ECL ’22 Winter Elite Finals: Battle of The Titans

Finally it's here, the culmination of the ECL '22 Winter Elite season. Only the top two teams in Europe remain. There's many names for this top-tier rivalry, but now we'll call it the NHL Esports new 'battle of the titans'. We decided to reach out to the netminders on both ends of the ice for some thoughts about their history and the upcoming games.

Faze, FILADELPHIA, now Frölunda HC, in the finals last season. How did it feel to win the  ECL in just your second Elite season?

”It felt awesome, we have an amazing group of players and we all knew that we were capable of sweeping them. And we really did perform to our best in that series. To win my first Elite championship was something special, I couldn’t imagine sitting there when I started playing NHL back in NHL 20. And to do it with this group of guys couldn’t have been better”, the hREDS netminder Filip @Faze91- Azri noted.

Cappe, in the last ECL Finals your team took a beating. What's your mindset going into the rematch and by that, the ECL '22 Winter Championship? 

”We know what we can do and we have shown that against hREDS in the last five games we’ve played against each other in the FCL and ECL”, Frölunda goalie Casper @ICappeI Lundgren briefly comments, and seems very focused on the task ahead. 

You have faced each other in the finals several times in the last year, does this matchup have any special significance?

@Faze91-:  ”It’s for sure always fun to play these big games, and Frölunda in the Finals is something special. I'm sure it's gonna be an exciting series to watch.”

@ICappeI: “It's definitely special to play in the Finals!! It's always fun to test yourself against the best out there and I believe hREDS is right there with us.”

What is your greatest strength as a goalie, and have you changed your play style from NHL21?

@Faze91-: ”Reading the play for sure, reading the opposition's plays and always being one step ahead. That’s my biggest strength. Of course I've changed my game style a bit, but that’s something I want to keep for myself.”

@ICappeI: ”Playing goalie in NHL 22 is quite different from what it used to be. So much random stuff is happening so it can be quite frustrating to play between the pipes. I’m not a big fan of the gameplay right now and kind of miss NHL 19-21. However, I enjoy playing this game because of my teammates, I love being able to compete with such a great group of people.”

How will the series end and which things will show up in the deciding matches?

@Faze91-: ”4-0 to us, we are a really strong team and we have been feeling it the whole season. If we play our best I feel like there is no team that can challenge us. I think the deciding factors will be the focus and the form coming into the games, which team will score the first goals and have the routine to close down the games.”

@ICappeI: ”The first games will be huge in this series as we’ve seen in the past two ECL Elite Finals. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has looked amazing recently so I’m excited to see what he can do in the matchup against Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes)! I think we’ll win it 4-2.”

Tune in for the ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals this weekend! The broadcast will start at 19:30 CET on both Friday and Thursday. You'll find us at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG with Cody "Tougie" Tougas and Paul "Cyn" Anderson in the booth to call the action!