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...And then there were only 4! Fellow hockey fans, the Core division Semifinal pairs have been decided and now we are ready to find out the Finalists of the very first ECL Core season. First of all, I want to say thanks to all of the teams that participated in the ECL 12 Core season. It has been a pleasure to see how many teams this division had, and that made it interesting to watch throughout the season. This preview includes four of the best teams in this division, and I'm extremely excited to see how these matchups finish. The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, July 6th and Sunday, July 11th. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: TOP 4 Teams (1) STARGAZING (2) Stone Age (9) Tohtorit (16) Resurrection Let's start the preview by looking these teams in general. Starting home Teams STARGAZING and STONE AGE have both been in a dominant mode all season long, and both of them had a number 1 seed in their groups after the regular season. The firepower of these teams has been really good, and they've had an easy job protecting the net for their team (SGZ:26GP - 1.46 GAA, AGE: 28GP - 1.5G AA in the regular season). We can assume that their defenses are pretty organized in the semi’s also, and scoring against these teams is going to be hard. Key points for home teams It's hard to find any kind of achilles' heel for STARGAZING, I mean at least when u look at the stats. Stargazing have performed almost flawlessly throughout the playoffs, and will of course be one of the favorites to raise the cup at the end of the season. The main factor of their game is the two-way playing style. This team can score through their wingers and center, but also defenders participate in the offensive plays very actively and that also goes for the forwards participating on defence really well. In the defensive end, they have @Emppa988 (6+16 in 17 games), who is one of the top scoring defensemen in the playoffs, and should be a marked man for the opponent. STONE AGE on the other hand, have had some troubles in the playoffs and there are couple of things that worries me. This team has had troubles with keeping their performance up. From time to time there are difficulties to perform against seemingly easier opponents, for example their last two opponents in the playoffs (Team Rocket & hc marko). This is the time for this team to find their best performance especially from the teams leading characters @anttiko10, @Maexsa and @Liukq. Starting away Teams TOHTORIT and RESURRECTION both are their own groups #2 seeds and are on rather solid runs this season so far. Both of them eliminated each others groups #1 seed in the quarterfinals (Arkham Asylum lost to Tohtorit 2-4 and Pasilan SKA lost Resurrection 0-4), so well deserved Semifinal spots all around. These teams also have pretty good defensive stats, and it will not be a walk in the park for the home teams in their first games of the semi’s. Key points for away teams TOHTORIT is a talented and skilful team. This team’s performance lies on their offensive line @Ojala16, @Linkku60 and @Ristimaki12 and their ability to score, with @johtaja_lebi creating plays on defence. You can’t be underestimating this team at all, or they will surely put the puck in the net more than twice per game. over their last 3 games against Arkham Asylum, they only allowed three goals behind @Stammer70, so good luck for breaking that defense. RESURRECTION Finished second in their group before the playoffs and they have managed to keep the flow going on. Their influence this season was the acquisition of the two-headed monster @tkantola and @Xkeineri. This duo have had an impressive influence on the team, but you also can't forget the third wheel of their offense - @Teemu97 was called upon in the second round of playoffs and quickly filled his spot, gaining the trust of his team and diversifying options for the squad. Defensively the team is very solid and balanced, but there is still room to improve especially in net for experienced netminder @Jiihooo86. Predictions (1) STARGAZING vs Resurrection (16) Resurrection wins 2-4* (2) Stone Age vs Tohtorit (9) Tohtorit wins 2-4 *Note: Writer plays for Resurrection and is probably biased.

It's the eve of the ECL 12 Elite quarterfinals start and we're all eager to begin this journey towards finding out an eventual champion, but first - let's take a look at the matchups we're in for!      FILADELPHIA (1) vs. IQUE (8)  Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 28-0-2 vs. 13-12-5 (GF/G) 3.67 vs. 1.83 (GA/G) 1.00 vs. 2.70 (Special teams %) 112.85 vs. 96.23 (Season series) FILA First on the docket is FILADELPHIA vs. IQUE in what can only be described as a complete and utter landslide in favour of the orange and black brigade. No disservice to IQUE, but personally I just do not see a single aspect in their line-up that could challenge FILADELPHIA to any meaningful degree. If it becomes a high-scoring, end-to-end, affair – FILADELPHIA wins. If it becomes a low-scoring, cagey and uneventful display – FILADELPHIA wins. If it becomes a special-teams battle where games are decided upon critical penalties taken for, or against, a particular team – FILADELPHIA wins. Can IQUE find a way to pull off the upset though? Well, to put it simply, they have to play perfectly. On top of this small task, they will need to lean heavily on @Pirtsa89, @Makeaxl, @zNico, and @laitineen64 to clog up anything in front, then, and perhaps most importantly of all, capitalise, on any quick counters using their wingers in @santeerii, and @Nieppii. FILADELPHIA’s path to victory? Show up… and that’s about it. Prediction: FILA in 4    hREDS (2) vs. POGGERS (7)  Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 25-4-1 vs. 14-13-3 (GF/G) 3.80 vs. 2.80 (GA/G) 1.40 vs. 2.63 (Special teams %) 116.70 vs. 98.85 (Season series) hREDS Next up we have hREDS vs. POGGERS, which has the potential to be the highest scoring series in the ECL 12 Playoffs. Both teams are geared towards quick counters and ‘direct’ play. Both have shown throughout the season to be able to put up a large number of goals in a single game (7 for POGGERS, and 10 for hREDS). Both also boast a d-core that is offensively minded, with hREDS’s defenders (@xDoumi & @Tuukka.R) finishing 6th and 10th , and POGGERS’ (@Terodee & @Eemil) finishing 4th and 15th, respectively. This similarity in style however can be POGGERS’ downfall here, however. Much like with IQUE before them, in order to secure their spot in the semi-final POGGERS cannot fall into the trap of believing they can simply just go toe-to-toe with hREDS and get into a scoring-fest. hREDS can, and will, skewer any exposed POGGERS defenders if given the chance, so anticipating this one would understand if POGGERS attempted to curtail their offensive aggression in an attempt to not only give themselves more time with the puck, but to give their defenders time and space to recover from the hREDS onslaught they are likely to receive. Indeed, even this might not be enough, with hREDS’ @Beniittto nigh on solely possessing the ability to create something from absolutely nothing – something that the POGGERS’ players will be very accustomed to as the series wages on. Prediction: hREDS in 4    HAVU Gaming (3) vs. YMCA Esports (6)  Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 22-6-2 vs. 16-12-2 (GF/G) 2.87 vs. 2.47 (GA/G) 1.17 vs. 2.13 (Special teams %) 116.66 vs. 94.7 (Season series) YMCA Again, no disrespect to the lower seeds mentioned previously, but these next two series are where the action will be if you are looking for series where the games have the potential to not only be competitive but could even go the distance to the always entertaining game 7. HAVU Gaming, as always, has finished the season in a strong position, albeit I’m sure with a bit of anger stemming from not performing up to their usual stratospheric level. Indeed, this first round matchup presents HAVU with a real test for once in a long time, or at least one that has the potential for it. Throughout this season HAVU has been as ironclad defensively as seasons past, however their offense has spluttered compared to their usual pace and is sitting at ‘only’ 2.87, good for 4th in the league ahead of a very close GOONS squad, and distantly back from Färjestad BK in 3rd. Of course, it’s not like the forward core of HAVU hasn’t faced adversity in the past and overcome difficult situations – in fact it may very well be that the duo of @Dominointi and @FlyerKungen once again turn it up a notch and find that ‘extra’ gear now that the playoffs are upon us. YMCA Esports on the other hand are coming into the series with the best defence out of the lower seeds (5-8) and the 4th best amongst all ECL Elite Playoff teams, although it should be stated here that this comes with somewhat mild caveat of YMCAs offence being the second most anaemic out of all playoff teams. Nevertheless, if YMCA are able to score the first goal, thanks in no small part to the engine of the team at C in @Timasy, then they stand a real chance of doing some damage in this matchup. Outside of that and simply frustrating HAVU, it is still rather difficult to nudge the needle in favour of YMCA over the course of a BO7, regardless of the potential issues that HAVU may be facing. Prediction: HAVU in 5    Färjestad BK (4) vs. GOONS (5)  Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 20-8-2 vs. 19-9-2 (GF/G) 3.30 vs. 2.83 (GA/G) 2.23 vs. 2.30 (Special teams %) 118.18 vs. 81.22 (Season series) GOONS We now arrive at the series that has the most potential for an upset (whatever that means in a series where the 4th seed plays the 5th seed), but also one that has the potential to realistically go either way. Much has been made about Färjestad BK over the past few seasons. Indeed, I’m sure everyone has their own opinion regarding how they play but one cannot argue with the results they have forged as of late. Back-to-back 4th place finishes in the regular season is nothing to turn your nose up against, in fact this season they even cracked the 20-win plateau which is approaching some serious rarefied air as far as ECL Elite goes as very few sets of teams can join them in this achievement. Despite this, Färjestad BK comes into this series with nothing set in stone as their opponent in GOONS, whilst a lower seed, finished only a measly 2pts behind them in the standings and are seemingly finding more and more confidence as their season goes on. In truth, I cannot quite pin down this series and predict how it will go with much certainty. Färjestad BK are battle-tested and experienced in playoff situations across all manner of tournaments, with all their players possessing vast experience from previous ECL or SCL Playoffs. That said, one could make the argument that they are somewhat one dimensional, with most of their attacks being structured around and emanating from @I-Maise-I – take particular care in shutting down the middle of the ice across all three zones and Färjestad BK may develop some issues. On the other hand, GOONS are somewhat similar in that @kriketski17 forms a large part of their offence in the way that he sets the tempo of the team before dishing it to his wingers, granted GOONS’ offence is much more free-flowing than Färjestad BK’s so if effort is made to shut-down @kriketski17, then this strategy may be dulled in its effectiveness by GOONS’ flexibility. It should also be noted that Färjestad BK has a massive advantage on the special teams front, with a superior power-play and penalty-kill. Therefore, it would be wise for GOONS to minimise how often they go on little adventures to the box, lest they provide Färjestad BK’s deadly PP with an opportunity to be the difference maker. Indeed, it may very well be the case that the fate of this series is decided based on how many penalties GOONS offer up – although there is some hope that this won’t come to a head as GOONS recorded the fewest amount of PIMS this season. Prediction: GOONS in 7

NHLGamers, NOTE: This article was written on Sunday, July 4th and reflects the starting situation of each series, by now some series have already started. The ECL 12 Lite season has reached it's quarterfinal stage. It is time to look briefly at all four exciting quarterfinal matchups and speculate around them and highlight some of the players in these series. Quite exceptional is the fact that four of these eight best teams are from group 4, whereas three are from Group 2- only one squad from outside of these two.     (1)  Reality Check HC vs Hokurit  (27) The number one seed Reality Check HC is facing one of the phenomenons of the season in Hokurit. Hokurit are about to face their biggest challenge yet but they are used to being in that underdog status and have gone up against the odds twice already in these playoffs. Will the streak continue? Reality Check HC is in top form and it won't be easy. The success of Hokurit has been based on high-class defending. They haven't scored much but neither have their opponents. That trend must continue in order to have any hopes of eliminating Reality Check HC.  Prediction: Reality Check HC wins 4-2   (2)  noRex Gaming vs Södertälje SK  (23)  noRex Gaming is one the biggest contenders to win the Lite title. They have been very impressive on their campaign so far in both of the previous rounds with only one loss in 9 games. Their opponents have also been rather skilled teams, so noRex should be in great form. Södertälje SK have had a much longer road to quarterfinals but might be a team that warms up when the really big games start. noRex Gaming is a favorite in this series too. Prediction: noRex Gaming wins 4-2   (9)  Powerhouse HC vs Project X  (14) Both of the teams were ranked as potential success teams before the start of the season. Both have also redeemed the expectations so far pretty well. They will most likely have a fierce battle in this series for place in the semifinals. Game 7 would not be a surprise at all. Prediction: Powerhouse HC wins 4-3   (11)  Lulea Hockey vs Unwanted  (13) This is a pretty even pair in advance. Both have had one game 7 series so far and one easier series. Seems both have had to struggle similarly in previous rounds. Game 7 won't be out of reach in this series also. The lookout is very similar for each side as both are relying on one forward to provide primary scoring and the team to win the series will need support from their second and third man. The team that can take the edge away from their opponent will have the advantage in this series.  Prediction: Unwanted wins 4-2   Players to watch Like always there are many players appropriate to be highlighted but you can only pick so many. All of these players I have highlighted are more or less key players of their teams. It is appropriate to mention the contribution of Unwanted and Hokurit goalies @KASINELONEN and @wilinhoo - Both have hugely improved their SV% from the regular season and especially KASIINELONEN has a notable 5 SO in the playoffs and has improved in that stat also since the regular season.  @Pursuitti Reality Check HC GP 28 35+54=78 Regular Season / GP 10 7+18=25 Playoffs @GERxVillain noRex Gaming GP 28 14+27=41 +38 Regular season / GP 9 2+14=16 +28 Playoffs @IDangledYouOut noRex Gaming GP 28 26+24=50 Regular Season / GP 9 14+19=33 Playoffs @Easygame20 (Torvelajr_) Project X GP 28 W 21 L 7 OTL 0 SV% 76,99 GAA 1,96 Regular Season / GP 11 W 8 L 1 OTL 2 SV% 88,29 GAA 1,18 Playoffs @Jarvinder Lulea Hockey GP 28 33+31=64 Regular Season / GP 12 15+7=22 Playoffs @Bollas_2 Unwanted GP 20 21+25=46 Regular Season / GP 11 12+8=20 Playoffs @Paddyy1903 noRex Gaming GP 28 6+20=26 +39 Regular Season / GP 9 1+9=10 +28 Playoffs  @Tsikago (Jiibada_) Powerhouse HC GP 28 20+33=53 Regular Season / GP 11 4+13=17 Playoffs @ESSRV  Hokurit GP 6 5+3=8 Regular Season / GP 13 7+9=16 Playoffs @rize1988 Södertälje SK GP 28 15+27=42 Regular Season / GP 13 7+8=15 Playoffs @KASINELONEN Unwanted GP26 W 18 L 5 OL 3 SV% 81,85 GAA 1,96 SO 4 Regular Season / GP 11 W 8 L 3 OL 0 SV% 86,32 GAA 1,18 SO 5 Playoffs @wilinhoo Hokurit GP 14 W 6 L 4 OL 4 SV% 77,19 % GAA 1,86 SO 2 Regular Season / GP 13 W 8 L 3 OL 2 SV% 86,44 GAA 1,23 SO 1 Playoffs