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Hey NHLGamers, We recently had a competition to win tickets to see Jokerit and CSKA play in the KHL Playoffs at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki and I was lucky enough to join the winners to this game on Tuesday. After CSKA goalie Ilja Sorokin and his defence leaving Jokerit scoreless twice in Moscow, Jokerit had finally managed to squeeze a couple in and won the first game in Helsinki 2-1 in OT. Going into Tuesday's game CSKA had a 2-1 series lead. The seats were good and close to the action After a scoreless first period that was slightly dominated by home team Jokerit, CSKA shocked the home audience with an early goal in the second. Jokerit bounced back quite quickly with a deflection goal that tied the game up and the game went into the 3rd period tied at 1-1. The game was starting to feel like another overtime game, until Sergei Andronov fought his way around the net and tried to make a cross crease pass - a pass that eventually would bounce off the skate of an unlucky Jokerit defenceman and into his own net. Jokerit had some quality chances to tie the game up on the power play towards the end, but got into penalty trouble themselves in the last minute and the comeback never happened. Our lucky winners who travelled quite a bit to be there. Thanks for the company! The final result: 1-2 for CSKA and a decisive looking 3-1 series lead. You can watch the highlights of the game here. The games continued last night in Moscow and Jokerit managed to win the game - which turned out to be the longest game in KHL history - in the 5th overtime period! The shots were 84-48 in CSKA's favor, but Karri Rämö only let in one goal and forced the series into game 6, which will be played in Helsinki on Saturday the 24th of March. You can watch the highlights of game 5 here and if you're interested in getting tickets for game 6 in Helsinki, they are available here. Be sure to clear your calendar, just to be safe, in case these two teams decide to break some new records on Saturday night. If you're in the Nordics, but can't make it to Helsinki for the game, you can also watch the game with a Viaplay subscription. We would like to thank our guests for the good company at Tuesdays game and a big thank you to Jokerit for cooperation in this competition. Let's hope this series gets a deserved game 7. For NHLGamer.com

Hey NHLGamers, right now there is so much great stuff going on in this community. We have been enjoying a very entertaining All-Star Week, Pro teams pushing for their playoff spots and last but not least, the first round of the Lite playoffs. Nearly every favorite won their series, but they had to fight hard to get to the next stage. David alias EaLogic nearly crushed the dreams of Goliath alias Bare Knuckles Hockey. Will there be a big surprise in round 2? If your team lost your series, keep your head up, learn from it and come back even stronger next year! Did you win? Great, you advanced to the next level, but don't think it's gonna get any easier. Keep the momentum going, there will be no cakewalk to the finals! Let's have a look at the upcoming matchups: (1) Bare Knuckles Hockey vs MotherPuckers (19) (2) Cowabunga Hockey vs Bucketeers (17) (3) SGWEER United vs Sektion K (15) (4) Hippo Rangers vs Pohjoista Voimaa (13) (5) Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat vs Freddie Mercury Insitute (12) (6) Suomen Sonnit vs Style (11) (7) GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Korpens Finest (10) (8) EV Duisburg vs Etelan Vetelat (9) The second round is going to be played from 23rd March until 29th March 2018 (next Thursday). No extra time will be given! There are many interesting matchups and it will be fun to watch. Stay tuned on the streams which will be featured on our main page. Best of luck for all the remaining teams!

Привет, RCL! ТРИ ЗВЕЗДЫ НЕДЕЛИ [12-18.3.2018] Первая звезда @Omich55, Omich55, Prometheus, нападающий 4 матча сыграно 13 голов, 10 передач, 23 очка +/- 24 Вторая звезда @Strelec, Vosovec, HC Rhinos, защитник 8 матчей сыграно 3 гола, 10 передач, 13 очков +/- 14 4 силовых приёмов Третья звезда @IMadeGod, iceiceice-_-, HC Rhinos, вратарь 6 матчей сыграно 4 победы Процент отбитых шайб 83,3% Пропуск шайб в среднем за игру 1,6 Два сыгранных матча на ноль С уважением, @MAYZIIX для NHLGamer.com

Hello Gamers! It's that time of the year again that we are proud to present you the preview of the upcoming Elite season and more importantly it's time to start playing ECL again! We are going to have the best coverage of any season so far with not yet published additional content on the way to make the season even more exciting. A slightly slower pace this season will ensure that the pinnacle of ECL will be the ECL Elite finals that will be played 25.4-3.5. The off-season has probably been busier than ever with some teams breaking apart, high profile players such as @Erkki, @Joonas Paatiala and @mikaasi forming a new team Filadelphia, that will be playing in the Pro division for next season and there has been lots of trades and struggles in the other Elite teams as well. Silver Sword Griffins having some degree of overhaul in their team and so on. There's also quite a bunch of teams being promoted from Pro: Evolution, Unlucky boys HC, Pata Hellalla, Falun Coal Miners and in addition to these four, also Nordic Stars and Gotham Knights are being promoted due to Aapon Taikasauva and Mukimiehet falling apart. ECL Elite will work, as usual, with 16 teams and all battling for the top 8 playoffs spots, #9-12 being safe, #13-14 will face the Pro semifinal losers and positions #15-16 will be relegated straight away. As a reminder, the rules have had some modifications, so be sure to check those out as well. "I did not know" is not going to get you off the hook. Rather than doing a preview of just a few top teams, we decided to go trough each and every one of the Elite teams. There's no "players to watch" this time, as I think this extensive preview gives you most of the answers. With the bigger staff we have been able to do more and @chavelski has done small interviews with all of the captains for our reading pleasure. @nylanderi,@ICappeI, @SepiDN, @Crisu_rottis, @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun have made us previews of all of the Elite teams. So without further ado, here are the captains' thoughts and previews. Let's start with our prediction of the standings after the regular season: Carlsberg HC Without a doubt the best team at the moment. After they got rid of their captain @Joonas Paatiala and star winger @Joukki, they acquired one of the best centers in the game, two time ECL champion @Penatski. Is this the season they can hoist the cup? For sure they have all the right players to do it. After reigning champion Aapon Taikasauva disbanded, they only have a couple capable contenders in their way. Taking a closer look at their team, no team should be able to match their offense. The best playmaker in the game (when he wants to) @Penatski, one of the most dangerous snipers in the game @Vilupoika, and the two-way workhorse @Tuukka.R. Also, the best players in their positions, defensive duo @Janzuh and @vatalisti who can provide depth in the goal-scoring if the other teams defense can stop their forwards. If we take a look at Carlsberg's potential weaknesses, could it be a problem that both of their defenseman are so offensive-minded? What about their goalie duo? @Zande95 and @FinKonna are known for not shining the brightest in tight situations. Can the older players of the team calm down the younger players if the things get tough? vatalisti What are your expectations going into ECL 6? To have a tight season and my personal expectation is to make it into playoffs with Car. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We got lucky to add a 2x champion Penatski to our roster, who brings a lot of skill and hunger. which hopefully helps us go far in ECL 6. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Northern Ascendancy Dynasty Guess who's back? Well, @Buantso is. Because of that, we're pretty sure Dynasty is as well. In ECL 4, Puantso and TehhAhola formed a deadly duo causing all sorts of problems for everyone. If Dynasty wants to make it back to the finals and possibly even lift the cup, what do they need to do? They somehow need to get Puantso motivated, because he truly is the best left winger in the game. If they cant do it, they can't make it too far. Dynasty also added @DieCutterMC, who is a solid addition to their defense. He and @Snapster might not be the flashiest partnership in the back, but they surely can handle their own in the defensive zone. DieCutterMC does not contribute with offense, but we all know that Snapu48 does have some tricks in his sleeve, mainly Kyle Turris dekes. They also don't need to worry about the goalie situation, since @Sandr0hh is one of the better goalies in the game. Snapster What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Championship What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We had a couple players leaving but also a couple players who returned from ECL 4. So to answer your question, we have pretty much the same team as we had in ECL 4 and we did pretty good that season. Top 3 teams this season? I'm assuming you don't want us to name our own teams so here's my top3: Carlsberg HC, Written In The Stars, SJK eSports Evolution This team was labeled as the black horse in ECL Pro last season and that's what they were. They ended up winning Pro in ECL 5 and their offense includes @Jageksi and @topikeranen just like last season, however they lost @Erkki which is a huge loss for Evolution. He was one of the main reasons why they won Pro in the tight final games. With the addition of @SadaPoika to the roster, Evolution is going to be really interesting to watch. SadaPoika knows how to produce points. In addition to him, @Pair4You and @Juizki joined the team as well to keep their roster at a healthy size. This team can surprise many this season and if they get everything together it would not surprise us to see them in the playoffs. Crisu_rottis What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We are gonna push hard for playoff spot, and of course you can always dream about winning the title, but we're taking it one step at a time. Holding the Elite spot is an okay season while getting a playoff spot being a great one. We need to be awake in every single game from the start to the end if we want to succeed. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Eki leaving and SadaPoika coming in, this kid has got some talent I tell you. He's the best bet for the player that is going to be the most important for us. Top 3 teams this season? SJK eSports, Carlsberg HC and Dynasty Falun Coal Miners Promoted to Elite following a great campaign in ECL 5, Falun Coal Miners are no strangers to getting their hands dirty at work. It’s in the Coal Miners DNA to dig deep and go where not many a man wants to go in order to get the job done, surely one of traits they are going to take advantage of this season. On the ice FCM is showing off their grit and hard work mixed with the soft hands you only get after years of cold, dark weekends digging deep in the mines. Falun can put the perfect defense on display with all 6 guys working as a unit covering up for each other to shut down their opponents. On the other end of the rink they can hurt any team if their creative offense is clicking. Now in Elite they need to prove themselves against the best of the best. Led by the Band of Brothers they are as lethal as Easy Company with @The_Alpha_Furyan setting up and pacing the plays and our favourite rockstar idol @LastMandalorian uses his Mike Richards-like center abilities reading the game and creating something beautiful. This first Elite experience for Falun is amazing considering they have had almost the same roster since the very first ECL. These guys really prove consistency and hard work can in fact pay off. Entering ECL 6 they have added a few new faces to strengthen the team, chief among them @IsakTuvesson in net from Lavetten, but also free agent Berger-I88I. @minokin is now in his second season with Falun and has been building some amazing chemistry with @The_Alpha_Furyan at defense. The new season will be really interesting to see if Falun can dig deep enough in order to find that extra boost that will push them to a fight for the playoffs. Either way, they are looking forward to this season to prove that they really belong at the Elite level. The_Alpha_Furyan What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Our expectations with the Falun Coal Miners are primarily that our team quickly adapts to the level of play in Elite. As a newcomer, you don't want to set the bar too high, but at the same time - its not like we're just tourists who are happy to be here. We might not contend for the title, at least not this season, but we do expect to be able to establish ourselves in Elite. If so, we might finally find ourselves on the super secret list of "Elite-level players" that some of the big stars in the community seem to have collected. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? There really isn't a difference. We believe in continuity, chemistry and developing our players to enhance their skills. You'll never find us in contention for the big names in Free Agency, but thats fine with us. In the Mines of Falun, we like that homegrown feel to our game. We've added Berger88 for depth and also a terrific goaltender in IFKPEKING2k15 who'll be a nice complement to our long-time G @Onecorner95. Otherwise, its all the same. Four forwards (@PatzyDrake @pentsaa, @iscojr94 & Mando), three defenders (@Meeertz, me & Mino) and the two goalies. Top 3 teams this season? With the amount of transfers this season, this becomes a hard question to answer. If I had to guess, I'd say Written In The Stars, SJK eSports and Northern Stars. All three look really, really strong. Kattiautomaati Experienced Kattiautomaatti will be looking to deliver this time after being left out of the playoffs last season. Their roster is almost unchanged with only @sumppi90 returning to Kattiautomaatti, and @eyebiz leaving to Northern Ascendancy. These guys will have a word to say when talking about real games, don't underestimate these guys, they hold a lot of experience & skill in their hands and definitely are not afraid to use it in ECL. Their tight roster with a long history will help them thrive towards the playoff spot, but will it be enough this season? The battle for a playoff spot is going to be so tight that only time will tell, but the worst thing you can do is think that these guys are on the way to the Pro division, because these guys are hungry for glory and happy to prove you wrong. Slaivone What are your expectations going into ECL 6? In ECL 4 Kattiautomaatti got promoted to the Elite division. In ECL 5 we finished 10th in Elite. In ECL 6 our goal is to get into the Elite playoffs. We improved our game a lot during the last season. I believe we have good chances to reach our goal and hopefully get as far in the playoffs as possible. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We have just one player-change in our roster compared to ECL 5. eyebiz wanted to join NOR for next season and we got Isumppi90I back from Sjukstugan. Both defenders are really good so not a big change in the roster. We believe that we can improve our game by playing with the same guys as long as possible and minimizing roster changes. Most of the guys have played together for years. janbonator is our 'new guy' entering his second season with us and I think we are still improving chemistry with janbo all the time. I feel like we are well prepared for next season. Top 3 teams this season? Car, SKY and DYN. Northern Ascendancy: It's gonna be really interesting to see how NOR plays this season, since they've acquired two really good players in Haldeem and MukiMaisteri. Northern Ascendancy is known for their offense, especially their deadly counter-attacks. What was their biggest weakness? Defense for sure, so thats why @Haldeem is such a great player to have. You can rely on him in the defensive zone and he's really good at breakout passes as well. MukiMaisteri on the other hand is a great add to any offense. His playing style might not be perfect match NOR's style of quick passes in the offensive zone, but he can score. Also if NOR wants to make it far, their goalie @poliskontroll needs to step up his game. For sure these guys can score, but the big question mark is whether or not their defense and goalie hold in the tight games? MartindalexC What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Semi finals appearance What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? A better LW and D core Top 3 teams this season? SJK eSports, Carlsberg, NOS Northern Stars: Last season Northern Stars suprised almost everyone, after eliminating Carlsberg HC and going to game 7 with Aapon Taikasauva. NOS lead the series 3-1 against Aapon, and even had a one-timer hit the post in game 5 OT. So when Aapo came back and won the series, im sure @cHIIMEERa and his squad felt like the season ended in disappointment. But now it is time for a new season and new chance to hoist the cup for one of the more legendary teams in this league. One of the biggest question marks is how much @plee999 can play since we've heard that he has less time for NHL these days. He has formed one of the deadliest duos for many tournaments with @tbnantti, and it worked perfect last season, since rest of NOS is more defensive minded. tbnantti is really important to this team since he is one of the best to break down the opponent's neutral zone trap, and also setup PleeMaker for a deadly one-timer in the offensive zone. They have an experienced duo on the blue line with @Rullstolskalas and @ma0niii. They don't contribute much in the offense, but especially Maonii is one of the best defensive defenders. They also have a great replacement for Plee in @Floor17, who is a beast in every zone of the ice. Watch out for NOS this season, as they are capable of going far and doing great things! cHIIMEERa What are your expectations going into ECL 6? It will be tough of course, but we're well prepared and have the tools we need to go far. You need to have luck on your side in the playoffs and we're hoping to reach further than last tournament of course, but expect to reach the semis at least. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? No difference at all really, same lineup. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC, Northern Ascendancy, SJK eSports Pata Hellalla I think everyone agrees, when we say this team 'blew the bank' last season. Who would have thought that a team that is unknown to many and has imago like a newly started Lite team would have made it into Elite? Eliminating teams like Lavetten and Gotham Knights and finally losing to Pro winner Evolution. In order to secure their Elite spot, Pata Hellalla managed to beat TIKI TALK in an incredibly even relegation series that was decided in the second overtime period of game 7. We saw how good their defense was in the playoffs but can their offense get to a next level and keep scoring like they did in Pro? The opponents just get tougher so @kungenkurwa needs to get his team to produce 110% in every game if they want to survive in Elite. kungenkurwa What are your expectations going into ECL 6? I expect a tough season, there are so many good teams and our pre-season was "farssi saatana" (=a farce) cause one guy disappeared after Christmas and came back online maybe 50 days later. Some other guys spent every night in Lonely Lodge and the rest spent a well deserved holiday. But we are confident we can manage to come back and fight for spots where we don't have to play relegation games with Pro teams. Pata is ready like always and fight for the win every game! What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? This is an easy one. One name: Sebusakari. We're so happy that there is some team which wants him. We're so lucky! Of course this is joke and whole Pata wishes him good luck in this season! Second difference is that we know who is our goalie number one, last season it took almost the whole regular season and three goalies which all failed until we found our number one goalie closer than we thought. It is unbelievable how first timer goalie is better than Sebusakari who had played maybe 500 games in goalie! The third difference is that at the very beginning of last season we knew we are going to get promoted, but now I am sure that almost everybody "knows" we are not going to be champions. Fourth and maybe the funniest thing is that our left defender Carlos "Laraque" Havanna, who never made any mistakes, is now lost all of his limitless confidence even then he is so good in his defensive plays and calm with the puck in every zone on the ice, maybe sometimes too calm. Player to watch out for in Elite: I would not like to name just one guy, there is so many good players in Elite. But if i have to name one I would say an easy one so it's @Dominointi. Top 3 teams this season? Car, SJK, PTH Rusty Blades A team that always seems pretty harmless but still gets those wins one after another. @Supreex is one of the best, if not the best goalie in the whole scene. This guy has been keeping the goal horn from buzzing more than one could wish for. Rusty has always been about simple hockey, has never had the guys with the most elastic hands and this season is no exception to that. Running with pretty much the same roster as last season but with even tighter team play, we will likely see them rise above the playoff line again. @Tanski87 leading the defense with his hard hits and RB's offense doing the hard and tireless work to score those goals. Don't forget @koojiikoojii who's one of the main reasons why their defense works as well as it does. Great defense needs a great center and that is what Koojii is. Rusty is a true representation of the fact that you don’t need the best hands to rise to the top - you just need good teamwork and training! Tanski87 What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Our goal is to be even better as a team than in ECL 5. Position does not matter as long as we are able to give the best possible from us. Championship would be a nice bonus. I do expect a tight battle for playoff spots. There's been a lot of changes in Elite for this season. Many new teams, hungry teams. And some losses in form of well seasoned and highly rated teams. No more last years champion Aapon Taikasauva. No more Mukimiehet, no more Nordic Nightmare. These are saddening losses for ECL. I do expect us to keep our spirit and teamplay as high level as it has been for over two years now. We might not be the most skilled danglers out there, but damn we enjoy being on the ice, playing together, doing our all and chatting while doing it. This is what EASHL is supposed to be. Oh yeah, you guys will see us in the playoffs again. No getting rid of us. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We have not had lot of changes, Epelis being only new recruit. I'd have to say that I believe us to be even harder to score against. And our offensive tools are sharpened. Top 3 teams this season? This is a hard question. I have strong faith in Dynasty this season. Last season was a dissappointment for them, but they will come hard for ECL 6. Carlsberg has been in beast-mode lately, and probably will continue to be. SKY offense is as good as we are used to, but their team defense has seen an improvement. Even thought Dynasty got a special mention I would have to say top three to be Carlsberg HC, Written in the Stars and SJK eSports SJK eSports Last season's runner-up has made bunch of interesting signings in the offseason. They acquired @indi969, @ICappeIand @Ilmari_30from last seasons winner Aapon Taikasauva. Indi969 and Ilmari30 will add needed skill and passing ability to SJK's game. Compared to last season, SJK has bunch of new weapons to break opponents down. Their neutral-zone trap is also one of the best, and they are really good at defending in their zone aswell. Addition of Ilmari30 is huge for SJK since breakout passes are one of his strengths. In the previous seasons, SJKs defenders have a hard time sometimes breaking the puck out, so it will be easier for Dominointi to play as well when he does not have to take care of breakouts himself that much. Indi969 is also a great two-way forward who has a high hockey IQ and he finds open space in the ice. Goaltending was in no way SJK's problem last season, but now there's even less reason to worry since they have ICappeI between the pipes. SJK is a team who is really good in every zone of the ice, so expect them to be Carlsberg's number one challenger this season. If their offense can create good chemistry, they will be really good, as they can't just rely on low shots from the point and throwing passes in front of the net. Against these top-level teams they need to create good quality chances and quickly adapt their game if their normal game plan is not working. Dominointi What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Playoff spot as always What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? It is the same team with different type of players. OUT: @hooneli& @esajorma IN: @Lauri, @ICappeI, @Ilmari_30 and @indi969 Top 3 teams this season? Dynasty, Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC Silver Sword Griffins Remember Nordic Lighting last season? The team that had many players from different teams and it barely had a team assembled before the start of the season? Well that seems similar to SSG this season. They have some veteran players but it feels like a mix of everything. They will struggle at the start of the season but if @xLVxRitchey can keep his guys motivated and if they keep training and building that synergy they might be able to keep the team in Elite but it definitely won't be an easy season for SSG, as they have lost a chunk of their players in the off-season. xLVxRitchey What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Plan is try to stay in Elite but if we get spot in playoffs it will be good bonus main thing is to have fun What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Lot of new players maybe thats good or maybe bad will see. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, SJK eSports, Dynasty Sjukstugan As per usual, 112 Sjukstugan has experienced a bit of a roster turnover in between ECL seasons. The foundation of @pnordetun, @Bjono and @Gustafsson7 remains though and as long as that core trio remains intact - you can be sure Sjukstugan will remain competitive. Key additions to the roster feature highly skilled, former Synergy leading scorer @Norpee and up-and-coming goaltender @Hullued, who looks poised to evolve into a premiere Elite goaltender. What makes Sjukstugan stand out is their unreal chemistry. The "112 Bros" Pato and Bjono know each other on the ice so well, it is almost like they know what the other one is thinking. One of the more skilled Swedish teams at cycling the puck around the offensive zone, they can strike at the net from anywhere, at any time. Long known for their motto of "grind and score", this classic Swedish franchise will be sure to fight tooth and nail for every single point! Bjono What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We want to play in the playoff and during the road towards that get our game to the level we want, because we know it has been struggling lately. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Well, we have made some big changes both after ECL 5 and before ECL 6. We are only 3 guys on the team from last season: @Pippo, Patovic & Bjono. Top 3 teams this season? 1) Written In The Stars 2) SJK eSports 3) Carlsberg HC Unlucky Boys HC They are skilled young guys with a hunger for more. They finished 2nd in Pro last season and they lost only by inches to Evolution. I would label them as the black horse of Elite - not for the win, but for a playoff spot. @Anhel is the heart of this team and this guy needs to keep the strings in his hands. They lost @sweatyfathoe99 but they still got their core roster pretty much the same as last season. @Jugeh_ is their LD who is a very skilled offensive-minded defender that nets some points and has the potential to surprise in the offensive zone, and that's what they need if they want to advance to the top 8. @Danielcadabra is a great addition to their goaltending and he should be, as they lost @eissi83 to Written In The Stars. Anhel_Kuru What are your expectations going into ECL 6? I think we are a an underdog team. Our goal is to fight for the last playoff spots. Also we want to grow as a team. I think that we are capable of making our goals. I do anticipate that the season will contain ups and downs. Either way, I have faith in our team. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We got Danielcadabra and @RamboViking88 to fill the void made by Eissi and @Petihino1 in the goalie department and we lost @Ilmari_30 and Sweatyfathoe99 as well. We gained @Frilander in return. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC, Northern Ascendancy Written In The Stars A team that is in the top 3 in almost every team's prediction. They have one of the best defenders in Elite with @jtorro1233 on the blue line. You can pair him up with either @Totalii or @JOHTAJAVIRTANEN. One of the question marks with SKY is their other defensemen. Totalii can sometimes have a hard time dealing with high pressure, which can occasionally lead to dangerous turnovers. We will see if they let Johtajavirtanen have a go at proving his place amongst the Elite defenders. Their offense is good with @Joukki, @ADETIKKI and @FlyerKungen but it can be a little too predictable at times. Their biggest question mark is their goaltending situation. Can Januri98 and @eissi83 step up when it matters the most? Jtorro1233 can take their game to another level, but we will see how he handles the pressure. We know that the entire SKY team is really hungry, and they are for sure one of the top challengers for the title. FlyerKungen What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Good question, maybe I'm expecting the toughest battle ever between the last playoff spots in Elite. The season is going to be as tight as usually, so many teams with solid rosters and it's really hard to say who's gonna make it and who's not. Our goal is to reach the finals and win the last game. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Less Ulla, less penalties, haha. We were forced to make changes after "retirements" and other stuff. Two new goalies, eissi83 & JANURI98, new D-man, jtorro1234 and also LW joukki13 came to SKY. In my opinion, we have the chance to be even better as a team than last season. We have top guys in every position, now we just need to have some fun and play hockey! Top 3 teams this season? This is also hard one. I can't say SKY, it would be too boring. I need to bet here a little bit. Top 3 "toughest opponents": Carlsberg HC is one, very strong team, nuff said. Other two teams are not so easy though, but I need to say SJK eSports - it's never easy to win them. Third one is Dynasty, using runner-up lineup from ECL 4. Their rock solid defence is not a joke... Not sure about Ulla though... Gotham Knights After last seasons disappointing loss in the quarterfinals in the hands of Pata Hellalla, Gotham will be looking to establish themselves as an Elite team after gaining a promotion due to disbanding teams. They have a new goaltender @Serg1vratar for this season, who played in Nordic Lightning last season in Elite. He is pairing up with @Kefleri between the pipes. Gotham lost @Frilander to Unlucky boys, but acquired @Janikka, oh boy that's a good signing to your blue line. They also acquired @sweatyfathoe99from UB - that's two good players from UB for Gotham - so they do have offensive firepower with the power trio of @Nakkertoni, @ReDMisTi and @Hanssonni staying in the offense. While holding on to @jyrkkisand @MKivinen95 they managed to keep the core of the team intact whilst acquiring some new players. Expect these guys to give their all and fight for a playoff spot in the tight midtable in Elite. ReDMisTi What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We don't have much expectations, we just try our best and play a balanced season. Of course the playoff spot would be really nice and it's our goal for season 6 What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We are stronger, we play same kind of hockey as last ECL, but after our "main" guys stayed and we got couple really good players more, I'd say we are better for sure Top 3 teams this season? CAR, SKY, NOS Nordic Stars Being up 3-0 thinking you are in the semifinals in pro, but getting defeated 3-4 in the hands of Falun Coal Miners can be disappointing. Not because of the opposing team being Falun, but getting so close must be heartbreaking. Either way, these guys are up and at it again - this time in the Elite division after disbanding teams making way for Nordic Stars. They lost key players such as @FakiiR1, @Devilfish14, @TackleControl, @vilperi90 and Finbarkov after the season, but acquired @Jauho, @entii112, @taemtaem, @Kookasi and @Amigo. Seems like they're on the way to Pro? While there is basicly no bottom teams this season, this team belongs in the lower part in our prediction. The big question here is, can these guys find the synergy that they need to fight in Elite? Expect them to get better round after round, and give their all to keep their spot in the division. Lead by experienced defender @Seahyena they will hold their own in the defensive zone, but can they produce enough in the offense? Excellent goalie @RaNtA will give them a fighting chance game after game to take the points. Seahyena What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We try to make it to the playoffs and i think after re-signing our top goalie Ranta83 we now have all the tools for that. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Big difference. I knew we have a chance to head into Elite and we prepared this team for that. Almost the whole crew have changed and we try now to play more "Elite type" skill hockey than in the Pro div. Much work to find the perfect chemistry with an almost new crew, but i think we're gonna grow closer and closer to that during the season. Top 3 teams this season? Written, SJK and CAR Personally, I have to say that this is the most exciting ECL season yet. The Elite playoff fight will be so intense and there is so many amazing things happening in our community, such as getting new long waited features thanks to @Lurkins, @Hennisch and @Kenu. Best of luck to all of you and see you out on the ice! Let the games begin! ECL Elite lead, @SepiDN