The last four teams are left and we move to the Semifinals stage of the Lite division. A long season sees it's end when the best teams face each other for a place in the Finals. Who will gain a straight Pro spot for next season? Will someone be able to find another gear or pull an ace from their sleeve? 

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.3 ECL Lite

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 15.06 – 16.06 (BO7)

The teams that are left aren't that surprising after all, but especially Valco came all the way through seed #26 and won the seeds #1 Arkham Asylum and seed #2 Tadpole with the lead of goal scorer by God’s grace - captain @itspardytime, who has found a new level with the whole team. Among the goalies, @Misantti and @DUNZA have been on their own level. 
 

(6)  Spirit vs Valco  (26)

In this one, we're looking at two pretty different teams, with some striking similarity at the same time. Both teams trust their right side like a rock. Valco plays many situations through their captain @itspardytime. Also @Toivonen_ from Spirit seems to be their main guy for attacking. So the winner of the series will probably be the team who can change their playstyle during the series because the two main guys will be marked men. Follow @NuariJamal and @VesKuLiNe.

(7)  IK Oskarshamn vs Synergy Hockey  (10)

Swedish clash. While Synergy Hockey have been marching their way to this stage of the playoffs, IK Oskarshamn have had a bit more of a bumpy road. Two game seven wins still shows that they deserve to be here and the team holds that certain resilience. IK Oskarshamn looks a bit like last season’s winner Mora IK. A strong five man unit and their wingers score at a very high rate. @snippystatue leads his teams scoring and will be battling with the experienced @Supremski throughout the series. Follow that clash, it might be the series decider. 

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
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When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
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Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

As the season has rolled on already to the semifinals, we're now in for a couple of very exciting matchups, where younger underdogs are challenging the proven top teams. Both hREDS and Frölunda HC are clearly hunting for the title, whereas GOONS and SAWO ESPORTS are the young guns around trying to have their say in the eventual winner. 

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.5 ECL Elite Playoffs

In ECL Elite, 8 out of 16 teams will make the playoffs. Teams that finish in places 9-12 will neither play in the playoffs nor be subject to relegation. Teams that finish in places 13, 14 & 15 will each play the ECL Pro semifinalists, as well as the Pro runner up – these matchups will be BO7 series wherein the winners stay in / proceed to ECL Elite for the next season. In addition to this, the 16th placed team will be instantly relegated to ECL Pro for the next season.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.1 ECL Elite

Playoff Schedule

• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 17.06 – 18.06 (BO7)
• Grand Finals: 19.06 (BO7) [If necessary]

The previews were written in cooperation by @jahajaha93 & @ose16.
 

(1)  hREDS vs GOONS  (5)

TOP SCORER (Playoffs)
Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 4 GP, 7+6=13 vs Samu @xKeskitalo Keskitalo 5 GP, 4+9=13

GOALTENDER (Playoffs)
Filip @Faze91- Azri 4 GP, 4 W, 93,94 SV%, 0.5 GAA, 2 SO vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen 5 GP, 4 W, 83,33 SV%, 1.6 GAA, 1 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
26-2-2 vs 20-8-2

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
3-0, 4-0

hREDS dominated in the first round against Conquer Gaming. Their 18-2 goal differential against the regular seasons biggest dark horse tells that the back-to-back champions are getting warmed up just in time for the bigger games. Starting the playoff run with an 8-0 win is a statement of it's own, that's for sure. Once again the predators showed that their ability to defend patiently when it's needed is also a big strength in this team. Even though sometimes their defense would slip up there is still a big hill to climb when scoring goal against hREDS as their goalie Filip @Faze91- Azri once again leads all the goalie stats and was the only goaltender to record two shoutouts in the first round. There is still no signs for hREDS' momentum dropping and they have more than a solid chance to make it three in a row this season. 

GOONS managed to win Örebro Hockey in 5 games on their way to the semifinals. A crazy coincidence is that just like their coming opponent hREDS, also this black and red team started their playoff campaign with a 8-0 blowout win. The series between GOONS and Örebro was expected to maybe be a little tighter than it was but the numbers don't lie and they were the much better team in that series. It's interesting to see if they could find some keys to break hREDS' insane momentum. 21 scored goals in the opening round of the playoffs definitely boosted their goal scoring confidence, which is a good thing because against a top team in Europe you have to capitalize on every chance you get. 

Last season we saw this same matchup the quarterfinals as hREDS were able to sweep GOONS. Among the top 10 point producers in the playoffs you can find 9 players from these teams. The first game of the playoffs of course is the biggest factor for that but it doesn't take away the fact that both of these teams include a lot of firepower. Young guns Arttu @laitineen64(Laiitinen) Laitinen and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström have already proved their scoring ability in the playoffs also. You can find a lot of similarities when you compare these two to hREDS' Niklas @NikkeDangles(NikkeNHL)Tukianen in being first a very skilled forward but now being great on the defensive side of things also. In the goalie battle Ville @Supreex Korhonen is ready for the matchup against the best goalie in the league as he made 40 saves in the first round which was most among the goaltenders whose team made to the semifinals. This season has had many positive signs for GOONS but it's not yet their time to advance to the finals. HREDS will go hunt their third straight championship to the finals by shooting GOONS down in 5 games. 
 

(2)  Frölunda HC vs SAWO ESPORTS  (3)

TOP SCORER (Playoffs)
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 4 GP, 7+3=10 vs Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 6 GP, 5+3=8

GOALTENDER (Playoffs)
Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 4 GP, 4 W, 84,62 SV%, 1.00 GAA, 0 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 6 GP, 4 W, 75,00 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 1 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
23-4-3 vs 21-7-2

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
2-1 OT, 3-2

Frölunda HC managed their first playoff test with their new lineup very well. Still, a sweep against Roots Gaming was only a start and they will definitely want more from this season, and their semifinal opponent will be tougher to beat. Erik @Eki Tammenpää is in the look for his first goal of the playoffs as surprisingly, he wasn’t able to get one in the Quarterfinals. Like the regular season showed, Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has a hot stick as now in the playoffs he has been able to light the lamp 7 times which is leading the league. Defense also worked well as the Indians surrendered only 1 goal in every game. Frölunda HC are now looking to get to the finals for the eighth season in a row. 

SAWO ESPORTS was able to get the monkey off their back by winning HAVU Gaming in 6 games after last seasons huge disappointment in the playoffs. HAVU managed to even things up after being 2-0 down in the series but perhaps that only strengthened the SAWO squad - they were put in a tough spot, which they handled very well. Putting away the series after a couple of tough losses will bring experience to the future in similar positions. Against Frölunda they will likely need more goal scoring power than only their wingers, who scored 10 out of SAWO's 12 goals in a 6 games series. Like the whole lineup, Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen had a tough time in the second night of the series against HAVU, but were able to bounce back in games 5 and 6. In this matchup those kind of off games aren't possible if SAWO wants to make it to the finals. 

This series you could expect to be tighter than the other. SAWO has a very talented team with great ability to defend well and at the same time make incredible plays in the offensive zone. Both of these teams are looking to get all their players involved in scoring. One of the key points will be how well Frölunda will be able to contain Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen. These teams started their season against each other so we will see which team has developed their game more during the season. It all will come down to the fact that Frölunda's scoring power is more well rounded. Frölunda will continue their hunt to get back to the top with a 4-2 series win. 

See all of these teams in action tonight at the SportsGamer Twitch-channel! Our broadcast is starting with the Pro Finals already at 18:15 CEST!

The Finals are here and we're expecting some fireworks between two excellent virtual hockey teams. Both squads have proved dominant on their campaigns throughout and it's looking like these two will match up for a very tough series. May the best team win!

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.2 ECL Pro

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-16: 08.05-12.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 15.05-25.05 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 30.05-02.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 05.06-06.06 (BO7)

Preview

(1)  Reality Check vs Växjö Lakers  (2)

Both of these teams are coming into the finals off of very similar campaigns, and to no one's surprise, these two are the teams that managed to dominate their respective groups in the regular season too. While Växjö had a very disappointing Winter season and are now proving themselves in an incredible bounce back effort, Reality Check is heading to the finals for the second time in a row. They've been a fringe Elite team for a very long time, and maybe this is going to be their turn to shine?

Reality Check is 12-1-1 thus far in the playoffs and they've been in very convincing form throughout. Most of their games have been rather tight and we've seen several one goal differentials, but the main thing for this team is that they seem to be able to turn almost every game in their favor in one way or another. Usually this entails stringing together solid decisions and managing to limit high danger scoring chances for the opposition, which also statistics support for this team. They've been excellent throughout their lineup and their goaltender @FINSeRe has been a beast. The team has allowed a bit over 9 shots per game against and the goalie stops pucks at a rate of 86,05%, which surely indicates that opponents will have a rough go scoring against this squad. 

Just like Reality Check, Växjö Lakers have been very impressive all season without too much of a slip-up at any point. The fact that their forward trio @Kattenj, @Birkedal96 alnd @dzouvi are topping the scoring statistics between the tree of them is a pure show of their scoring power and the dominance they've been able to exhibit thus far in the playoffs especially. Due to their high offensive drive, Växjö Lakers is also a bit more probable to allow more shots, and they've been fine with that since they've been able to trust their goaltending and match the scoring whenever needed. Regardless of who will take this series in the end, it's guaranteed we'll see a great fight and some fireworks in the series coming up.

Prediction: Reality Check wins 4-3

The Finals will begin today and the first games will be featured on the SportsGamer Sunday broadcast starting already at 18:15 CEST! If you are interested in any individual statistics, visit the league page or reach your preferred team's page by clicking their name in this article.

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.

• Discord
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SportsGamers,

It's been a long road to travel for teams in the Core division thus far, and now we're down to the top four! Through four playoff rounds, these teams have defied odds and bested their opponents, now only eight wins away from the trophy. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The Semifinal round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 5th of June 2022 and end on Thursday the 9th of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

(1)  Rögle BK vs Chiefzz HC  (7)

A quick glance at the rosters puts Rögle BK in the favorite position in this series by a landslide and they've consistently plowed through opposition throughout the season at convincing pace. Chiefzz HC will be in for a challenge unlike anything they've seen thus far this season. While Rögle is surely looking to crush their opponents with scoring explosions like only they've been able to do this season, Chiefzz HC will benefit from trying to keep the score low for as long as possible. It's tough to imagine this series going past five games. 

Prediction: Rögle BK advances, 4-1

(3)  Frolunda HC Region vs Etelan Vetelat  (6)
This one could turn out to be a very interesting series. Frolunda HC consists of several up-and-comers and some very talented players with lots still to learn, but great potential, whereas Etelan Vetelat holds some very experienced gamers in their roster, with several seasons at higher levels under their belts. Statistically, Frolunda HC has a tendency to play a bit more offensive compared to their opponents, who you could imagine want to utilize their experience and chemistry in order to overcome this challenge. 

Prediction: Etelan Vetelat advances, 3-4
 

Good luck for everyone!

SportsGamers,

We're closing in on the grande finale of the Neo season, but first - the Semifinals! Last round, the #1 seed London Lightning were trampled in a surprising sweep by HC KOROBKA, who seem to be on a mission to take down the big dogs. Quite interestingly we've also got the FIFA extraordinaire team Turkunummi paving their way this far into the postseason, going up against KH Torun Esports! The Semifinal round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 5th of June 2022 and end on Wednesday the 8th of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

Click here to view the matchups for the Semifinals of the ECL '22 Spring Neo Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

It's time to drop the puck also for the Elite playoffs! We're in for a multitude of exciting series and as last time, hREDS have the opportunity to extend their historical run even further. Everyone else is here to spoil their party, and to get their own shot at glory.

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.5 ECL Elite Playoffs

In ECL Elite, 8 out of 16 teams will make the playoffs. Teams that finish in places 9-12 will neither play in the playoffs nor be subject to relegation. Teams that finish in places 13, 14 & 15 will each play the ECL Pro semifinalists, as well as the Pro runner up – these matchups will be BO7 series wherein the winners stay in / proceed to ECL Elite for the next season. In addition to this, the 16th placed team will be instantly relegated to ECL Pro for the next season.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.1 ECL Elite

Playoff Schedule

• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 17.06 – 18.06 (BO7)
• Grand Finals: 19.06 (BO7) [If necessary]

The previews were written in cooperation by @jahajaha93 & @ose16.
 

(1)  hREDS vs Conquer Gaming  (8)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen 29 GP, 28+35=63 vs Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho 30 GP, 17+23=40

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Filip @Faze91- Azri 25 GP, 22 W, 87,86 SV%, 1.00 GAA, 10 SO vs Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck 30 GP, 15 W, 80,79 SV%, 2.27 GAA, 6 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
26-2-2 vs 15-12-3

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-2 OT, 0-1 OT

We'll be the first ones to admit we were dead wrong about Conquer Gaming, as our season preview ranked them at 15th in a relegation battle spot. Now we're all glad to see them fighting in the playoffs in a very interesting battle against the back-to-back champions hREDS, who as expected, had a great run throughout the regular season gaining them the top seed. The reigning champions are on a run unlike anything else ever seen before in the ECL, with a chance of extending their streak even further, cementing themselves as the sole dynasty above anyone else in European virtual hockey history, but this is just the beginning of the journey and as everyone else at this point, they're still 12 wins away from ultimate glory. We've raved on for what seems like years about how good of a team hREDS are and the fact has hardly escaped anyone at this point - the stats speak for themselves, but one thing above everything else is their special teams excellence. hREDS' combined special teams is by far the best in the leagueand their 97.44% penalty kill leaves no room for the opposing power play to succeed. 

Despite the dominant performance throughout by hREDS, quite surprisingly, Conquer Gaming really had their number in the regular season managing to win both of the matchups between the two in overtime. In those games, Conquer goaltender Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck stood on his head but perhaps even more impressively, Conquer managed to defend as a unit, keeping hREDS away from the high danger zones. Winning two regular season games is very different from taking home an entire seven game series though, and we'll eagerly be waiting to see what new tricks Conquer might have up their sleeve. One could imagine that Conquer will need to try securing a bit more possession play, which starts by winning faceoffs - this puts centerman Rony @rGinnu Kinnunen in a crucial role against his counterpart Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. 

Although Conquer managed to secure two wins in the regular season, we don't expect hREDS to be rattled by those mishaps and they'll make life very difficult for their opposition in this series. It's hard to imagine Conquer sneaking away with any more than one win in the series. hREDS advances, 4-1.

(2)  Frölunda HC vs Roots Gaming  (7)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 29 GP, 33+36=69 vs Linus @Limu95 Christiansson 30 GP, 20+25=45

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 29 GP, 22 W, 82,8 SV%, 1.48 GAA, 6 SO vs Tomas @Mehiiss Laitinen 16 GP, 9 W, 80.3 SV%, 2.44 GAA, 3 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
23-4-3 vs 15-9-6

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-2, 4-2

Before the season there were speculation about how the new Frölunda HC lineup would work but now it is safe to say it was a good change for them. Now it's time to see how their game will work in the playoffs. It was great to see Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala getting his game going in the defensive position after playing as a center for this team before. Their newcomer Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha brought good things to their offense as Frölunda scored 94 goals in the regular season which was most in the league by any team. That was probably one of the reasons why Paul @PleeMaker Arontie was on fire with 33 goals and 69 points making him the best goal scorer and point producer. We will see how Frölunda's playoff journey will go but for sure Indians have only one thing in their mind and it's winning the ECL Elite title after a couple of disappointing seasons. 

Roots Gaming finished their first season in 9th place but this season which was their second in the Elite division, they managed to catch the second last playoff spot. Roots have taken great and steady steps forward so it is interesting to see where this team is heading in the future. Their scoring power is well balanced and every player is able to take a leading role when it is needed. Defense is a really big part of the offense as you can see from Niko @vVoDee Vottonen's and Joonas @LE1PAKONE(NordZman_) Nordman's combined 21 goals. The first one won the leagues defense goal scoring title with 14 goals. One of the biggest keys in Roots' development is that their offensive trio has played together from the start. 

This series will be a good first test for the new Frölunda HC. One of the key factors will be the goaltending game like always in the playoffs. Tomas @Mehiiss Laitinen will face one the best goalies this league has had with Casper @ICappeI Lundgren between the pipes. Roots' defense have to maybe get a little bit away from their offensive interests when they are protecting the net against Frölunda. Winning one game in the regular season will bring confidence to Roots' game but there is just too many factors against them. Frölunda will start their playoff journey with 4-1 series win. 

(3)  SAWO ESPORTS vs HAVU Gaming  (6)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 30 GP, 32+28=60 vs Wille @willekunq Juntunen 30 GP, 25+14=39

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 30 GP, 21 W, 83,33 SV%, 1.8 GAA, 4 SO vs Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen 30 GP, 15 W, 80,00 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 3 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
21-7-2 vs 15-9-6

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-0 OT, 4-0

SAWO ESPORTS had a second great regular season in a row. This season, their young group is looking for success in the playoffs too. Last season SAWO was sent out of the playoffs in 6 games in the first round. That boosted their hunger even more coming to this season and they are now a more experienced team. Their new player for this season Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila has been a great fit for their game style. Like last season, dynamic duo Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen has been really powerful and both finished in the top 5 among point producers. Sawo's game hasn’t had any weak points as they scored the third most goals in the league but also let in the third least goals. This lineup has a huge amount of potential but now they have the chance to take that next step and show their best game in the big games also. 

HAVU Gaming's start for the season was a little difficult. They were below the playoff line for a long time and also tried different combinations in the lineup. At the end of the day they got their game going with their longtime goalie Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos being in defense and defender Wille @willekunq Juntunen stepping up to offense. Their comeback player from JYP Jyvaskyla, Ilmari @Buantso(Puantso) Lehkonen didn’t have the best season in terms of scoring and hasn't really brught what we're used to seeing from him - yet. Only 11 goals in the regular season is a new low for him and he has played since the first ECL. That and many other things can be turned around here in the playoffs by HAVU. One of the most or maybe the most experienced playoff teams needs to find a way to succeed in the playoffs as old every season finalist has had couple of tougher seasons in last years. 

This series is going to be a battle of young hungry talents going against experienced many time champions who are looking to get back to the top 4. Havu was only 9th when it comes to goal scoring and that will not get easier in this series as they are facing Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen who once again had a great season being 2nd in the league on saving percentage. Fact is that these two has played 4 games against each other in the last two seasons Sawo winning them all and Havu only scoring 2 goals total in those games including 3 shoutouts for Sawo. Havu´s experience will make this series tough for Sawo but at the end of the day karelian´s goal scoring power will be too much for the old champions new defense and Sawo will make to the second round in 6 games. 

(4)  Örebro Hockey vs GOONS  (5)

TOP SCORER (Regular season)
Jussi @JaKurrii Koivuniemi 30 GP, 20+27=47 vs Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 30 GP, 27+29=56

GOALTENDER (Regular season)
Elie @eliekamel87 Kamel 30 GP, 20 W, 81,65 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 6 SO vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen 18 GP, 11 W, 79.61 SV%, 2.33 GAA, 2 SO

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
20-8-2 vs 18-9-3

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
1-5, 4-3 OT

These two opened the season against each other back in early April, and that is quite a while ago. Even some changes have happened since then on the GOONS side, as the team elected to bring in Veeti @Wenger (re_Wenger) Paloneva from FILADELPHIA ACADEMY as they chose to sit high profile defenseman Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen after a somewhat troubling start to the season. If GOONS were expected to finally have a breakout season, Örebro were one of those teams that had some clouds on the horizon to start the season, at least in the minds of several doubters including us. The outfit lead by defenseman Tero @Terodee Dahlström had acquired Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen to center their squad and whereas they seemed like a potential roster, no one could have expected them to perform in the way they did. 

While both of these squads are already rather experienced teams, they hold some of the games most exciting talent in their rosters and they're known for flashing some of that top end skill from time to time. However, they can equally have an off game and fluctuate in form quite heavily, which could indicate some high scoring games ahead for us. One thing that is certain is that the goaltenders will have their work cut out form them, and Örebro will be icing Elie @eliekamel87 Kamel, who has solidified himself among the best in the league and can earn his team a win on any given day. GOONS, on the other hand, have an interesting choice to make. They have two very experienced goalies to pick from in Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu and Ville @Supreex Korhonen. They can't go wrong with either one and most likely the choice could come down to availability or a predetermined 50/50 split. 

In this series, the winner will be the team that can string together the most consistent performances and do that at their highest level. Örebro is coming into the playoffs in excellent form and in my books, have a slight edge which is why they're my pick in six games. 

SportsGamers,

Only eight teams remain in the Core playoffs at this point and all of them certainly hold the capability of going all the way. At this point it's all about will and focus, and we'll follow along eagerly to see who will advance one step closer to the trophy. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The second round of the playoffs will start on Monday the 30th of May 2022 and end on Thursday the 2nd of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

Click here to view the matchups for the Quarterfinals of the ECL '22 Spring Core Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

The long and hard-fought spring season is nearing its culmination, as we're down to the final four. The remaining teams have already secured an Elite qualification series, but now we'll get to see who advances to the Pro finals! In this article we will take a closer look at the matchups.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.2 ECL Pro

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-16: 08.05-12.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 15.05-25.05 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 30.05-02.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 05.06-06.06 (BO7)

Preview

(1)  Reality Check vs AHJO (10)

Reality Check started off the regular season with insane form, although it seemed to falter a bit towards the end. Come playoff time, when it matters the most, they have definitely been back to their best: currently boasting an 8-0 record, they plowed through the first two rounds with clean 4-0 sweeps in both series. AHJO on the other hand has not had such ease in their progress, with their first round bout against Hokurit going all the way to seven games. Even AHJO did actually manage a 4-0 sweep in the quarterfinals though, impressingly topping last season's semifinalist RCTIC.

Both teams are coming in with plenty of momentum after their quarterfinals success, which anticipates a hotly contested battle. Some familiarities should also make sparks fly in this matchup: first of all, these teams already faced each other in the Winter season's quarterfinals, the result going 4-3 in favor of Reality Check that time. Secondly, @TheArska (XxProArskaxX) has made the switch from Reality Check to AHJO since then. The teams have naturally seen changes in their rosters, but both of them have retained their main core. Thus, a hunger for revenge is surely to be expected from AHJO's side. For whatever it is worth, Reality Check were able to pull through in a similar situation when facing familiar faces in the semifinals last season.

One question that is up in the air is Reality Check's lineup. It seems like they will have to cope without standout RD @kim_johan for at least part of the series, which could signify a clear beacon of hope for AHJO's final aspirations. Especially if kim_johan misses the majority of games, it will be extremely interesting to see how an inexperienced @Zeipii574 can step into a starting six that has been set in stone since day one of the season. Expect LD @Mikax222 to take on an even bigger role to help offset the change and alleviate pressure, having been the team's puck possession monster. As another rather inexperienced player though, Mikax222's numbers have been slightly down from the regular season. Now if ever is the chance to step up and take the team to the finals.

Even though being the number one seed may debatably have helped them get favorable matchups, Reality Check has still been tremendously impressive in closing their battles in a timely manner. They must not fall into too much of a comfort zone after their early success, as this round is most likely going to be a tougher test. They need to be ready from the get go, especially with their unusual lineup, as a hot start from AHJO could tilt the series towards the underdogs.

A common denominator between these teams is their will to rise to Elite, and a trip to the finals would give them an additional kick at the can. AHJO can most certainly mount an upset campaign, and the uncertainty brought about by their opponents' mishmash lineup offers further help in a significant way. For now though, before any games are played, Reality Check should still be viewed as the favorites to prevail.

Prediction: 

@Mikka: Reality Check 4-2
@Wpaanane: Plays for AHJO

(2)  Växjö Lakers vs HanaaHC  (3) Written by @Wpaanane

Växjö Lakers started their regular season with the record 15-1 and from the beginning they wanted to show everyone that this team wants to win the Pro division after a disastrous winter campaign. On the other hand, HanaaHC started their regular season equally good with a 9-1 record. Both of these teams had the same record after the regular season (23-5-2).

In the first round of playoffs, Växjö didn’t have any problems and they managed to win the series 4-1 against Geekz Energy eSports. Moving on to the second round, Växjö faced Herlev Eagles and continued their run by winning the series 4-2. 

HanaaHC’s playoffs start hasn’t been the easiest, as they started their run with two game seven series and winning both of them. 

HanaaHC’s @xLeikku has been phenomenal in these playoffs by leading his team and the entire Pro division with 12+21=33 points. On the other hand Växjö’s @Kattenj has been great and is leading his team in points by having 7+19=26 points.

Växjö’s goalie @MrAllsvenskan has been great in net having 87,63 as his save percentage with 1.33 GAA. On the other side HanaaHC’s @Simbanho has had some difficulties in the first rounds of playoffs having 77.24 as his save percentage with 2.0GAA. On paper Växjö takes the goalie battle to their way, but we’ll see if HanaaHC can silence Växjö’s offensive trio.

Although we are seeing a battle betweenseed #2 and #3, Växjö is the favourite to win this series and continue their way to the Pro division final. We’ll see what happens, can HanaaHC stop Växjö’s offensive core to battle their way to the Pro finals.

Prediction: 

@Mikka: Plays for HanaaHC
@Wpaanane: Växjö Lakers 4-2

Stay tuned to the teams' socials to easily keep up with the ever-living schedules and streams, as we eagerly await to find out who gets to participate in the finals action beginning on Sunday! If you are interested in any individual statistics, visit the league page or reach your preferred team's page by clicking their name in this article.

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.

• Discord
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In the Quarterfinal round of the ECL '22 Spring Lite Playoffs we're in for some very tough battles, where these teams are expected to trade blows back and forth. There's really no telling who will come out as the victor in the end, but we'll do our best to predict some outcomes!

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.3 ECL Lite

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 15.06 – 16.06 (BO7)

One interesting fact about the Quarterfinals this season is that Group 3 is very well represented, in fact 50% of the teams at this stage played in that same group in the regular season. All of these teams have a very experienced roster, which simply goes to show that despite perhaps not always performing to their best ability in the regular season, that x-factor is a much needed commodity for a deep run in the playoffs. Now it's time to turn our heads toward the upcoming round and see if that experience and skill can carry some of these teams onward, or if we'll continue seeing upsets. The Quarterfinals are to be played between Monday, May 30th and Thursday, June 2nd.
 

(2)  Tadpole vs Valco  (26)

We've got a group 3 rivalry on tap. These two split victories in the regular season, but Tadpole walked away with a point more due to an OT loss. It seems like most teams have beef with Valco and they've really embraced being the villain, taking down Arkham Asylum in the second round. Arkham, who were the favorites by a long shot have built a reputation of falling short in the playoffs, but Valco sure had to put in work in order to advance. We should be in for a similar story in this one, as Tadpole has all the skill in the world and on paper looks like the easy pick in this one, but the good old Valco with @itspardytime up front should never be counted out.

Prediction: 3-4 Valco
 

(3)  Destiny vs Synergy Hockey (10)
Destiny is another one of those teams that are able to dominate games with sheer skill and excellent puck movement, but now they'll be going up against Synergy Hockey, a team that brings back a lot of memories for long-time community members. While perhaps not as individually skilled, these guys have patented a special brand of hockey, which is recognized by great puck movement and a strong five man defense. Synergy simply seems to be build for the playoffs and if they are able to employ their own style of play in this series, they'll be the ones to advance. 

Prediction: 2-4 Synergy Hockey
 

(4)  Project X vs IK Oskarshamn  (7)
Project X has been on an impressive run in the playoffs, advancing with relative ease from both rounds as they dropped only one win each. On the other hand, IK Oskarshamn has had to fight a bit more, especially in the first round against the 26th seed Lemmenvelhot. We should be in for a very tight series that comes down to small margins, but Project X might be the more established team by a bit, which tips the scales in their favor for me. Neither team is very known for scoring explosions, but especially Project X would benefit from keeping the scores low and extending the games, even into overtime if required.

Prediction: 4-2 Project X
 

(5)  Bastu vs Spirit  (6)
The Bastu is really heating up just in time for springtime and the biggest games of the playoffs. These guys have advanced through both of their opponents thus far quite easily and are looking to do the same against Spirit, who are naturally going to pull out all the stops in order to end their run. Spirit has been in even better form, sending both Resurrection and Hyperion packing with sweeps in the first two rounds. This one isn't going to be a sweep, that's for sure, but the offense of Bastu has a bit more sides to it, whereas Spirit has to rely a lot on @Toivonen_ to produce for them. This could also end up being a big battle between goalies @Giinis for Bastu and @Misantti for Spirit, and they are very close right now. 

Prediction: 4-3 Bastu

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

SportsGamers,

A total of 24 teams reached the playoffs in the Neo division, and now we're down to only eight remaining. The top eight seeds had a bye week for the first round and some extra time to hone their game, and for the most part that advantage seemed to work well for them. Now it's time to start it all over again against new opponents. The third round of the playoffs will start on Monday the 30th of May 2022 and end on Thursday the 2nd of June 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

Click here to view the matchups for the Quarterfinals of the ECL '22 Spring Neo Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

We are winding down towards the end of the regular season and while we had last week off from media coverage, the teams were still hard at action. Perhaps not as actively as usually, but regardless there were some games played here and there! At this point we're seeing most teams have already finished their games, but there's still a few meaningful battles to be played between tonight and tomorrow.

As it stands right now, a minimum of 31 points will be required to make the playoffs, but we're expecting that total to rise by a bit as over the past five seasons, the average amount of points required has been at 32 and Roots Gaming, Conquer Gaming and Färjestad BK who are in the race for the final spots all have one matchup left to go. Let's take a look at the scenarios that could transpire as we head down the final stretch.

Out of the teams that are currently sitting below the line, Färjestad is the only one who still has a chance to sneak into the playoff picture, whereas above the line it's looking tough for Conquer Gaming, who has a must-win matchup left against the Swiss lions ZSC Esports. That matchup in combination with FBK's bouts against JYP Jyväskylä will decide the fate for both of those teams. Färjestad isn't in particularly hot form as of late, but neither is their opponent and Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson, Johan @McSavid Rundqvist and the boys will be giving it their all, that's for sure. 

The relegation zone is also looking very interesting, with some very high stakes in the remaining games for these teams. Currently, IQUE is in last place, which would mean direct relegation for them, whereas Stargazing at 15th, JYP Jyväskylä at 14th and Falun Coal Miners at 13th would be in for relegation battles against up-and-comers from the Pro division. Thursday will feature a massive matchup between IQUE and Stargazing to determine who will end up facing relegation. After their sensational winter season, IQUE has fallen into tough times and are now clawing their way out of last place to salvage the future of their team in the Elite division, whereas Stargazing has had a rough go in their inaugural season at the top level. Regardless of the result, one of them will still have to fight for their spot in a relegation matchup. 

JYP Jyväskylä, Falun Coal Miners and ZSC Esports all have one matchup left each, and they'll fight between the three of them for a spot in no man's land and a guaranteed continuation to their story in Elite next season. Both JYP and ZSC have the opportunity to spoil the postseason dreams of their opponents Conquer and Färjestad, whereas Falun is in for a tough battle against Roots, who are looking for at least two points in order to secure their 7th place, but could also pass HAVU Gaming for 6th if everything goes their way. 

Barring any exceptional performances in the last few nights of play, we're also ready to crown Frölunda's Paul @PleeMaker Arontie both the top point producer and top goal scorer of the regular season despite him missing out on one game due to a walkover situation earlier this week. The highest scoring defenseman will be Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila for SAWO ESPORTS, who has seen some impressive growth with the added experience from his time in Frölunda and the increase in responsibility since moving on. In terms of goaltending, hREDS' Filip @Faze91- Azri is way ahead of the competition this regular season. Despite missing out on a few matches where Saku @Mehukatti10 Serttilä covered for him, he racked up an impressive 10 shutouts and is a level above everyone else in other statistical categories too.

Follow the teams on social media to stay up to date on the schedule!

SportsGamers, the Player Spotlight series is making its return with the objective of showcasing gamers that would perhaps otherwise fall outside normal reporting, but that we want to get to know better. Our strength is this community, so let's get to know each other!

This time, we decided to head on a Central-European trip, and that's why we're venturing into the promised land of cheese, chocolate and quality watchmaking to get to know Lausanne HC captain Mirco @Tron1x90 Salvi, the country I'm referring to is Switzerland of course. The Italian Citizen has grown up in the city of Biel/Bienne and now calls it his home, and he's grown to love the local hockey club, who have played at the Swiss top level since 2008.

1. What was your first experience with the EASHL mode in NHL?

I've played EASHL since the beginning on Xbox 360, I think it was in 2008 with NHL09. I started to play with one of my best friends @JuuMzz just for fun, we started by creating a club, but sometimes we played in the same lobby and selected the goalie on both sides, it was really fun. Then we played for five years with three other friends, but when the next generation consoles were released, some of our friends stopped playing.

After winning a 1vs1 tournament in Zurich in 2018, an old friend @Freeman7187 asked me if I wanted to play with them, and that’s how my journey at SportsGamer started. The club was called The Black Jacks back then, but they're now known as ZSC Esports.

2. What’s the best part of playing for your current club Lausanne HC Esports?

I've had a lot of support from the fans since the club of Lausanne HC started with this project in 2020. I also think covid helped with it to some extent, since the Swiss leagues were shut down, so the fans had more time to follow the esports games and they were maybe also in need of hockey, regardless if that was virtual or the traditional form. Sadly we won't be continuing our partnership alongside Lausanne HC after this season.

3. What is your greatest NHL gaming memory?

In 1vs1 for sure my two Swiss national titles from 2021 vs @Original-SnuS and 2022 which I’ve won with Lausanne HC and also reaching the round of 16 of the IIHF fan tournament with Italy in 2020.

In 6vs6 the win of ECL 7 Lite with The Black Jacks even if I didn't play a lot but a title is still a title. Personally, my most successful season was in ECL 11 with Grenoble when we lost the Bronze game but still managed to gain promotion to Pro. It was also a very good personal season as I ended in the top 5 of the highest scoring defensemen, both in the regular season (5th) and in the playoffs (2nd). Then in ECL 12 we managed to reach the playoffs for our first season in Pro with the new renamed team Spartiates x MCES after a very bad first half of season. I think I was the only one who was still believing for a spot in the playoffs. That was amazing because we could reach the spot on the last gameday. We then had a very tight and intense series against the team that would later be promoted, BoxinElite, where we pushed on to a huge game 7 and finally lost in OT.

4. Describe your perfect breakfast!

A capuccino, fresh pressed orange juice and a French croissant.

5. You're GM for a day and get to pick any player for your 6v6 team but none of your current teammates. Who's in your starting six and why?

I will change a bit and not chose the top players in the ECL, but I think this lineup could be the best with only Swiss players, like a national team:

@Romy88 @Original-SnuS @Freeman7187
@Haldeem "Joker"
@afc_Tschitsch

6. What was your dream job growing up and what do you currently do?

As a kid, I always dreamed to become a professional football player. But I soon realized it wasn't possible because of my weak skills. I now work for the authorities, more specifically in tax collection.

7.  Do you play or have you played hockey?

No, my skating skills are too bad.

8. What’s your best hockey memory?

In 2008 when my hometown hockey team, EHC Biel/Bienne, was promoted to the Swiss elite division. The following two seasons, the team finished last in the ranking and had to play the promotion/relegation series against Lausanne HC, they could always save themselves and win the series in a close game 7, that is something I will never forget.

9. What do you like to do in your spare time besides playing NHL?

I like to watch some football, hockey and NBA games, chilling out with friends and travel with my girlfriend. I also like to spend some time with family or friends at restaurant or having a beer. I watch series or play less competitive video games to unwind.

10. Pizza with three toppings, what are your choices?

Nice question for an Italian guy! Tomato, raw ham and mozzarella cheese.

11. You're the locker room DJ and get one song to hype up your team. What do you play?

Europe - The Final Countdown

12. How did you come up with your PSN ID?

My name is Mirco, but some friends call me Komir, and I was born in 1990, so that’s how I chose that PSN ID.

13. Who’s the best player in the ECL according to you?

Who else than @Eki? We don't even have to describe him anymore!

And as a D-man @xDoumi, the way he has improved in the last years is amazing. I use him as a reference to improve my gameplay. If we compare our stats, we have a bit of a similar playing style, we use to have a lot of puck possession and a lot of assists instead of goals, we like to play as a playmaker from behind and find the right key passes. Of course, this comparison is made on a smaller scale given the skill difference!

14. Describe your ideal holiday!

I haven't traveled much, but I've had the chance to discover beautiful places in Mexico, Florida, Greece and Italy. For me my ideal holidays are on the beach with a lot of sun, beautiful clear water and we also have to eat very well. So I think my best place was Sardinia at the moment, I can only recommend it.

15. Now it's up to you to suggest who we should interview next. Who do you want to hear from and why?

The daddy cool @Hansulinho. I used to play against him in 1vs1 online versus in 2008-2009 and we were already competing for the top spots in the ranking. I was then surprised he was still playing on SG when I arrived on this website back in 2018.

Feel free to also suggest who you'd want to see in the Player Spotlight-series - let us know in the comments below!

If parity was the name of the game in the regular season, it surely seemed to be the case in the first round as well. Four game sevens and two six game series, only the group winners were able to fend off their competition without lengthy nights. Who's going through now? Let's take a look.

 Schedule

Quote

10.6.2 ECL Pro

Playoff Schedule

• Round of 16: 8.-12.5.
• Quarterfinals: 15.-25.5.
• Semifinals: 30.5.-2.6.
• Finals: 5.-6.6. (TBC)

Preview

(1)  Reality Check vs Sulkavan Sudet (14)

Due to time constraints this preview couldn't be finished before these teams already settled the score: Reality Check advances with a clean 4-0 sweep. Reality Check hasn't lost a single game in these playoffs so far, sweeping both opponents.

(2)  Växjö Lakers vs Herlev Eagles (12)

Växjö Lakers had a fairly dominant regular season, especially offensively. That seemed to continue right away in postseason play with a 9-3 win to open off the series against Geekz Energy eSports, but they were instantly brought back to earth with a 1-4 loss in game two. After having a day off and some time to regroup, they went on to win the following three games to clinch the series, though the margins were a lot smaller with two 1-0 games and a 4-3 overtime win.

Herlev Eagles played in the same group as Växjö, and were also considered among its top teams ahead of the regular season. The start to their campaign wasn't an easy one, and they had to go down to the wire to clinch a postseason spot only on the last gameday. That wasn't in any way apparent when watching their first round series against Tohtorit though: the Eagles won the first three games in a row to gain a chance to complete the sweep. In the end they needed a few extra games to get it done, finally finishing it up in game six after what proved to be a controversial end to the series with some disconnect drama.

As both teams played in Group 2, we (and the teams, obviously) already have some data on how they match up against each other. While Växjö won both games that time, 3-1 and 6-3, it was one of the first meetings of the season. A month has already passed since then, so there's definitely been time for improvements.

Without in any way undermining their defense or especially the exceptional goaltenders, both of these teams live through their forwards. The trios of @vibholm10 - @Mr Steffmeister (Suth98_) - @keranee and @Kattenj - @dzouvi - @Birkedal96 of Herlev and Växjö, respectively, will be going head to head with chips on their shoulders. The material advantage goes to the latter, though in contrast Herlev's roster has been together for some time now. That accumulated chemistry could really help them when trying to shut down Växjö's offensive prowess.

These teams possess a lot of skill, and the series will be decided by who can use it the best and who, in turn, is able to make their opponents' life a nightmare. While the seed difference may be quite substantial, Herlev Eagles aren't as big of an underdog as it would suggest. Växjö Lakers is still the clear favorite here though, let's not get that mixed up. Watch out for an upset, but don't hold up your hopes for it too high.

Prediction: 

@Mikka: Växjö Lakers 4-2
@jahajaha93: Växjö Lakers 4-1

(3)  HanaaHC vs Renascor (11) Written by @jahajaha93

HanaaHC came out swinging in the first round of playoffs both on and off the ice, stirring the pot a bit just in time for their first games against VISU Gaming to start. The3 long-time Pro dwellers went into the series with good spirits and high confidence, until VISU Gaming struck back in ways very characteristic to their game. Despite the setbacks, Hanaa stayed in control throughout the series and we saw them even dominate possession at times, but VISU kept themselves in the game, always posing a threat with their effective counter attacking and well executed passing plays. Now, HanaaHC is up against a new kind of challenge, one they seem to have fended off quite well as they are in a commanding 3-1 series lead after the first night of gaming.

The Russian outfit Renascor is a bit of a surprise to be seen at this stage of the playoffs, but they've really grown over the course of the season and overcoming the very talented Sinister squad in the first round is a commendable effort by them. The team has really rallied around the excellent play of goalie @sumskoy26 (SumkaX) and is looking to continue on that path to beat HanaaHC too. Some similarities can be found in Hanaa and their previous opponent, mainly the high level of individual skill and tendency to hold on to the puck rather than shoot  at times, but HanaaHC definitely has the experience card up their sleeve.

The series currently stands at 3-1 in favor of HanaaHC.

(9)  RCTIC vs AHJO (10)

Due to the amount of first round upsets, the fourth best seed remaining is *9th*! RCTIC finished 6th in Group 1 in the regular season and followed that up by nearly sweeping Be a Bro in the last round. The clean sweep didn't end up happening after their 3-0 series lead got reduced to 3-2, but they still got the job done in the end in six games. On the other hand AHJO didn't have as easy of a time, trailing 1-2 and 2-3 against Hokurit before extending the series to seven and clutching it home.

RCTIC had some troubles at the star of the season, but they seem to have found their footing recently. While @Limbe65 carried a heavy scoring load in the regular season, fellow forwards @yrjoo and @Naikou88 have stepped up to match the production come playoff time. @MrNipsuli hasn't found the points yet, but defensive performances have been stellar as expected. An interesting note from the first round, MrNipsuli-'s unorthodox build: a 178cm tall puck moving defenseman is definitely shorter than what we typically see at this level.

As noted, AHJO didn't exactly cruise through from the last round. They even resorted to some lineup shuffling after the first night of play, swapping @xHatsi to center and @Eeemill_ to right-winger for the last four games. Perhaps that's what eventually helped them over the hump, but we'll see if the positions get reshuffled yet again if they start off cold.

The "Icy Boyz" reached the semifinals with this exact same 9th seed last season, and it seems likely to reoccur now as well. However, AHJO can definitely mount a challenge and even end up on top, as long as they keep on improving with their relatively fresh lineup having added @Wpaanane at the transfer deadline.

This series could go any way without it being a huge surprise, and it will come down to who's done their homework better and can perform when it matters the most. For now RCTIC takes the edge on paper with their experience, though we also have to remember that AHJO (then named Dynastia) took number one seeded Reality Check all the way to a game seven in their series at this same stage last season, only revamping their left side of the ice since then.

Just to reiterate one last time, this should be the tightest series in this round. Does experience prevail, or will a honeymoon phase power a slight upset? Let's go with the bold prediction for a change.

Prediction: 

@Mikka: 2-4 AHJO
@jahajaha93: 4-3 RCTIC

This round is a bit longer than usual, but we'll have our final four clear soon enough. Good luck and have fun everyone, whether it's playing or cheering on your favorites!

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.

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In Round 2 of the ECL '22 Spring Lite Playoffs, it's time for new success stories to be made and for old start to polish up and shine again! We've got several exciting matchups on tap, and here are some comments about them to follow.

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.3 ECL Lite

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 15.06 – 16.06 (BO7)

Well, my first round predictions were kind of hit and miss. Let’s discuss those a little bit later. First congratulations to all teams who managed to advance to the second round. Some first round games were tight, whereas other not so much. Especially all matchups that went to game seven. Those nervous moments end with great celebrations or big disappointments. Eventually always the best team continues. 

So let’s talk about my predictions. My first round predictions were a bit short, and let's see how they went:

 Arkham Asylum - Frölunda HC Academy 

Prediction: 4-1 to Arkham Asylum
Result: 4-3 to Arkham Asylum

Knowing Arkham pretty well I was convinced that they had recovered from last season’s disappointing first round exit and would come back stronger, but Frölunda showed that seed doesn’t matter and put up one hell of a fight. When the seventh game had 10 minutes of play time left, Frölunda were up 3-1 and this writer had cold and sweaty hands. Arkham’s experienced squad still showed why they are the top squad. They tied the game in regulation and an overtime winner from @Hj_projekti (Jorgeniii) sealed the deal.

 Tadpole - Pata Hellalla 

Prediction: 4-0 to Tadpole
Result: 4-2 to Tadpole

What a series Pata Hellalla managed to turn this into. Even though Tadpole controlled the games @L1ttle_Pony93 (Supermaaario) with the great defence from Pata made the series tighter. Despite the experienced squad the former Pro team still couldn’t find the path to the next round. @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) held his ground and @ROUHEEE scored those big goals to put them through to the next round.

 Destiny - Timrå IK 

Prediction: 4-2 to Destiny
Result: 4-1 to Destiny

Almost. Tight games between two good teams. Destiny was in the drivers seat for the entire series. Timrå IK defended well and was able to shut down Destiny’s scoring chances. It seems biased that I always praise goalies but @Mesimaki really played well and gave every chance for his team to win. Destiny calmed their game in game five and that calmness gave them more time to look for opportunities to score. They also held their defensive ground well and minimized Timrå's chances.
 

 Spirit - Resurrection 

Prediction: 4-1 to Spirit
Result: 4-0 to Spirit

Almost got this, but no. Spirit showed no mercy. Well the first game ended in overtime and in terms of the result, was the closest. When looking at the stats though Spirit had the control. @Jiihooo86 almost could handle the little pressure I gave him on the first preview but you cannot win alone. Spirit, on the other hand, looked like a really solid team throughout the series. Only allowing three goals shows good team defence and a solid goalie. And @Toivonen_ continued his regular season Spirit into the playoffs. 

 Synergy Hockey - Neptune Hockey 

Prediction: 4-0 to Synergy Hockey
Result: 4-0 to Synergy Hockey

I’m never wrong. More than once. Okay let’s take a look at the only series I predicted right. Synergy Hockey is full of old Pro and Elite players so this wasn’t really a surprise. Standard to expectations, and that's not to sayNeptune Hockey isn't also a great team. It's your first season in the Lite division and getting eliminated in the first round is no shame, ask the Arkham Asylum guys how that feels. Synergy Hockey’s experienced squad walked off to the next round as expected.

Round 2

Now, let’s discuss about the next round. Some very interesting teams managed to move on. Teams like the Carolus Icemen are one of them. A Swedish based team with some British reinforcements, and at the same time the British National team is on a visit in Finland to play in the Ice Hockey World Championship. 

But now to the part that everyone has been waiting for. Round 2 predictions. I will go through every pair this time and add some comments if I feel it's needed. Remember to discuss, argue and prove me wrong. 
 

 Arkham Asylum - Valco 

Prediction: 4-1 to Arkham Asylum 

Comment: Even though Valco came through in the first round, Arkham is an opponent on an entirely different level. 
 

 Tadpole - Team NGU 

Prediction: 4-3 to Tadpole

Comment: Server advantage, but NGU could still challenge Tadpole like Pata Helalla did in the past round.
 

 Destiny - Södertälje SK 

Prediction: 4-2 to Södertälje SK

Comment: Destiny played very well against Timrå but Södertälje is definitely a step up in the level of opponent. This is going to be an interesting watch. Fast-paced hockey against tough defense first mentality.
 

 Project X - HC SHH 

Prediction: 4-1 to Project X 

Comment: Golden close quarters may not be enough in round two.
 

 Bastu -  Linköping HC

Prediction: 4-3 to ?

Comment: This can go either way, but I'll predict it's in a game seven.

 Spirit - Hyperion 

Prediction: 4-1 to Spirit

Comment: Do your magic @Toivonen_.
 

 IK Oskarshamn - Carolus Icemen

Prediction: 4-0 to IK Oskarshamn

Comment: Sorry Carolus, I kinda fancy you, but I don’t see you going through this stage. 
 

 Free From Rodents - Synergy Hockey 

Prediction: 4-1 to Synergy Hockey

Comment: No comment read above
 

Bold assumptions. Go play.

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

SportsGamers,

We're one step closer to glory! The Core division playoffs have been running for quite some time already and now we're down to the top 16. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The second round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 15th of May 2022 and end on Wednesday the 25th of May 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

Click here to view the matchups for round 3 of the ECL '22 Spring Core Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

SportsGamers,

Out of the 24 qualified teams, we're now left with only 16 in the Neo playoffs. Now also the top 8 will start their postseason runs and we'll see if they've used their bye week in a smart way on the practice ice. Let the action begin and may the best teams win! The first round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 15th of May 2022 and end on Wednesday the 25th of May 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

Click here to view the matchups for round 2 of the ECL '22 Spring Neo Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

Action is just about to kick off in the playoffs of the Pro division! The theme of the regular season was parity unlike what we've seen before. Many teams expected to be at the top struggled immensely, opening up opportunities for other teams to thrive. Let's kick off the postseason!

Structure & Prize Pool

Lainaa

5.6 ECL Pro Playoffs

In ECL Pro, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be cross-seeded best against worst according to the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3. After the first round has been played, the teams will then be seeded based on PPG. The winner of ECL Pro will be instantly promoted, however the runner up will have to play (and win) a series vs. an Elite opponent in order to attain promotion. The two ECL Pro semifinal losers will each play one ECL Elite team ranked 13 or 14, cross-seeded according to the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3. Teams that finish in places 9-11 will neither play in the playoffs nor be subject to a qualification tournament or relegation. Teams that finish 12th – 14th will be placed into a qualification tournament to secure their spot in Pro for the next ECL (see section 5.11 for more information). Finally, teams that finish 15th – 16th will be instantly relegated.

Schedule

Lainaa

10.6.2 ECL Pro

Playoff Schedule

• Round of 16: 8.-12.5.
• Quarterfinals: 15.-25.5.
• Semifinals: 30.5.-2.6.
• Finals: 5.-6.6. (TBC)

Broadcasts

As you have grown accustomed to during the regular season, there will be at least one Pro broadcast per week on Tuesdays, with a 19.45 CEST start time. You can access that and our other live content on the SportsGamer Twitch, where you can also find our up-to-date stream schedule.

This preview was written in co-operation by @Wpaanane & @jahajaha93.

(1)  Reality Check vs (8)  GHETTO FIREBIRDS

Reality Check really flexed their muscles by once again going all out in a powerful regular season showing. They showed their power at goal scoring, getting the most goals in group 1. Adding @Mikax222 and @JesseL2002 to their lineup has made Reality Check maybe the favorites to win whole Pro Division. 

On the other hand, GHETTO FIREBIRDS didn't have as good of a regular season as expected but they still managed to claim the needed points for a playoff spot. Adding @Valluxet and @Talonmies69 (Talonm1es) to their lineup hasn't really worked out in the best way yet but this team is capable of winning games when they find good form and get the real mentality. 

This series will be tough and we'll be excited to see if GHETTO FIREBIRDS can challenge Reality Check for the spot to the Quarterfinals. 

Key players from both teams can be found on the wing as Reality Check's @Pursuitti 29+31=60 scored most goals for his team in the regular season. GHETTO FIREBIRDS' winger @Valluxet 25+23=48 also scored most goals for his team in the regular season. We'll see if these players keeps scoring goals in the increasingly important games. 

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: Plays for GHETTO FIREBIRDS
@Wpaanane: 4-2 Reality Check
 

(1)  Växjö Lakers vs (8)  Geekz Energy eSports

Finishing 1st in Group 2, the mixed nationality roster repping the Swedish hockey club Växjö Lakers delivered as they were expected to, perhaps even a bit better. Having that successful regular season Växjö Lakers must have confidence for the upcoming first round of the playoffs and they aren't looking to slow down any time soon. Växjö Lakers scored the most goals in the entire Pro division with 110 goals in 30 games played. 

Geekz Energy eSports started their season by losing six games in a row, but after that something clicked and they started to claim points on a nightly basis and they finished 8th in group 1. They are a dangerous counter-attack team that can strike in the blink of an eye. 

Key players for both of these teams you can find on center position. Växjö's @dzouvi with 26+26=62 is a former Elite division player, who had a wonderful regular season alongside @Kattenj on his left flank, who was the teams leading point getter with the phenomenal 35+47=82 points. Geekz Energy eSports' centerman @Krinke 21+26=47 is also a former Elite player, a very skillful center with great faceoff ability (53.4% as his faceoff percent). We'll see can Geekz Energy eSports answer to this huge challenge when they are up against another contender Växjö Lakers. 

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-0 Växjö Lakers
@Wpaanane: 4-0 Växjö Lakers

(2)  HanaaHC vs (7)  VISU Gaming

HanaaHC, the runner-up from Group 1, hopes to make a deeper playoff run than last season. They fell short against noRex Gaming in game six of the Winter season. They had a great regular season and if they are keeping the same form up, they are going trough from this round with relative ease. VISU Gaming missed playoffs last season but they were active in the offseason and added @IKarkkiI, @Pontinho(I-CLAUGHTON-I) and @jubex0r to their core and made their way to the playoffs this time around. This matchup will bring us tight and small margin games.

Key players in this series are both playing on the left wing. Hanaa HC's @xLeikku 33+34=67 continued where he left off last season and had a great regular season. VISU Gaming's experienced left wing @hpkfani(MuKiMaisteri) 39+23=62 also has a great regular season behind. MuKiMaisteri scored 39 goals in 30 games, being the top scorer for VISU Gaming and the second best finisher in the division. Also VISU Gaming's rookie defenseman @Pontinho (I-CLAUGHTON-I) 6+25=31 had an excellent regular season as a rookie. We'll see how he performs in the playoffs. 

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-2 HanaaHC
@Wpaanane:  4-3 HanaaHC

(2)  Deadly Phantoms vs (7)  Sulkavan Sudet

The German pride Deadly Phantoms is on a mission to make their way back to the Elite division and will make life miserable for anyone that will try to stop them. This is one of the most complete teams in the division and despite not outright dominating in the regular season, the German outfit is built to take down strong opposition in gruelling playoff competition. Coming into the playoffs in 8-1-1 form also is very telling of their form right now, and they look like they could be on the brink of peaking at the right time. 

Sulkavan Sudet, on the other hand were a team that many expected to be in the middle of the pack or even finish outside of playoff position. The team is a true Pro division juggernaut and possess a tremendous amount of experience to get the job done. The grinding they've done in Pro thus far has only fuelled the fire and these guys must be very hungry to show everyone that they have the necessary skill to move up the ranks. Statistically, it looks like it's going to be mission impossible for the wolfpack to overcome the German side, but we'll be smarter after a minimum of four games.

The Phantoms have some of the best players in the division at several positions, but especially important to them are centerman @PlaymakerSJ (28+25=53), defenseman @xXPsykoSkillsXx (12+32=44) and goalie @RPH_31 (17 W, 83.33 SV%, 1.42 GAA), not only due to their excellent numbers, but the intangibles that these guys possess through the experience they've got with the team. Sulkava doesn't quite have the roster to match, but the pressure to get his team to perform to the best level will be on captain @Oxdoggi (14+28=42).

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-0 Deadly Phantoms
@Wpaanane:

(3)  Tohtorit vs (6)  Herlev Eagles

We're going to see tight small margin games in this matchup. Tohtorit is 11-0-1 in their last 12 games, whereas Herlev Eagles barely managed to pave their way to the playoffs. Both of these teams are very skilled so we're expecting to see some nice plays and nice goals between these two teams. Especially puck movement and the pace of it will be an important factor.

From Herlev Eagles' side @TeikDaun and also from Tohtorit's side @Stammer70 will be important, both goalies can win games for their own side and could end up tipping the scales if one of them gets hot early on. Also wingers from these both teams are in the spotlight as @keranee and @vibholm10 are very dangerous especially in the offensive zone. Also Tohtorit wingers @Ojala16 and @Ristimaki12 are both passing playmakers but have the ability to sniff a scoring chance when the opportunity presents itself. 

This will be a tough one but Tohtorit are a slight favorite to win this matchup. Herlev Eagles needs to step up after a difficult regular season if they are going to win this series. 

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-2 Tohtorit
@Wpaanane: 4-1 Tohtorit

(3)  Be a Bro vs (6)  RCTIC

We're going all the way in this one! Be a Bro and RCTIC are clashing in a matchup between two very experienced and skilled rosters. Despite Be a Bro being assembled over the offseason, the squad still holds several veteran players that have found chemistry nicely along the way. RCTIC, on the other hand, are now in their third consecutive ECL Pro season with increasingly good results. Some fluctuation to start the season really did RCTIC in when trying to gain a higher finish, but they managed to find their form later on, much alike their competition in Be a Bro.

Key players for both teams can be found on the wing, as Be a Bro's @imosi and @rakkauspakkaus- have been great with production for them, but they've been nowhere near the production level of RCTIC's @Limbe65, who finished third in the league and first in goals with 47+24=71. While Limbe will be the definite X-Factor for RCTIC, it's undeniable that Be a Bro has the wider arsenal and they've still got the highest scoring defenseman @MCH_98 (8+33=41) in their ranks, who we haven't even mentioned yet!

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 3-4 RCTIC
@Wpaanane: 4-2 Be a Bro

(4)  Sinister vs (5)  Renascor

Sinister has some of the most exciting up and coming players in the game on their roster with @OsquuG and @JerePaloranta (Harlowi-) leading the way, but they are lacking in the experience department. Look for their defensemen @xeblax1 (TonninHazzi) and @Thewix93 (thewix_1) to hold down the fort while the youngsters up top try to wreak havoc in the Renascor end.

The Russian side surprised this season with a great run thus far after losing some key components in the offseason. The departure of star player @Valluxet has perhaps forced players like @Virusactive and @ilyagolubev (tendeerly) to elevate their game, and they have done so on command. Quite some time has passed since any of these players have made a deep Pro playoff push, so consider them as green to the stage as the Sinister side. 

The difference in individual skill and scoring power tips the scales heavily in favor of the Sinister squad, but if the Russians can find a way to really pull things together in their own end, you never know what could happen in a one-goal game. The further we go without a goal on the board, the better the situation is for Renascor throughout. 

In terms of goalie duels, this one is quite interesting. Renascor have their mainstay @sumskoy26 (SumkaX), who actually improved statistically quite a lot from last season (+5,03SV% and -0,06GAA, +3 shutouts). Sinister will be icing @PuukAesi (rransu), who very much alike his teammates, isn't overly experienced at this level and has slowly grown into the goalie he is today. Statistically, he is better than his counterpart, but it's tough to draw conclusions based on that when both teams have competed in different groups. We're calling this even for now, and the guys will show us who takes the cake come puck drop.

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-1 Sinister
@Wpaanane: 4-2 Sinister

(4)  AHJO vs (5)  Hokurit

We're in for a tight one in this matchup. Hokurit were one of the sensations last season, but suffered some big losses in the offseason. Despite that, they have been able to bounce back nicely and the experience they've gathered has now solidified them as a bona fide playoff team in the Pro division. On the other side we have AHJO, the former Dynastia. This squad has had a rather streaky season, but their campaign has been good enough thus far. In the playoffs, they'll need to elevate their level even more and they seem to be at the brink of peak form with their 7-2-1 record in the last ten games. 

Statistically, the two squads are very similar, and one team running away with games shouldn't be expected. If any differences should be highlighted, the AHJO squad looks a bit more individually skilled and since putting @TheArska (XxProArskaxX) on defense, their game has clicked very well. However, we mustn't forget that Hokurit definitely do possess that skill too, and a player like @J-_-Jamaltheman could be a difference maker for them.

Both of these teams are on the aggressive side, and like to put pressure on the opposing team with physical play. AHJO with their 113 PIMs were among most penalized teams in the division, and Hokurit with 105 PIMs aren't close behind. This leads us to expect a fair amount of special teams play in this series, which again gives a slight advantage in the favor of AHJO both on the powerplay and penalty kill.

Prediction: 

@jahajaha93: 4-2 AHJO
@Wpaanane: Plays for AHJO

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

Here we go again, the regular season has ended and it's time to turn our heads towards the playoffs. After the long winter we are now slowly also in spring time up north. Who will shine? Who will fall? Time will tell.

Structure & Prize Pool

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5.7 ECL Lite Playoffs

In ECL Lite, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Lite from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-4
• Group runners-up #5-8
• Teams that finished 3rd #9-12
• Teams that finished 4th #13-16
• Teams that finished 5th #17-20
• Teams that finished 6th #21-24
• Teams that finished 7th #25-28
• Teams that finish 8th #29-32

The winner of ECL Lite will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the bronze-game winning team. Teams finishing from 4th to 9th in the playoffs will be placed in the Pro – Lite qualifier for the ensuing ECL season. Teams that finish 15th and 16th in their group will be directly relegated to Core, whilst teams that finish 13th and 14th will find themselves competing in the Lite – Core qualifier for the ensuing ECL season to secure their position in Lite.

Schedule

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10.6.3 ECL Lite

Playoff Schedule

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 15.06 – 16.06 (BO7)

Arkham Asylum topped the regular season groups. Conceding less than one goal per game in the regular season is impressive and achieved through good team defence and final lock @PCJP (Pelkonen-I92I) had been solid throughout the season. 

Even though hockey is a goal scoring game, defence always plays a big part especially in the playoffs. Teams that defend tight and shut down opponents' scoring chances will always go far in the postseason. Good examples of this are the aforementioned Arkham Asylum (group2), Bastu (group2), Södertalje SK (group3) and Project X (group4). In the midseason report I noted that even though Destiny was at the top of the standings, they conceded much more goals than other top teams and that continued throughout the regular season. Let’s see if they can continue scoring goals when the teams start to defend tighter. 

When looking into the stats there are a couple surprises to be found. @Jusa (JusaSoLow) scored 50 goals in the regular season but if you have played against his team HC Shh you'll know where those numbers stem from. The overall top scorer came from Spirit in the form of @Toivonen_, who topped the player stats. The best defenseman on the scoring sheet was @Eemil (eKoski_) from Tadpole, the strong team definitely helps, without even going into the skillset of the man himself. In terms of goaltending, @Jiihooo86 was on a level of his own - the captain of the Resurrection was a key player for them to advance to the playoffs. His impressive SV% and GAA shows that he still is one of the best goalies around. Let’s see how he will perform in the playoffs. 

Resurrection had a slow start to the regular season and almost didn’t make it to the playoffs as I predicted on the midseason report. They proved me wrong and showed that they belong in the playoffs with the lead of their veteran captain.

The first playoff round usually is a bit slower and there's an adjustment process going on, so it doesn't always show the complete diraction of the playoffs. Some teams may have slow starts to the runs and some teams may outperform in the first round. There are interesting matchups so let’s try to predict a little and speculate who will continue from the first round. Here's a few predictions on a couple of the first round marquee matchups:

 Arkham Asylum - Frölunda HC Academy  4-1

Even though Frölunda have skilled individuals, Arkham’s defense is so good they shouldn't have any problems to advance. Maybe they take this series in four games but I'd like to see that Frölunda can steal one game.

 Tadpole - Pata Hellalla  4-0

Former Pro team Pata haven’t found their game this season. They clinched a spot in the playoffs in the last round of the regular season. I don’t want to ruin anyone's day but I don’t see them in the second round.

 Destiny - Timrå IK  4-2

Offensive power meets the solid fast puck movers. In terms of defense these teams are even, but Destiny has the fire power and shouldn't have any problems to advance from here. 

 Spirit - Resurrection  4-1

If JiiHooo86 can shut the net they can make it more even. Still Spirit’s offense is the key to their success and I'd expect them to run over Resurrection. 

 Synergy Hockey - Neptune Hockey  4-0

Synergy's former Pro and Elite players didn’t shine too much in the regular season but now playoffs are a different beast. Neptune Hockey  played well in their first Lite season but the experience from Synergy Hockey will take them to the next round.

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

We're closing down on the main stretch with a bit over a week to go in the season and the standings are looking tight! Conquer Gaming is one of the teams who had a great past week and they've been one of the most pleasant surprises thus far. What will happen moving on?

All teams but two have now passed the midway point of the season and with a bit over a week left to go, now is definitely the time to start pushing and collecting those crucial points to make a playoff push. It looks like hREDS and Frölunda HC are running away from the pack a little bit, but elsewhere, it seems like there's so much parity in the league right now which makes for a very exciting last week of action.

The week started with a classic battle as HAVU Gaming and Frölunda HC split points in the broadcast games. The week was positive for HAVU in other ways as well when they were able to get full points from Färjestad BK and ended their week against Roots Gaming with three points from those games. Roots had their second full four points night against ZSC Esports and that definitely did them good as right now they are battling for the same spots in the standings with the Swiss group. 

Perhaps the biggest upset of the week was when Conquer Gaming managed to overcome hREDS twice in their matchups on Thursday evening. hREDS have reigned supreme throughout the season and have definitely been in great form, but the disciplined outing from Conquer led to difficulties converting on chances. hREDS salvaged two points through overtime losses, but for Conquer these additions to their totals were more than welcome, as they now sit at 1.25 points per game, which should grant them a playoff spot if they're able to keep up the pace - something that we could not foresee prior to the season. Also, will this blow to hREDS' confidence have an impact on their performance in their next few games?

hREDS wasn't the only top team that Conquer went up against this week, as they also met Frölunda HC earlier. Winning also them in one game makes Conquer's week nothing short of amazing. The fact that they were able to win both recent European Champions in the same week makes them definitely the biggest dark horse so far this season and no one would have expected an outcome like this in any preseason prediction.  

Frölunda HC had a bit of a slump this week, unusually for them. Despite winning one game with a 7-1 landslide against GOONS, they also lost one game in regulation. GOONS have now played 10 games with Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva on defense and their record in those games is impressive as they have won eight and lost only two. When you look at the points per game you can right now find the skunk-predators in 5th place in the standings. 

One the teams that had tough time this week was ZSC Esports. Losing all their four games during this week puts them at a five game losing streak. They have 0.9 points per game after 20 games and that puts them in 14th place in the standings. They will have to figure out how to keep the puck away from their net because they allow 2.7 goals per game, which isn't sustainable if they are looking to climb the standings in the final push of the season.

Individually, we've got the scoring race also tightening towards the end of the season. GOONS only played two matchups this past week, so the lead for Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinen is diminishing and quite a few players are closing in on him. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie is two points behind with a few games less played, but also SAWO duo Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and Jere @jxrska Laukka are getting close with four games less at the moment, and these are the kind of guys that can pop off at any given time. PleeMaker ended up being the first player to reach 20 goals with six in total scored in the past week. 

It also seems like the transition for Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala to defense is really working out for him. As the highest scoring defenseman he is showcasing both premier production and excellent overall play down low, not that there was ever any doubt about it. However, the most complete player on defense thus far has been ZSC Esports' Max @Toneee9 Tonitz, who we already mentioned last week. The Austrian defenseman is having a real breakout year now in his third Elite campaign with the Swiss club.

Among the goaltenders, two names currently rise above the others and we are not surprised. Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and Filip @Faze91- Azri finding their form and look like they'll be peaking at the right time, just in time for playoffs to start. These guys have stood the test of time and are still among the best in the business. Also notably, Christoffer @Tiipponenii (Coffelainen) Eriksson is looking very good for his team HV71 as of late despite the team struggling a bit. Look for them to perhaps steal some points as get down the main stretch of the regular season.

Tonight we'll be back with some great ECL Elite action for you guys at 17:45 CEST as usual! We've got JYP Jyväskylä going against SAWO ESPORTS and hREDS - Färjestad BK on tap with Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson to call the action!

SportsGamers,

64 teams went to battle in the first round and they're now down to 32. It's time to ramp up the heat and the stakes are certainly high enough, who will be the teams to advance and to get one step closer to promotion. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The second round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 8th of May 2022 and end on Thursday the 12th of May 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

Click here to view the matchups for round 2 of the ECL '22 Spring Core Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

SportsGamers,

It's time to kick off the playoffs in our Neo division! First of all, congrats to all teams who made it to this point, and to those who end their season now, we hope you'll be back stronger next time. A total of 24 teams have qualified, out of which the eight best teams based on PPG will receive a bye for the first round. The rest of the teams will be seeded based on PPG and play each other in the first round, after which we will continue as usual. The first round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 8th of May 2022 and end on Thursday the 12th of May 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Neo playoffs:

• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO5)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO5)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO5)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 08.06 (BO5)
• Finals: 12.06 (BO5)

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-five and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.9 ECL Neo Playoffs

In ECL Neo, 24 teams will make the playoffs. These 24 teams will be made up of the top 6 from each of the 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will progress directly to the second round (seeds 1 – 8), whilst the remaining teams (seeds 9 – 24) will play in the first round, with the victor joining the top 8 seeds in the second round. As is the case with ECL Lite, the teams will be seeded based on finishing position within their group, as well as the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

Click here to view the matchups for round 1 of the ECL '22 Spring Neo Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

The third week of ECL Elite has now been played and the battle starts to get tougher and tougher all the time. Teams have now played 1between 10 and 16 games and we can start to see who is hot this season and who still needs to get their bearings straight for the final push. 

Like you could expect before the season, it's no surprise that the two teams we find at the top of the standings after about half of the games have been played are hREDS and Frölunda HC. hREDS' week included matchups against SAWO ESPORTS and HAVU Gaming and they showed once again their great teamplay by collecting all 8 possible points and letting opponents score only one goal per game in those matchups. Frölunda HC also played against two teams this week but weren't able to secure all the points as JYP Jyväskylä were able to beat the Indians once in overtime. Thursday night was good for Frölunda HC as they managed to get back to the 4/4 points rhythm against Stargazing. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie showed once again how good of a goal scorer he is by notching 6 goals in 4 games this week. 

In third place if you look at points per game you can find Örebro Hockey, who have had a great start to their season, quite surprisingly. Winning hREDS in week two clearly gave them some positive energy as they were able to win five out of six games this week, continuing their great run. Especially their start to the week was absolutely incredible as Örebro won both ZSC Esports and Falun Coal Miners without allowing a single goal. Elie @eliekamel87(Eliekamel_) Kamel in net was a brick wall, and secured four consecutive shutouts to his name. They ended their week against SAWO ESPORTS by splitting wins and both walking away with two points.  

Speaking of SAWO, they had a heavy workload this week with eight games to play on total. This weeks disappointment for them was a loss against YMCA Esports, but on the other hand they were able to make comeback against Färjestad BK in the first game as they were down 2-0 when there was only 30 seconds left in the game. Eventually, SAWO won in overtime. They have managed to grab 18 points in 14 games which means that they are in 4th place in the standings tied with Färjestad BK when you look at the points per game. 

After a little break from the games also IQUE made their comeback this week by playing against three opponents. The week definitely wasn't what they were looking for because they ended up winning only one of those six games. Now IQUE is sitting at last place in the standings and has only got seven points in their 12 games played. 

If GOONS had gotten ahead of the pack a bit early, they've now slowed down their pace a bit to allow other teams to catch up in terms of games played. However, it still seems like Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinens production pace is unmatched at the moment. The young winger is scoring at a pace of over two points per game and had a great seven point double-header against Conquer Gaming last week, putting him ahead of the competition. Also worth noting is ZSC's rookie Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg, who sits in 5th place with 9+14=23 points - not bad for a rookie! Someone who is struggling a bit along with his team is IQUE captain Janne @Nieppii Niemelä, who only has eight points through his first twelve games, and sits at a -6 as we speak. There's still time to turn things around, however, and something he still does very well is stay on the puck and draw penalties, now IQUE only needs to find a way to turn up the production.

Defensively, the last week was a show of excellence by Örebro Hockey as a unit. We already touched on the topic, but the feat of four consecutive shutouts truly is incredible at this level of competition. Örebro isn't known for such things, and we're used to seeing them play a fast counter-attack hockey, and not really being one of the best teams at completely shutting down opposition. Anyway, a great effort by the entire team and especially goaltender @eliekamel87.

In terms of production down low, the most efficient defenseman thus far has been ZSC's Max @Toneee9 Tonitz, who have managed to keep up a very consistent pace, almost getting his name on the scoresheet in every game played. If the Swiss are looking to find playoff pace this season, he'll need to continue his great play.

SportsGamers,

The ECL '22 Spring Core Playoffs are here and we have got some very strong teams that are ready to go to war in the postseason. In Core, the playoffs consist of the top 8 teams from each group being seeded against other teams who finished in the same position (e.g. group winners are seeded #1-4, group runners-up are seeded #5-8 and so on.). The first round of the playoffs will start on Sunday the 1st of May 2022 and end on Thursday the 5th of May 2022.

Here is a full schedule of the ECL '22 Spring Core playoffs:

• Round-of-64: 01.05 – 05.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-32: 08.05 – 12.05 (BO7)
• Round-of-16: 15.05 – 25.05 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 30.05 – 02.06 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 05.06 – 09.06 (BO7)
• Finals: 13.06 – 14.06 (BO7) [Provisional date]

For the relevant rules regarding these playoffs, please find extracts from the ECL Rulebook below. Essentially, each series will be a best-of-seven and the higher seeded team will play 'at home' first, then alternate back and forth with the lower seeded team. 

Lainaa

5.8 ECL Core Playoffs
In ECL Core, 8 out of 16 teams from each group will make the playoffs, in which they will be seeded against all playoff-bound teams in ECL Core from best to worst according to the system detailed below, as well as with the general tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3.

• Group winners are seeded #1-8
• Group runners-up #9-16
• Teams that finished 3rd #17-24
• Teams that finished 4th #25-32 Page 14 of 44
• Teams that finished 5th #33-40
• Teams that finished 6th #41-48
• Teams that finished 7th #49-56
• Teams that finish 8th #57-64

The winner of ECL Core will be instantly promoted, along with the runner up, and the semifinalists. Additionally, not only will these teams have secured their spot in ECL Lite, but they will also be granted a position within the ECL Pro – Lite qualifier

Click here to view the matchups for round 1 of the ECL '22 Spring Core Playoffs

Good luck for everyone!

The second week of the Elite season is coming to an end today and the past week certainly shed some light on questions we might have had for some teams, but very much still lies unanswered. Many teams that were expected to be in the playoffs are still yet to heat up. 

Last Sundays early broadcast games included GOONS challenging hREDS and HV71 playing against YMCA Esports. hREDS dominated their games involving Filip @Faze91- Azri's  two shutouts. GOONS have had a tougher start then maybe expected. The still to be identified badgerlike creatures made a change to their lineup for their games against Falun Coal Miners as they replaced Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen with new player Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva who was added last week from Pro's FILADELPHIA ACADEMY. YMCA Esports and HV71 split points in their games by both getting a win in regulation time. HV71 had a pretty decent week as they were able to collect full points against fellow Swedish team Färjestad BK and took hREDS all the way to overtime in the second game between them. 

HAVU Gaming has had an incredibly tough start with their new roster. The multiple European Champion has only won two of their eight first games of the season. One player from the black and green who is still waiting to heat up is Ilmari @Buantso(Puantso) Lehkonen who has only one goal to his name thus far. That goal was big for HAVU as it was an overtime game winning goal against JYP. We have seen HAVU doing some rotation early on and they still don't seem to be sticking with one ensemble, so it'll be interesting to see what they go with in the end. JYP stole three points out of HAVU but got no points from Conquer Gaming on Thursday, which was an upset for them. Speaking about Conquer Gaming they started season on a five game losing streak but were able to turn the tide and right now are on five game winning streak. 

Roots Gaming ended up having a six game losing streak after winning Conquer in their first games of the season, but that ended against Frölunda HC which is a big steal for the still very young team. Linus @Limu95 Christiansson has been on fire by scoring 10 goals and 16 points to this point. More can still be expected with the highly efficient shooting the guy is doing - 52.6% going in at the moment. You have to also mention Niko @vVoDee Vottonen who has scored 5 goals which is most among defenders. One of the teams who has had a decent start for the season is ZSC Esports who sits at 5th place in the standings when you look at points per game. Points from seven out of eight games is a great feat thus far and if they keep going, they'll be in the playoffs for sure. Örebro Hockey has split wins with every opponent so far and the biggest win out of those games came against hREDS, handing the defending champions their first loss of the season. The hero for Örebro in that game was Jan-Mikael @Janski (jansku23)Aittoniemi who scored all three of his teams goals. 

It's tough to have a complete outlook on the standings when teams have various amounts of games played, and the same goes even more for the individual stats. Arttu @laitineen64(laiitinen) Laitinen is still leading the point producers with his 26 points in 14 games. The two other guys in the top 3 are Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. Both guys have two points per game as they have 20 points in 10 games. In total, hREDS have scored 3 goals per game which is most in the league. Another guy you have to mention is Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg who has 15 points in 8 games and has had a great start to his rookie season in Elite. 

Last seasons top defender Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen has continued where he left off and leads all defensemen with 14 points in 10 games. Vvodee isn't the only defender who has found a way to light the lamp this season as there are four different defensemen who have notched five goals thus far.

Among goalies, this weeks mention goes to cover gamer Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen, who leads the pack with his great 87.14 SV% and added two shutouts to his name against HAVU Gaming this week.

Remember to join us tonight in the last broadcast of the week! We'll start off at 17:45 CEST with two great clashes between teams desperate to add to their point totals.

Now that we're actually a bit past the Spring season's midway mark, it's finally time to take a look at some of the hottest and coldest teams in the competition. Who's on the up and who's been on the way down? Keep on reading to find out.

Similar to the previous season, this article will be highlighting two kinds of teams: those who have been on a roll, or, in turn, performing below the expectations we set out to them in our season preview. To see exactly how the standings stack up, and to find out all the individual statistics you would possibly want to, take a look at the league page. Without further ado, let's get into it.

Bear in mind that the teams within each category are listed purely in alphabetical order. Every team's record as of 22 April is in brackets.

Group 1

HOT

 HanaaHC (15-3-0) Written by @jahajaha93

ECL Pro mainstay HanaaHC looks to be on the up as of late, and are sporting a really hot record throughout their first 18 games of the season. They really seem to be clicking on all fronts as statistically, the squad is performing up to par with just about any top team in the division. Hanaa's sole weakness this season seems to be in the faceoff circle, in which they are only besting the opponent at a rate of 45.74%, so that is one of the quirks in their game they'll still have to iron out before the playoffs. Their goalie situation also seems to have been sorted out nicely, as both @Simbanho and @Esko-etikka have done their part in clinching some important wins, and are expected to continue sharing the workload. 

Individually, left winger @xLeikku has been in a class of his own for Hanaa with his 18+22=40 points thru 18 games. This leads his team by a wide margin and puts him in 9th in the scoring race for the entire division. Also worth a mention is defenseman @ripKeisari, who in his second season with the team now leads the league in scoring for defensemen with 6+20=26 points. On top of that, he has been on fire intercepting pucks and launching counter attacks for his team.
 

 Hokurit (9-4-3)

They were listed here last season as well, but it looks like Hokurit keep proving any doubters wrong. New additions LD @Frans-Fin (16 GP, 2+8=10) and C @J-_-Jamaltheman (16 GP, 14+17=31) have seemed to fit right in, perhaps in part fueled by their old Hotbox chemistry. Especially the latter has been on fire, clicking at nearly two points per game during his first season as a forward in Pro. The team's left-winger and leading scorer @Jondeezz (16 GP, 17+18=35) has already proved his ability to put up points at this level in seasons past, but goalie @wilinhoo (12 GP, 83.58 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 1 SO) seems to have taken a meaningful step forward in his development, currently posting a SV% five points higher than what he finished with in ECL '22: Winter.

While Hokurit cooled down a bit during the second half last season, the same shouldn't be expected this time: they've already played against most top opponents, opposite of last time around when their start of schedule was weaker. Don't be surprised if they keep climbing up towards higher seeds.

 Reality Check (19-0-1)

As the title says, Reality Check has absolutely dominated Group 1. Currently sporting a 19-0-1 record in the midst of a 14-game winning streak, the only team they dropped a point against was GIFU Hockey. Matching Delusion's (now hREDS) 29-0-1 record from ECL 9 Pro may not happen, but for example Vesa Pompa HC's 26-2-2 from the same contest or FILADELPHIA's (now Frölunda HC) 27-1-2 from ECL 6 Pro surely seem attainable. Finishing off the regular season strongly is always a big plus, but their sights are surely set on postseason success and finally getting that championship they've been yearning for.

It's safe to say that the two new faces compared to last season's runner up squad, @JesseL2002 (20 GP, 14+25=39) and @Mikax222 (20 GP, 7+18=25), have fit in nicely, with the former being joint-leading scorer among their forward group and the latter leading the way for defense.

Notable mentions: Hawaii Hockey, Sulkavan Sudet

COLD

Almtuna eSport (2-14-0)

The ECL '22: Winter Core Champion has had a tough time adjusting to the higher level of competition. They've only managed to claw points from fellow bottom table team Pasilan SKA, and just two of their 14 losses have been by a one goal margin. Having a 1.06 GF/GP and 4.75 GA/GP is far from ideal, with the former being 0.32 less than second-worst, and the latter a whopping 1.75 higher than second worst. They've had a lot of rotation with ten different skaters and two goalies making appearances, so perhaps having a bit more longevity in their lineup would be beneficial.

Luckily for the Swedes sitting last place, multiple teams above them in the table are well within reach. All they have to do is start winning games to avoid instant relegation. Sounds simple enough, right? Most of their remaining opponents are at or below the playoff line too.

 Nemesis (5-9-2)

For a team predicted to be in the playoffs or at most barely missing the cut, Nemesis surely has had a lot of troubles to start off the campaign. They've been pretty good at keeping the puck out of their own net as expected, with a 1.94 GA/GP good for sixth in the group, but finding ways to put it in at the other end has been tough: they've only scored 1.38 goals per game, second lowest in Group 1.

They have to win all but a few of their remaining games to even think about making the playoffs, but, like Almtuna, they mostly have bottom half of the table teams left in their schedule. They have dropped too many points thus far, but their season is still salvageable if they can right the course quickly and start performing at their own level.

 RCTIC (4-4-6)

Reaching the quarterfinals last season and being predicted to finish in the top four, RCTIC has had a start reminiscent of some quite big upsets from past seasons. A light at the end of the tunnel is Deadly Phantoms' performances from two previous seasons: they were able to reach the playoffs after being in a similar position at the midway mark, even going all the way to the finals in ECL 12. The "icy boyz" have steadily taken two points from every opponent, but they're soon going to have to start winning some more if they want to get there.

RCTIC's playing style will thrive in postseason play as seen the last time out, but first they have to get there and a P/G of 1 isn't going to cut it. Captain/backup player @layout (JxLayout) (6 GP, 1+2=3) has slotted back into the lineup during the past week, so it'll be interesting to see whether that continues. Something of note, @Limbe65 (14 GP, 23+6=29) has scored almost two times as many goals as everyone else in the team *combined*.

Notable mentions: Djurgården Hockey, Mora IK/Pasilan SKA
 

Group 2

HOT

 Deadly Phantoms  (11-3-4)

After having cold starts to both previous campaigns since their relegation back to Pro, the longstanding German outfit has finally arrived in the hot column. Getting @Timasy (8 GP, 5+9=14) and @PlaymakerSJ (16 GP, 16+12=28) back was expected to push them towards the top again, but the acquisition of @GERxVillain (12 GP, 2+4=6) to bolster their depth options has also helped. Utilizing meaningful rotation hasn't exactly been in style for some time now, but DPH has been pulling it off with enough quality and existing chemistry.

Preventing goals has been their forte as usual, with the Phantoms sitting clearly above the rest in GA/GP in Group 2 alongside Växjö Lakers.

 Renascor (9-4-1)

The lineup changes were expected to hit really hard on Renascor, but they've been able to pretty much continue where they left off last season. Their goalscoring hasn't been at the rate it was before, but in turn their defense has been top notch and they've been able to turn tight games into wins with the help of goalie @sumskoy26 (14 GP, 82.72 SV%, 2 GAA, 1 SO). It's not to say that they would've had a tough time scoring though, with captain @Virusactive leading the way with a solid 8+21=29 points in 14 GP. While they're currently sitting at third place, it's an extremely even group so we'll see how far their flight lasts.

 Växjö Lakers (15-1-0)

Offense was always going to be Växjö's strong suit, and that's definitely been the case: their 3.88 GF/GP is a whole goal more than the second highest mark in their group, Fiasko's 2.85. Wingers @Kattenj (16 GP, 18+26=44) and @Birkedal96 (16 GP, 20+20=40) have scored well over two points per game, meanwhile center @dzouvi (16 GP, 16+15=31) isn't too far off either. The players' quality was never a question, but the uncertainty around how their squad would click seems to have been cleared. They have some tough opponents left, but the group's number one spot looks slated to remain theirs.

Notable mentions: Powerhouse HC, Fiasko

COLD

 FILADELPHIA ACADEMY (6-8-2)

The ACADEMY started its season with @Tappu (TAPPUU_) playing four games at RD, but soon signed @Wenger (re_Wenger) (4 GP, 0+3=3) to move TAPPUU_ back to goalie. When re_Wenger left to Elite division GOONS after another four games, last season's RD @Ipana27 (8 GP, 0+3=3) stepped back in and seems to have taken the spot for now. Coping without @xAaro89x's scoring has been tough, and in addition to being one of the lowest scoring teams, FILADELPHIA ACADEMY has also conceded the most goals per game (3.06) in Group 2. They don't have the easiest opponents left, so clawing back lost ground is a tough task ahead.

 GHETTO FIREBIRDS (7-6-1)

GHETTO FIREBIRDS have usually been known for their tight team defense, but troubles in their own end have been prevalent this season: they've conceded the second most goals per game in their group, an even three. Their goalscoring has been decent enough, but if they want to climb towards the top four we expected of them, limiting goals allowed should be priority number one. They have ascended above the playoff line during the past week, so maybe it was just a rocky start with a changed roster and the FIREBIRDS are on the up now.

 Herlev Eagles (6-7-1)

Herlev Eagles have the exact same roster they reached the quarterfinals with last season, so it's unclear as to why and how they are struggling the way they are. The offseason was unusually short too, so it can't really be chalked to having a long break either. They've actually managed to keep the puck out of their net quite well, but their 2.07 GF/GP is only above Joukkue and Björklöven Esport among their group. We know they have the skill, so it's just a matter of getting out of a slump for the Denmark-based organization's squad. They need to win most of their remaining games to get into the playoffs.

Notable mentions: Björklöven Esport, Company of Geeks

There's still plenty to play for as the ECL '22: Spring Pro regular season is set to end on 5 May, so keep on following the action and stay tuned for our Round 1 preview come playoff time. If you're one of the players involved, good luck and have fun trying to clinch that postseason spot!

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.

• Discord
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As we're at the midway point of the ECL '22 Spring Lite season, it's time to take a look at where some teams stand at the moment, some top performers of the season and how we're expecting things to turn out in the last few weeks. Join us for the ride!

About half of the season is in the rearview when almost all teams have played more than 14 games in the regular season. A couple of new teams have risen and some “old faces” have shown that they still can hold the controller. When looking at groups now it is hard to quickly see the true leader of the group due to the fact that teams have played at different pace. Of course when looking at group 1 you can see that Destiny has been very solid throughout the season and none other than then should be topping the group. However, my point is that at this point you shouldn't blindly stare at the points in the standings, since teams have played at different pace and are facing different opponents at different stages of the season.

When looking at groups now and comparing it to the Winter season there are a couple similarities. Last season it was FILADELPHIA ACADEMY who were almost unstoppable during the regular season. This season it has been Destiny. However, one big difference sticks out in the comparison of these two teams. Destiny already has outscored all of FILADELPHIA ACADEMY from last season, but they've also allowed almost a goal per game more, so you'd expect them to address that defensive slack at some point in a way or another. Of course you have to remember that FILA was playing their second season together, so they had the chemistry advantage already going into their campaign.

Even though Lite isn't the highest level, the characteristic of the league is very highly skilled individuals scattered across several teams. Players who score those big goals in important games, and those who will find that fifth hole in the blink of an eye when given the chance. 

Players to watch:

@xSagwa from Destiny

The top point scorer in Lite. Most goals, most assists, flawless on a few faceoffs. Perhaps this guy is playing in the wrong division? The most complete player in Lite at the moment.

@juusoskari from TTK

A true puck hog in the division and the fifth best defenseman in terms of scoring. Playmaker behind the lines that has an offensive upside. Solid down low with great hands and playmaking ability.

@PCJP (Pelkonen-I92I) from Arkham Asylum

An experienced and really skilled fast moving goalie. Reads the game like an open book and is really hard to score against. With a goalie like this, Arkham Asylum doesn’t need to worry about easy goals going in.
 

Sometimes, these reports can be quite tricky to write. If all the teams played at exactly the same pace it could be easier to draw comparisons and judge form, but we're working with what we've got right now. Now, we know how much you guys love some good tongue-in-cheek predictions, so that's exactly what we've gone for. Let's create some controversy between writer and reader.

So - Here are my predictions and assumptions for the rest of the season, unfortunately not including every team, but some out of every group.
 

Group 1

Destiny will top their group.

Lemmenvelhot will drop to the eight seed.

Bellizi will claim the second spot.

Rusty Bulls will drop outside the playoffs.

Tequila Sunrise will sneak into the playoffs.

IK Oskarshamn will be the third.

Linköping HC will battle to the end to make the playoffs.

Stone Age battles for the eighth seed if @Ma26one can continue being an accurate passing machine.
 

Group 2

Arkham Asylum will top their group.

Sawolanche will be a playoff team.

RoKi Esports will fight to gain a playoff spot.

Pirati Chomutov Esports will drop from the playoff line.

Bastu will be int he top 4.

Free From Rodents will not make the playoffs.

United Front will fight their way into the playoffs with @Kuolio10's clapper and body checking power.

Including Me has an enforcer defenceman - good or bad, you decide!
 

Group 3

Spirit will top the group.

Tadpole will be second.

Södertälje SK will lose out on the playoffs.

Valco will not make the playoffs.

Synergy Hockey is battling for top 4 position.

Luleå Hockey Is in the playoff battle.

Oulunsalo HT still has a chance.
 

Group 4

Hunters will top the group if the writer can catch some pucks.

Technical Disaster will battle for that top seed.

HC SHH will drop from the top four.

Neptune Hockey will drop from the top four.

Resurrection doesn’t make it to the playoffs.

Project X will finish eighth.

Lutunilkat will miss out on the playoffs.

Tic Tac Toes battles for top four if @Artuzio gets the puck in front of the opponents net.

Argue, discuss, and prove me wrong, show why every prediction is false. Maybe even I can admit I was wrong - someday. We're wishing all teams good luck in their final push for the season. Get out there, play hard and most importantly have fun!

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

SportsGamer hosted a PlayStation 5 giveaway as part of a community survey during the ECL '22 Winter season and the winner of the console was Juuso @juusto18 Karhila, who is an avid NHL gamer currently playing for Bastu in ECL '22 Spring Lite.

The 2021 release of the PlayStation 5 still generated lots of buzz with the limited availability of the console, and it's undeniable that the new console offers a true generational leap in comparison to the PS4. Some of the new features including 4K/120hz gaming, the fast SSD and great haptics of the all new DualSense controller is what make this console worth the money and the hype.

Now that our giveaway winner Juuso has had some time with his new console, we reached out to him for some comments about his experiences, and a short comparison to the predecessor.

What do you like most about the PlayStation 5 in comparison to the previous model?
"The best thing is definitely the speed compared to the PlayStation 4! For example all the menus are really smooth, and of course the graphics are excellent on the PS5 when compared to before."

What are your thoughts on the new DualSense controller?
"I think it's very good. It fits my hands better than the old Dualshock and feels a bit sturdier. Although I still think the issue persists that the thumbsticks tend to break quite easily."

What games have you been playing and are there any new ones you are excited about?
"My gaming is pretty much centered around NHL. Of course I've tested out your basic Warzone and FIFA, but NHL is definitely my go-to game."

Naturally, we also had to get in a few ECL questions for the man:

How has your ECL '22 Spring season went both individually and for the team?
"Our ECL season has started off quite well with a 10-2-2 record. We've been a bit off from time to time and can definitely do better still. I'm not really satisfied with myself thus far and thin I've contributed to our game not really hitting its stride yet. Luckily we're only halfway through and still have time to improve as a team, our one and only goal is to secure a Pro spot at the end of the season."

Who's your pick to take home the ECL '22 Spring Elite title?
"I'm going to say Frölunda HC or hREDS. They're the two best teams out there and I think they'll make it to the finals again. Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha is undisputedly the best signing of the offseason so that's why I'll say Frölunda wins it out of these two, and I'd also love to get to see the Grand Final!"

Thanks for the chat, Juuso and enjoy the rest of the season on your new PlayStation 5!

SportsGamers,

We would like to remind every team that the transfer window for ECL '22 Winter Neo, Core, Lite and Pro expires today on Monday, April 18th at 23:59:59 CET. 

Lainaa

14. 1 Transfer Deadline
The deadline for transfers is set to 23:59:59 CE(S)T, on the following days:

• ECL Elite: 1st of May 2022
• ECL Pro: 18th of April 2022
• ECL Lite: 18th of April 2022
• ECL Core: 18th of April 2022
• ECL Neo: 18th of April 2022

Please remember to make sure your trades are in line with the rulebook before making them and check with support if you aren't sure. Remember, only one transfer per player is allowed per season - unless the player has played 0 games (overall, for any team) the entire season, which is covered in rule 14.1.

If you're a player still looking for a team or a team still looking to add to your roster, please head to the Free Agents section or the Clubs Looking For Players section on our forum.

Please post any last-minute transfers in the comments section below so everyone can enjoy them. 

The first week of ECL '22 Spring Elite included several interesting storylines, such as how the revamped Frölunda roster would play together, would hREDS still have enough hunger after two consecutive titles and how Falun Coal Miners would fare in their comeback after several years away from the ice.

Already the opening night last Sunday featured two very tough matchups with teams that all had lots to prove in the early rounds. GOONS were predicted to have success already last season, but didn't quite get going despite their very talented roster. Perhaps now would be their time to realize all that potential? HAVU Gaming, on the other hand, have been in a spiral of steady decline over the past few tournaments and are looking to change that direction, but with the departure of long-time captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, the task at hand does not look easy. Frölunda Hockey were also a team on many people's minds before the season due to their acquisition of the aforementioned FlyerKungen, but also due to them shuffling around their roster a bit, in the sense that Erik @Eki Tammenpää would take the center spot which we already saw him test out in the ECL '22 Winter Elite finals. Also, Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala would be stepping down to the defenseman role alongside Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta. SAWO ESPORTS were one of the most sensational teams last season with their young and talented roster, and their emergence at #2 in the standings at the end of the regular season was a surprise to everyone, but the playoffs were a disappointment with a harsh first round exit. Could they bounce back and continue with the same determination?

Obviously, one night of action will hardly give us any actions, but some indication that most of these teams could all be on a good path this season. So, let's leave these questions lingering for GOONS, HAVU Gaming, Frölunda HC and SAWO ESPORTS to answer as the season progresses. After their respective first weeks of action, Frölunda are topping the tables with six consecutive victories and FlyerKungen making a grand contribution to their success with ten points in total. GOONS have snuck into second place, but with already eight games played, including some worrisome losses against JYP Jyväskylä and Stargazing. SAWO ESPORTS are at 9th after facing tough opposition in the first week and HAVU Gaming are at 13th after a difficult week, and the overhauled roster is struggling to stick together for a full 60 minutes, leading to unfortunate losses at times. 

Falun Coal Miners, the beloved hard workers have made a surprisingly successful return to the ECL ice after their long absence. Many predicted Falun to be able to challenge other teams simply due to the sheer experience on their roster, but questioned how ready they were for the season after completing the roster with short notice. Well, challenge they certainly have, and after losing out on points in their debut, they are now on a four game win streak, besting Conquer Gaming and IQUE along the way. The entire team has been hard at work, but Connor @MartindalexC Martindale seems to have been most effective with his pickaxe, now at nine points in total. 

Elsewhere, we've seen newcomers Stargazing making their debut at the Elite level in somewhat successful fashion. A first week with matchups against HAVU Gaming and GOONS didn't warrant for too many wins for the rookies, but they ended up splitting points in both matchups. Despite them hardly having any Elite experience from before in their ranks, they look very comfortable with the pace and as expected, could be challenging for a playoff spot if their form keeps from slumping further on. Currently, the duo Miikka @xColeslaww (Koleslaav_) Kolehmainen and Miro @Flopper71 (Flopperii) Heikkinen are doing most of the production, with 8 and 7 points respectively.

As far as individual effort goes, no one has been as effective as GOONS winger Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinen, who racked up 10+8=18 points in the first week for a #1 spot in the top scorers race. That is naturally helped out by having played already eight games, but GOONS are in fact the highest scoring team in the league at this point, together with hREDS at 2.75 goals per game. Frölunda HC's Paul @PleeMaker Arontie sits in second place with 7+5=12 points in his six games played, but has been the most eager to put pucks on net with 33 shots in total thus far. His shooting percentage tends to be just below 30% on average, so if he keeps this up you can expect a high scoring season yet again for the winger. 

The most physical player by far has been GOONS captain Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, and we are not surprised, having watched him mow people down for several seasons already. The aggressive style seems to come with some drawbacks, though, as his team is struggling to keep the puck out of their own net. Overall, the best defensive squad in the first week has been Frölunda HC and the transition of their captain to the defensive spot seems to work out for them. Patzlaf had an excellent week at his LD spot and is putting up points while shutting down the opposing offense, immediately claiming a place in the discussion among the best defensemen in the league. While on that topic, we naturally still have to mention Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto, who is taking the lead in the HAVU defense alongside Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos, whom we are used to seeing strapping on the goalie pads. While the duo by no means were completely out of their element, they were bleeding a bit too much in the first week, something we're hoping to see improvement on as we move further in the season.

The early discussion of the best goalies in the league will revolve around familiar faces, mainly Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and Filip @Faze91- Azri, whom are both continuing their season with clean records and some shutouts each to their names. We'll have to wait a bit more to see if anyone can emerge to challenge these guys, maybe JYP Jyväskylä youngster Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt or someone completely out of the blue?

With that, were done recapping last week, and will be moving on toward the broadcast of the night, which you'll see starting at 17:45 CEST over at our Twitch-channel, see you there!

Let's not tiptoe around it, these art the teams that are here to challenge for the throne and with that, a golden ticket to the Grand Finals in mid-June. We've already gone over most of the division and you know who we'll be previewing here, but let's try to dig a bit below the surface, so join us for the journey!

Season information

To find out about the prize pool specifics, check out our earlier prize pool info article. For a look at the whole ECL framework, check out the sign-ups article.

Notable dates for the ECL '22: Spring Elite season:

• Regular season: 10.4-25.5.
• Playoffs:
  • Quarterfinals: 30.5-2.6.
  • Semifinals: 5.-8.6.
  • Live Finals: 17.-18.6.
• Grand finals (if needed): 19.6.

Default gamedays for the ECL '22: Spring Elite division will be on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday with feature broadcasts on every gameday at the SportsGamer Twitch at 17:45 CEST on Sundays and 19:45 CEST on Mondays and Wednesdays. Stay tuned for the season opening broadcast on 10.4.

You can access the rulebook, schedule, standings, statistics and full rosters from the ECL ‘22: Spring Elite league page.

The best of the best - Championship caliber

The countdown is over and it's time for us to reveal the final order of our championship caliber teams. To no one's surprise, we're expecting both hREDS and Frölunda HC to top the tables and go the full length to determine who will come out on top in the ECL's new El Clásico. For all teams at the top but hREDS, the offseason was certainly one for the ages and it'll remain to be seen if that ended up strengthening these squads or not. On paper, all of them look stronger than ever and we are privileged to watch these teams clash for the title, starting on Sunday, April 10th at 17:45 CEST!


1.  hREDS (Written by @ose16)
ECL '22 Winter Elite season: Champions

We're really at a lack of words at this point for how you could describe the domination of hREDS over the past two seasons as they became the first back-to-back Champions in the ECL Elite history. This season, the Reds will continue with the same lineup of course. Maybe the biggest question for these guys next season is, can they have that much needed hunger for the third title in a row because if that doesn’t exist, the likes of Frölunda HC are itching for a chance to pass them by. Captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen has a massive role on that front together with his assistants, as they need to make sure to pull everything they can out of this well oiled machine. With the new format you have to remember that making it a three-peat this season, would simultaneously crown them the ECL '22 Grand Champions, but if not, they still have that golden ticket to fight for the title.

Player to watch: Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen 

It's really hard to pull just one guy above the others from this lineup but if we had to, it'd be this guy. It's no coincidence that after @xDoumi came to hREDS they have started winning titles. Last season, he dominated all the stats and was crowned as the top defender in the league. Can he repeat that this season and control games with his team throughout the spring too? 
 

2.  Frölunda HC
ECL '22 Winter Elite season: Runner-ups

Frölunda HC made the transfer that couldn't be missed this offseason by acquiring long-time HAVU Gaming captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha to boost their offense and add even more of that winning mentality to their roster. How it's going to look for their lineup is that Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala will take the LD spot, whereas Erik @Eki Tammenpää will move from the wing to center, a move that was previewed already in the ECL '22 Winter Elite finals. This means that if they didn't have enough experience from before, now they definitely do, as they could very well be the team with the most combined LAN and finals appearances under their belt. The thing that's plagued Frölunda for some time was their evident dislike of the game meta and the difficulty to find joy in improving themselves, something that should probably have seen a change with their big acquisition this spring. We're privileged to be able to watch first hand how this experiment will turn out, as arguably one of the greatest offensive trios ever gets separated and is being infused with a new, equally great player. There's a high likelihood of this season going down to the wire between Frölunda and hREDS once again, and if these guys can get as excited about the game as their competition, the race will be tighter than ever. 

Player to watch: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha

The former HAVU Gaming captain possesses second to none leadership qualities, a winning mentality and all the skill you could wish for, a perfect package. Without a doubt the most exciting transfer in recent memory and everyone will be watching to see how he will slot into the Frölunda lineup.
 

3.  SAWO ESPORTS (Written by @ose16)
ECL '22 Winter Elite season: Quarterfinals

Last season, SAWO ESPORTS came in with a bang with the new lineup. Former Tunnel Vision's changes turned out to work wonders for them as the young team was 2nd in the regular season standings. The Playoffs were different story and with the disappointment, it could be good that spring came quickly for these guys, they must be eager to show that they can perform in the postseason too. This season, their offense stays the same and we will see if dynamic duo Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen can continue on their productive paths. Center Aleksi @MozjaTG(Mozjayh) Kähkönen doesn’t maybe score that many goals but brings a great balance to this offensive trio with his abilities to make plays in the offensive zone but at the same time being a huge factor on defense. Down low, we'll see some changes as captain Tomi @tombo_02(tomboo-_-) Laitinen will get Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila by his side from Frölunda HC. They should have no problem with goaltending as cover gamer Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen will continue saving pucks between the goal posts. 

Player to watch: Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila 

It'll be interesting to see how big of a role the former Frölunda HC and hREDS defenseman will take this season. Despite the fact that he's played on two championship caliber teams, he is still looking for his first title. Still brings a lot of experience and winning culture to the squad.

4.  Färjestad BK
ECL '22 Winter Elite season: Semifinals

There's been a number of players moving in and out of the Färjestad BK roster over the past few seasons, but captain Christoffer @I-Maise-I (I-Mallen-I) Berntsson, goalie Johan @McSavid Rundqvist, winger Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg and their standings position have been somewhat consistent. This season, the team from Karlstad will be icing a fully Swedish lineup again, by bringing back Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and having him take superstar Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund with him from the ashes of Granit Gaming. There's some history between several members of the team in having represented Vesa Pompa HC back in the day, where Affe, Lehmann and Eken actually won the very first SCL title at Birdie in Uppsala back in 2019. The new Färjestad is definitely more individually skilled than ever before and now has a tremendous amount of young talent in their ranks, but the biggest question is will the one puck be enough for them to share on the ice? Centerman Maise, defenseman Lehmannens and winger Eken all love quarterbacking plays and being in control, but can they find a suitable balance between the three of them?

Player to watch: Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann

His latest outing with Färjestad BK back in ECL 12 was a success story and truly brought him into the discussion of the very best defensemen in the league, in fact, he was crowned best defenseman and best offseason transfer to end the season, maybe we'll see a redo?
 

To recap it all, here's our full ranking ahead of the ECL '22 Spring Elite season:
1.  hREDS
2.  Frölunda HC
3.  SAWO ESPORTS
4.  Färjestad BK
5.  HAVU Gaming
6.  IQUE
7.  GOONS
8.  JYP Jyväskylä
9.  Roots Gaming
10.  ZSC Esports
11.  Stargazing
12.  Falun Coal Miners
13.  HV71
14.  Örebro Hockey 
15.  Conquer Gaming
16.  YMCA Esports 
 

Socials

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: 

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Spring
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
#MukanaWilhelm

Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.