ECL '24: Spring - Core Finals Preview

Two great stories. Two impressive playoff runs. This all is coming to an end with an interesting final series between Darra Stars and KohKae Esports. In this article, we dig deep into the ECL '24: Spring - Core Finalists and what you can expect in this series.


 

(5) Darra Stars vs KohKae Esports (14) 

By making it into the finals, both clubs have already secured their spot in ECL Lite division, but neither of them are getting ahead of themselves thinking of next season as they are hungry to end their season with a glorious victory. Let's have a look at how they got here, the statistics behind their runs, and also hear some of their thoughts!

 Darra Stars road to the finals:

Round 1: 4-0 vs Clowns On Ice

Round 2: 4-2 vs Moscow Capitals

Quarterfinals: 4-2 vs Wida

Semifinals: 4-2 vs Saucer Hockey
 

 KohKae Esports road to finals:

Round 1: 4-0 vs TRAINING GROUND

Round 2: 4-0 vs Lutunilkat

Quarterfinals: 4-0 vs Prowlers

Semifinals: 4-2 vs ARMEIJAN KURI

Team Statistics Deep Dive

Diving into statistics, the first comparison worth noting is their special team play. So far in the playoffs, KohKae has 42 powerplay opportunities scoring 9 powerplay goals (21,43%) compared to Darra Stars' 37 powerplays turning on the red light 6 times (16,21%). This statistic goes a little bit in KohKae's favor but it's so close that it's impossible truly to judge who has more firepower when on the man advantage. I believe this will be a fundamental and interesting point to follow in this series, especially since both teams' penalty minutes are also very close: KohKae 44 and Stars 50.

Now, a word about puck possession and movement; Darra Stars' time with the puck in minutes 417:91 and KohKae's 350:41. Based on this difference, we might expect to see the Stars trying to build their plays with more discipline passing and having possession in the offensive zone while KohKae might be trying to get it done with a shutdown defense and counter-attacks.

But speaking about passing, which team has been sending them with more precision into their teammates' stick blades? Once again, the stats are close, but with a slight advantage for Kohkae. Stars completed passes compared to attempted ones 2190/2831 (77,36%) and KohKae 1987/2489 (79,83%). It will also be interesting to see if either team will play a more physical game since that is another one of their statistical similarities in playoffs: Stars with 244 hits (11,1 per game) and KohKae 230 hits (12,8 per game).

Individual Statistics and Players to Watch

Like always, we can't talk enough about goalies so let's check how they have done their job so far. KohKae's @khassu-- has continued his outstanding performance between the pipes and like in our Semifinals Preview he sits in the #1 spot in both playoffs save% of 90.95% and goals against average of 1.06. Meanwhile, the #2 spot holder in GAA happens to be Stars goalie @MietuskaXIV with 1.73. It's safe to say at this point that we will have the top 2 goalies of the Core division having a showdown against each other!

@Aika_Suklaata has continued his successful playoff run and is still sitting comfortably as the #1 Core playoffs point scorer with 27 goals, and 28 assists, totaling 55 points. Having a guy like this must give his teammates a lot of confidence, but obviously, this also puts some pressure on Aika_Suklaata to continue to be seen in the scoresheet throughout this final series.

The same can be said about KohKae's @Joona41 who is the top goal scorer of the playoffs with 31 goals in 18 games played. It will be interesting to see how both teams have studied their opponents and which of these star players will turn out to be more valuable.

Besides Aika_Suklaata, Darra Stars have two other players in the Top 8 playoff points: #3 @MrRelw with 12 goals and 34 assists, totaling 46 points and #8 @isoraitti10 25 goals and 16 assists, totaling 41 points. We have to go all the way to spots #23-25 to find second second-best KohKae point producers, @Royalcombat96 @TenkaRolle @Eashl_kalle everyone with 25 points. KohKae can't only rely on Joona41's magic when they know that the Stars have been shining with a wider set of top point scorers. They have to find more depth in their roster to be able to lift the trophy. Like we witnessed in the Stanley Cup finals - even if one guy tallys up absolutely ridiculous numbers, it may not be enough to achieve the final destination.

Captain Interviews

We had a chance to talk to the team captains before the finals, here's what they had to say:

Do you know anything about your upcoming opponent's playstyle and are there any familiar players? 

@LihaPoni90, KohKae Esports: "Some Stars players are familiar to us, and whether we know how they are playing... i don't give any comments about that 😉"

@Aika_Suklaata, Darra Stars: "We have been getting a little bit familiar with KohKae's playstyle already in casual games but also in eHockey SM 2024 when we were in the same group and played very tight games against them. They are definitely a playoff team and they deserve to be in the final - what an amazing playoff run. I'm sure that we will face a team that defends very hard, and plays a straightforward playstyle with counterattacks. They have been lacking in scoring depth but they made progress with that too in their semifinal series. Also @khassu-- has been the best goalie of these playoffs."

Do you feel like your own team's playstyle and strategies have been staying similar and consistent during this season or have you gone through some kind of progress?

@LihaPoni90: "We had a little break and missed last season (ECL '24: Winter), so the start of our season was a little bit of finding each other again. We had good games and bad games, the end of the regular season was okay. Our game got better and better, we tried different things and found things that work for us. Playing feels good and we have a very good team spirit! Confidence has grown bigger and bigger! And our goalie.. oh my! 🎩 Good to be captain of a team like this!"

@Aika_Suklaata: "Our ECL '24 Winter Core season was a big disappointment because of a playoffs Round 1 exit, and because of that we had tough times with our lack of confidence and we were not sure about the future of this club. But participating in eHockey SM 2024 was a big step up for us because we learned how to play a better 5-man unit defense against tough teams as an underdog. Our trap has been poisonous for our opponents this season and it has been a big key point to our success now. Also, we got @MietuskaXIV to join us, a steady and stable goalie with experience from higher ECL divisions. Operating in the offensive zone has felt very secure when you know that you have goalie and defense like this."

After winning your semifinal series, how have you prepared for the final? Lots of training sessions or more like a relaxed mindset?

@LihaPoni90: "After the semifinals, we started our Street Hockey Tour in Helsinki, so some kind of training in real life! 😃 (btw, we won the tournament there!). But of course, relaxing is important too. Small training sessions this week and a little session before the finals! We are ready! 💪"

@Aika_Suklaata: "After the semifinal, we just relaxed for a week but these days before finals we have been training. And yeah, we have been watching KohKae closely since Round 2 of playoffs."

Predictions:

@Pekedipeks: Darra Stars 4-3 

@Pensasmies: Darra Stars 4-2 

Follow the Playoff streams

Games 1-2: Wednesday, June 26th, 20:45 CET: https://twitch.tv/LihaPoni90
(Game 3 will be played if the series is tied at 1-1)

The rest of the series will be played on the SportsGamer Broadcast on Thursday, June 27th

https://twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG

Who do you think will win the ECL Core Championship? Are there any key points or factors that we may have not covered? Let us know in the comments!