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NHLGamers, We're closing in on the end of the ECL 11 Elite regular season and with that it's only natural that the noose around the necks of some ensembles is tightening, whereas some others are still scrambling for those last couple of points in order to either secure their playoff spot or put them in the best possible position for the postseason. The past week held some interesting events and even some records were broken, as FILADELPHIA's Casper @ICappeI Lundgren passed former goalie colleague turned winger Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen for most ECL Elite shutouts in one season. The former record stood at 9 shutouts replicated in both the ECL 8 and ECL 9 regular seasons, but is now at 11 with four games to go for FILADELPHIA. That means that @ICappeI has the possibility to totally deny the opposition in 50% of the regular season games, which is something absolutely unheard of and will surely be a record that could stand the test of time for quite a while in the ECL as we know it. It remains to be seen how far they can take it as a team, but the opposition in their last week will be tough as HAVU Gaming and KOVA Esports are looking to spoil the party. Another player deserving of an honorable mention and some extra pats on the back is SJ Gaming winger Mikko @EABUNKA Kärkkäinen, who announced that despite receiving terrible news about health concerns in his immediate family was able to show up to play on Thursday night against hREDS. No concerns were visible as the skilled winger took the ice, leading his team to an overtime win and an overtime loss, securing 3 points for SJ Gaming while grabbing a goal and a helper in both games for himself. Obviously there are things way bigger than the sport we're all playing, but the performance Thursday night by @EABUNKA surely is an inspirational show of determination and the support given by the community to a player in distress once again proved that we are way bigger than just the group of people playing video games for a pastime. That's an early nominee for this season's wholesome award. At the moment, most teams are at 26 games played, with Team LEISURE and SJ Gaming being the exceptions. No spot in the standings is set in stone, but a number of teams have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs at this point. With certainty we can state that a postseason among the top eight will take a minimum of 31 points, meaning that SAWO ESPORTS, YMCA Esports, Gotham Knights, SJ Gaming and KOVA Esports are still within striking range but the leash is extremely short at least for SAWO, who will have to win every game while Northern Ascendancy and Roots will have to draw blanks for the rest of the week - and even then it's up to tie-breakers. The battle at the bottom of the standings is raging tough as no one will want to be left dead last facing direct relegation. Currently in 16th place is Dark Horse, who are in for a tough last week with games against KOVA Esports and hREDS remaining, so a near perfect performance will be needed in order to get our of the trouble they've put themselves in. When it comes to scoring points, it seems like no one does it better this season than Cover gamer Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha and rightfully so. The HAVU winger has been a consistent performer throughout his career at the top level but is actually on pace to break his ECL Elite scoring personal best of 73 points this season. The two most prevalent goal scorers can be found on @FlyerKungen's line, which of course has contributed to his totals and the entire HAVU trio with Risto @Dominointi Järvi and @Hansulinho added to the mix seems to be as ready as ever for the postseason. The only player outside of your current top three teams making his way into the top 10 scorers is André @Foppatofflan Liljegren from Roots, who fits the color scheme but has also played an incredible season after taking a short stint outside the Elite division with Djurgarden Hockey back in ECL 10. Take a look at the scoring leaders for defensemen and you might think we've made a mistake but no, Väinö @vSilenttio Pietilä brings glory to his dear Roots Gaming by being close to surpassing his personal best performance at the ECL Elite level (31 points back in ECL 4 Elite with SIKA) while being in a position to see postseason action with this team for the third consecutive season already. It seems like he has been teasing calling it quits for an extended time already and would be going out on a high note after an individual performance like this, but you surely can't quit now, can you!? Goaltenders - who knows anything about those? I for sure don't but as already stated, @ICappeI is out here setting records and looking good doing so. However, outside of the top 10 winningest goaltenders this season, we find Juuso @Juizki Nikkinen, who's a part of a struggling SAWO Esports but definitely helped his team out last week. The solid netminder shut out the opposition in three straight contests, keeping his own net untouched for a total duration of 249 minutes and 17 seconds, which might be some kind of record at this level if someone would be keeping track. In general, @Juizki has put forth a solid effort all season long, but his team has faced their fair share of adversity and are highly doubtful to make postseason in any other form than a relegation battle. Power Rankings The power rankings reflect games played between 11.1 and 17.1. Making a return this season will be the Elite: Power Rankings, provided by @MartindalexC. As always, the rankings are generated by weighting a team's results with the level of opposition that was faced, i.e. a team that went 4-0-0 against teams at the very bottom of Elite may very well be ranked below a team that went 0-4-0 against Elite's very finest. Without further ado though, let's have a look at how teams fared over the fifth week of ECL 11 Elite: 1. HAVU Gaming (6-0-0) [+1] 2. FILADELPHIA (4-0-0) [-1] 3. Färjestad BK (3-1-0) [=] 4. JYP Jyvaskyla (5-1-0) [+3] 5. SAWO Esports (5-1-0) [+11] 6. Roots Gaming (2-2-0) [-2] 7. hREDS (3-0-1) [-1] 8. Vesa Pompa (1-2-1) [+1] 9. Northern Ascendancy (2-3-1) [-4] 10. SJ Gaming (2-1-1) [+2] 11. KOVA Esports (1-4-1) [-3] 12. YMCA Esports (2-2-2) [+1] 13. Gotham Knights (2-4-0) [-2] 14. Team Leisure (0-4-0) [=] 15. Dark Horse (1-5-0) [-5] 16. Conquer Gaming (1-3-0) [-1]

NHLGamers, The first round of the playoffs is now behind and now we know the quarterfinalists of ECL 11 Pro. The best eight teams of the season are now one step closer to the semifinals and their place in the Elite relegation series. Like in the previous seasons, the winner of the competition will automatically get the spot in ECL 12 Elite and other semifinalists will have their shot in the relegation series against bottom Elite teams. However it’s certain that none of the teams in the competition is thinking only about the relegation series as everyone has an equal chance to win the title and have their names written in the history books. The first round of the playoffs in general went pretty much as expected. Teams that were clear favorites to win had no big problems beating their opponents and the series that were expected to be tight until the final games didn’t disappoint us either. Many new teams and players were able to experience the Pro playoffs for the first time and I bet those players can’t wait to do it again and go even further next time. Here is the full schedule for the ECL 11 Pro Playoffs: Now it’s time to focus on the remaining teams of the competition. All of these eight teams have deserved their place in the quarterfinals and from now on it’s going to be almost impossible to predict the favorites or the winners of the series. Nevertheless we decided to try our best. (1) GOONS vs RCTIC (12) GOONS had no mercy for Sack Brothers in the first round of the playoffs as their series ended 4-0 and GOONS scored 26 goals in four games. Sack Brothers decided bravely to head to the series with an attacking mindset, which turned out to be very costly for them. GOONS punished the opponents from every mistake and when there was too much space given for them in the offensive zone, the puck usually found its way to the back of the net. The first playoff round was a really complete display from the team as the whole season has been so far. This time Sack Brothers wasn’t able to put the team to a real test and GOONS must avoid getting too comfortable with the current situation as they will face a really different kind of opponent in the next round. RCTIC was able to beat Inter Iceland in the first playoff round with the series score 2-4. RCTIC did a really good job forcing their opponents out of their comfort zone as Inter Iceland couldn’t play their really direct, attacking and fast phased style of hockey. The same mentality must continue in the next round as well, as their next challengers are currently the best team in the league. One of the biggest strengths of RCTIC is their ability to adapt to the way their opponents play. Finding the right balance between attack and defense was enough against Inter Iceland, this time a defense first mentality will most likely be their key to success. The quality in the RCTIC roster is definitely enough to challenge GOONS, so they won't have to think about going full turtle mode for this series. Key points to follow: Familiar enemies: These teams have already faced each other in the regular season and GOONS were able to win both games in regulation time (2-1, 1-4). There wasn’t that big of a difference between the two teams and I'm pretty sure both teams have processed what they could have done better back then. The team that has done their homework better, will have an advantage heading into the series. Theme of the series: We’re yet to see RCTIC playing with the same defensive mentality that led them to success last year in the FCL. It’ll be interesting to see how much RCTIC will sacrifice from their offense to keep their own end safe and how this will affect GOONS' playing since getting into the zone has been relatively easy for them so far. Every mistake counts: GOONS were merciless against Sack Brothers in every mistake they made. Although RCTIC isn’t known for making lots of mistakes, even they have to concentrate with extra care not to give any leeway for their opponent. The same goes both ways especially if RCTIC manages to shut down the blue line like they are able to do at their best, every single missed pass or giveaway can become very costly for GOONS. Prediction: GOONS haven’t shown any real weaknesses yet, but I believe that RCTIC is a team that could expose some. GOONS will start the series strong but the further the series go on, the more RCTIC will figure out their opponents tricks. We could see a surprisingly even series but in the end the quality of the GOONS roster and the confidence in their playing will take them to the next round with the score 4-3. (2) Tunnel Vision vs Rookie Mistakes (10) Tunnel Vision did what was expected from them as the team advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 4-2 score against Nordic Stars. However it didn’t come easily for them as Nordic Stars proved to be very worthy opponents and were really close to taking the series to game seven. Small things that differentiate good teams from excellent were the difference makers in this series and led the right team to the next round. I could believe that despite the victory, Tunnel Vision isn’t completely happy with their display in the first round. This could actually serve them well as there won’t be a danger that the team would get too confident which can sometimes lead to underestimating the opponents or certain aspects of the game. Despite the fact that the first round didn’t go as smoothly as the team would have hoped, I still see Tunnel Vision as one of the strongest candidates for the cup this season. Rookie Mistakes played a really good series against Herlev Eagles. Despite the underdog status Rookie Mistakes was able to win the series 2-4 and advance to the next round. Herlev Eagles was having a great season in the attacking zone, but Rookie Mistakes didn’t have to change much of their usual way of playing to overcome their opponents. At times their opponent held control of the games but Rookie Mistakes didn’t panic and the team was able to score when it was needed the most. The first round was definitely promising from Rookie Mistakes and their next opponents have a really similar style of playing the game as Herlev Eagles did. If the team can keep their confidence and continue in the same form as so far, they will have a real shot against one of the favorites in the competition. Key points to follow: Artists on ice: There is an enormous amount of individual talent on the ice when these two teams meet. We will see plenty of brave 1v1 challenges and clever passes from every player. Especially the defensemen will play a major role in this series as they don’t want these guys slipping out of their hands and alone against the goalie because the puck will be in the net with a very high likelihood. Old friends: Tunnel Vision defender @tombo_02 and Rookie Mistakes defender @Patsberg_ will face their old teams from ECL 10 Pro in this series. This kind of situation will always add an extra spice to the mix. Both sides want to prove that they made the right decision leaving the club and of course both players can inform their own teams of the weaknesses and strengths of their opponents. Withstanding pressure: Tunnel Vision is expected to be the stronger of the two sides. After a convincing victory against Herlev Eagles, Rookie Mistakes have proven that they have what it takes to challenge every team remaining in the tournament and even challenge for the cup at the end. Pressure has always two sides to it, you can suffer from it or you can benefit from it. I believe the pressure could actually help Tunnel Vision with focusing on the game and to play more as a team which will give them an advantage in series like this. Prediction: You could say that the first playoff round worked out as a minor wake up call for Tunnel Vision and they will be more prepared to face their opponents this time. Rookie Mistakes have done an excellent job this far but now they will face an obstacle that is too big to overcome. Tunnel Vision will thrive under pressure and advance to the next round with the score 4-2. (4) Djurgarden Hockey vs ZSC Esports (8) Djurgarden Hockey won against Blackdawgs in the first round of the playoffs with the score being 4-2. The start of the series was really tight and there were short periods where Blackdawgs had clear control of the game. However, Djurgarden Hockey took the lead in the the series and kept it all the way to the end with a confident performance. As predicted, Djurgarden Hockey didn’t have to change a thing in their playing from the regular season as the team is already playing with a style that will serve them well in the playoffs. This time they will face a team with a more structured and disciplined playing style than in the first round and it’s going to be a really different kind of challenge ahead. The first games of the series will show us how well their system is working, but I would say that they don’t need to make any changes to their current way of playing the game. ZSC Esports did an excellent job beating Pata Hellalla by 4-2. Especially in the last games of the series Pata Hellalla was unable to make important blocks on the shots of ZSC Esports defenders who scored several goals from the blueline. In general, the series were really tight and almost every game of the series ended with a one goal margin. ZSC Esports kept the puck possession for the majority of the series and I believe they will do the same in the next series as well. The team must feel happy as they were finally able to advance through the first playoff round and it will also serve as a massive confidence boost for the whole squad. In the next round ZSC Esports has to be prepared to work even harder as they will face one of the best defensive teams in the league. Key points to follow: Trap hockey galore: Both of these teams trust their disciplined team playing where all five skaters are involved when the team is attacking or defending. Getting into the offensive zone will be really difficult since both of these teams are excellent in blocking the blueline. That’s why I believe that the team that will figure out how to clear the trap better will win the series. We could very well see more dump and chase action in this series than in the whole season so far. Powerplay: As the margins are already really small between these two teams, powerplay will become a really important factor. Djurgarden Hockey had an excellent powerplay in the regular season which continued in the first round of the playoffs as well. ZSC Esports took quite a lot of penalties in the regular season so they can’t continue the same trend against Djurgarden Hockey if they want to win. The same goes both ways of course especially now when the ZSC Esports defenders have found the perfect aim for their shots. Faceoffs: It’s as simple as that, every faceoff will be important in a series that is not expected to have many goals scored in any of the games. Everyone knows how easy it’s to score from a faceoff set play if your opponents aren’t prepared for it. Every player needs to know their role and the centerman needs to make the right decision at the right time, so the eyes will be laid especially on @LordStanley46_ and @Original-SnuS. Prediction: I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the games would go to overtime in this series. These teams are really equally balanced and their strengths are very similar. I believe that experience will become the difference maker and that’s why ZSC Esports will take the series home with a game seven overtime goal and win the series 3-4. (6) Enigma vs Vaxjo Lakers (7) Enigma took a convincing 4-0 series win over Company of Geeks and kept their excellent playoff form running. It was a pretty similar story compared to the series between GOONS and Sack Brothers where the winner of the series was better in every part of the game. In the second round of the playoffs Enigma is facing one of the hottest teams at the moment and they have to be well prepared for the new challenge. However the ECL 10 Pro runner-ups know what it takes to win in the playoffs and they have clearly reached their top form now when it’s needed the most. The team did an excellent job against Company of Geeks in shutting down their attacks at the blueline and were able to score with terrifying efficiency when they were given access to the high percentage shooting areas. Vaxjo Lakers are in flames. They were able to beat Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa in the first round of the playoffs with a score of 4-1 and on my paper they are now among one of the biggest favorites to win the cup this season. The way these guys can find their linemates stick at the near post is absolutely amazing and their goalkeeper @MrAllsvenskan is having a tremendous season so far. Enigma needs to take extra care of tending to the passing lanes when Vaxjo Lakers are in the offensive zone or the puck will be in the net in the blink of an eye. After beating a team such as Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa that is known for strong defensive play, it’s interesting to see how well they will do against Enigma who aren’t so defensively oriented. However, Enigma is also having an excellent form and they will surely give Vaxjo Lakers a run for their money. Key points to follow: Maximum attack: Neither of these teams want to give the puck possession to their opponents and go full defensive mode. We should see a pretty open game with lots of scoring opportunities and beautiful goals. Both teams have excellent finishers in their lineup so it will be a busy series for both of the goalies. Also defenders will play a key role for their teams as they have to put full focus into marking in their own zone to help the work of the goalies. Powerplay: Vaxjo Lakers is currently the best powerplay team in the league. Enigma had a pretty low powerplay percentage in the regular season but they were able to score five powerplay goals in four games in the first round of the playoffs. If you’ve seen Vaxjo Lakers' powerplay you know that it’s close to perfection so Enigma will have to stay away from the penalty box and also keep the current form of their own powerplay. Hunger: In ECL 10 Pro, Enigma was really close to winning the finals against Black Horse and very close to beating Gotham Knights in the Elite relegation series but they were left without a reward. This time they are determined to do better and prove everyone they deserve the spot in Elite. On the other side of the table Vaxjo Lakers are hungry to avenge their loss against Enigma in the ECL 10 Pro quarterfinals so there is a lot of pride at stake in this series. Prediction: I believe that this series will be very entertaining to watch but frustrating to play in. Both of these teams can create scoring chances out of nothing so the focus has to be 100% in the game and on marking your man. I will take a risk and bet against the odds in this one. Vaxjo Lakers will be the stronger of the two sides and advance to the semifinals with the score 3-4. The stakes are getting higher after every round of the playoffs and winning in the quarterfinals will be yet another milestone in reaching the dream of playing in the Elite division. The games will be incredibly intense and great entertainment for us viewers. Play hard and fair, remember to respect your opponents and don’t forget to enjoy the games. There are many players in this community that are dreaming of playing in the ECL Pro quarterfinals so remember to cherish the moment. May the best team win!

NHLGamers, The ECL 11 Lite season has progressed to the quarterfinal stage and the stakes are higher than ever. There are four tremendously exciting matchups to be played and all of these teams are hungry for the chance to compete for possible promotion spots. the eight best teams are left to battle it out in best-of-seven series. Last round, several predictions failed but the most fascinating thing is that in a top tier league like the ECL, there are so many great players and teams that you can see many good teams losing despite a great campaign simply because their opponents are even better or just happen to have a great day. However, the lightning rarely strikes the same target twice so I won't necessarily flip the table entirely by predicting some of the phenomenons of the season ending in this round. Here is the full playoff schedule for ECL 11 Lite: (1) Bjorkloven Esport vs Oton Letkutemppu (51) Oton Letkutemppu is no noubt one of the phenomenons of the ECL 11 Lite season. Last round, they knocked out 2nd seed ECDC Memmingen Esports so reaching this far is by no means an accident and there could be more to come. Bjorkloven Esports has been a dominant team so far and eliminated another surprise team - the Golden Nights - in quite impressive fashion. Oton Letkutemppu is now in for their biggest challenge yet but has all the means to continue their success story in these playoffs. Bjorkloven Esports is the favorite but like we have already seen, just about anything can happen in these games. Prediction: Oton Letkutemppu has played their best so far but this time the challenge is likely to be a little too tough and this teams quite phenomenal playoff journey is likely to end. Bjorkloven Esports faces a great team in the series but advances with the score 4-2. (6) Ringette HC vs Hotbox (42) Similar to the cases of Oton Letkutemppu and Golden Nights this season, Hotbox has managed to pave their way into the top eight against all odd and are running an outstanding playoff campaign. Ringette HC is, however, their biggest challenge so far with a bunch of individual skill and the ability to move the puck quicker than most teams in the division. Hotbox must maintain their current level and boost it just a little bit. Maintaining the level might not be the problem, but boosting it enough to beat Ringette HC four times in this series looks like it could be too much even for this team. Prediction: Hotbox puts forth great opposition but Ringette HC ends this campaign convincingly 4-1. (8) Exerceo vs BoxinElite (24) In this series an underdog playing at the limits of their potential faces a marginally but probably decisively stronger opponent. BoxinElite is also one of the highlights of this season and I greatly underestimated their potential in the last round against Lekstugan HC. Exerceo on the other hand is a slight favorite in this matchup but there is no reason that BoxinElite couldn't cause an upset and after reaching this far it is probably not too surprising anymore. This time, BoxinElite will not go underestimated and will at the very least go down swinging. Prediction: BoxinElite beat favorite Lekstugan HC last round and might do that again. However, Exerceo knows that and sure are more ready than Lekstugan HC for what's to come. Exerceo disrupts BoxinElites run this time by winning 4-2. (18) Sjukstugan vs Grenoble BDL Esport (22) Grenoble BDL Esports eliminated Sinister in an exciting seven game series. Sjukstugan eliminated Old Farts quite unexpectedly in four straight games. They have the advantage of being able to prepare for longer but Grenoble BDL Esports sure have a massive boost from their recent game seven victory and they also must have a high confidence after defeating a strong Sinister team. I would not be surprised if we end up fighting our way to a game seven again in this series and Sjukstugan will definitely be the biggest test for Grenoble so far. Sjukstugan is their biggest test so far. This is arguably the series to watch this round. Prediction: Game seven needed. Grenoble BDL Esports has the strength to battle through the series but Sjukstugan is too strong. Sjukstugan advances 4-3. As always, play hard - have fun!

NHLGamers, Tonight we'll be in for a great treat in the form of virtual hockey action from the Russian scene, as the RCL 7 Pro finals will be played in full and broadcasted at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer. Our Russian leagues have taken some massive development steps in recent seasons and with that the 7th iteration is also featuring a prize pool of 100 000 RUB. The RCL 7 Pro division included a total of 12 teams at the start and at this point of the season - as customary - only two remain. Seed #1 and defending champion NOVA are in the position to become the second ever team to secure back to back championships after Rusty Bulls managed to do so back in season 2 and 3. Opposing them will be #3 seed Show Time, who managed to overpower ECH Traktor Chelyabinsk in the semifinals. An outcome of the series is next to impossible to predict, as these two squads are extremely tightly matched. Their regular season clashes resulted in split points, as NOVA won the first game 3-2, whereafter Show Time secured points of their own with a 2-0 victory. (1) NOVA vs Show Time (3) PLAYOFF RECORD 4-0 (Rusty Bulls), 4-2 (Alliance HT) vs 4-2 (Nearbird Fighters), 4-2 (EHC Traktor Chelyabinsk) TOP SCORER Evgeny @Virusactive Popov (10+12=22) vs Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala (19+16=35) GOALTENDER Aleksey @Алексей Zvezdin (6 W, 80,56 SV%, 1.75 GAA, 1 SO) vs Andrey @Hrenoslon Savchenko (8W, 81,93 SV%, 2.6 GAA, 0 SO) See you in the chat tonight! Who do you think will win?