Leaderboard

The ECL Winter 22 Lite division has now ended and it's time to take a moment to look at what has happened over the course of the long campaign. Lite started as a 64 team division, but there could be only one winner. Congratulations to Mora IK who came through the Lite qualifiers all the way to the top to win the Lite division. This season saw dominating teams, underdogs going through and upsets alike - let's go through some of these events. @Timotei97 for Bellizzi dominated skater stats being the only one to reach over 100 points in the regular season, but a couple other players crossed that fabled 50 goal mark, with Valco's @itspardytime being the best scorer with 58 goals. Among defensemen we saw a quite unusual phenomenon, when traditionally defensively supreme @iSvamp stepped up as the leading scorer, both Prima eSport defensemen were great in the +/- department, as a result of their superior play in the regular season. The best goalies by save percentage (at least 14 games) were @Hangoverangel (Pasilan SKA), @I-THE_EAGLE-I (EHC Biel Bienne), @Giinis (Bastu) and W1nchester_62 (AK Bars). Quite interestingly, in each group we had one team that were in a class for themselves, above the competition. In group one, Prima eSport, group two Linköping HC, group three Golden Nights and for group four, FILADELPHIA Academy. One thing that all these clubs share is their sovereign play and also the favorite position they had going into the season. On the other hand, one of the biggest upsets must have been the Resurrection. They managed to win the Core division in ECL 12, but lost some key players in the offseason, which might have been one of the key factors leading to such a tough outcome this season. One team that also has suddenly seen a decline is without a doubt Södertälje SK. A couple of seasons ago they played in Pro and in the last ECL they reached the quarterfinals. What has happened to the once so competitive squad? Another strong team from last seasons Core division is Pasilan SKA, who also had a disappointing Lite entry. Losing their star player @Macentoitunu hit them hard and they couldn't patch the leak. Luckily, we were also treated to some teams upping their game, in other terms surprising us positively. Valco (former TIKI TALK) was one of these teams. Last season's disappointment turned to this season's success. One great emergence was also TadPole, who played in Core last season and proved that they still have more potential in store for us moving forward by reaching a #8 seed in the groupstage. Also, there's no getting by how Hunters managed to push their way to the semifinals with a rather inexperienced squad. Especially @Vale16 stands out as their leading scorer throughout, but their sole most experienced player @Karkkyjaa must have also played a big role for the team. *Note that the writer plays for Hunters, the above section was written by @jahajaha93. Regular season All Star lineup purely based on stats: @Timotei97 (Bellizzi) @Robban kaudern (Kaudomovic) (Mora IK) @itspardytime (Valco) @iSvamp (Prima eSport) @saunapastori (Tadpole) @Janne Hietala (Hiatala__) (Tadpole) However, the greatest team of the season was undeniably Mora IK. Coming through the Lite Qualifiers to win the whole division against one of the strongest Lite teams ever in FILADELPHIA ACADEMY is an incredible feat. The finals that ended in a game seven were also a thrilling series and a pleasure to watch throughout. With that, I thought we could break down our two finalists, starting out with FILADELPHIA ACADEMY, who held the favorite position going into the finals. FILADELPHIA ACADEMY Regular season record: 26-2-0 (Group 4) #1 seed into the playoffs FILADELPHIA ACADEMY had a great regular season as expected, dominating most matchups with a couple of slip-ups, that can be chalked up to loss of focus on some nights. Round 1 FILADELPHIA ACADEMY - RoKi Esports 4-0 When the playoffs started, RoKi Esports put up a great fight against the #1 seed as the first three games were only one goal games despite FILADELPHIA holding possession for the most part. The series ended in a FILADELPHIA firepower showcase and a 6-0 victory for that side. Round 2 FILADELPHIA ACADEMY - Toxicity 4-1 This was a pretty similar series to their opening round, but Toxicity stole one game. FILADELPHIA still outscored Toxicity 15-7 when the second game ended 8-1. Without that second game's slaughter, the games were tight and Toxicity put up a good fight. FILA was really clinical when it mattered the most. Quarterfinals FILADELPHIA ACADEMY - Alliance HT 4-2 Against Alliance HT, FILA started out the series routinely. They controlled the game through puck possession and playing their own game but firepower was missing. Alliance's tight defence held out the Filadelphia from the best scoring sector, putting the first game to double overtime and @TEST0-RYTZE scored the game winner. The second game was like a replay from the first game, but a couple of early goals came in favour of FILA and their defense held up throughout the game. The third game of the series was FILADELPHIA holding the puck and trying to find a way to score, but Alliance's defence was rock solid with @someth1ng_w1ld between the pipes. Eventually the game ended 4-2 to Alliance as a result of amazing goaltending and great team defense. Alliance also capitalized on the momentum and won the fourth game 3-0 and showed that they are really fighting for the spot in the semifinals. The fifth and sixth game, on the other hand, showed what FILADELPHIA ACADEMY is made from. They put forth a solid performance in both games, taking the wins 4-0 and 2-0. Two shutouts for @Tappu and it sure looked like nothing can stop them from now on. Semifinals FILADELPHIA ACADEMY - Hunters 4-0 Hunters was surely not going to be the team to stop FILA. The series was tighter than 4-0 would indicate, but the scoring efficiency of FILADELPHIA really put them ahead. Mora IK Regular season record: 23-5-2 (Group 4) #6 seed into the playoffs Mora IK, our other finalist were the clear underdogs. Moras regular season had a rough start as they lost their first three out of four games, but after that they found their stride, and only lost three more during the regular season. They might have had some benefit to going through the Lite Qualifiers and really glued together over the course of their campaign. Round 1 Mora IK - Its a nice city 4-1 In the first round of the playoffs Mora faced another qualifier team in Its a nice city. The first game was clearly Moras, the second game was anyone's game when Mora took the 1-0 victory. The third game went to Its a nice city. Puck control was quite even throughout but Mora seemed to have the edge in finishing. Especially the fifth game was a show of Moras good defense and firepower with a 5-1 victory. Round 2 Mora IK - Bastu 4-3 This was a thrilling seven game series between two good teams. Both teams held shutouts and scored when they had the chance. All in all, a very even series but Mora came out as the winner and continued to the quarterfinals Quarterfinals Mora IK - Linköping HC 4-1 Linköping HC controlled the play for most of the series. More shots, more possession, more offensive zone time. Still, a strong defense and a solid goalkeeper are the things that wins you games in these tight situations. Moras team defense was a key factor for the win and goalkeeper @Jeqque44 handled the situation and kept his cool when it mattered the most. Semifinals Mora IK - Prima eSport 4-1 During the playoffs, Moras game came together really nicely as the season progressed. In the semifinals they faced a really tough opponent, Prima eSport, who won their group in the regular season by losing only four games. Good puck movement and tough defense were Primas keys to success and we waited for at least a long series between these two teams. However, the first night they played, Mora grabbed a 3-1 lead in the series. Games were pretty even but Prima ended up running into the suffocating Mora defense and their hot goaltender. Mora used their scoring chances really well and was patient throughout the series. When they got the lead they held it. When they were trailing in the second game they started to pressure more and won it in overtime. Finals FILADELPHIA ACADEMY – Mora IK 3-4 The final with the two best teams of the season. Probably one of the best teams in Lite history in FILADELPHIA ACADEMY. A dominant regular season, only three playoff losses. Firepower on both wings and a really experienced captain. They had to go up against the team that got through the qualifiers, came together in the regular season. Played smart defense throughout the playoffs and would come into the finals as massive underdogs. Eventually, the Finals followed the script quite closely. None of the teams managed to grab more than two consecutive wins and it was really a back and forth battle. After the first night of games, Mora held a 2-1 series lead. FILADELPHIA held the possession, but once again, Mora and their team defense held tight. During the second night of play, FILADELPHIA managed to grab the 3-2 series lead and it looked like this could be in the history books, but Mora managed to really dig deep and turn it around in astonishing fashion. To everyone's surprise, we crowned the underdogs the new Lite Champions at the end of the season. Playoffs All Star lineup Basically you could put the whole Mora team here, but we'll try to do a more complete approach. @xAaro89x(FILADELPHIA ACADEMY) @andreaskakan(Mora IK) @Bror1326 (Mora IK) @ZNKK(Mora IK) @Laama777(Hunters) @Jeqque44(Mora IK) Both wingers were almost the most important players for their teams and scored at a tremendous pace throughout. They also really came up clutch in the games when they were needed the most. @ZNKK could have been the best defensive defenseman there was this season. His TA/GA ratio is top notch and he also holds the most interceptions in the playoffs. @Laama777 was also a very strong defensive presence for his team and ended up scoring some really big goals in the playoffs, especially against Golden Nights, without which Hunters wouldn't even have been in the mix in the late postseason. The goalie @Jeqque44 was in a class of his own this season, a total brick wall. That'll be all for the ECL '22 Winter Lite season, remember that the signups for the spring season are now open and we're hoping to see you all there!

SportsGamers, It's been a long season but now also the last of our divisions have come to a close in the form of the ECL '22 Winter Core Finals, where #2 seed Točený Salámy took on #5 seed Almtuna eSport. A tough battle was expected between the two combatants and they certainly delivered. Despite the series being over by a sweep, three games out of four extended into overtime. When it was all said and done, Almtuna eSport hoisted the cup in the newest ECL division.   Almtuna eSport's s road to the championship: #5 seed from group 4 with the record 21-3-0 Round 1: vs Carolina Reapers 4-1 Round 2: vs SKYFALL 4-2 Round 3: vs Ebangalakata 4-0 Quarterfinals: vs Lausanne HC Esports 4-1 Semifinals: vs Sawolanche 4-1 Finals: vs Točený Salámy 0-4 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #11 @Rickard Pettersson (lokope11) #30 @benjamint737 DEFENSEMEN #2 @Knickedikk (Snyggve-) #62 @PillenUpp (A) #74 @oh_man (bjoohm) FORWARDS #16 @jazze- #18 @BeastBenn14 (C) #87 @SmitteX (A) #91 @Svana_22 Once again, congratulations to the winners on behalf of the entire community!

The ECL '22 Winter Elite season came to a worthy conclusion when hREDS won their second consecutive ECL Elite (season) Championship and with that, made history being the first back to back champion. We got to talk about their journey with team captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, ECL '22 Winter defender of the season Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen, the team's young star player. Simply put, over the past two seasons not a single team has been able to stop hREDS. The team also exudes a very good team spirit and they play as a team with great individuals. These are some of the factors that make the redshirts as strong as they are at the moment. The question is, what made hREDS such a great team and why can't no one seem to stop them right now?  @xDoumi: ”We've put the hours into the game, carefully thinking of how we could improve or what we could do differently. I can't think of many Elite players that are able to perform at their best level throughout the season, but for us even if that would happen, we're fine since there's a top player patching up at every position.” @Beniittto: ”All of us are really skilled and versatile, chemistry is great on and off the field, we can discuss how to play as a team or individuals very openly in the best interests of the team. We're very confident and we're used to playing under pressure.” @NikkeDangles: ”Every player has that little extra that makes the player beside them even better. Also, our chemistry is definitely top notch - that's what makes us the almost perfect team.” Before the start of the Winter season, hREDS was definitely considered one of the biggest favorites and the pressure for success was mounting. What makes these two consecutive championships so special is not only the historical feat, but also the stranglehold they've now taken on the rivalry series against Frölunda HC. Looking at your game, it's obvious that you've put a lot of hours into perfecting the craft, what is the secret to achieving such a clinical level? And how do you discuss improvements within the squad? @xDoumi: ”After the release of the new NHL, we try to reinvent ourselves as much as possible with the offseason so that when the season starts, our game is as ready as possible and adjusted to the meta. For example we talk a lot about minimising mistakes or understanding what's wrong in certain situations and making sure such things won't happen again in the future. If you make the same mistakes over and over in practice, you'll continue doing that in competitive games too. Small mistakes often decide big games. Often we'll try to play a warmup match before any competitive game and otherwise practice consistently at least on four days a week. Break from the game are also good to unwind a bit." @Beniittto: ”What makes our game look great is individual skill and chemistry, the clinical approach is based very much on those same things. The exact number of hours is difficult to say, but in fact every time you we play, we always try something new, such as breakouts, passing combinations, diversions and different shots from different places.” @NikkeDangles: ”We try to play a few times, if not every day, every week. We have a clear game plan and we've only refined it for the better with time. We usually focus a lot on team defense and how we could be more dangerous in the offensive end.” Road to the back-to-back ECL Elite Championship hREDS was superior in the ECL '22 Winter regular season and held first place almost continuously from start to finish. The top spot in the regular season guaranteed the team a very good starting point for the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, the redshirts faced #8 seed GOONS, and although the playoff series ended in a 4-0 sweep, the result doesn't always say everything about the matches. In fact, during the playoff series, three matches were decided only after overtime, so the playoff series against GOONS was very even overall. If the Quarterfinals were a tight ordeal, then that was also the case in the Semifinals, even more so. This is when the redshirts faced the Swedish side Granit Gaming. Perhaps evident of how tough the series were is the fact that almost all games were decided by a one goal margin. In the end, the Semifinal series ended with a 4-1 win for hREDS and as expected, they earned a Finals spot in the ECL '22 Winter season. The matches against GOONS and Granit were really even but your were able to turn those series in your favor. What impact did these GOONS and Granit series have for the continuation of your playoff run? @xDoumi: ”Experience, routine, skill, etc. Both GOONS and Granit went into the past season with a couple of player changes. We have had the same composition for some time now, and it definitely matters. We know where Vili  @Vilupoika Häkkinen is able to score from at will, we know that @Beniittto has his silky mitts when he needs to, we know that @NikkeDangles is the best passer in the game, it is known that Tuukka  @Tuukka.R(KingofApes) Röpelinen has the poke down to a tee, and finally it is known that Filip @Faze91- Azri can make gamesavers when the team most needs them.” @Beniittto: ”In this NHL, the games are more even than in the previous ones, but we managed to win the games with routine and experience. Winning the playoff series brings nothing special, other than the ability to see what was done well as a team and what was bad, and you can start to improve from there.” @NikkeDangles: ”All that matters is a win, so we didn't care that most of the games were held tight. I think we've got a bit of a mental edge on most teams and we're a really confident team. We know that we can win tight games even if there's the occasional setback." Let's get back to the moment before the finals. When hREDS started the season as the biggest front-runner, their confidence in success helped deal with the pressure. In practice, it can even be said that any other outcome but a championship would have been a disappointment to this team. Looking back at the past ECL Elite season, no other team held as high of a level as hREDS. These Finals were also a repeat of the two latest ECL Finals, where Frölunda and hREDS have clashed. Despite the tendency of several playoffs series to be over rather quick as of late, many people expected to see this one extend past the five games it did. hREDS definitely showed the way right from the very first matches in the Finals. At times, it even felt like Frölunda was going to get trampled under the heavy onslaught. Although the outcomes of the first Final games were very ugly from Frölunda's perspective, they still don't give a complete overview of the entirety of the matches, as the element of luck was heavily on the side of hREDS - although some might say that has to be earned. For the second day of the Finals, we saw a very calm Frölunda HC, arriving with confidence and frankly, nothing left to lose. They managed to grab one win and looked to be on a path towards their second one of the series until it all fell apart with a second to spare in game five. The decisive goal was scored by who else than hREDS captain @Beniittto - crowning the redshirts the first ever back-to-back ECL Champions.