ECL 10 Elite Tonight: Crossing the midway point

NHLGamers,

Our first broadcast of the week sees us crossing the midway point of the regular season and we've set you up with some interesting battles. In the first matchup, an underperforming Unlucky Boys HC goes up against a tough team to beat - Roots. In the second matchup, energetic KOVA Esports will take on a desperate Almost Famous.

Dynamic duo @Tougie24 and @Cyn will be casting the action tonight.
 

 Unlucky Boys HC vs Roots 
RECORD
6-8-2 vs 8-3-3

TOP SCORER
Antti @Anhel Kuru (12+7=19) vs Miko @Migo_boo Nurmi (10+11=21)

GOALTENDER
Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen (4 W, 85,19 SV%, 2 GAA, 1 SO) vs Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari (8 W, 85,55 SV%, 1,79 GAA, 2 SO)

Unlucky Boys HC have had an uphill struggle all season long. We're used to seeing them in playoff spot contention, but the ream led by centerman Antti @Anhel Kuru had a catastrophic start to the season. Familiar face Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen returned to guard the crease last week and might have been what the team needed in order to turn a corner. 4-2-0 in his first week show signs of improvement. Roots, on the other hand, have been a steady performer. The black and green have played a bunch of low-scoring games this season, a feat that can be attributed to their great and very organized game, but in their own end also to at times sensational play by goaltender Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari. In this matchup, I would keep my eye on the guys between the pipes.

 KOVA Esports vs Almost Famous 
RECORD
7-7-2 vs 3-9-2

TOP SCORER
Valeri @Valluxet Reihel (18+9=27) vs Eemi @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli (11+10=21)

GOALTENDER
Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck (7 W, 83,33 SV%, 2,44 GAA, 2 SO) vs Joni @Jonitski Rintamäenpää (3 W, 77,83 SV%, 3,36 GAA, 2 SO)

Both of tonight's matchups start in very similar situations. In this one, KOVA Esports has the edge as they have despite having a multitude of fresh faces in their roster, performed very well in the first half of the season. Their scoring has lied heavily on the shoulders of power duo Valeri @Valluxet Reihel and Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen, but we all know that they have depth in their lineup too. Almost Famous hasn't been able to get going at all. After a turbulent offseason, the struggles have piled on as they can't seem to find consistency and have currently fallen into last place. However, their last broadcast showing resulted in 3/4 points against SJ Gaming, maybe tonight will be the turning point for their season?

Tune in for all the action starting tonight at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer, alternatively ISTV, and Ruutu for our Finnish viewers.