ORIGINS - Another regular season giant in CAT entering the playoffs versus a bubble team. Granted, ORIGINS has ECL experience but I do not think it will be enough here. 4-1 CAT. (PRO Relegation Faceoff) Bare Knuckles Hockey vs. Company of Geeks - CoG has had a tough season but will deliver when it matters the most. 4-3 CoG. murohoki vs. Thunder Tigers - If murohoki gets their two-way game going they could run through this series. TT are no slouches however so I think this one will go to 6 games, 4-2 mur. Nemesis vs. The Beagle Boys - The Swedish dogs also went through a challenging season but could surprise here and defeat offensively skilled team Nemesis to stay in Pro. 4-3 TBB. Showtime vs. The Lights Out - Showtime had their ups and downs, struggling versus teams around them in the standings while performing great against some of the top dogs. Expect them to come in motivated to this series. 4-1 SHO. LITE (Hawks Hockey Club and DEAD END KINGS - both automatically advance to the second round) EN HUND vs. Blues HC - Time for the The Finnish dogs to create their own legacy apart from SIKA. They start in this series, 4-0 EN HUND. J P T J vs. A Dream Valhalla - Offensive powerhouse with multiple top scorers enter the playoffs with a series win, 4-0 J P T J. Old Farts vs. Pohjoista Voimaa - Experienced old bastard versus a newer team, experience wins out in the playoffs: 4-0 OLD. Dynamo Danglers vs. Vemppaosasto - Tougher to predict but the Danglers, led by lycki10, has had an impressive season. 4-2 DyD. GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs. The Youngsters - Not as well educated when it comes to these teams but the FIREBIRDS playoff hype video has me convinced, 4-2 BIRDS Clowns On Ice vs. Prometheus - Have not played against either team but Prometheus strikes me as the stronger squad here, 4-3 XKP. Lavetten vs. Die TwitchProleten - Swedish Versus/HUT giants in Lavetten grew stronger as the season progressed, just as predicted. If they can keep their momentum going, this is a 4-1 Lav win. Banterfield Battalion vs. PSHL Roadrunners - The most banter-filled squad in ECL start a solid playoff run here with a 4-2 series win. Teletapit vs. Ice Phoenix - Have only seen Ice Phoenix play (which they did well), therefore going with a 4-2 series win here. HC Ancient Warriors vs. Papat - I predicted a strong season for the Warriors and I am sticking by it. 4-2 Warriors. Bone Breakers vs. HC Scorpions - The Bone Breakers had a season worthy of Pro, I predict they start their journey there in this series with a 4-1 series win. HC Palosaari vs. Falun Coal Miners - Two teams with the same logo (the one with the factory and 3 pucks) who are both looking to improve on their regular season. The FCM boys has playoff experience though, which should weigh heavy here. 4-3 FCM. Last Kings vs. EV Duisburg - Not familiar enough with either team to accurately predict this one but my crystal ball says 4-2 Kings. Elämäm Kiekko vs. INF4MOUS - First taste of the playoffs for both teams so this should be a tight series. I predict INF coming out on top in Game 7, 4-3 INF. Good luck in the playoffs to all teams! Later skaters, The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com