HC Nelson are the ECL ’26: Spring – Neo champions after completing an incredible underdog playoff run and defeating Tigers Zlin 3–1 in the final series.
A Complete Championship Run
HC Nelson entered the playoffs as the 16th seed and had to do things the hard way on their road to the Neo title. Their run started with a dramatic 3–2 series win against Outlaws Hockey, before they stunned third-seeded Beer Bees with a 3–1 victory in Round 2.
From there, HC Nelson only grew stronger. In the quarterfinals, they swept top-seeded eHockey Poland 3–0, sending a clear message to the rest of the bracket. They followed that up with another 3–0 sweep against second-seeded Nurnberg Nidhoggr in the semifinals to book their place in the Neo final.
In the championship series, they faced Tigers Zlin, who had put together an impressive run of their own by eliminating Kemistit, Nordic Avengers, Crossover HC and Rotonto housut. But in the final, HC Nelson proved they had the clutch scoring, goaltending and momentum needed to finish the job.
The final opened with one of the most dramatic games of the playoffs. HC Nelson trailed Tigers Zlin 5–2 in Game 1, but mounted a huge comeback led by a four-goal performance from KhalifaKush450, who tied the game at 5–5 and then completed the comeback with the game-winning goal at 59:54 to give HC Nelson a massive 6–5 win.
Game 2 was another tight battle, with HC Nelson building an early lead before Tigers Zlin fought back. KHD HONZA CZ scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the third period, as HC Nelson held on for a 3–2 victory and a 2–0 series lead.
Tigers Zlin kept the final alive with a 2–1 win in Game 3, but HC Nelson made sure there would be no full comeback. In Game 4, they delivered their most dominant performance of the final. KhalifaKush450 opened the scoring with what stood as the game-winning goal, before cajicek492, KHD HONZA CZ and KhalifaKush450 all added to the scoreline as HC Nelson closed the series with a commanding 6–0 win.
Across the four final games, HC Nelson outscored Tigers Zlin 16–9.
KhalifaKush450 led HC Nelson offensively throughout the playoffs with 65 points in 19 games, including 38 goals, 27 assists and 7 game-winning goals. cajicek492 was another major part of the championship run with 55 points, while KHD HONZA CZ added 42 points and several important goals in the final series.
lukas_elis contributed 25 points and strong defensive play, while Denny469x added 15 points in 8 games. Luigare_ also played an important role, contributing 9 points and appearing in several key playoff games.
In net, TonyBandita was HC Nelson’s backbone. He played all 19 playoff games, finishing with 15 wins, an 83.39% save percentage, a 2.68 goals-against average and 2 shutouts.
With a 15–4 playoff record, wins against the 17th, 3rd, 1st, 2nd and 14th seeds, and a dominant finish in the final series, HC Nelson proved themselves worthy ECL ’26: Spring – Neo champions.
HC Nelson’s championship roster:
In the playoffs, the core of KhalifaKush450, cajicek492, KHD HONZA CZ, lukas_elis and TonyBandita led the way as HC Nelson claimed the ECL ’26: Spring – Neo title.
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