Hey NHLGamers,
Yet another ECL season is in the books and we got to enjoy some outstanding games, teams and players. We would like to launch our season recap series by taking a look in the rear-view mirror at what happened in our Lite division. This season we broke the benchmark of 100 participating teams, which resulted in a 60-team Lite division with six 10-team groups. In this Lite division recap, we’ll be reviewing the performance of those teams highlighted in our predictions article.
Group 1:
Ghetto Firebirds - The Firebirds proved that they belong in the mix of teams that can compete for the chance for the promotion to the Pro division. They had a nice bounce back after being relegated from Pro at the end of ECL 5. Captain @Aantri led his team to a convincing 1st place finish in their group with a record of 14-3-1, the captain amassing a decent 53 points along the way. The team started the playoffs quite well with a 4:1 series win in the first round, following a 6 game series in the second round. They fell just short of a promotion by losing their quarterfinal against Sektion K with a series score of 1:4.
Sektion K - Sektion K finished only 3rd in their group, but former Lavetten player @Edhoolm97 in the center position together with goaltender @Tauri led their team all the way into the semi-finals where they lost in a game 7 thriller to one of the preview favourites, Cowabunga Hockey. They gained their promotion by knocking out the top 3 seed SGWEER United.
Group 2:
Freddie Mercury Institute - Freddie Mercury Institute had to deal with quite a tough group and finished only 4th in the regular season. They were still ranked as the 12th seed in the playoffs and punched their ticket for a chance of a promotion by qualifying into the round of the last 8. However, this story didn’t have a happy ending as Style crushed their dreams by winning the series 4:1.
SGWEER United - This German-Swedish connection came back strong after a painful 1st round exit in ECL 5. They topped their group again and managed to advance to the second round in the playoffs. In the second round SGWEER faced eventual semi-finalists Sektion K, whose impressive defensive efforts were poisonous for SGWEER’s very strong offense built around top-scorer @Gregson91.
Group 3:
Style - The double OEHL champion established a strong presence in the ECL scene by finishing 2nd in their group. Left wing @Panarinz put in a huge effort in their long playoff run, which ended in a 4:2 semi-final loss against the champions to be EV Duisburg. On their playoff run, Style managed sweep another favourite Suomen Sonnit in their second round matchup, which is certainly an impressive show of strength from the Swedes.
Korpens Finest - Listed as the team to watch in group 3, Korpens Finest proved their given status by finishing on top of their group with a regular season record of 13-3-2. Heading into the Playoffs as only the 10th seed, they eliminated The Black Jacks - also from group 3 in the first round. However, their second round matchup against GHETTO FIREBIRDS ended in a disappointing loss.
Group 4:
Bare Knuckles Hockey - Bare Knuckles Hockey had a nearly perfect regular season with a record of 17-1-0. The only loss they had to mark was in their last matchup against Kaksikymmentaseitseman. Ranked 1st of all playoff teams, high-scoring right wing @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94) and his group struggled early in the first round, with the series extending all the way to a game seven. This monster of a team was taken down in the second round in another seven game series in the hands of MotherPuckers.
Etelan Vetelat - Etelan Vetelat perfomed quite well as a newcomer into the ECL scene by gaining the 2nd place of their group. After losing both games in their very first regular season matchup against Bare Knuckles Hockey, they won nearly all of their remaining games. Seeding 9th into the playoffs, Vetelat got eliminated in the hands of the later champion EV Duisburg in the second round.
Group 5:
Cowabunga Hockey - Cowabunga Hockey was listed as a favourite for group 5 and they didn't hesitate to show us why. With a record of 15-2-1 they were the 2nd seed for this seasons Lite playoffs and had one heck of a playoff run. Nearly the same six guys tied their skates for the entire season and brought the team all the way into the finals - only to have their dreams obliterated by EV Duisburg in a sweep. Despite their difficult matchup in the finals, we are sure Cowabunga will be motivated for their next season in ECL Pro, coming back even stronger.
Hippo Rangers - The Hippo Rangers had a very strong performance as a newcomer and only tiebreakers kept them from topping their regular season group. After sweeping KulmalaHengaus in the first round, they were forced to pack their bags and head for the beaches in a 2:4 series loss against Pohjoista Voimaa in the second round. With a combo of good offense, strong defense and a small but experienced squad they were a force to be reckoned with and may still be next season.
Group 6:
Suomen Sonnit - The Finns were on every list for this season's favourites in the Lite division. After a decent regular season (14-3-1) they handed out a sweep in the first round, only to get it handed back by Style in the second round. They had a match winner in goaltender @Theoikeakarim, who had an incredible season with just under 2 GAA in both the playoffs and during the regular season. They will learn from their mistakes and assuming we'll see these guys in Lite next season they will probably be one of the favourites to get promoted.
HokiDogit - HokiDogit impressed everyone with their performance in the regular season (11-3-4) but they failed to gain confidence out of it. Unfortunately for them, they lost directly in the first round against the Bucketeers. They played a good allround game during the regular season, having good defense and decent scoring from all roster players. With more practice and experience from tight playoff games they will not make the same mistakes again and you can expect them to come back even stronger.
Under the radar:
EV Duisburg - The Germans flew under the radar in the beginning of the season. After turning down an offer of being promoted to ECL Pro in the offseason, EVD came back to Lite as they wanted to prove to themselves that they are worth the Pro spot. Their road to victory began as the 8th seed (finished 3rd in the group stage) and a 4:1 victory over Soldiers of Odens. @FoxGoalie and his crew eliminated Etelan Vetelat (4:2), Pohjoista Voimaa (4:0) and Style (4:2) on their way to the cup by finishing it in style with a finals sweep over Cowabunga Hockey (4:0).
AWARDS
Playoff MVP: @FoxGoalie
Most Points: @Fin_torspo90, Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games
Most Goals: @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games
Most Assists: @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 17 Goals, 37 Assists, 54 Points in 18 games
Most Hits by a Forward: @Zuominen, Unfinished Business, 112 Hits in 16 games
Best +/-: @Duran93, Bare Knuckles Hockey, +51 in 18 games
Most Points by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
Most Goals by a Defenseman: @lejo199, Asserklubi, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points in 16 games
Most Assist by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tobago, Trinidad Tobago,134 Hits in 24 Games
TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 LITE
Top 3 Forwards Regular Season:
1. @Fin_torspo90 , Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games
2. @Tero Paikkari (Teroe), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games
3. @Gregson91 , SGWEER United, 28 Goals, 32 Assists, 60 Points in 16 games
Top 3 Defender Regular Season:
1. @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
2. @CCBow-501, SGWEER United, 2 Goals, 21 Assists, 23 Points in 16 games
3. @MonkeyHead_AF, Cowabunga Hockey, 4 Goals, 18 Assists in 18 games
Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season:
1. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 15 Wins, 88,54%, 1,44 GAA, 4 SO in 18 games
2. @Perkkari, Hippo Rangers, 15 Wins, 84,21%, 1,50 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games
3. @George, Bare Knuckles Hockey, 15 Wins, 80,13%, 1,81 GAA, 4 SO in 16 games
Top 3 Forwards Playoffs:
1. @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Goals, 28 Assists, 44 Points in 25 games
2. @Edhoolm97, Sektion K, 22 Goals, 19 Assists, 41 Points in 20 games
3. @Panarinz, Style, 18 Goals, 21 Assists, 39 Points in 18 games
Top 3 Defender Playoffs:
1. @xXPsykoSkillsXx, EV Duisburg, 3 Goals, 20 Assists, 23 Points in 24 games
2. @HambergD, Sektion K, 3 Goals, 15 Assists, 18 Points in 21 games
3. @Lortto, Hippo Rangers, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points in 10 games
Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs:
1. @FoxGoalie, EV Duisburg, 20 Wins, 90,40%, 1,04 GAA, 10 SO in 25 games
2. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Wins, 86,57%, 1,60 GAA, 4 SO in 26 games
3. @Gunde021, Style, 12 Wins, 86,47%, 1,55 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games
This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of six players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Lite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Lite division in ECL 6:
@Panarinz (Style) - @Tinkesakara (Cowabunga Hockey) - @Edhoolm97 (Sektion K)
@xXPsykoSkillsXx (EV Duisburg) - @C4__N4R__V4 (SGWEER United)
@FoxGoalie (EV Duisburg)
The NHLGamer staff congratulates EV Duisburg for winning the Lite division and furthermore Cowabunga Hockey, Sektion K and Style for their promotions to the Pro division.
We want to thank all participating teams for their efforts and hope you all enjoyed the season! If you have any suggestions on how we could improve our website, please let us know by contacting any staff member.
The recaps of our other divisions will be published soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
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