The 6v6 eHockey Finnish Championships Playoffs - Finals Preview

SportsGamers,

Finally, it's time for the best teams to clash in a tough Finals series to cap off the eHSM 2022 season. On Friday, we witnessed Jere @jxrska Laukka take the community by storm and hoisting the 1v1 trophy, now GOONS has the opportunity to pull a similar feat against hREDS, but do they have what it takes?

Join us for the Bronze series between #1 seed FILADELPHIA and #2 seed Tunnel Vision first, starting at 18:30 EEST over at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG as usual. After the bronze series, we'll drop the puck for the Finals. Your hosts for the night will be Arttu Hämäläinen and Julius Sorjonen.

hREDS  (3) vs GOONS  (4)

TOP SCORER (Playoffs)
Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 15 GP, 23+41=64 vs Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 16 GP, 28+33=61

GOALTENDER (Playoffs)
Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos 15 GP, 15 W, 79,81 SV%, 1,4 GAA, 5 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 16 GP, 15 W, 76,87 SV%, 1,94 GAA, 1 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
16-0-0 vs 15-1-0

With the level of competition in the eHSM this year, it's rather incredible that hREDS have made it thus far on an unbeaten streak. They're currently 31 games deep into eHSM action and if we'll count their last competitive victory in the ECL '22 Spring Finals, that makes it 32 games. We haven't checked the record books, but that's an impressive feat and speaks volumes of just how good this team is. In addition to that, they even switched up their lineup mid-playoffs. Albeit it being their true and tested long-time centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen joining them on leave from his military service, the team and the man himself took the assignment in stride and didn't miss a beat on their march towards the trophy. Going into Sunday, we'll have to wonder if we'll see Beniittto back in the lineup or not, and if Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen gets the call back, what is his form and motivation to do his best for a team that just benched him the previous week?

GOONS have showed everyone that they are very close to the Championship team level at the moment, if not the best team in the tournament on their best days. However, in comparison to hREDS, they do suffer a bit from occasional inconsistency. Their semifinals victory against defending champions FILADELPHIA came with relative ease and despite being put on the back foot at times, they've always managed to bounce back. GOONS is a resilient team with all the skill to match their opponent, all they need to do now is get into that Championship headspace and claim the trophy, it's there for the taking tonight. Ever since his triumph with SAWO ESPORTS in ECL '22 Spring, Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila has looked like a different player on the ice, in a good sense. He is able to take charge on the ice and set the tone with confidence, helped by the X-Factor all of his teammates seem to possess.

The goaltending duel is going to be interesting to watch, wunderkind and former cover gamer Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen has recent Finals experience from this summer, whereas the experienced Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos was part of a declining HAVU Gaming squad for a few seasons, and is now re-emerging as a top tier goaltender for a Championship caliber team. 

Prediction: hREDS wins it in 4.