ECL 12 Core Playoffs: Quarterfinals Preview

NHLGamers,

We are heading for the ECL Core Quarterfinals! Round 3 gave us some thrillers (For example Tadpole’s comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to 3-4 series win) and some marathon games like Arkham Asylum’s game 5 against BonusAmbers which took over 126 minutes to decide the winner. Now there are only eight teams left to battle and the stakes are high for this round as each winner will punch their ticket to ECL 13 Lite.

The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, June 29th and Sunday, July 4th.

Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule:

Lainaa

10.6.4 ECL Core Playoff Schedule

• Playoffs Round 1: 6.6 – 10.6 (BO7)
• Playoffs Round 2: 13.6 – 17.6 (BO7)
• Playoffs Round 3: 20.6 – 23.6 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 29.6 – 4.7 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 6.7 – 11.7 (BO7)
• Finals: 16.7 – 17.7 (BO7)

Here are your matchups for the Quarterfinals:

(1)  STARGAZING vs Tadpole  (27)

Stargazing continues being the favorite to advance to the semifinals from this matchup. Even though Tadpole made a huge statement in round 3 where they managed to make a big comeback, the difference between these teams is far too big. The biggest factors are going to be in the net, as the Tadpole goalie @Zuominen (Zumppi_) hasn't had the easiest playoffs so far. A big reason for this is also the difficulties Tadpole has had to defend as a five man unit from time to time. Tadpole needs to step up defensively to hold the scoring chances at minimum for Stargazing if they are to pose a threat for the #1 seed. Stargazing swept their opponent Mora IK in round 3, and I can't see a reason why they wouldn't continue on that path.

Prediction: 4-0 Stargazing

Players to watch:

1: @ose16 (OSE1688) (SGZ)

2: @Esko-etikka (SGZ)

3: @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) (TAD)

(2)  Stone Age vs Team Rocket  (25)

Even though Stone Age took a 4-1 win against hc marko, it felt a little bit odd to see their games. It seemed like their feel for the game was gone the whole series and they just showed up, somehow making that enough to advance. hc marko took four out of five games to OT and I think in two of those games Stone Age came back from being down in the last minutes. Hopefully we see the old Stone Age in the Quarterfinals! This series will be the battle of the goalies. Team Rocket is a pretty welcome surprise with their 1-4 series win over Lemmenvelhot, and will be a big challenger for Stone Age in my books. Team Rocket has a balanced team in front of @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga), and that will be a big factor in this series.

Prediction: 3-4 Team Rocket

Players to watch:

1: @Lyynas  / @Dick Weener (Ewokvillage) (AGE)

2: @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga) (TR)

(3)  Pasilan SKA vs Resurrection  (16) Written by @jahajaha93

Both of these teams are on convincing playoff runs without too many hickups on their road so far, but this will be the end for one of these stories this season. Pasilan SKA is entering the series following a comfortable sweep against Virtuoso, who could not match the scoring power that SKA and mainly @hene kettu (juuhen25) combined with @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) has displayed so far. Now, Resurrection who are on a similar run and also very easily trampled Its a nice city in round 3 will aim to stop SKA. Resurrection has a wide array of weapons in their arsenal, mainly the two-headed monster @tkantola & @Xkeineri up front, but also strong backup like @Teemu97. It'll be an exciting clash, and both goalies will have their hands full in order to stop scoring explosions from happening.

Players to watch:

1: @hene kettu (juuhen25) (SKA)

2: @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) (SKA)

3: @tkantola (RES)

Prediction: 4-3 Pasilan SKA

(8)  Arkham Asylum vs Tohtorit  (9)

This series is interesting. Arkham, who were the #1 team in group 8 against Tohtorit, who were the #2 team in group 7. I wouldn’t be surprised if we will see a game 7 in this matchup. Tohtorit managed to squeak by Jokers Hockey in round 3 in a thrilling series thet extended to seven games. Tohtorit managed to win the decisive bout with a goal in OT to advance with a 1-0 win. If Tohtorit could find the same gear that they had in the regular season, this series would be a walk in the park, but lately they have had some troubles on the horizon. Perhaps Arkhams playstyle will be a more suitable match for them? Arkham took a solid 4-1 series win over BonusAmbers, but they had some difficulties in their game. It’s rare to go 126 minutes in a n ECL playoff game, but they did just that - finally winning the decisive match by an own goal to put them in the quarterfinals. Scoring should be improved!

Prediction: 3-4 Tohtorit

Players to watch:

1: @Ojala16 (THT)

2: @Hj_projekti (ARK)

3: @TheSpeedo (ARK)