ECL '23 Winter Elite Weekly - Now is the time to course-correct

SportsGamers,

The ECL '23 Winter Elite season returns from its Christmas break and with that, also the second week of action in the regular season is in the books. While some teams are quickly closing in on the halfway mark of their campaigns, JANO, who didn't start their journey until Thursday last week, will have some catching up to do. Among the teams we mentioned would have to really prove themselves in the past week were ZSC Esports and Falun Coal Miners. Now it's time to take a look at how those teams have fared in the past week, as well as look at some other trends that might have started appearing. 

Since last time we checked in on the Elite division, the predicted contenders hREDS and Frölunda HC have started pulling the pack, as expected. The two title favorites even clashed this week, with points eventually being shared between the two of them. In both of those bouts, hREDS evidently put on more pressure and managed to gain an advantage in chances created and puck possession, but Frölunda were incredibly opportunistic and strongly benefitted from the scoring touch that Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen has managed to find for the red and green. 

One of the more surprising outcomes of the early season is Roots Gaming and Unlucky Boys HC battling up there with the big boys in the standings. Both clubs underwent some offseason changes and were expected to at least have an adjustment period early on, but at this point, they are hanging in there with the best of them. Roots managed to sneak a point in their matchup against hREDS, whereas Unlucky Boys won one of their games in the matchup against Frölunda HC. The Unlucky Boys HC captain Antti @Anhel_Kuru Kuru, who dropped back to defense this season, has started very well, helping his team on the rush too with great production (2+12=14) early on. 

ZSC Esports and Falun Coal Miners, who we were wishing to pick up their game a bit, haven't really shown what we know they can do yet. Both teams are seemingly struggling to keep the puck out of their own net, and Falun aren't helping their case by being one of the most penalized teams in the league on average. There's still plenty of time for both of these squads to turn things around, and we'll be rooting for them to find a way in the coming weeks!

Another interesting phenomenon has been the lows that GOONS, Färjestad BK and Växjö Lakers have started their seasons on. All three teams are now past the first third of the season and are below a .500 record. While GOONS and FBK have been around for quite some time already in the Elite division, Växjö were expected to be the new kids on the block with the skill to challenge some of the better teams in the league. That has certainly not yet happened, and with their upcoming matchups being Nordic Stars and Unlucky Boys, now is a better time than ever for Växjö to pull theirselves together. GOONS, on the other hand, have been doing just that, as they seem to have rotated all of their deep roster in an attempt to find the constellation that ultimately will be able to get them wins. Top scorer Roope @pikkuroger Bergström will be entering military service in a week, so they'll need to find a way to click without him in the future. 

The top plays of last week featured some Laitinen action in the Tunnel Vision vs Frölunda HC matchup, as Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen managed to steal the puck in the neutral zone, setting up an attacking chance for his team. Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen managed to find Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen open on the right flank for a clapper that hit the back of the net. 

In another beautiful play this past week, JANO's Waltteri @Wpaanane Paananen threw some extra, extra sauce on the table when finding his teammate Eemil @Eeemill_ Törnvall for an easy tap in at the back post in their matchup against Färjestad BK.

Standings - Week 1

1.  hREDS (-) 10-1-1

2.  Frölunda HC (+1) 9-2-1

3.  Unlucky Boys HC (+2) 7-3-2

4.  Roots Gaming (+6) 6-1-3

5.  ISO Esports (-1) 5-4-5

6.  JYP Jyvaskyla (+2) 7-3-0

7.  Tunnel Vision (-1) 6-0-2

8.  Nordic Stars (-6) 6-3-1

9.  ZSC Esports (-) 6-8-0

10.  Reality Check (-3) 5-3-2

11.  Färjestad BK (+1) 3-4-3

12.  GOONS (-1) 3-6-2

13.  Växjö Lakers (+1) 2-6-2

14.  Falun Coal Miners (-1) 2-6-2

15.  Luleå Hockey (+1) 2-3-1

16.  JANO (-1) 2-2-0

ECL '23 Winter Pro is on the table today with two great broadcast matchups!
Tune in to watch IK Oskarshamn take on Bastu and Frölunda HC Academy take on Synergy Hockey. See you at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG at 19:45CET as usual!