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NHLGamers, It's been a week since the IS Cup 4 finals action kicked off at GameXpo in Messukeskus of Helsinki. We had a blast and hope you had too! Looking back at it, we're happy to have provided another successful event and are extremely grateful for having the possibility to do so in cooperation with our great partners at Ilta-Sanomat, Prisma Gaming, Alpro and PlayStation. Now the medals have been dealt and we're looking on to the next one, but in the meantime let's enjoy this look back at what this iteration of IS Cup entailed. We started off in mid October with a strict schedule which we are extremely happy that all teams managed to follow. With a total of 73 teams signed up this year, we're excited to have doubled the amount of signups from IS Cup 3, thank you for that! Although the IS Cup as a tournament holds some world class talent it is surely a great playing field also for new players to match up against the very best at the game. We're also very happy about the fact that we were able to make the tournament available for teams of other than Finnish nationality this year, and with that being said we had a great turnout of other European teams too with the Swedes leading the way. These were the groups that we went into the intensive group stage of IS Cup 4 with: Out of the 7-8 teams in each group, three teams and an additional top two based on PPG out of all groups were advancing to the playoffs. This made for a battle of 32 teams in the playoffs, where we were left with a bunch of highly motivated players looking for a spot in the bright lights of GameXpo and the IS Cup 4 Final event. These were the matchups for our playoffs round 1 in IS Cup 4: Round one ended up being a formality for several teams as juggernauts such as HAVU Gaming, FILADELPHIA or Symphony plowed through their opposing teams in fashionable manner, showcasing their overwhelming offensive prowess and Elite level experience. On the other hand, we had a few tight battles, mainly the one between POGGERS and BRAYCE Phantoms, where a well performing and seemingly rejuvenated POGGERS managed to outplay the usually very convingin and methodical german team in the maximum five games of the series. A bit of a surprise was also caused by Reality Check as they put the last nail into Dynastys coffin and sent them on a hiatus of undetermined duration. The biggest upset of the first round was seen by Växjö Lakers HC, as they beat Swedish rival Synergy in three straight games. Synergy had managed to win their group and also won both group stage games against Växjö. Oh well, moving on! Round 2 was played between Thursday, October 31st and Sunday, November 3rd. These were the matchups: The second round continued in a rather similar manner than the first one, where the favourites seemed to prevail and doing so in a convincing way. Between all series, the advancing teams only gave up a total of five games, and these wins were seen by Raccoon Rampage (2), Unlucky Boys HC (1) and Bucketeers (2). The matchup to watch in this round was definitely Bucketeers going up against Roots. We saw two tremendously skilled teams going head to head. the Swedes going into the battle with a better seed and therefore the home ice advantage. In advance, these teams are of similar caliber and looked very well matched on paper, the games were unconventional in the way that the usually defensive Bucketeers often dominated in possession, but couldn't seem to utilize their chances whereas Roots didn't run into similar scoring trouble. The games determining who was going to GameXpo were the quarterfinals, the matchups being as follows: At this point of the tournament, there are no heavy favourites going into matchups and all teams should be capable of advancing. However, we still witnessed a great deal of separation in some matchups. HAVU Gaming, Delusion and FILADELPHIA saw no match in their opponents and managed to punch their GameXpo tickets rather quickly by stringing together three victories in no time. The games to watch here were between Symphony and Butterfly Effect who actually are old acquaintances from the FCL 6vs6 final event at Assembly Summer. That time, these two were seen going head-to-head in a bronze game which ended 1-3 in favour of FLY. Maybe they had a mental advantage going into these quarterfinals too? We ended up seeing a rather low scoring series in which the turning point was the only exception as both teams put up four markers in regulation of game three. The series was tied at this point and Symphony had a great flow going into overtime after equalizing just four seconds before the final buzzer. The battle went on for around 15 minutes in OT before @Vilupoika finally found the twine and pushed his Butterly Effect to being the fourth team going to GameXpo. With the finals starting, we could offer standing room only as a great amount of people showed up to watch. With that, we have arrived at GameXpo and were left with four teams going into the weekend, all aspiring to be the ones hoisting our beautiful IS Cup 4 trophy late on Saturday evening. (1) HAVU Gaming vs Butterfly Effect (6) By having the highest seed going into the finals, HAVU Gaming got to start their games in a later matchup against Butterly Effect. These two teams are very familiar with each other by now, having matched up in the FCL Semifinals at Assembly Summer in August and our Spring League Finals just a few weeks prior to that. In each of these prior games, HAVU had managed to keep FLY away from winning even one, so that surely set up an interesting scenario going into this matchup. This time around, Butterfly Effect came out swinging as it frankly seemed like HAVU wasn't ready to play to start off game one of the series. FLY scored three straight and it looked like they were to run away with game one before it even started, but HAVU did HAVU things and mounted a comeback to eventually win a high scoring first game 6-4. After this, we went back to some more traditional games and HAVU started looking way better by winning the second game. This is where it got tricky as there was a longer break in the schedule and the teams had to wait around for a while. The break seemed to work wonders for FLY as they were once again rejuvenated and ready to play, whereas HAVU's play didn't look familiar at all in the evening. Goaltender @Hansulinho speculated that the team dinner at Hesburger prior to the evening games was their near fatal mistake. Despite not reaching up to their fabled level of play and losing game 3 to put them in a chokehold, HAVU managed to grind out two more victories against Butterfly Effect and go through to the finals once again! Series score: 3-2 HAVU Gaming Possibly the biggest goal of the series was when HAVU Gaming tied game 4 at 2 late in the 2nd period. By winning, FLY would have advanced. (2) Delusion vs FILADELPHIA (5) Delusion and FILADELPHIA kicked off our Friday at around 13:00 CET. @ICappeI had flown in from his native Sweden and made it on time despite some rumoured troubles and the opposing FILA squad showed up all smiles after some successful team bonding the night before. The very decisive factor of this matchup was going to be if the experience of FILA would prevail against a less experienced but undoubtedly very hungry Delusion squad. A bit of nervosity was perhaps showing with Delusion as the series started and left winger @Joukki almost immediately found himself in the sin bin as the result of a questionable hit on a player outside the play. FILADELPHIA didn't wait around and instantly took advantage of the mistake, this being the only marker and the last mentionable event in the first game of our IS Cup 4 final event. Delusion showed up big in the second game, though. We saw a totally new squad that had found their flow and gotten comfortable in their seats at the big stage. About midway through the second game, @loimmu of FILADELPHIA found himself being assigned a five-minute major for boarding during which Delusion scored twice to take a decisive advantage in the second game. After two games, the teams were scheduled for a bread which could have benefitted FILA, as Delusion was just finding their stride on the live stage. After the break it seems like Delusion had only ramped up the heat as their comms were loud and clear even so that the front row was hearing callouts and the positive attitude of the players was visible to everyone around. Their flow seemed unstoppable and that's what we got to witness as Delusion managed to win two more and punch their ticket to the finals. Series score: 3-2 Delusion Delusion LW @Joukki definitely found his stride after the break and as a result put up some incredible individual efforts, one of them looked like this: BRONZE GAMES: (5) FILADELPHIA vs Butterfly Effect (6) To start off Saturday we saw the bronze battle between FILADELPHIA and Butterly Effect. It was truly a pleasure to see that both teams had came to play and din't give an inch even though they were playing for bronze. FLY managed to win the first game, but eventually FILADELPHIA turned things around just in time and prevailed by winning games two and three. Butterfly Effect wasn't far from a final spot, but this time ended up finishing 4th. FILADELPHIA showed up to play last weekend, but this time they ran into very strong competition. FINALS: (1) HAVU Gaming vs Delusion (2) Oh boy, what a treat we were in for with this one. HAVU captain @FlyerKungen mentioned that it's refreshing to see new teams pushing deep in the playoffs and making these final appearances as we can all agree that although seeing HAVU and FILA go at each other for extended periods of time was fun, Delusion was a very welcomed acquaintance in this matchup. The finals were played in a best of 7 manner in contrast to the rest of the playoffs, which was only best of 5. In big games like this, it's only right to have the maximum amount of hockey being played. That was exactly what HAVU and Delusion were thinking too. HAVU seemed to have learned from their mistakes on Friday and were back to playing their own, fast offense and stringing together some beautiful passing plays whereas Delusion hadn't forgotten about what got them to this place in the first place, we could still see the joy on the players faces and how excited the boys were about this opportunity. What we were treated to in the finals was a rather traditional best of 7 showcase in the sense that neither team scored too much and both goaltenders stood tall in net. Our goaltender expert @TheCreasePolice noted the correlation between goaltender success and heavy facial hair growth as both @Hansulinho and @ICappeI have a certain resemblance to Chewbacca. We mentioned a low scoring series but there were two exceptions, though. HAVU Gaming really came out strong in the first one and managed to get Delusion on their heels when captain @FlyerKungen scored a natural hat trick and @willekunq added an insurance maker at the end. All this while keeping Delusion off the board entirely. A seemingly weak start didn't phase Delusion though, as from there on out both teams traded victories in 1-3 goal games. The next explosion was again seen by HAVU in game 5 as they scored five consecutive goals while again shutting down Delusion entirely but once again, Delusion wasn't phased and won the next one sending us to a game seven. Last year, FILADELPHIA and the former Written In The Stars started the game seven tradition in the IS Cup finals, and this year it was continued by HAVU and Delusion. It's always a pleasure to see two teams going all the way into a decisive final game for all the marbles. There's usually a certain format that these games follow and it was partially the case this time around too, only the scoreboard looked unconventional as a total of 6 goals were put up in a battle that was mainly fought on center ice. In the end, @Dominointi, who manages to open the scoring and close it off for his HAVU Gaming ends up being the difference maker and pushes his team to an IS Cup 4 Championship. Delusion was on a roll all weekend and you could really see how pumped up the guys were to be in the finals. The boys are back in their winning ways! Pictures by Kirsty Meek 📷 Find the full album here. Once again, congratulations to our champions HAVU Gaming and all other participants. Thank you all for making this yet another great experience and stay tuned for more to come!

NHLGamers, Were happy to be able to bring you some high quality ECL 9 Elite action this Sunday evening! On top of the great games, we will also have some high class talent in the booth tonight, as we'll get to enjoy the golden voices of Nick "F5Penguin" DiMeo and Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta for the duration of the stream. 19:30 CET: FILADELPHIA vs Farjestad BK This is a fight between two very top teams currently. FILADELPHIA is boasting an unbeaten record and is at the top of the tables by outscoring and the also unbeaten HAVU. FILA's Erik @Eki Tammenpää (28p) and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie (26p) are also topping the scoring charts currently, but they'll be going up against a notoriously good FBK defense tonight. The Swedish team are known for their tight shutdown play but this year they've found the ability to score, seemingly by adding Mattias @Tacterz Hjelm (19p) and Robin @Rubituss Söderqvist (18p) to their lineup. We could very well see a high-scoring ordeal as both teams have the offensive tools, but we mustn't forget that there are also two real superstars in both ends of the ice, as we se an all Swedish goalie battle between FILA's new recruit Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and FBK's Filip @Obagol Feldt. 21:00 CET: Farjestad BK vs Lulea Hockey You're going to want to stay tuned after the first matchup, since this is one for the ages. With the first ever SHL derby on the virtual ice we are witnessing history in the making when FBK takes on the so far underperforming Lulea Hockey. The real world counterparts of these teams have a rich history together, as their first face-off was in 2005 and have since almost split the victories in a total of 81 games. Currently, FBK is ahead with 43 wins to 38. The latest mentionable encounter on the virtual ice was in the SCL bronze game when both teams were still playing under their old flags as Bucketeers (FBK) and Northern Ascendancy (Lulea), that time around Bucketeers came out on top. As mentioned, Luleå Hockey has been underperforming as of late, but will be looking to change course tonight as they are well aware of the thing they need to change going forward. Defenseman Hampus @The_Alpha_Furyan Duvefelt mentioned in an interview to Fragbite.se that they will need to stay out of the box and will be reviewing their play after tough losses to Butterfly Effect in their latest outing. Farjestad on the other hand has been playing well. They'll be trusting their proven defensive tactics and relying on their two top scorers to tickle twine in the other end of the ice. Centerman Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson says they have something good in store for Lulea defensive pairing @The_Alpha_Furyan and Mattias @ma0niii Tagesson. The games will be casted by Nick "F5Penguin" DiMeo and Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta. Tune in at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer for all the action!

NHLGamers, Welcome to our season preview for the ECL 9 Lite Division! We are back after a long offseason and some games might already have been played, since the official start of the season was Tuesday. We hope you all are as excited as us about ECL 9 Lite and a new opportunity to battle it out for the title and promotion spots. ECL 9 Lite has six groups with 64 teams and in this preview you can find some info from five most interesting teams in each group. Without further ado, let's get into the team previews for ECL 9 Lite: Group 1: Angry Cats New team that probably has the most experienced defense pairing in the division with @Ampuhaukka and @pelimies80 gliding on the blueline. Their roster is full with ECL veterans who will strive to help Angry Cats go far in the playoff race. One of the favourites to take the ECL 9 Lite title. Rosvosektori First established in Spring League where they finished eleventh in their group. After Spring League they have added @Jonza1990 (HatsiGaboom), @hulkamaania (FIN_Zeus) and @Malcom330. This is now the third team that @nessron has captained. Hokurit Former SKA Hokurit. Lost their former point leader @MozjaTG who is now the captain of Pro team Sandstorm. Added couple of players from Dystopia and @jouni29 will try to replace Mozja- in a scoring role. In ECL 8 they lost to Dystopia in six games in the second round of the playoffs. Hundred Acre Wood A big portion of their players represented Blackdawgs in ECL 8. They had a decent run in the IS Cup where they finished fifth in their group. Kouvola Screaming Eagles They have new captain in @oSandello as @Dreamickie who has been excelling also in 1v1 tournaments steps down to an assistant captains role. Almost the same lineup as in ECL 8. In ECL 8 they lost to Farminaattori in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Group 2: Clumsy Penguins Team that was founded last summer and hasn’t participated in any tournaments. This team has a roster with many Pro experienced players and the teams core has been playing for Bellizzi in recent years. Sulkavan Sudet Sulkavan Sudet started their journey in Spring League where they finished outside of the playoffs. They also played in IS Cup where they finished fifth in their group. @Luokkala_ is starting his first ECL season but he is expected to score a lot of points for his team. Western Express Lost their best scorer in ECL 8 (Lawner8_) but have added @Buffy from Synergy Hockey who had 26 points in 28 games in the last ECL 8 Elite season. In ECL 8 Lite they lost to Dystopia in five games at the third round of the playoffs. EV Duisburg Have lost core pieces like @HerzogMagnus and @xXPsykoSkillsXx after last season (ECL 8 Pro) where they finished 13th in their group and were relegated after a series against Bone Breakers. Winners of ECL 6 Lite. WEREWOLVES HC Had an OK Spring League where they finished 12th in their group. Since then they have added @Alex28 and @Boernsoen who are going to be nice additions to their group. Group 3: Saucer Hockey Last seasons quarterfinalist is coming to the ECL 9 Lite season with the same lineup as they had last year. Were very close to earning a promotion to Pro after losing to We Kings in seven games and just about coming short of the semifinals. Company of Geeks Finished fifth in their group in SCL and lost to SPARTANS in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Have lost a lot of players, for example @Rubituss, @cHIIMEERa and @Dercie after their succesful Spring League outing. They have added some players with one of them being @Horebag13 who is expected to produce some scoring. They have some experience from the Pro division. Clowns On Ice Lost @ProfaneKiss who was clearly their best scorer last season. In ECL 8 Pro they finished 14th in their group and were relegated after a relegation series against Pata Hellalla. Finnish Hockey Legends Have lost @Hanzqa and both goalies @suitsukemestari and @vvesa93. @Eisenhugel who steps down from the captains spot will now play goaltender under command of new captain @KYLKISYOPA. In ECL 8 they lost to the eventual champion Oton Letkutemppu in five games in the second round of the playoffs. HUIPPUPASSI Former Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat is making a comeback. Almost the same lineup as they had year ago but they have added high caliber defender @taemtaem who represented Nordic Stars last season in the Pro division. Group 4: Last Period Same lineup as in ECL 8. Team plays a very defensive game as they are not a high powered offense but pride themselves in keeping their own net clear. @buzee_ is one of the best goaltenders in Lite. In ECL 8 they lost in the second round to Western Express in five games after finishing second in their regular season group. HanaaHC Participated in IS Cup but didn’t really get things going in that tournament. They have many Pro caliber players but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. @loncelot84 will make a comeback to ECL after missing ECL seasons 4-8. Breakers Of The Bone Practically the same team as Bone Breakers that played ECL 8 Pro last season and finished last in their group but still managed to maintain their Pro spot. Now they are starting fresh in the ECL 9 Lite with a new name. Nordic Nosebleed Swedish team that has remained almost unchanged since ECL Season 3. Have added @eliekamel87 who is going to help them be better in ECL 9. In ECL 8 they lost to Club Savage in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Elamam Kiekko @iRSPe, @Isoheppi (Britn1) & @Markogirl87 (Maexsa) have represented the club since ECL 3. Elamam Kiekko has improved their play every ECL season and in the last ECL they finished second in their group but were defeated by Farminaattori in six games in the second round of the playoffs. This might be the season when Elamam Kiekko finally gets far in the playoffs and earns a promotion. Group 5: Kaukosen Luistin Have had a lot of changes and three players are continuing from ECL 8 Lite. Kaukosen Luistin has added former Beast Hockey captain @Jaks_10 and former Finnish Snipers captain @Thimbaa to their roster. Participated in IS Cup and got only six points in twelve games. In ECL 8 KaLu lost to Saucer Hockey in six games in the second round of the playoffs. Nearbird Fighters Their lineup has practically stayed the same for the duration of the teams history. Have improved every season and will now be serious contenders in Lite. Top 3 team in RCL even though those stats are arguably not comparable to ECL. In ECL 8 they lost to Beast hockey in six games in the second round of the playoffs. EBR eSports Official Formerly known as Eisbaeren Regensburg. They had an OK GCL 4 season where they lost to Deadly Phantoms HC in the first round of the playoffs. Now they have added @Hockeyboy1985 (lx_Ice_Rambo_xl), @LeroyLetsPlays and @Gregson91. Gregson especially will bring a lot of offense to the team. Syntax Error New team that has many Elite and Pro experienced players that have represented AIK Hockey and Gotham Knights for example. The skill level this team has will surely cause many Syntax Errors in the minds of other competing clubs. A contender for sure. Lucky Strike Have added @miisolegend (Svenska_FaranJr) from Korpens Finest and many players from Puck Panthers where captains @Giinis and @kovisjimi have played previously. Last played in ECL 6 Lite where they finished sixth in their group. Group 6: Mockba MOCKBA is a team full of Perttilan Kommandot players from the last ECL season. They had an impressive FCL and were good in Spring League and IS Cup. Perttilan Kommadot have underachieved in the playoffs, will they go far this season or choke early in the playoffs? Old Farts Old Farts were first in their ECL 8 Lite regular season group but still got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in six games against Poston Fruits. Old Farts had a very disappointing IS Cup where they finished last in their group. Added @Enerfity to their roster and they are expected to perform well this season. Murohoki A long term team that has been playing since ECL Season 2 and is now starting their first Lite season after always playing in Pro. @Malcowich is stepping down from the captains role and @Ubula (RuttuBerse) is the new leader for the team. Malcowich84 and @MovaaN are the last players left from previous seasons roster. One of their new recruits is @Fuhrer Vuorio who has been an effective player at Elite and Pro levels. They seem to still be looking for a defender as RuttuBerse has been seen posting in the recruitment thread eleven times since last April. In ECL 8 Pro they finished last in their group and were relegated. Afrodunk Former SKA. Had a good run in IS Cup where they finished fifth in their group. Their roster is almost the same as in ECL 8. In ECL 8 they lost to SKA Hokurit in five games in the first round of the playoffs. UKnighted HC UKnighted HC has participated only in the first ECL season and is making its comeback. @Nr-0847, @exrelax and @Asche are players that are remaining from their original roster. It'll certainly be yet another exciting season, this time I believe we can surely say it'll be the most even Lite division that there has ever been. This is due to minimum difference in skill level as we have added the more casual ECL Neo and cut down on amount of teams playing in Lite. Anyways, who do you think will be a team to look out for in ECL 9 Lite? Have fun and see you on the ice!