ECL 12 Elite Weekly Recap - Week 4 - ECL

The finish line is in sight! With only a third left to go of the season, now is the time for a final push. It is still mathematically possible for every team to either make or fall out of the playoffs, but naturally the likelihood of those events are up for debate.

FILADELPHIA continues strong as the sole team to stay undefeated in regular time this season. The black and orange suffered their only loss so far at the start of last week in a big matchup against hREDS in their ECL 11 Elite finals rematch. This season, the team is looking better than ever defensively, while maintaining a high offensive production - proven by their very low GA/GP at only 1.06, simultaneously averaging 4 goals a game into the opposing net. It seems like FILA is a lock for the #1 seed into the postseason with their toughest matchups already out of the way, HAVU Gaming and hREDS have the chance to challenge but a favorable outcome for them would require some lackluster effort on FILADELPHIA's part.

Just behind the top 3, things are wide open and somewhat surprisingly recently promoted GOONS have managed to keep up their good performances. The newcomers lead by the likes of Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola and Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu currently sit in 4th place with a few games in hand on Farjestad BK, who also seem intent on clinching yet another playoff spot, their third consecutive in fact. The Swedes suffered two stinging losses at the hands of YMCA Esports early last week, but managed to come back convincingly by destroying KOVA Esports in a scoring explosion, netting current goal scoring leader Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg a total of eight goals in those two games.

The battle for those few playoff spots around the playoff line is also raging hard, and as usual it'll come down right to the finish line. Most prominently, we've got POGGERS, SAWO ESPORTS and YMCA Esports currently in playoff position, but Vesa Pompa, IQUE and Northern Ascendancy have all but given up. JYP Jyvaskyla are also looking to salvage their season after a terrible start despite being previewed as a surefire playoff squad. Players going under the radar that have been crucial for their teams are definitely Mikko @EABUNKA Kärkkäinen for SAWO and Jan-Mikael @Janski (Jansku23) Aittoniemi for POGGERS - these guys sit at 25 and 23 goals respectively, amounting to nearly 50% of their teams production.

In the scoring race, hREDS experienced centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen is topping the tables, followed closely by recent GWC EU Champion Erik @Eki Tammenpää and it looks like the fight for that #1 spot is going to go right down to the wire between these two.

After yet another strong week, Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann has further solidified his position as leading scorer among defensemen. The 26-year old right defenseman notched six points in four games and is just ahead of Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen and Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta.

When it comes to goaltending, Casper @ICappeI Lundgren reigns supreme! The FILADELPHIA netminder is at 17 wins for the season, a GAA of 1.06, a second-to-none save percentage and two goals! What!?

Transfers
It's a somewhat rare occasion to see some movement at the Elite level after the start of the season, but some transfers have come to knowledge in the past week or so, we'll also be recapping possible movement in these reports. Here are the transfers that have come to light since last week:

Vesa Pompa
IN Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg (FILADELPHIA)
Despite not getting to make a single appearance in black and orange on ECL ice, the netminder spent a significant chunk of time learning from the best in FILADELPHIA. Now he is returning home to dear Vesa Pompa, who have struggled this season. The Swedes have an already strong netminder in Erik @MrAllsvenskan Rotsenius from before, so it'll be exciting to see if the two are to share duties or if Vesa Pompa has something else in mind. Thunborg already made his debut quite surprisingly on the RD spot in absence of other options - netting his career first ECL Elite goal against hREDS in a 3-2 defeat.