ECL '22 Spring Elite Weekly: Conquer Gaming on a great run as of late

We're closing down on the main stretch with a bit over a week to go in the season and the standings are looking tight! Conquer Gaming is one of the teams who had a great past week and they've been one of the most pleasant surprises thus far. What will happen moving on?

All teams but two have now passed the midway point of the season and with a bit over a week left to go, now is definitely the time to start pushing and collecting those crucial points to make a playoff push. It looks like hREDS and Frölunda HC are running away from the pack a little bit, but elsewhere, it seems like there's so much parity in the league right now which makes for a very exciting last week of action.

The week started with a classic battle as HAVU Gaming and Frölunda HC split points in the broadcast games. The week was positive for HAVU in other ways as well when they were able to get full points from Färjestad BK and ended their week against Roots Gaming with three points from those games. Roots had their second full four points night against ZSC Esports and that definitely did them good as right now they are battling for the same spots in the standings with the Swiss group. 

Perhaps the biggest upset of the week was when Conquer Gaming managed to overcome hREDS twice in their matchups on Thursday evening. hREDS have reigned supreme throughout the season and have definitely been in great form, but the disciplined outing from Conquer led to difficulties converting on chances. hREDS salvaged two points through overtime losses, but for Conquer these additions to their totals were more than welcome, as they now sit at 1.25 points per game, which should grant them a playoff spot if they're able to keep up the pace - something that we could not foresee prior to the season. Also, will this blow to hREDS' confidence have an impact on their performance in their next few games?

hREDS wasn't the only top team that Conquer went up against this week, as they also met Frölunda HC earlier. Winning also them in one game makes Conquer's week nothing short of amazing. The fact that they were able to win both recent European Champions in the same week makes them definitely the biggest dark horse so far this season and no one would have expected an outcome like this in any preseason prediction.  

Frölunda HC had a bit of a slump this week, unusually for them. Despite winning one game with a 7-1 landslide against GOONS, they also lost one game in regulation. GOONS have now played 10 games with Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva on defense and their record in those games is impressive as they have won eight and lost only two. When you look at the points per game you can right now find the skunk-predators in 5th place in the standings. 

One the teams that had tough time this week was ZSC Esports. Losing all their four games during this week puts them at a five game losing streak. They have 0.9 points per game after 20 games and that puts them in 14th place in the standings. They will have to figure out how to keep the puck away from their net because they allow 2.7 goals per game, which isn't sustainable if they are looking to climb the standings in the final push of the season.

Individually, we've got the scoring race also tightening towards the end of the season. GOONS only played two matchups this past week, so the lead for Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinen is diminishing and quite a few players are closing in on him. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie is two points behind with a few games less played, but also SAWO duo Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and Jere @jxrska Laukka are getting close with four games less at the moment, and these are the kind of guys that can pop off at any given time. PleeMaker ended up being the first player to reach 20 goals with six in total scored in the past week. 

It also seems like the transition for Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala to defense is really working out for him. As the highest scoring defenseman he is showcasing both premier production and excellent overall play down low, not that there was ever any doubt about it. However, the most complete player on defense thus far has been ZSC Esports' Max @Toneee9 Tonitz, who we already mentioned last week. The Austrian defenseman is having a real breakout year now in his third Elite campaign with the Swiss club.

Among the goaltenders, two names currently rise above the others and we are not surprised. Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and Filip @Faze91- Azri finding their form and look like they'll be peaking at the right time, just in time for playoffs to start. These guys have stood the test of time and are still among the best in the business. Also notably, Christoffer @Tiipponenii (Coffelainen) Eriksson is looking very good for his team HV71 as of late despite the team struggling a bit. Look for them to perhaps steal some points as get down the main stretch of the regular season.

Tonight we'll be back with some great ECL Elite action for you guys at 17:45 CEST as usual! We've got JYP Jyväskylä going against SAWO ESPORTS and hREDS - Färjestad BK on tap with Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson to call the action!