hREDS is your ECL '22 Winter Champion!

NHLGamers,

The ECL '22 Winter Elite season is now capped off and while the Finals were over almost as fast as they started, history was made this weekend. Frölunda did everything in their power to challenge the big, bad REDS but this time it just wasn't enough. By hoisting this cup, hREDS have etched their names in the history books by being the first back-to-back ECL Champions ever. hREDS wingers Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen were on fire in the finals and produced a majority of their teams offense, while centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen locked down the back-end in cohesion with defensemen Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_). Goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri claimed his second title in only his fourth competitive ECL season - what an effort!

We caught up with the captain @Beniittto in the midst of the celebrations:

You're now going down in history as the first ever team to win back-to-back ECL Championships, what is it that makes you so great and how much do you appreciate doing it with these guys?

First off, it feels great. We've got a good group of guys and all of us are capable players, which makes it all possible. Also, the chemistry both on and off the ice can't be overstated.

Playoff series, no matter how tightly matched, have had a tendency to be over in rather quick fashion lately. What do you think is the reason behind that?

Our game is simply put very complete, which makes us a tough team to beat in any given game. If we have one off-game, we're able to bounce back real quick, consistency is key.

You took on a defensive role in the Finals, was that a conscious decision that your wingers will do the scoring and you shut down the opposition?

Yeah we definitely talked a bit about that. We didn't want to give up any soft goals and decided to most importantly focus on shutting down their offense. Our wingers definitely got the job done with the scoring, which sealed the Championship for us.

It looked like Frölunda HC caught you off guard a bit in game 4, was it difficult to regain your composure for the second gameday when being in such a dominant position?

We didn't really change anything in our preparations and came into the games with a good mindset. We weren't able to set up any warmup games, which I think did us in for that one. 

How are you going to celebrate the Championship tonight?

Naturally, a couple of drinks with the boys, and we'll see where the night will take us after that.

hREDS' road to the championship:

• #1 seed with the record 22-5-3
• Quarterfinals: vs GOONS (8) 4-0
• Semifinals: vs Granit Gaming (7) 4-1
• Finals: vs Frölunda HC (3) 4-1

The winning roster:
GOALTENDERS
#91 Filip @Faze91- Azri

DEFENSEMEN
#27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen
#94 Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) (A)

FORWARDS
#23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (A)
#89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen
#96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (C)

If you happened to miss the broadcast, you can rewatch the action from Saturday here.

Thanks for tuning in and congrats to the champions!