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NHLGamers, The regular season of ECL 12 Pro is finished and now crunch time begins! The race for the playoff spots and battles in the relegation zone were as tight as ever before. We have seen some surprises as well as favorites defending the top spots in their groups. In the following preview we want to take a closer look at the upcoming eight matchups in the first round. It is extremely hard to predict which teams will advance but we will give you our best try. We also appreciate your opinion: Which of these 16 teams will be able to pave their way into ECL Elite? Be sure to post your predictions in the comment section! (1) HV71 – Inter Iceland (8) With an important 4-2 victory over Rookie Mistakes on the last gameday, German side Inter Iceland managed to secure the last playoff spot in Group 2. The squad around goalie @PLA77NER(Hasek-39--) was not able to repeat their stunning regular season from ECL 11 Pro where they managed to secure a strong rank 2 behind Tunnel Vision but found an early exit in playoff round 1 against RCTIC (2-4). Forward @Stefan_397 once again leads the team in terms of scoring and will be one of their most decisive factors during this budding playoff run. On the flipside we find the Swedish side of HV71 who won Group 1 with a strong record of 22-8-0. The club from Jönköping manages to qualify for their first postseason on Pro level and will be one of the top contenders if they are able to continue their form. One of the best offenses combined with the third best defense in the whole league will be a tough nut to crack. While HV71 was the only team in the whole league to not lose a single match in overtime, Inter Iceland fell short four times. Keeping their calmness and staying cool in the right moments will be one of the most decisive factors in a tight series. Both goalies can play an important role. While Hasek-39-- is surely one of the most experienced goalies in the community, @Tiipponenii(coffelainen) finds himself among the top goalies in ECL 12 Pro and records 8 shutouts - the most of any goalie during the regular season. The offense around captain @Demski13has found the right balance between playmaking and goal scoring abilities. While Elite experienced @Rubituss finds himself on rank 3 with 64 points, while his winger partner @Zupancic_King424 (Zuppe_29) contributed with 24 goals for his team. It is worth mentioning that 11 out of his 24 goals were GWGs! While HV71's dominant playing style could suit Inter Iceland’s dangerous counter attacks it will be hard to beat the squad in blue and yellow. @Keuschemisch’s prediction: HV71 4-2 @Mikka's prediction: HV71 4-0 (2) BoxinElite – SPARTIATES X MCES (7) The promoted squad from BoxinElite managed to play a stunning regular season and finished on a more than convincing rank 2. They only fell one point short to group winners HV71 due to losing one game in OT against Sinister. Team captain @xleksa35leads by example. Being one of the top scorers in ECL 11 Lite the, right winger showed his individual class once again - 68 points in 30 games makes him the second best scorer in the league. SPARTIATES X MCES had a tough start to the season. With only two wins out of their first 13 games the French side was surely not paving their way to a possible playoff appearance but had an amazing second half of the season. Winning 13 out of their last 15 games secured them rank 7 and their first postseason in their first season at the Pro level. The French are the third team from the central server to qualify for the playoffs beside Team LEISURE and Inter Iceland from Germany. The Finnish BoxinElite is in clear favour of winning this series. Having one of the strongest offenses as well as a solid defense the stage is set for a long playoff run. While special teams could always make a difference – especially in a tight playoff series – both teams are lacking in efficiency while being on the powerplay. BoxinElite had the best penalty kill in their group (94,44%) and will be very hard to break down even while being one man short. It will be interesting to see if SPARTIATES X MCES are able to maintain their strong form and continue their five game winning streak. The winger duo of @Winciand @Adri1_SCP needs to produce and convert any chance given into a goal. High efficiency will be the most important factor. Will the French side be able to perform in the underdog role? @Keuschemisch’s prediction: BoxinElite 4-1 @Mikka's prediction: BoxinElite 4-1 (3) Djurgarden Hockey – Hotbox (6) The team from Sweden's capital found themselves among the top teams of Group 1 for the whole season. With a record of 18-7-5 Djurgarden Hockey secured rank 3 and home ice advantage in the first round. The Swedish side added @Strumpan87 from SSK Esports to their roster who immediately became their top scorer and contributed with 57 points in 30 games. While Danish Winger @Birkedal96 left the team after 6 games to ZSC Esports in ECL Elite, @amadee21 started every game on the right wing and found himself on a strong scoring streak. Lower seeded Hotbox started with a 5 game losing streak into this ECL 12 campaign. After getting acclimated to the Pro level, the Finnish squad started to collect their first points and especially being superior in winning tight matches by only one goal. Captain @Frans-Fin, who played every game in the regular season is also the teams best scorer with 44 points in 28 games followed by his winger colleague @James(Jamechkin) who contributed 35 points to the teams success. While Hotbox records the league's best powerplay with 34,21%, Djurgarden Hockey records the league's best defense by only conceding 45 goals in 30 games. Like in every series, special teams may be a decisive reason to win or lose games. It will be interesting to see if the Swedish side manages to stay away from the penalty box or if Hotbox will be able to break down Djurgardens solid defense. While the Finnish outfit of Hotbox is quite new to ECL Pro playoffs territory, the Swedish squad is well experienced on that ground. Finishing on rank 2 last season and beating Blackdawgs (4-2) in round 1 but falling short to later promoted ZSC Esports (0-4) the squad around captain @Jungledonk will be keen on taking the next step. Right according to the mantra: Offense wins games but defense wins championships? @Keuschemisch’s prediction: Djurgarden Hockey 4-1 @Mikka's prediction: Djurgarden Hockey 4-2 (4) Kiekko-Espoo Esports – Dynastia (5) Will it be one of the tightest series in this year's first round? Kiekko-Espoo Esports find themselves on rank 4 while recording 18 wins and being one point ahead of VISU Gaming. After falling short of a playoff qualification in ECL 11 by only 2 points, the Finnish outfit around captain @Hazard-laser is set to take the next step in the postseason. After bringing in @Frilander to strengthen the defensive force beside @Raikkoneeh, Kiekko-Espoo seemed to have found their starting six that we can also expect to play in this series. Dynastia fought their way through the Pro Qualification tournament right into their first postseason appearance on Pro level. Right from the start, Dynastia was able to collect points. The only team the freshly promoted side was not able to get points from was Hotbox who eventually finished one rank behind them in their group. Captain @Majuri20 (Diktaattori62) and winger @Vilze (Vilze92) are leading their team in points. Strong performances will be needed to beat Kiekko-Espoo in the first round. With 64 goals in 30 games, Kiekko-Espoo is the weakest offensive team of the top 8 in Group 1. On the other hand they record a strong defense by conceding only 1,93 goals per game. With their starting goalie @jg697000(Gresu__) reportedly being absent in the first round it will be interesting to see if backup @sMiika will be able to follow in his footsteps and carry the team to the second round. While Dynastia is one of three teams who managed to secure a spot for the playoffs with a negative goal difference it will be exciting to see how the offensive and defensive abilities of both teams will develop in this series. If Kiekko-Espoo maintains their calmness, they should be able to make use of their efficiency. @Timez(Timoccio), @Mikka and Hazard-laser played all 30 regular season games and scored many powerplay goals which could give them the edge over Dynastia. @Keuschemisch’s prediction: 4-2 Kiekko-Espoo Esports @Mikka's prediction: Mikka plays for Kiekko-Espoo Esports and stays neutral (1) Conquer Gaming - Bjorkloven Esport (8) Bjorkloven ended up staying above the playoff line after some walkover drama made sure to keep Sinister below them, but it does not in any way mean that they would not be worthy of playoff hockey. That being said though, the tight knit Conquer Gaming is the strong favorite here after steadily plowing through a Group 2 where it felt like almost every single team got into either losing or winning streaks of eight plus games. A testament to their consistency, Conquer had the best goal differential in the whole Pro division by a wide margin: a whopping +49 compared to the next-best +34 of Sulkavan Sudet and Djurgarden Hockey. Their leading offensive force centerman @Jertsicc was on fire too, finishing with a division leading 26+46=72 points in 28 games. At the other end, netminder @Jeresti (28 GP, 82.94%, 1.54 GAA, 2 SO) finished with the best save percentage amongst goalies who played the majority of games. While Conquer ended up as the second best in both most goals scored and the fewest conceded, Bjorkloven did not really shine in any stat category. Bjorkloven’s roster also had more variation, with seven skaters seeing playing time and only @Janzuh and @vVoDee featuring in every game, meanwhile Conquer played the whole regular season with the same starting six. Conquer should be able to keep their train back to Elite steadily on the tracks, but the ECL 11 Lite champions could cause the well oiled machine some problems by starting on the right foot from the get go, with the help of their high level names like @EDHOLMINHO and Janzuh stepping up and carrying them through. Out of all playoff teams they were the most penalized one in the regular season, so they will need to stay out of the box too if they want to have a chance to cause an upset. @Mikka's prediction: Conquer Gaming 4-1 @Keuschemisch’s prediction: Conquer Gaming 4-0 (2) Sulkavan Sudet - Team LEISURE (7) Another tight-knit former Elite roster, Team LEISURE have not had an amazing fairytale campaign back to the top this far this season. They struggled in the beginning to find their footing in the tighter Group 1, falling to a nine game losing streak after winning their three first, but have seemed to finally find it with 10 wins in their last 12, many of them with wide margins. Compared to the German outfit’s lackluster start resulting in them barely making the playoffs, Sulkavan Sudet on the other hand have been a positive surprise by managing to snatch the #2 seed from Group 2. The division’s top scoring squad (98 goals for) ended their regular season on a high note too, with winning streaks of four and eight games in their last 14. Their last opponents consisted of mainly the group’s bottom teams though, meanwhile Team LEISURE’s schedule had a bit of a wider mix of both bottom and playoff bubble opponents. This could be one of the more interesting matchups in the first round, with Sulkavan Sudet always having been an offensive minded, strong counter attacking squad that now are facing the highly experienced Team LEISURE, who have traditionally been known for their strong defense and team play. That is not to say that they cannot score though, as they ended up scoring the second most goals in Group 1, with their tally of 88 falling just one shy of the well known offensive dynamo BoxinElite’s 89. They got a lot of help on that front from their back end, with @Franky__2768 (6+28=34) and @xXPsykoSkillsXx (5+29=34) finishing as the number one and two in points among all defensemen in the division. Now that the Germans seem to have finally found their stride, I do not see many reasons why they would not be able to upset the much higher seeded Sudet. LEISURE’s playing style seems like it will match well against them as long as they keep an eye out for the Finns’ counter attacks. They have only made a six-game playoff appearance during their two prior Pro seasons, meanwhile Team LEISURE has always been a playoff performer and got some more experience from tighter games in the lower scoring Group 1. Even though Sulkavan Sudet racked up the most goals in Pro, they also let in a lot and that is why in my eyes Team Leisure have the advantage despite their low seed. @Mikka's prediction: 1-4 Team LEISURE @Keuschemisch’s prediction: 1-4 Team LEISURE (3) Patience - Blackdawgs (6) At around the midseason mark, Patience had some kind of internal falling out with their clear starter and only listed goalie, @PCJP(Pelkoneen), and he has not played a game for them since. After that the post between the pipes has been shared by ECL rookie @SirRaittinen and ECL 1 original @Miska (Zundeh), who has a few seasons worth of games under his belt at that position. The former seems to have been performing better though and looks slated to be the starting netminder come playoff time, with the latter most likely taking the center spot and @Karkkyjaa moving to SirRaittinen’s prior LW spot. Patience’s results have taken a bit of a dip after the goaltending change, but we will see if the uncertainty is now behind as they get ready to take on Blackdawgs. As expected prior to the season, the mostly Russian outfit was led by the clear internal top scorer @Valluxet with 27+26=53, 15 more points than their next best @Tiltsson. Other than that, they did not cause major feelings in any way, ending up with streaky results both ways. Every time they lost a game after a win, they also lost at least the next one. As in, all of their losses were part of at least a two game losing streak. The same kind of trend can be observed with their wins too, with only one of them being neither followed or preceded by another one. Expect this series to be a tight battle that can be won by either team that ends up having the hot streak during next week. Can Patience smother the guy on whose shoulders the Blackdawgs' offense lies on, or can Valluxet execute his scoring prowess and take advantage of the opponent’s goaltender situation? @Mikka's prediction: Patience 4-3 @Keuschemisch’s prediction: Blackdawgs 3-4 (4) Pata Hellalla - VISU Gaming (5) Last but definitely not least, Pata Hellalla and VISU Gaming are going to be facing off against each other. VISU looked very strong to start the season with only two losses in their first 16 games, but then something happened and what at the time looked like an easy ride to the top seed changed to a nine game losing streak. They managed to somewhat gather their form back when it started to look like they could even fall out of the playoffs, dropping only three points in their last five with a record of 3-1-1. In their second last regular season game, the former ECL 11 Lite runner ups got a huge confidence boost from a 6-2 win over BoxinElite that also kept the fellow Pro rookies from overtaking HV71 as the Group 1 number one seed. Similarly to VISU Gaming, Pata Hellalla had a very strong start too with 11 wins in a row, and after a one goal loss to Inter Iceland they once again got three wins in a row. After that though, in the remaining 13 games they only managed to gain a total of three wins, two of which in overtime, and one overtime loss along with seven of them in regulation, on top of the two walkover losses handed to them against Patience over their last matchup. This series is a battle of two teams with plenty of experienced players, which is once again going to be decided through who has the best form coming into the matchup. Although both outfits started out looking like their respective groups’ number one squads, VISU seems to have the slightly better form right now, giving them the edge over Pata Hellalla. Even then, this series is a toss up and could really go either way so do not be surprised about how it ends, unless it is a clear 4-0 sweep for either one. @Mikka's prediction: 3-4 VISU Gaming @Keuschemisch’s prediction: 2-4 VISU Gaming

NHLGamers, We are heading for the ECL Core Quarterfinals! Round 3 gave us some thrillers (For example Tadpole’s comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to 3-4 series win) and some marathon games like Arkham Asylum’s game 5 against BonusAmbers which took over 126 minutes to decide the winner. Now there are only eight teams left to battle and the stakes are high for this round as each winner will punch their ticket to ECL 13 Lite. The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, June 29th and Sunday, July 4th. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: Here are your matchups for the Quarterfinals: (1) STARGAZING vs Tadpole (27) Stargazing continues being the favorite to advance to the semifinals from this matchup. Even though Tadpole made a huge statement in round 3 where they managed to make a big comeback, the difference between these teams is far too big. The biggest factors are going to be in the net, as the Tadpole goalie @Zuominen (Zumppi_) hasn't had the easiest playoffs so far. A big reason for this is also the difficulties Tadpole has had to defend as a five man unit from time to time. Tadpole needs to step up defensively to hold the scoring chances at minimum for Stargazing if they are to pose a threat for the #1 seed. Stargazing swept their opponent Mora IK in round 3, and I can't see a reason why they wouldn't continue on that path. Prediction: 4-0 Stargazing Players to watch: 1: @ose16 (OSE1688) (SGZ) 2: @Esko-etikka (SGZ) 3: @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) (TAD) (2) Stone Age vs Team Rocket (25) Even though Stone Age took a 4-1 win against hc marko, it felt a little bit odd to see their games. It seemed like their feel for the game was gone the whole series and they just showed up, somehow making that enough to advance. hc marko took four out of five games to OT and I think in two of those games Stone Age came back from being down in the last minutes. Hopefully we see the old Stone Age in the Quarterfinals! This series will be the battle of the goalies. Team Rocket is a pretty welcome surprise with their 1-4 series win over Lemmenvelhot, and will be a big challenger for Stone Age in my books. Team Rocket has a balanced team in front of @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga), and that will be a big factor in this series. Prediction: 3-4 Team Rocket Players to watch: 1: @Lyynas / @Dick Weener (Ewokvillage) (AGE) 2: @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga) (TR) (3) Pasilan SKA vs Resurrection (16) Written by @jahajaha93 Both of these teams are on convincing playoff runs without too many hickups on their road so far, but this will be the end for one of these stories this season. Pasilan SKA is entering the series following a comfortable sweep against Virtuoso, who could not match the scoring power that SKA and mainly @hene kettu (juuhen25) combined with @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) has displayed so far. Now, Resurrection who are on a similar run and also very easily trampled Its a nice city in round 3 will aim to stop SKA. Resurrection has a wide array of weapons in their arsenal, mainly the two-headed monster @tkantola & @Xkeineri up front, but also strong backup like @Teemu97. It'll be an exciting clash, and both goalies will have their hands full in order to stop scoring explosions from happening. Players to watch: 1: @hene kettu (juuhen25) (SKA) 2: @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) (SKA) 3: @tkantola (RES) Prediction: 4-3 Pasilan SKA (8) Arkham Asylum vs Tohtorit (9) This series is interesting. Arkham, who were the #1 team in group 8 against Tohtorit, who were the #2 team in group 7. I wouldn’t be surprised if we will see a game 7 in this matchup. Tohtorit managed to squeak by Jokers Hockey in round 3 in a thrilling series thet extended to seven games. Tohtorit managed to win the decisive bout with a goal in OT to advance with a 1-0 win. If Tohtorit could find the same gear that they had in the regular season, this series would be a walk in the park, but lately they have had some troubles on the horizon. Perhaps Arkhams playstyle will be a more suitable match for them? Arkham took a solid 4-1 series win over BonusAmbers, but they had some difficulties in their game. It’s rare to go 126 minutes in a n ECL playoff game, but they did just that - finally winning the decisive match by an own goal to put them in the quarterfinals. Scoring should be improved! Prediction: 3-4 Tohtorit Players to watch: 1: @Ojala16 (THT) 2: @Hj_projekti (ARK) 3: @TheSpeedo (ARK)

The fifth week of ECL Elite action brought some interesting matchups and equally interesting results. Some squads managed to pet their stats, while others managed to find their way into an even deeper hole than before. As we're heading into the last few gamedays of the regular season, every point is crucial and truly anything could still transpire at the finish line. Monday's broadcast was already an exciting one as last seasons ECL Pro teams GOONS and Tunnel Vision clashed to the beautifully sounding voices of your favorite casters Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson. GOONS have already been a heavily debated team so far, proving great performances despite their inexperience but also due to the mystery surrounding their logo artwork - NHLGamer has taken an official stance on it being a badger, but the organization has not commented on the heated debate yet. Tunnel Vision, on the other hand, have not fared as well, finding themselves in danger of relegation. Up until Sunday, the team found themselves in 15th place with a mere six wins - one of them against GOONS in their rivalry clash. A notable absence in the top four this season has been JYP Jyvaskyla, who have lacked the consistent and effective play they have been known for, and now find themselves out of the playoffs in need of some help to even get back in. Unfortunately last week did not help their case with only one win out of their four total in matchups against POGGERS and FILADELPHIA. Today, JYP sits in 10th place with the possibility to reach 7th if everything should fain for POGGERS, IQUE and SAWO ESPORTS ahead of them - a playoff berth does look unlikely. Most teams have already solidified their approximate spots in the standings at this point, but it is till very tight around the relegation zone and all squads are surely going all out to avoid having to go into those gruelling battles against the cream of the crop in the Pro division. To end last week, we had seven teams within a four point margin on places 9-15, and by now it seems like only SAWO ESPORTS might have clawed their way into safety. Keep an eye out for these fights in the very last rounds! Interestingly enough, FILA and hREDS have been barking at each other a bit on social media in regards to the scoring stats department. Right now we're looking at a triple lead in quite dominant fashion for the big, bad reds as Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen have really heated up as the playoffs are closing in. hREDS is by a decent margin the highest scoring team in the league and the average of 4 goals for per game should push them to at least another finals appearance in the playoffs too, should they be able to keep that going. Defensively, FBK star Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann continues to shine, as he has been throughout the duration of the season. He does have backup in the form of Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt and together they make for possibly the best defensive pair in the league right now - FBK is 9-1-0 thru their last ten games, look to have their eyes set on the 4th seed towards the playoffs and are receiving some heavy secondary scoring from their defensemen. An all around dominant season by Casper @ICappeI Lundgren isn't anything we're not used to, but now the man is chasing his shutout record of 12 shutouts in the regular season. Finishing last week at seven and adding two more on Monday has him looking good with six more games to go in the season. The honorable mention this week goes to Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos of HAVU Gaming, who recorded two shutouts against Northern Ascendancy last week and has been sharing duties with Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen as the statistically better part of the strong tandem. Power Rankings Provided by @MartindalexC 1.  hREDS (20-3-1) [+8.00 | +19.50] T2.  Färjestad BK (16-6-2) [+4.25 | +12.625] T2.  HAVU Gaming (20-3-1) [+4.25 | +19.50] 4.  GOONS (16-8-2) [+3.75 | +5.875] T5.   FILADELPHIA (21-0-1) [+3.50 | +24.25] T5.  JYP Jyvaskyla (9-12-3) [+3.50 | +4.375] T5.  YMCA Esports (14-10-2) [+3.50 | +4.375] 8.  POGGERS (11-9-2) [+1.50 | +8.375] 9.  IQUE (11-8-5) [+1.25 | -0.40] 10.  ZSC Esports (7-13-4) [+1.00 | -7.75] 11.  KOVA Esports (7-14-3) [-1.25 | -10.75] T12.  SAWO Esports (10-10-0) [-2.25 | +5.00] T12.  Tunnel Vision (6-13-5) [-2.25 | -9.00] 14.  Rusty Blades (4-16-2) [-2.375 | -13.25] 15.  Northern Ascendancy (7-12-3) [-2.625 | -5.75] 16.  Vesa Pompa (9-12-3) [-3.75 | -6.00]

NHLGamers, We're happy to admit our shortcomings and with that it's great to see several upsets in the first round of ECL 12 Lite Playoffs. On the other hand, three of the top seeded teams are still in the race. In this preview, brief speculation on each of the fixtures lies ahead.   (1)  Reality Check HC vs BIK Karlskoga Esport  (29) The #1 seed facing the bottom seed is always an interesting setup. Underdog BIK Karlskoga Esport had their day in round 1. Will history be able to repeat itself in round 2 as they are now definitely facing their toughest challenge yet? Reality Check HC quite comfortably won 4-1 in Round 1 even though Grilli Tulille gave good opposition in that series for example winning once and in the other games keeping it close. The black and yellow are in a good form and hard it's to imagine lightning strikes twice in the same place for Karlskoga. BIK Karlskoga Esports were underdogs against Royal HT but won that series and this can have an impact in this series against Reality Check HC by boosting their confidence. Prediction: Reality Check wins 4-2   (2)  noRex Gaming vs United Front  (28) This is also the case of a heavy favorite facing a true underdog. Similarly to before, it is tough to imagine United Front being able to cause another consecutive upset. In my opinion, however, United Front has better chances to repeat the surprise when compared to Karlskoga because they are on paper a slightly stronger team with a more playoff-friendly style of play. noRex Gaming lost one game to The Last Line but in general took home the series win in convincing fashion. United Front eventually beat Barys eSports in a tough game 7 series.  Prediction: noRex Gaming wins 4-2   (3)  GIFU Hockey vs Hokurit  (27) GIFU Hockey advanced quite easily from Round 1 and their matchup against VANHAT KYLJYKSET. This time it most likely won't be that easy. Hokurit is in great form and are coming off of a tough seven game series against UNI Gaming which has surely put them in that winning mentality. This could be the chance that is there for the taking for Hokurit, if they keep their strong play going, this could be a legendary run. Prediction: Hokurit wins 4-1 (9)  Powerhouse HC vs Almost Retired  (26) Powerhouse HC in, as their name suggests, powerful form and with that one of the serious contenders for winning the Lite title this season. Powerhouse HC defeated experienced Tic Tac Toes in a very tight, low scoring series 4-2. Almost Retired pushed through against all odds by beating IK Oskarshamn in a tough series as an underdog. The question is: did their fuel run out in that series or could there still be some left in the tank? Powerhouse HC might be too tough of an obstacle in this series. Prediction: Powerhouse HC wins 4-2   (11)  Lulea Hockey vs Baby Goons  (25) Baby Goons' good form from the regular seasons continues and a fierce battle in this series is to be expected. Lulea Hockey had a huge and tough series but won it in a game 7 against Hyperion. Baby Goons also won their series against TuTo Esports in Game 7 so both squads are now in playoff mode for sure. Baby Goons are most likely at their peak in terms of confidence. Their glory is likely to continue in this series but it won't be easy getting past Lulea Hockey.  Prediction: Baby Goons wins 4-3   (12)  Spirit vs Södertälje SK  (23)  Spirit won Ducktales BK 4-1. Notable in that series was that all games went to OT which is quite extraordinary. Södertälje BK had two OT's in their seven game series against Central Hockey Canucks. Both have experience in tough and tight battles, but spirit should be the ones advancing. Prediction: Spirit wins 4-1   (13)  Unwanted vs EHC Biel Bienne eSports  (18) EHC Biel Bienne Esports have been in good form this season so far and have continued that run into the playoffs by beating AiKnown in a tight round 1 series. Unwanted extended into a seven game series against RoKi Esports and managed to advance. They are a mentally strong team that also possesses tremendous amounts of skill, but EHC Biel Bienne eSports are great in the underdog position, and their form will not stop yet. Prediction: EHC Biel Bienne wins 4-2   (14)  Project X vs AfroDunk  (16) Along with Powerhouse HC, Project X is one of the black horses to grab the title in my books and now they're continuing their road to glory. AfroDunk is a good team that beat TTK with relative ease in the first round, however they lack the toolset to overcome a team as strong as Project X. Prediction: Project X wins 4-2   Players to watch In the players to watch-section we'll take a look at players that had a great contribution to their teams already in the regular season and further continued their form in the first round of playoffs. One of the most notable stars so far in the playoffs have been Project X goaltender @Easygame20(Torvelajr_) with a SV% above 90% and a very low GAA to go with that. Two EHC Biel Bienne Esports players @KG12PK88and @Red09Dragon08 have made remarkable contributions to their team in the playoffs. Both are among the top 10 in scoring stats for their position. @Pursuitti Reality Check HC GP 28 35+54=78 Regular Season / GP 5 4+4=8 Playoffs @Toivonen_ Spirit GP 29 40+44_84 Regular season / GP 5 3+5=8 Playoffs @Burtsi980H Baby Goons GP 28 48+38=86 Regular Season / GP 6 8+4=12 Playoffs @GERxVillain noRex Gaming GP 28 14+27=41 +38 Regular season / GP 5 1+6=7 Playoffs @samppa1995(xTuhlaajapoika) Baby Goons GP 26 36+37=73 Regular Season / GP 6 6+10=16 Playoffs @IDangledYouOut noRex Gaming GP 28 26+24=50 Regular Season / GP 5 6+9=15 Playoffs @Easygame20 (Torvelajr_) Project X GP 28 W 21 L 7 OTL 0 SV% 76,99 GAA 1,96 Regular Season / GP 5 W 4 L 1 OTL 0 SV% 93,75 GAA 0,6 Playoffs @KG12PK88 EHC Biel Bienne eSports GP 20 2+12=14 Regular Season / GP 6 2+6=8 Playoffs @Red09Dragon08 EHC Biel Bienne eSports GP 24 22+31=53 Regular Season / GP 6 6+6=12 Playoffs

The finish line is in sight! With only a third left to go of the season, now is the time for a final push. It is still mathematically possible for every team to either make or fall out of the playoffs, but naturally the likelihood of those events are up for debate.  FILADELPHIA continues strong as the sole team to stay undefeated in regular time this season. The black and orange suffered their only loss so far at the start of last week in a big matchup against hREDS in their ECL 11 Elite finals rematch. This season, the team is looking better than ever defensively, while maintaining a high offensive production - proven by their very low GA/GP at only 1.06, simultaneously averaging 4 goals a game into the opposing net. It seems like FILA is a lock for the #1 seed into the postseason with their toughest matchups already out of the way, HAVU Gaming and hREDS have the chance to challenge but a favorable outcome for them would require some lackluster effort on FILADELPHIA's part. Just behind the top 3, things are wide open and somewhat surprisingly recently promoted GOONS have managed to keep up their good performances. The newcomers lead by the likes of Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola and Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu currently sit in 4th place with a few games in hand on Farjestad BK, who also seem intent on clinching yet another playoff spot, their third consecutive in fact. The Swedes suffered two stinging losses at the hands of YMCA Esports early last week, but managed to come back convincingly by destroying KOVA Esports in a scoring explosion, netting current goal scoring leader Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg a total of eight goals in those two games. The battle for those few playoff spots around the playoff line is also raging hard, and as usual it'll come down right to the finish line. Most prominently, we've got POGGERS, SAWO ESPORTS and YMCA Esports currently in playoff position, but Vesa Pompa, IQUE and Northern Ascendancy have all but given up. JYP Jyvaskyla are also looking to salvage their season after a terrible start despite being previewed as a surefire playoff squad. Players going under the radar that have been crucial for their teams are definitely Mikko @EABUNKA Kärkkäinen for SAWO and Jan-Mikael @Janski (Jansku23) Aittoniemi for POGGERS - these guys sit at 25 and 23 goals respectively, amounting to nearly 50% of their teams production. In the scoring race, hREDS experienced centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen is topping the tables, followed closely by recent GWC EU Champion Erik @Eki Tammenpää and it looks like the fight for that #1 spot is going to go right down to the wire between these two. After yet another strong week, Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann has further solidified his position as leading scorer among defensemen. The 26-year old right defenseman notched six points in four games and is just ahead of Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen and Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta.  When it comes to goaltending, Casper @ICappeI Lundgren reigns supreme! The FILADELPHIA netminder is at 17 wins for the season, a GAA of 1.06, a second-to-none save percentage and two goals! What!?   Transfers It's a somewhat rare occasion to see some movement at the Elite level after the start of the season, but some transfers have come to knowledge in the past week or so, we'll also be recapping possible movement in these reports. Here are the transfers that have come to light since last week:  Vesa Pompa IN Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg (FILADELPHIA) Despite not getting to make a single appearance in black and orange on ECL ice, the netminder spent a significant chunk of time learning from the best in FILADELPHIA. Now he is returning home to dear Vesa Pompa, who have struggled this season. The Swedes have an already strong netminder in Erik @MrAllsvenskan Rotsenius from before, so it'll be exciting to see if the two are to share duties or if Vesa Pompa has something else in mind. Thunborg already made his debut quite surprisingly on the RD spot in absence of other options - netting his career first ECL Elite goal against hREDS in a 3-2 defeat. Power Rankings Provided by @MartindalexC   1.  hREDS (14-3-1) [+5.5 | +11.50] 2.  POGGERS (10-8-0) [+5.125 | +6.875] 3.   FILADELPHIA (17-0-1) [+4.75 | +20.75] 4.  HAVU Gaming (16-3-1) [+4.50 | +15.25] 5.  GOONS (12-7-1) [+2.75 | +2.125] 6.  Färjestad BK (11-5-2) [+2.125 | +8.375] 7.  Tunnel Vision (5-9-4) [+1.50 | -6.75] 8.  Northern Ascendancy (7-8-3) [+1.00 | -3.125] 9.  IQUE (7-7-4) [-0.75 | -1.65] 10.  YMCA Esports (9-7-2) [-1.50 | +0.875] 11.  JYP Jyvaskyla (8-11-1) [-1.75 | +0.875] 12.  SAWO Esports (10-8-0) [-2.00 | +7.25] 13.  Vesa Pompa (7-7-2) [-2.75 | -2.25] T14.  Rusty Blades (3-11-2) [-3.75 | -10.875] T14.  ZSC Esports (3-11-4) [-3.75 | -8.75] 16.  KOVA Esports (7-11-2) [-7.50 | -9.50]

NHLGamers, The Russian virtual hockey scene has grown tremendously over the past few years and with that, the eighth iteration of the RCL now hosted two divisions for teams of various skill levels. The influx of organizations and traditional hockey teams into the scene has also helped growing the game, which we're pleased to see. The eighth RCL season was incredible in itself, and ended in a third consecutive RCL title for METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK, who won their former championships under the NOVA-banner. Some impressive records were also set along the way to the championship by this skilled roster, and all of the eleven roster players made contributions towards their accomplishment. Especially throughout the playoffs, the MAGNITOGORSK seemed unstoppable from time to time - Goaltender Aleksey "zZzvezZzda" Zvezdin was one of the most crucial parts in the team as he kept his net clean for a streak of 306 minutes and 25 seconds, the longest streak in RCL Playoff history. Also as a result of stellar goaltending and excellent team defense, METALLURG allowed only one goal in four games throughout their final series against Barys eSports. Together with Barys, the two also set the record for the longest game in RCL history - a fifth overtime game extending to 157 minutes and 27 seconds, coming to an end only when left defenseman Alex @SPB_AlexZver_22 Zverev found the net to seal the deal and win his team the championship. The assistant captain also commented on his teams efforts as follows: "We worked hard to take the RCL PRO title for the third time in a row. This season, many wrote us off due to the fact that there were some rebuilding in the team, but we've proven before that it is definitely not the names on the back that decide, but team play is what wins the titles. We had a great final, conceding only one goal in the entire series, the whole team played a brilliant defense. Of course it was also nice to finish with a victory in 4 matches of the 5th overtime. I am proud of my guys, I hope this is not our last RCL title - we will work hard to come back and repeat this next season!" METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK - Road to the championship: Regular season record: 18-2-2 (1st) Quarterfinals: vs HC KOROBKA 4-0 Semifinals: vs Nearbird Fighters 4-3 Finals: vs Barys eSports 4-0 Championship roster:

Fellow gamers, we have now reached the top 16 teams in the ECL 12 core division and most likely that means some quality and entertaining hockey lies ahead. The first two playoff rounds surely provided some surprises, for example when Kallenraitti (5th seed) fell down to Deggendorfer SC Esports (60th seed) , or Rahinakaukalo (6th seed losing to New Jersey (59th seed) in the first round. Anyways, now we have eight action-packed matchups to give you, so hopefully you'll enjoy! Round 3 of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs is to be played between Sunday, June 20th and Wednesday, June 23rd. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: Without further ado, here are your ECL 12 Core Round 3 matchups: (1) STARGAZING vs Mora IK esport (41) After a couple of pretty easy series wins, STARGAZING is going up against Mora IK in their biggest challenge yet. The games that we have seen from MORA IK in the past two series have been entertaining and interesting to see, but now they have an opponent with increasingly talented guys. I'm not sure if Mora is capable of stopping STARGAZING, But they can't be ruled out of the game. If Mora IK’s goalie @Tacterz will continue his playoff run like in the first two series, he will be the main player who gives the Swedes a chance for some W’s. Although, even if Tacterz would be amazing in net, he will need the support of the entire team to push them past the opponents. Prediction: 4-2 STARGAZING (2) Stone Age vs hc marko (37) The situation in this series is rather similar to the one in STARGAZING vs Mora. Stone Age will be the favorite to go through, but hc marko has a pretty solid defense and that helps to stop the offensive power that Stone Age possesses. The main factor in this series is how marko adapts to Stone Ages playing style. Marko also needs some diversity in their game, to keep Stone age guessing and on their toes. Prediction: 4-2 STONE AGE (3) Pasilan SKA vs Virtuoso (30) Pasila and Virtuoso have faced each other at the regular season stage this ECL. SKA took the points and won the games 4-2 and 4-5 OT. This series is the first series of the round 3 that could go either way. Statistically SKA is way better of putting the puck in the net (5.12 GF/GP in regular season), but playoff hockey is different beast. This matchup is potentially a series where we will see a game 7. Prediction: 4-3 Pasilan SKA (4) Niitti Pohjassa vs Tadpole (27) This series is interesting. Tadpole is the team that i have followed the most throughout the season. Their playstyle, in my opinion, is so suitable for beating Niitti Pohjassa, that my prediction goes for Tadpole. @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) and @Zoueli both have accumulated 37 points in the playoffs already, putting themselves in the 4th and 5th place in the player statistics. This team is the first team in round 3 which gets the away series win. Prediction: 1-4 Tadpole (7) Lemmenvelhot vs Team Rocket (25) In this series i would have to bet the team who has goalie who can make saves. The goalie for Team Rocket @Tlindgren96(HelloImDonga) has played well in the net so far. This guy had a 1.5GAA in the regular season and also after two rounds of playoffs. In comparison, the Lemmenvelhot goalie @Tptk00 has been letting the puck behind his back about 3 times per game. Prediction: 0-4 Team Rocket (8) Arkham Asylum vs Bonus Ambers (22) Arkham was the number 1 seed in their group 8. This Team has a really balanced mix of skaters with a good goalie - a dangerous team if you look from the opponents perspective. @TheSpeedo has a defensively strong team in front of him, he is facing only about 7 shots per game. Although the team is good on defense, their opponent BonusAmbers has scored 41 goals in the 8 last games so it is interesting to see who will go to the quarterfinals. Prediction: 4-3 Arkham Asylum (9) Tohtorit vs Jokers Hockey (17) Tohtorit have that "wow-factor" as a team. I have to say I was impressed with this team when I looked at the stats in the regular season. @Ojala16 and @Linkku60 both scoring over 100 points is a great accomplishment in itself. However, as stated, playoff hockey is a different story. I would say that in this series, Jokers Hockey will need to step up defensively and goaltending-wise, because there will be sweaty times in the defensive end for @eKvaarn and the boys! Prediction: 4-2 Tohtorit (10) Its a nice city vs Resurrection (16) Written by @jahajaha93 In this matchup, we'll see two squads who both finished second in their respective groups going up against each other. Its a nice city at 10th seed have had some close calls in their past playoff rounds, barely squeezing by EHC TATNEFT AK BARS in a game seven in the first round, but they will be eager to show what they can do with the lead of top scorer @Toimitusjohtaja3 against Resurrection. On the other hand, Resurrection have passed the previous two rounds with relative ease and are now facing their first real big challenge. The team is heavily reliant on the puck skills of @tkantola and @Xkeineri up front, and if this duo provides, they'll go through to the next round. Prediction: 2-4 Resurrection