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NHLGamers, The third tier of ECL competition - ECL 11 Lite - is about to launch its new season and we're excited as ever! Let's kick off this season preview by revealing the groups, whereafter we'll continue with highlighting a few teams to keep an eye on this season. Here are the groups for ECL 11 Lite: Teams to watch in ECL 11 Lite Season 10 ended with Sack Brothers winning the title and gaining promotion to the Pro division. Ducktales BK played a tremendous season but ultimately faltered 4-1 to the eventual champions. In the regular season teams like HV71 and ECDC Memmingen Esports both played a great season and might be extremely dangerous opponents in starting season (HV71 promoted to Pro based on previous performance). In fact HV71 lost to Ducktales - the finalists - in a quarter-final series and ECDC Memmingen played a huge second round series against Ducktales losing in Game 7 so both teams have showcased potential going into ECL 11. Two interesting teams that made huge contributions last season are missing from ECL 11 Lite and those are GENESIS and HUIPPUPASSI. GENESIS reached the quarterfinals after finishing 18th in the regular season whereas HUIPPUPASSI went even further to the semifinals from 10th place in the regular season. In the quarterfinals, HUIPPUPASSI beat EBR Esports Official and in the semifinals gave an admirable opposition to the eventual champions Sack Brothers. Both GENESIS and HUIPPUPASSI are playing Pro in this season under new names and colors - GENESIS as RCTIC and HUIPPUPASSI as GOONS. However, the fact that last seasons top performers are out opens up exciting opportunities for newcomers and other contender teams in Lite. HOKURIT is one of the teams expected to really shine in season 11. They finished 6th in the regular season and reached the quarterfinals in ECL 10, where HOKURIT eventually lost to Angry Cats who unfortunately doesn't make a return but would have been one of the teams to follow. As stated, notably many of last seasons top performers are missing. There might be numerous of reasons and most probable reason is that enough players that stood for those success stories last season either moved on to other teams or were unable to participate in ECL 11. That leaves a wide open space for many other teams to fill the gap like. Potential prospects are definitely Old Farts and Tic Tac Toes, who have some experience mixed with great talent on their rosters. Tic Tac Toes had a difficult regular season of ECL 10 but played well in the postseason and was eliminated by the eventual champions, whereas Old Farts had a similar season and saw a second round exit against EBR Esports Official. Powerhouse HC is also one of the candidates to see success this season in Lite as they finished 4th in the regular season of ECL 10 and reached round 2 in the playoffs. An exciting new ensemble for the Lite division is also Exerceo with several skilled players that have been seen at higher levels before. The club saw fair success in the FCL but suffered a first round playoff exit. Last but not least, MUKIMIEHET is an interesting team with several former Elite players in their roster. Players such as defenseman Janne @Janzuh Nyqvist or scoring machine and captain Ville @hpkfani Luukkonen who has been a top scorer at the Elite level for a long time are surely still in their own class at the Lite level. The team has also added Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen who represented Reality Check in the FCL and Black Horse last season in ECL while Petri-Christian @PCJP Pelkonen takes the reigns in net. MUKIMIEHET is reborn and while they have a long way to go, they will for sure be a contender in the Lite division this season. Players to watch in ECL 11 Lite Due to so many teams and players moving on to new challenges, the stage is also set for new stars to shine individually. We'll do our best to pick out some interesting prospects to fill those gaps. As stated before, we're expected ECDC Memmingen Esports to have a big season, which will be helped by players such as @Wowa_1995 stepping up. He is of the most prominent players from last season that can still be seen in the Lite division as he scored 30+46 in the regular season and added 12+11 in the playoffs. Also the very experienced @Bjono from Sjukstugan should be expected to thrive at the Lite level after a good performance last season, where the Swede put up 16+66 in the regular season and added 7+21 in the playoffs. On the topic of skilled Swedes, Bjorkloven Esport recently announced the acquisition of former Farjestad BK winger @Tacterz who should be a force at the Lite level depending on how much ice time he will see. To pick out a player with the potential to surprise is hard out of the massive pack, but @kim_johan dominated Neo last season by putting up 112 points and is looking to continue on that same path at the Lite level, it'll be interesting to see if he can keep it up. It's safe to say that the 112 teams in Lite will have their work cut out for them this season! Despite there being some strong teams to look out for, the title is up for grabs for anyone. With that being said, we wish all teams good luck with the upcoming seasons and remember to keep your eyes peeled for updates about upcoming matchups on social media, teams are getting active and will keep you updated.

NHLGamers, We're just a few days away from puck drop in the ECL 11 season! With the record-breaking amount of 264 teams signed up, we continue to raise the bar and can be considered the biggest NHL esports league in the world. Due to the amazing quantity of teams this season, our staff has been hard at work over the weekend and will be finalizing group divisions by the evening of Monday, November 16th. However, we decided it was best to confirm the full list of teams in each division accompanied by some crucial scheduling information. Without further ado, here are your ECL 11 divisions: ECL 11 Neo - Starts Wednesday, 18.11. Default game days and times are: Wednesday 20:00 CET Sunday 20:00 CET Schedule for ECL 11 Neo: Group stage: 18.11 - 13.12 Playoffs Round 1: 14. - 20.12 (BO5) Playoffs Round 2: 28.12 - 3.1(BO5) Playoffs Round 3: 4. - 10.1 (BO5) Quarterfinals: 11. - 17.1 (BO5) Semifinals: 18. - 24.1 (BO5) Finals: 25. - 27.1 (BO5) Brief season description of ECL 11 Neo: The regular season consists of 104 teams split into 10 groups. The regular season lasts 4 weeks and the playoffs will feature 64 teams. The playoffs will be played in best-of-five manner. ECL 11 Lite - Start Tuesday, 17.11. Default game days and times are: Tuesday 20:00 CET Wednesday 20:00 CET Sunday 20:00 CET Schedule for ECL 11 Lite: Group stage: 17.11 - 20.12 Playoffs Round 1: 28.12 - 3.1 (BO7) Playoffs Round 2: 4. - 10.1 (BO7) Playoffs Round 3: 11. - 17.1 (BO7) Quarterfinals: 18. - 24.1 (BO7) Semifinals: 25. - 31.1 (BO7) Finals: 4. - 7.2 (BO7) Brief season description of ECL 11 Lite: Due to popular demand the division size has been expanded to 112 teams. The group size remains at 16 teams per group. The regular season lasts 5 weeks and 64 teams will be making the playoffs that are played in best-of-seven manner. ECL 11 Pro - Starts Monday, 23.11. Default game days and times are: Monday 20:00 CET Tuesday 20:00 CET Thursday 20:00 CET Schedule for ECL 11 Pro: Group stage: 23.11 - 10.1 Playoffs Round 1: 11. - 17.1 (BO7) Quarterfinals: 18. - 24.1 (BO7) Semifinals: 25. - 31.1 (BO7) Finals: 8. - 10.2 (BO7) Brief season description of ECL 11 Pro: ECL Pro consists of 32 teams. The regular season lasts 5 weeks. The top eight teams from each group (16 in total) will make playoffs, where they will be cross-seeded and play best-of-seven series. ECL 11 Elite - Start Monday, 30.11. Default game days and times are: Monday 20:00 CET Wednesday 20:00 CET Thursday 20:00 CET Schedule for ECL 11 Elite: Group stage: 30.11 - 21.1 Quarterfinals: 24. - 27.1 (BO7) Semifinals: 1. - 4.2 (BO7) Finals: 12. - 13.2 (BO7) Brief season description of ECL 11 Elite: ECL Elite is the highest tier of the ECL, consisting of the best 16 teams in Europe. The top eight teams in the six week regular season will advance to the playoffs that are played in a best-of-seven manner, while the bottom four will be in for relegation. The ECL Elite season will be closely followed on our broadcasts. Prize pool will be announced closer to the Elite season start. *Note: The divisions are still a work-in-progress and NHLGamer reserves the right to adjust the divisions as necessary. More information about the ECL and the groups will follow tomorrow (Monday November 16th). On behalf of NHLGamer, I want to thank the community for positively surprising us season after season and the constant big growth of ECL continuing steadily! As we are blessed with a lot of new members and teams, let's be helpful towards each other and help everyone find their place in our community.

NHLGamers, The upcoming ECL 11 season will feature some more German colors as the Herforder Ice Dragons further add to the growth in the central European community. The German organization was founded in the early 2000s and although its history has not been long, it has risen in popularity in its home country. Currently, the Ice Dragons are competing in the German Oberliga, which is the third tier of national competition. The esports section has made their biggest goal of the ECL 11 season to make the playoffs of the Neo division. The Herforder Ice Dragons stand for loyalty above all, as the virtual hockey team's colors will be represented by Dennis @NHLDennis86 Kuhlmann, who plays in net for the team and handles captains duties. He also happens to be the Zamboni driver in the home rink of the Herforder Ice Dragons. Tobias @Hohner Hohner, who plays forward for the virtual hockey team, commented on the team's starting points for the upcoming ECL 11 season. "Our players come not only from one region, but from different regions around Germany. Furthermore we can consider ourselves lucky to have a Croatian in our team. Most of us have already played together successfully in other clubs, so we can fall back on some experienced people." The Herforder Ice Dragons' virtual hockey team is formed out of the former NHL4you Gaming team. Hohner says that the goal has been to form a completely new team, as only three players from the current roster have previously played for NHL4you Gaming. "Our esports team is formed from the former team of NHL4you Gaming, the team has now been completely reformed and completely repositioned with only three players from the original roster. Me, Marko @Tornado.hr Dominkovic and Dennis @NHLDennis86 Kuhlmann have together taken the goal to build up a new ambitious team. It was important to us that the chemistry in the team is right and of course the performance on the ice should be good too." Despite seeing major changes since their last tournament, the team leans back on familiar forces to see success in their upcoming ECL campaign: "Our strength is the cohesion with each other. We discuss a lot about tactics and moves, which we try to implement outside and inside the league games. Team chemistry is also extremely important to us, so that we have a good atmosphere in the team." says Tobias @Hohner Hohner. With not too long left before the start of the season, the teams ambitious goals will be highlighted in discussions. "We want to develop as a team and have fun on the ice while also getting as far as possible in the ECL. The goal is of course the playoffs and everything else is a bonus." Hohner states

NHLGamers, To all the teams joining on their first ECL adventure through the Neo and Lite Divisions, thank you. More and more of you are entering the competitions organized by NHLGamer and your enthusiasm is heartwarming. Here we are going to provide a guide for those of you new here and who may need a little help. First and foremost, your best advisor is the Rulebook (Updated ECL 11 Rulebook to be released 17th of November), which brings together all of the useful information. Each captain (and their alternates) are warmly advised to read it. If you have any questions, the NHLGamer's Staff is at your disposal, and the forum can also help you find answers to your questions. 1- How to enter my team into our assigned division? You don't have to, it's the NHLGamer Staff who does it. In the case that your logo has not been assigned to your team yet, a little patience, it will come. In the case of you wanting to add a new logo or change your existing one, please send a new logo to our support team (.PNG, minimum 500x500) for it to be assigned. Once your team has been assigned to its division, you will then be able to invite your players to join via the home page of our site and your personal tab. If one of your players does not appear in the list of free agency, a probable cause is that they have not yet created their account, instruct them to do so. As such, it is advisable to give your player a name identical to that of your avatar on NHL 21. Once everyone has joined you can appoint yourself as captain and appoint your alternates (if not already correct). 2- Your role as captain and alternate As captain and alternates, you are the representatives of your team towards your opponents and towards the NHLGamer community, so bear your assigned role with pride and act accordingly. You are in charge of organizing matches and monitoring the calendar. You are also responsible for your players' compliance with the rules, in particular the ethics and code of conduct towards members of the community. 3- How to contact the support or your opponents? For any need to reschedule a game, you are required to refer to the rulebook which specifies all the conditions, and above all, you are first required to contact your opponents. It is strongly recommended not only to contact the opposing captain but also their two alternates. It is possible by clicking the Message all captains button on the opponent's team page. You can also contact our support in case of a question, any statistical problem or a disagreement with an opponent, by using the support tab. 4- Your match has been interrupted, what to do? The first thing to remember is that quitting a game is formally prohibited and that it can lead to disciplinary action, up to and including exclusion from the league. In the case of a game that does not come to an end because of a disconnection, here again, the rulebook gives precise instructions. In short, you must first record the stats of the match before you leave (preferably by taking a few pictures), then contact the opposite team. A new match must be restarted to bring the game to a conclusion. Note: in case of a serious network issue, you are allowed to quit the game during the first minute of play, keep in mind that communicating any problems to your opponent is mandatory. 5- How to report a match on the site? You will need to take photos of the individual and collective stats as well as the three stars of the game. The API tool (available through the captain's account tab on the home page) will allow you to report the games. As an agreement, the winning team captain reports his game. The API tool is a great help and does almost everything on its own, you will only need to add the goals and penalties as well as the three stars of the game and some elements. If the API does not work you will have to go through the so-called old tool, which isn't more complicated but a bit longer of a process. Again the Rulebook is a valuable tool. We advise you to take some pictures of every game played even if it is not your turn to report it, just in case your opponent would have forgotten or if any problems arise. As a conclusion, we thank you again for joining our competition. This was only a scratch of the surface and we - as well as the members of our community - are at your disposal for any questions. Do your best, have fun and remember that, even if everyone takes this very seriously, it's just a game. Get ready for the faceoff!