Hey NHLGamers,

Yet another ECL season is in the books and we got to enjoy some outstanding games, teams and players. We would like to launch our season recap series by taking a look in the rear-view mirror at what happened in our Lite division. This season we broke the benchmark of 100 participating teams, which resulted in a 60-team Lite division with six 10-team groups. In this Lite division recap, we’ll be reviewing the performance of those teams highlighted in our predictions article.
 

Group 1:

Ghetto Firebirds - The Firebirds proved that they belong in the mix of teams that can compete for the chance for the promotion to the Pro division. They had a nice bounce back after being relegated from Pro at the end of ECL 5. Captain @Aantri led his team to a convincing 1st place finish in their group with a record of 14-3-1, the captain amassing a decent 53 points along the way. The team started the playoffs quite well with a 4:1 series win in the first round, following a 6 game series in the second round. They fell just short of a promotion by losing their quarterfinal against Sektion K with a series score of 1:4.
 

Sektion K - Sektion K finished only 3rd in their group, but former Lavetten player @Edhoolm97 in the center position together with goaltender @Tauri led their team all the way into the semi-finals where they lost in a game 7 thriller to one of the preview favourites, Cowabunga Hockey. They gained their promotion by knocking out the top 3 seed SGWEER United.

Group 2:

Freddie Mercury Institute - Freddie Mercury Institute had to deal with quite a tough group and finished only 4th in the regular season. They were still ranked as the 12th seed in the playoffs and punched their ticket for a chance of a promotion by qualifying into the round of the last 8. However, this story didn’t have a happy ending as Style crushed their dreams by winning the series 4:1.

 

SGWEER United - This German-Swedish connection came back strong after a painful 1st round exit in ECL 5. They topped their group again and managed to advance to the second round in the playoffs. In the second round SGWEER faced eventual semi-finalists Sektion K, whose impressive defensive efforts were poisonous for SGWEER’s very strong offense built around top-scorer @Gregson91.

 

Group 3:

Style - The double OEHL champion established a strong presence in the ECL scene by finishing 2nd in their group. Left wing @Panarinz put in a huge effort in their long playoff run, which ended in a 4:2 semi-final loss against the champions to be EV Duisburg. On their playoff run, Style managed sweep another favourite Suomen Sonnit in their second round matchup, which is certainly an impressive show of strength from the Swedes.

Korpens Finest - Listed as the team to watch in group 3, Korpens Finest proved their given status by finishing on top of their group with a regular season record of 13-3-2. Heading into the Playoffs as only the 10th seed, they eliminated The Black Jacks - also from group 3 in the first round. However, their second round matchup against GHETTO FIREBIRDS ended in a disappointing loss.

Group 4:

Bare Knuckles Hockey - Bare Knuckles Hockey had a nearly perfect regular season with a record of 17-1-0. The only loss they had to mark was in their last matchup against Kaksikymmentaseitseman. Ranked 1st of all playoff teams, high-scoring right wing @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94) and his group struggled early in the first round, with the series extending all the way to a game seven. This monster of a team was taken down in the second round in another seven game series in the hands of MotherPuckers.

Etelan Vetelat - Etelan Vetelat perfomed quite well as a newcomer into the ECL scene by gaining the 2nd place of their group. After losing both games in their very first regular season matchup against Bare Knuckles Hockey, they won nearly all of their remaining games. Seeding 9th into the playoffs, Vetelat got eliminated in the hands of the later champion EV Duisburg in the second round.

Group 5:

Cowabunga Hockey - Cowabunga Hockey was listed as a favourite for group 5 and they didn't hesitate to show us why. With a record of 15-2-1 they were the 2nd seed for this seasons Lite playoffs and had one heck of a playoff run. Nearly the same six guys tied their skates for the entire season and brought the team all the way into the finals - only to have their dreams obliterated by EV Duisburg in a sweep. Despite their difficult matchup in the finals, we are sure Cowabunga will be motivated for their next season in ECL Pro, coming back even stronger.

 

Hippo Rangers - The Hippo Rangers had a very strong performance as a newcomer and only tiebreakers kept them from topping their regular season group. After sweeping KulmalaHengaus in the first round, they were forced to pack their bags and head for the beaches in a 2:4 series loss against Pohjoista Voimaa in the second round. With a combo of good offense, strong defense and a small but experienced squad they were a force to be reckoned with and may still be next season. 

 

Group 6:

Suomen Sonnit - The Finns were on every list for this season's favourites in the Lite division. After a decent regular season (14-3-1) they handed out a sweep in the first round, only to get it handed back by Style in the second round. They had a match winner in goaltender @Theoikeakarim, who had an incredible season with just under 2 GAA in both the playoffs and during the regular season. They will learn from their mistakes and assuming we'll see these guys in Lite next season they will probably be one of the favourites to get promoted. 

 

HokiDogit - HokiDogit impressed everyone with their performance in the regular season (11-3-4) but they failed to gain confidence out of it. Unfortunately for them, they lost directly in the first round against the Bucketeers. They played a good allround game during the regular season, having good defense and decent scoring from all roster players. With more practice and experience from tight playoff games they will not make the same mistakes again and you can expect them to come back even stronger. 

Under the radar:

EV Duisburg - The Germans flew under the radar in the beginning of the season. After turning down an offer of being promoted to ECL Pro in the offseason, EVD came back to Lite as they wanted to prove to themselves that they are worth the Pro spot. Their road to victory began as the 8th seed (finished 3rd in the group stage) and a 4:1 victory over Soldiers of Odens. @FoxGoalie and his crew eliminated Etelan Vetelat (4:2), Pohjoista Voimaa (4:0) and Style (4:2) on their way to the cup by finishing it in style with a finals sweep over Cowabunga Hockey (4:0).
 

AWARDS
 

Playoff MVP: @FoxGoalie

Most Points: @Fin_torspo90, Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games
Most Goals: @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games
Most Assists: @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 17 Goals, 37 Assists, 54 Points in 18 games
Most Hits by a Forward: @Zuominen, Unfinished Business, 112 Hits in 16 games 
Best +/-: @Duran93, Bare Knuckles Hockey, +51 in 18 games

Most Points by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
Most Goals by a Defenseman: @lejo199, Asserklubi, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points in 16 games
Most Assist by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tobago, Trinidad Tobago,134 Hits in 24 Games

TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 LITE

Top 3 Forwards Regular Season:

1. @Fin_torspo90 , Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games
2. @Tero Paikkari (Teroe), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games
3. @Gregson91 , SGWEER United, 28 Goals, 32 Assists, 60 Points in 16 games

Top 3 Defender Regular Season:

1. @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games
2. @CCBow-501, SGWEER United, 2 Goals, 21 Assists, 23 Points in 16 games
3. @MonkeyHead_AF, Cowabunga Hockey, 4 Goals, 18 Assists in 18 games

Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season:

1. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 15 Wins, 88,54%, 1,44 GAA, 4 SO in 18 games
2. @Perkkari, Hippo Rangers, 15 Wins, 84,21%, 1,50 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games
3. @George, Bare Knuckles Hockey, 15 Wins, 80,13%, 1,81 GAA, 4 SO in 16 games

Top 3 Forwards Playoffs:

1. @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Goals, 28 Assists, 44 Points in 25 games
2. @Edhoolm97, Sektion K, 22 Goals, 19 Assists, 41 Points in 20 games
3. @Panarinz, Style, 18 Goals, 21 Assists, 39 Points in 18 games

Top 3 Defender Playoffs:

1. @xXPsykoSkillsXx, EV Duisburg, 3 Goals, 20 Assists, 23 Points in 24 games
2. @HambergD, Sektion K, 3 Goals, 15 Assists, 18 Points in 21 games
3. @Lortto, Hippo Rangers, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points in 10 games

Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs:
1. @FoxGoalie, EV Duisburg, 20 Wins, 90,40%, 1,04 GAA, 10 SO in 25 games
2. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Wins, 86,57%, 1,60 GAA, 4 SO in 26 games
3. @Gunde021, Style, 12 Wins, 86,47%, 1,55 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games

This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of six players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Lite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Lite division in ECL 6:

@Panarinz (Style) - @Tinkesakara (Cowabunga Hockey) - @Edhoolm97 (Sektion K)
@xXPsykoSkillsXx (EV Duisburg) - @C4__N4R__V4 (SGWEER United)
@FoxGoalie (EV Duisburg)
 

The NHLGamer staff congratulates EV Duisburg for winning the Lite division and furthermore Cowabunga Hockey, Sektion K and Style for their promotions to the Pro division.
We want to thank all participating teams for their efforts and hope you all enjoyed the season! If you have any suggestions on how we could improve our website, please let us know by contacting any staff member.

The recaps of our other divisions will be published soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
 

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL 6 Elite Finals were decided tonight and Carlsberg HC took the decisive win against Northern Ascendancy in game 5 double overtime and won the series 4-1.
Hereby NHLGamer would like to congratulate Carlsberg HC for becoming the ECL 6 Elite Champions, and thus the ECL 6 Champions!

If you missed their playoff games, you can check them out here:

https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch/videos/all

These are the series results:

Game 1: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 0-2
Game 2: Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy 2-1
Game 3: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC  2-1 OT
Game 4: Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy 3-0
Game 5: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 1-2

Carlsberg HC's Championship roster:

G: #88 J. Onion @sibeelius (Zande95)

G: #92 J. Tancredi @FinKonna

D: #12 T. Brady @vatalisti

D: #19 P. Sniska @Pontus T (Terasniska)

D: #82 M. Nyqi @Janzuh

F: #89 J. Bones @Vilupoika

F: #94 M. Apeno @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_)

F: #96 T. Malone @Penatski

Carlsberg HC's road to the cup:

22 wins, 6 losses & 2 OT-losses during the regular season, ranked 3rd in ECL Elite

Quarterfinals: 4-2 VS Sjukstugan

Semifinals: 4-1 VS Dynasty

Finals: 4-1 VS Northern Ascendancy
 

Thank you to all ECL teams and fans this season! We will be releasing Summer Cup information within the next few days, as well as the full recaps of ECL 6 Elite, Pro and Lite, so be sure to check out the site regularly.

Hey NHLGamers,

What a fantastic night of hockey we had on Sunday night, as we enjoyed the three first games of the ECL Elite Finals between Northern Ascendancy and Carlsberg HC!

You can read our Elite Finals Preview here if you didn't already do so. Carlsberg HC was strong during the first night, as expected, and were close to even taking a 3-0 lead in the first night. Northern Ascendancy managed to score a shorthanded OT-winner in game 3, though and what happens tonight in game 4 will be crucial to how the series will unfold. Don't miss the live broadcast, starting at 20:00 CEST!

The scores in the series so far:

Game 1: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 0-2
Game 2: Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy 2-1
Game 3: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC  2-1 OT

The remaining games have been scheduled to be played as follows:

Game 4: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 20:30 CEST
Game 5: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 21:00 CEST
Game 6: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 20:30 CEST (If necessary)
Game 7: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 21:00 CEST (If necessary)

All of the Elite Finals games are broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our broadcast of games 4 and 5 starts tonight at 20:00 CEST. The games will feature commentary by @Kenu and @Janikka.

The teams will continue with the same line-ups as on Sunday:

Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see some OT-drama? Let us know in the comments!

We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hi there NHLGamers,

We've had a long season, champions have been crowned, promotions and relegations have been made, a whole bunch of W's and a whole bunch of L's have been experienced. ECL 6 started in late February and we've been going at it hard ever since. Each team has surely put in a great effort to make yet another season of the most competitive NHL esports league in Europe successful. I'm sure all teams have had their struggles and there's been tough moments where you haven't been sure of what the next move for the team be; Should there be roster changes? How can the best possible outcome be achieved? Well, you never know. Everyone has these moments and the truth is, it's really how you react to the results in these moments that can make all the difference - be it in your daily life on in the competitive NHL gaming scene.

With all this being said, we're not ready to call it a wrap quite yet - by now, we've reached the pinnacle of ECL 6, the ECL Elite Finals. This season, we'll see  the clash of two extremely skilled teams coming off of rather similar runs this season. The teams we'll be watching are Carlsberg HC and Northern Ascendancy. Without further ado, let's get into what you're here for:

 (3) Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy (4) 

Our season preview for Carlsberg HC went as follows:

Quote

Carlsberg HC

Without a doubt the best team at the moment. After they got rid of their captain @Joonas Paatiala and star winger @Joukki , they acquired one of the best centers in the game, two time ECL champion @Penatski. Is this the season they can hoist the cup? For sure they have all the right players to do it. After reigning champion Aapon Taikasauva disbanded, they only have a couple capable contenders in their way.

Taking a closer look at their team, no team should be able to match their offense. The best playmaker in the game (when he wants to) @Penatski, one of the most dangerous snipers in the game @Vilupoika, and the two-way workhorse @Tuukka.R. Also, the best players in their positions, defensive duo @Janzuh and @vatalistiwho can provide depth in the goal-scoring if the other teams defense can stop their forwards. If we take a look at Carlsberg's potential weaknesses, could it be a problem that both of their defenseman are so offensive-minded? What about their goalie duo? @Zande95 and @FinKonna are known for not shining the brightest in tight situations. Can the older players of the team calm down the younger players if the things get tough?

Regular season record: 22-6-2
Most points (regular season): @Penatski 30GP 35+39=74
Most points (playoffs): @Vilupoika 11GP 6+7=13

The playoff run of Carlsberg HC hasn't been as easy as it seems so far. They've won their series in convincing manner (4-2 vs Sjukstugan, 4-1 vs Dynasty) but have somewhat struggled with production in the playoffs. @Penatski hasn't quite reached the same level offensively he was at in the regular season. Without a doubt a major reason for their low scoring has been facing a team the caliber of Dynasty in the semi-final, but being able to shine even in these tight situations is what the playoffs are all about. A strong defensive effort saw Carlsberg shutting down Dynasty completely, with a GAA of only 1 in the semi's, Carlsberg is surely a strong candidate for the Elite title this season. If they can get their offense clicking even better in the finals, it will surely be an exciting one.

I believe it's safe to say our season preview really hit the nail on the head on this one. Carlsberg, as expected, managed to finish second highest in scoring by hitting the back of the net a total of 98 times during the regular season. Carlsberg will most likely improve their game on the offensive end in this series, as Northern Ascendancy isn't quite as famous for their defense as for their fast-paced offensive play. We might be seeing a scoring battle in this series.

Our season preview for Northern Ascendancy went as follows:

Quote

It's gonna be really interesting to see how NOR plays this season, since they've acquired two really good players in Haldeem and MukiMaisteri. Northern Ascendancy is known for their offense, especially their deadly counter-attacks. What was their biggest weakness?

Defense for sure, so thats why @Haldeem is such a great player to have. You can rely on him in the defensive zone and he's really good at breakout passes as well. MukiMaisteri on the other hand is a great add to any offense. His playing style might not be perfect match NOR's style of quick passes in the offensive zone, but he can score. Also if NOR wants to make it far, their goalie @poliskontroll needs to step up his game. For sure these guys can score, but the big question mark is whether or not their defense and goalie hold in the tight games?

Regular season record: 19-5-6
Most points (regular season): @hpkfani 30GP 40+34=74
Most points (playoffs): @Foppatofflan 12GP 6+15=21

Northern Ascendancy finished the regular season in fourth place after having some surprising difficulties in the regular season against teams such as Pata Hellalla and Falun Coal Miners, some they surely would liked to have won. Doubts about @hpkfani's (MuKiMaisteri) game not translating well into NOR's system were thrown out of the door early as the man kept on doing what he knows best - putting up points. The playoff run so far hasn't been a cakewalk for NOR either. Their first round opponent Unlucky Boys HC put up a real fight, taking the series to a game 7. However, NOR prevailed after winning the two last games. Facing the number one seed Written In The Stars in the semi-finals wasn't easy either. Although NOR beat SKY 4-1, the series was very tightly contested, with three games going into overtime.

The decisive factor on NOR's end will be whether their fast-paced passing can throw their opponents off or not. We'll most likely be seeing some scoring by MuKiMaisteri. @Foppatofflan will be setting him up, but we will need to see some variation if NOR wants to walk away with the victory in this series. Defensively, the team has been solid this year, letting in under 1.5 goals against/game this post-season.

Prediction: 4:3 Carlsberg HC

Below is what you guys predicted for this matchup in our twitter poll:

How to watch the Finals?

The games have been scheduled to be played as follows:

Game 1: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 20:30 CEST
Game 2: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 21:00 CEST
Game 3: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 21:30 CEST
Game 4: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 - 20:30 CEST
Game 5: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 - 21:00 CEST (If necessary)
Game 6: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 - 20:30 CEST (If necessary)
Game 7: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 - 21:00 CEST (If necessary)

All of the ECL Elite Finals games will be broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our first broadcast, covering the first three games, starts tomorrow, Sunday 29th of April at 20:15 CEST. All games will be commentated by @Janikka and @Kenu.

Below you'll find the lineups of the teams for at least the three first games:

Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see more game 7 and/or OT-drama? Let us know in the comments!

We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL 6 Pro Finals are now decided and Monarchs won in 7 games against FILADELPHIA in a very tough battle that could have gone either way.
Hereby NHLGamer would like to congratulate Monarchs for becoming the ECL 6 Pro Champions!

If you missed their playoff games, you can check them out here:

https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch/videos/all

These are the series results:

Game 1: Monarchs @ FILADELPHIA  | 0-1

Game 2: FILADELPHIA  @ Monarchs  | 2-4

Game 3: Monarchs  @ FILADELPHIA  | 1-2

Game 4: FILADELPHIA  @ Monarchs | 1-2

Game 5: Monarchs @ FILADELPHIA  | 2-6

Game 6: FILADELPHIA  @ Monarchs | 1-2

Game 7: Monarchs @ FILADELPHIA  | 6-1

Monarchs' Championship roster:

G: #30 D. Pralle @Prallelkova

G: #88 C. Nyqvist @chavelski

D: #4 P. Ström-Håll @Philip Strom (Strumpan87)

D: #7 J. Cole @Ludvig (bortalaget)

D: #44 D. Cherry @AndreasLeafs

F: #16 M. Hjelm @Tacterz

F: #21 S. Zalaz @Zalaz

F: #32 P. Carlsson @pajenc

Monarchs' road to the cup:

22 wins, 2 losses & 2 OT-losses during the regular season, ranked 1st in Group 1

Round 1: 4-0 VS Raging Monkeys

Quarterfinals: 4-2 VS Red Machine

Semifinals: 4-3 VS Almost Famous

Finals: 4-3 VS FILADELPHIA
 

The full recap of ECL 6 Pro will be released soon. Stay tuned.

Hey NHLGamers,

What a fantastic night of hockey we had last night in the three first games of ECL Pro Finals between Monarchs and FILADELPHIA!

You can read our Pro Finals Preview here if you didn't already do so. Many predicted this series would be very one-sided for FILA and based on the first three games, boy were those predictions off! FILA managed to leave the first night in a 2-1 series lead, but they needed a bit of luck to do so. Monarchs played strong especially in games 2 and 3 and if they can continue playing like that, we should see a close series finish tonight!

The scores in the series so far:

Game 1: Monarchs - FILADELPHIA 0-1
Game 2: FILADELPHIA - Monarchs 2-4
Game 3: Monarchs - FILADELPHIA 1-2

The remaining games have been scheduled to be played at approximately these times tonight:

Game 4: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:00 CEST
Game 5: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:30 CEST
Game 6: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:00 CEST (If necessary)
Game 7: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:30 CEST (If necessary)

All of the Pro Finals games are broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our broadcast of game 4 and onwards starts tonight at 20:45 CEST. The games will feature commentary by @Kenu and @Panarinz.

The teams will continue with the same line-ups as last night:

Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see some OT-drama? Let us know in the comments!

We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hey NHLGamers,

The Pro season is nearing the end as we'll witness FILADELPHIA and Monarchs put the pedal to the metal in the upcoming final matchup. Both teams have secured promotion spots, but now they'll be fighting for the pride and glory of being able to call themselves ECL Pro champions.

 (1) FILADELPHIA - Monarchs (2) 

The ECL Pro final this season sees the number one seed from each group go head to head in an exciting battle of the hockey philosophies. Both teams had close to identical regular season records, but their playoff paths have been quite different leading up to this point.

FILADELPHIA has been out for a walk in the park so far in the playoffs. They’ve managed to secure advancement in a maximum of five games each round, beating Quality 4-1, Deadly Phantoms HC 4-0 and White Trash 4-1. It remains to be seen whether they have met their match in Monarchs. @Erkki(I_Eki_I) has found a good flow in the playoffs, resulting in the highest points per game total in the playoffs so far (2,2 pts/gp). In FILA we expect to see a group of extremely skilled and experienced guys, captain @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) being no stranger to this situation, as he lead his Carlsberg HC to a Pro victory in ECL 4. It'll certainly be interesting to see how FILA will be able to adapt their play style against the tight defense of Monarchs. What will they do if they run into a brick wall at the opposing blue line? Will I_Eki_I and Patzlaf get the support they need up front?

On the other side, we’ll be seeing the notorious Swedish up-and-comer Monarchs – who under command of captain @chavelski and lead on the ice by the experienced "Mr. OT-winner" @pajenc  have managed to mow their way through to the finals. Monarchs playoff run hasn’t been as easy as the one of FILA, though. Round 1 was a routine 4-0 win over Raging Monkeys, but the next opponent in Red Machine put up a fight, series ending 4-2. The Monarchs semi final series was one for the ages – the tightly contested battle against Almost Famous saw game 6 and 7 going into triple and double overtime, series ending 4-3 in favor of Monarchs. Monarchs are most certainly battle-tested, they'll be going into this series with a great confidence boost and belief that their system will prevail even in tough situations. The team will be looking to shut down opposing center I_Eki_I and their brick-wall of a blue line trap might be just the trick to do that. The keys to Monarchs success will be finding additional options on offense and maintaining the tight team-defense we are used to seeing.

Prior to the finals we posted a Twitter poll about who you guys think is going to walk away with the win. The community has spoken and the expectation with a whopping 89% vs 11% is that FILADELPHIA will walk away with the W in this one.

Prediction: 4-2 FILADELPHIA

How to watch the Finals?

The games have been scheduled to be played as follows:

Game 1: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 21:00 CEST
Game 2: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 21:30 CEST
Game 3: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 22:00 CEST
Game 4: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:00 CEST
Game 5: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:30 CEST (If necessary)
Game 6: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:00 CEST (If necessary)
Game 7: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:30 CEST (If necessary)

All of the Pro Finals games will be broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our first broadcast, covering the first three games, starts tonight at 20:45 CEST.

Below you'll find the lineups of the teams for at least the three first games:

Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see more OT-drama? Let us know in the comments!

We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoff will continue tonight! Starting at 20:30 CEST. We are covering a few exciting matchups tonight, hope you can join us in the stream!
 

We will kick off the Relegation Faceoff between Almost Famous and Pata Hellalla, who have agreed to play three games tonight. After the first game of that series, we will be continuing the semi-finals between Northern Ascendancy and Written In The Stars that currently stands 3-1 to Ascendancy. The teams have agreed to finish the series tonight, so we will see 1-3 games between them, depending on the outcome. 

Nordic Stars and White Trash also continue their Relegation Faceoff series, currently tied at 2-2. The series will start at 21:00 CEST and when we are done with the Elite Semi Finals, we will jump into which ever Relegation Series is still going on and exciting at that point!

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @Janikka and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

You can see the lineups for the teams below:

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoff continue tonight! Starting at 20:50 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we cover two very exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be between ECL Pro teams Monarchs and Almost Famous, as they are finishing their semi-final series that currently stands 3-2 for Monarchs. Our second matchup of the night will be the Elite relegation faceoff between Nordic Stars and White Trash. You can find a prediction for that matchup by scrolling down.

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 (2) Monarchs vs Almost Famous (3)

Monarchs impressed everyone so far this season. Mentioned as the underdog in our season preview, they topped their group and have only lost two games in this seasons playoffs so far. The team - previously called Lavetten - had a sweep in the first round and nearly controlled all of their second round matchup against Red Machine. Led by the captain @chavelski in net, the whole team showed up as a future Elite team. @pajenc , @Tacterz and @Zalaz know every trick of the game and are able to spin the defense's heads around.

Almost Famous tries to accomplish the walk-trough from Lite to Elite in only two seasons. They flew under the radar at the beginning of the season, but were noticed by everyone, starting their first Pro-season 9-1-0, with wins over the top contenders Shameful Knights and Baltic Sea Eagles. As in the regular season, they defeated the Baltic Sea Eagles in the second round (4-1) and try to keep their hope of the Elite division alive. They don't win their games in a spectacular fashion, but @Ikavalko , @Rimpe and @Devilfish14 strike whenever they have to.

As part of the regular season in group 1 they already played two games against each other. Both teams won their respective home games (3:1 and 4:2) so we can expect a really tough matchup and a long series!

Prediction: 4:3 Monarchs

Games so far in this series:
Game 1: Monarchs - Almost Famous 0-3
Game 2: Almost Famous - Monarchs 1-3
Game 3: Monarchs - Almost Famous 1-0 OT
Game 4: Almost Famous - Monarchs 3-5
Game 5: Monarchs - Almost Famous 2-3 OT

After these two settling who will go on to the ECL Pro Finals, we jump over to the ECL Relegation Faceoff, where the winner of the two teams will be seen in ECL Elite next season. The teams are playing a total of four games tonight, starting at 21:00 CEST as well and we will join in on the action as soon as the first series of tonight is settled.

 White Trash – Nordic Stars 

These two teams are certainly no strangers to each other, despite playing in different divisions this season, they spent the last two seasons battling for the promotion in Pro. In fact, these two have met in playoff series both in ECL 4 and 5. The series wins are currently even at 1-1. The Nordic Stars roster seems to have experienced quite a few changes over the years, as captain @Seahyena is the only player who has played in the previous two series between these teams. On the other end, White Trash captain @Zip player has also played both series, but so has @Kane, @rGinnu and @plymalkin. We’ll see how the third series in as many seasons between these two turns out.

Nordic Stars were surely excited to have been promoted to Elite during the offseason. In our season preview, we expected the team to have a difficult time keeping up in Elite. The beginning of the season was a feeling-out process, but Nordic stars put themselves in a bit of a hole by going 1-8-1 to start the season. They managed to turn the ship around a bit after the first ten games, but it wasn’t quite enough. In the end, they finished with a 9-15-6 regular season record, which isn’t bad for a team that was promoted in the offseason and had a complete roster overhaul. The biggest factor this season for Nordic Stars was most likely not being able to gel enough to create chemistry in team defense. The team managed to score enough to keep up with the rest, but fell short when it comes to their goals against average, a statistic that ended up being 3,03/game. That simply isn’t good enough to win games in a tight Elite division.

The opponent White Trash had yet another good season in Pro. They’re an established Pro team and must be very hungry to prove to the community that they can compete with the big boys in Elite. Our Pro season preview noted White Trash as one of the top contenders this season. They went into the season with a small roster and managed to close out the season with only 8 players making an appearance. The playoffs ended in the Semi-Finals against FILADELPHIA, a series in which White Trash without a doubt was the underdog. White Trash will be relying on their vast experience and good chemistry to edge out Nordic stars in this matchup. As expected, they will ice the same lineup we saw throughout the Pro playoffs.

It's hard to predict how this series will go, as the teams come into this series from different backgrounds; White Trash has gotten this far by succeeding during the season, whereas Nordic Stars has had a tough one. The want to play and fight for the win will be a key aspect in which of these teams will be seen in ECL Elite next season.

Below you will find the lineups for both matchups tonight:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @Janikka and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL 6 Lite Finals are now decided and EV Duisburg was the team to walk away with the win in a 4-0 series against Cowabunga Hockey. Hereby NHLGamer would like to congratulate EV Duisburg for being the ECL 6 Lite Champions!

If you missed their playoff games, you can check them out here:

• https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch/videos/all
• https://www.twitch.tv/eashlduisburg/videos/all
• https://www.twitch.tv/tinkesakara/videos/all
   

These are the series results:

Game 1: EV Duisburg @ Cowabunga Hockey | 2-1

Game 2: Cowabunga Hockey @ EV Duisburg | 0-1

Game 3: EV Duisburg @ Cowabunga Hockey | 2-0

Game 4: Cowabunga Hockey @ EV Duisburg | 0-2

EV Duisburg's Championship roster (minimum of 1 game played):

• G: #13 A.Piepke @GreatOne139

• G: #25 T.Mahony @FoxGoalie

• D: #8 N.Schmitz @xXPsykoSkillsXx

• D: #9 K.Diemers @gamer9

• D: #32 F.Hegmann @Fabgo32

• F: #14 M.Klinkhammer @klinki_hh

• F: #20 I.Asche @Asche

• F: #21 P.Andersson @Fireblade

• F: #26 P.Liebetrau @Adrian

• F: #27 S.Stevenson @Stefan

• F: #79 T.Mouting @LosTypos

• F: #93 P.Gertzen @ShawnMcNeil

EV Duisburg's road to the cup:

• 14 wins & 4 losses during the regular season, ranked 3rd in Group 2
• Round 1: 4-1 VS Soldiers of Odens
• Round 2: 4-2 VS Etelan Vetelat
• Quarterfinals: 4-0 VS Pohjoista Voimaa
• Semifinals: 4-2 VS Style
• Finals: 4-0 VS Cowabunga Hockey

The full recap of ECL 6 Lite will be released soon. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: We are also covering Carlsberg HC - Dynasty, starting at 20:00 CEST!

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoffs continue tonight and we might be celebrating an ECL Lite champion tonight! Starting at 19:50 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we cover an amazing three matchups. The first one will be between ECL Elite semi finalists Carlsberg HC and Dynasty. Below you'll find our prediction for this series:

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(2) Dynasty – Carlsberg HC  (3)

Wow - what a matchup this is going to be! Dynasty took care of what seemed like a somewhat uninterested team in SJK by beating them in five games. @ICappeI in net for SJK did everything and a little more to shutdown Dynasty, but he wasn’t able to stop Dynasty all alone. Dynasty gets good goaltending night after night and they defend like the best of them. Add @Buantso (Puantso) to the mix and you have a very dangerous, championship kind of team. This series against Carlsberg can be one of the tightest series we've seen.

Carlsberg took care of Sjukstugan in six games ( 4-2 ) and got a good warmup for the next series playing against a tight defensive unit. @Penatski showed up again, playing an MVP type of game, but so did the defensive unit with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, as the latter looks like one of the best defenseman in the game right now. @Zande95 bounced back after a tough first night in the series and Carlsberg was too much for Sjukstugan to handle.

What a battle of monsters this is going to be and expect this series to go the length. It is very hard to predict who advances to the finals, but I expect the team who has the hotter goaltender is the one who advances after an even game 7 and in this case its going to be @Sandr0hh.

Prediction: 4-3 Dynasty

 

You can read all ECL Elite semi final predictions here.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Carlsberg HC - Dynasty 0-4
Game 2: Dynasty - Carlsberg HC 0-3
Game 3: Carlsberg HC - Dynasty 1-0 OT

The first three games were played yesterday and while Dynasty started off strong with a 4-0 win, Carlsberg were able to end the night with a 1-0 OT win and a 2-1 series lead. 

Northern Ascendancy and Written In The Stars. Below you'll find our prediction for this series:

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(4)  Northern Ascendancy vs Written In The Stars  (1)

 

Written held up to their expectations in the quarter finals dismantling Northern Stars in five games (4-1). Written In The Stars are often considered an offensive team, but it is their defensive game as a unit that is the one that puts the opponents to sleep. With solid goaltending by @JanneK. (Januri98), Written looks very hungry to win the championship. In the regular season Written won both games (6-0, 2-1), but it's the playoffs now and things tighten up.

After me barking on Northern Ascendancy last weekend, they showed some character bouncing back against Unlucky Boys to win the series 4-3. After last night's heroics from @hpkfani (Mukimaisteri) - who scored all 5 of his teams goals in games 6 and 7 -  this team looked fired up and took their game to another level. Northern Ascendancy plays a beautiful passing game with fast quick passes back and forth and it is going to be interesting to see how the Written defensive game is going to handle Northern Ascendancy's offense.

I will put the slight advantage on offense to NOR, but the cohesive unit in Written is going to be too much to handle for NOR.

Prediction: 4-2 Written In The Stars

 

You can read all ECL Elite semi final predictions here.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Northern Ascendancy - Written In The Stars 3-0
Game 2: Written In The Stars - Northern Ascendancy 2-3

While Written In The Stars was the favorite going into this semi final pairing, Northern Ascendancy managed to improve their game from what we saw in the quarter final round and ended up walking away from the first night with two deserved wins. The series is far from over, though, and we're sure Written In The Stars brought some new tricks up their sleeves for tonight and look to bounce back and tie the series. The teams have agreed to play two games tonight. 

After this, we go to the ECL Lite Finals, where EV Duisburg is only one win away from the Lite championship. The games are scheduled to start at 22:15 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

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(8) EV Duisburg vs Cowabunga Hockey  (2)

Cowabunga Hockey has, as a newcomer in ECL, already captured a spot in Pro and it looks like they want to go all the way. After posting a 15-2-1 record in the regular season they have showed everybody that they are a team that never gives up. After sweeping Slapshot Club Germany in the first round they faced off against Bucketeers. That series took them all the way to a game 7 that they managed to win. In the quarter finals they swept MotherPuckers and in the semi finals they managed to come back from a 0-2 deficit against Sektion K. The team is balanced and showed a lot of heart by coming back in that series. This team has only used 7 players this season and it shows that they are a very cohesive unit that wants go all the way.

EV Duisburg has had a much bigger troop this season and rotated it quite nicely. They played solid in the regular season with posting a 14-4 record, but in the playoffs they have really taken off. In the first round they met Soldiers of Odens and won the series with 4-1. In the second round they faced Etelan Vetelat, which took them six games to dismantle. In the quarter finals they swept Pohjoista Voimaa 4-0. That put them against a very good team, as they met Style in the semi finals. EV Duisburg managed to win this series in six games and are looking to play their best games in the finals. The one thing that stands out about EV Duisburg is their goaltender FoxGoalie, who has posted an insanely good 89,36% save percentage in the playoffs. He has taken the goalie statistics close to the 90% magic number and has to be a Conn Smythe candidate after this season is done.

The teams that face off are two tight-knit groups of players. I expect this to be a series with really good hockey and expect the goalies to shine. I fully expect that this series goes to a game 7.

Prediction: 4-3 Cowabunga Hockey

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: EV Duisburg - Cowabunga Hockey 2-1
Game 2: Cowabunga Hockey - EV Duisburg 0-1
Game 3: EV Duisburg - Cowabunga Hockey 2-0

As you can see, we predicted an even series here, so it's not a surprise that EV Duisburg has been able to win games in this series. However, what surprised us, is that they are already up 3-0 and could even sweep the series. All of the games so far have been really close, so don't miss the chance to see if Cowabunga Hockey can bounce back and even force a game seven, or if EV Duisburg will be hoisting the cup tonight. The teams have agreed to play two games tonight.

You can see tonight's lineups for each team in the image below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @Kenuand @esdor. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

ECL Elite Semi Finals continue tonight. Starting at 20:15 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we will be exclusively featuring the first three games between Carlsberg HC and Dynasty.

Below you'll find our prediction for this series:

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(2) Dynasty – Carlsberg HC  (3)

Wow - what a matchup this is going to be! Dynasty took care of what seemed like a somewhat uninterested team in SJK by beating them in five games. @ICappeI in net for SJK did everything and a little more to shutdown Dynasty, but he wasn’t able to stop Dynasty all alone. Dynasty gets good goaltending night after night and they defend like the best of them. Add @Buantso (Puantso) to the mix and you have a very dangerous, championship kind of team. This series against Carlsberg can be one of the tightest series we've seen.

Carlsberg took care of Sjukstugan in six games ( 4-2 ) and got a good warmup for the next series playing against a tight defensive unit. @Penatski showed up again, playing an MVP type of game, but so did the defensive unit with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, as the latter looks like one of the best defenseman in the game right now. @Zande95 bounced back after a tough first night in the series and Carlsberg was too much for Sjukstugan to handle.

What a battle of monsters this is going to be and expect this series to go the length. It is very hard to predict who advances to the finals, but I expect the team who has the hotter goaltender is the one who advances after an even game 7 and in this case its going to be @Sandr0hh.

Prediction: 4-3 Dynasty

 

You can read all ECL Elite semi final predictions here.

You can see tonight's lineups below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. Exceptionally, tonight's games will not be commentated.

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoff continue tonight! Starting at 19:50 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we cover two exciting semi final matchups tonight. The first one will be between ECL Pro teams White Trash and Filadelphia.

Below you'll find our prediction for this series:

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(1) FILADELPHIA vs White Trash  (7)

FILADELPHIA sweeped their quarter final opponent Deadly Phantoms HC right away and don't seem to hesitate on finishing their season goal of qualifying for Elite! They needed only a total of 9 games in the first two rounds to go on to the semi finals and even with that low game count,@Erkki (I_Eki_I) and @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) are in the Top 10 playoff scorers. They lead their Elite style offense, generating dangerous scoring chances and always seem to have the patience to make the right decisions. @xDoumi and @oGBioLan are strong on both ends of the ice and very decent on the opening pass.

White Trash had to go the full distance in their seven game series against SIKA, just as in the first round. Lead by @Zip player, the dynamic offensive trio of @rGinnu and @Kane can score some goals and can make every defense hurt by gaining chances out of their mistakes. They showed us that they can stand the pressure by winning two game 7's. Are they able to shut down the weapons of FILADELPHIA and score efficiently enough on the chances they will get?

Prediction: 4:2 FILADELPHIA

 

You can read all ECL Pro semi final predictions here.

After this, we jump right over to ECL Elite, where Written In The Stars and Northern Ascendancy will also start their semi final games. The games are scheduled to start at 21:00 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

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(1)  Written In The Stars vs Northern Ascendancy  (4)

 

Written held up to their expectations in the quarter finals dismantling Northern Stars in five games (4-1). Written In The Stars are often considered an offensive team, but it is their defensive game as a unit that is the one that puts the opponents to sleep. With solid goaltending by @JanneK. (Januri98), Written looks very hungry to win the championship. In the regular season Written won both games (6-0, 2-1), but it's the playoffs now and things tighten up.

After me barking on Northern Ascendancy last weekend, they showed some character bouncing back against Unlucky Boys to win the series 4-3. After last night's heroics from @hpkfani (Mukimaisteri) - who scored all 5 of his teams goals in games 6 and 7 -  this team looked fired up and took their game to another level. Northern Ascendancy plays a beautiful passing game with fast quick passes back and forth and it is going to be interesting to see how the Written defensive game is going to handle Northern Ascendancy's offense.

I will put the slight advantage on offense to NOR, but the cohesive unit in Written is going to be too much to handle for NOR.

Prediction: 4-2 Written In The Stars

 

You can read all ECL Elite semi final predictions here.

You can see tonight's lineups for each team in the image below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @Panarinz and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

The heat is ramping up, both outdoors and in the ECL Elite Playoffs, as we get into the semi final stage. Only four teams left and each of them needing four wins to make it far enough to play in the finals. Who will want it the most? You'll find our predictions below.

(1)  Written In The Stars vs Northern Ascendancy  (4)

Written held up to their expectations in the quarter finals dismantling Northern Stars in five games (4-1). Written In The Stars are often considered an offensive team, but it is their defensive game as a unit that is the one that puts the opponents to sleep. With solid goaltending by @JanneK. (Januri98), Written looks very hungry to win the championship. In the regular season Written won both games (6-0, 2-1), but it's the playoffs now and things tighten up.

After me barking on Northern Ascendancy last weekend, they showed some character bouncing back against Unlucky Boys to win the series 4-3. After last night's heroics from @hpkfani (Mukimaisteri) - who scored all 5 of his teams goals in games 6 and 7 -  this team looked fired up and took their game to another level. Northern Ascendancy plays a beautiful passing game with fast quick passes back and forth and it is going to be interesting to see how the Written defensive game is going to handle Northern Ascendancy's offense.

I will put the slight advantage on offense to NOR, but the cohesive unit in Written is going to be too much to handle for NOR.

Prediction: 4-2 Written In The Stars

 

(2) Dynasty – Carlsberg HC  (3)

Wow - what a matchup this is going to be! Dynasty took care of what seemed like a somewhat uninterested team in SJK by beating them in five games. @ICappeI in net for SJK did everything and a little more to shutdown Dynasty, but he wasn’t able to stop Dynasty all alone. Dynasty gets good goaltending night after night and they defend like the best of them. Add @Buantso (Puantso) to the mix and you have a very dangerous, championship kind of team. This series against Carlsberg can be one of the tightest series we've seen.

Carlsberg took care of Sjukstugan in six games ( 4-2 ) and got a good warmup for the next series playing against a tight defensive unit. @Penatski showed up again, playing an MVP type of game, but so did the defensive unit with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, as the latter looks like one of the best defenseman in the game right now. @Zande95 bounced back after a tough first night in the series and Carlsberg was too much for Sjukstugan to handle.

What a battle of monsters this is going to be and expect this series to go the length. It is very hard to predict who advances to the finals, but I expect the team who has the hotter goaltender is the one who advances after an even game 7 and in this case its going to be @Sandr0hh.

Prediction: 4-3 Dynasty

The semi finals are underway now and have to be finished by the 24th of April 2018 (Tuesday). No extra time will be given!

We wish the remaining teams good luck and most importantly: have fun! Please let us know when you will play your respective games so we have the chance to cover them on our Twitch channel.


EDIT: The last day to play is Tuesday the 24th, not Monday the 23rd. Fixed in the article.

Hey NHLGamers,

we will be live on Twitch shortly for some more ECL Playoffs action! Below, you will find the two covered matchups including our original predictions:

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 (4) Northern Ascendancy vs Unlucky Boys HC (5) 

Northern Ascendancy vs Unlucky Boys is already far into the series (2-3) as UB are only one win away from the Elite Semi finals in their first season in Elite! The last season runner-up in Pro has surprised the whole community by beating a few of the big teams during the season and finishing the season as fifth in the standings. Lead by @Anhel (Anhel_Kuru) alongside @JimBoo (jm__98___) and @Wenger (re_wenger), the trio has been playing together all season, and with @Jugeh_ and @Frilander on the back end, the five skaters really come together as a team. @Danielcadabra has bounced back from a disappointing last season in Synergy where he looked somewhat rusty. This season he has been again at the very top among goalies and he can steal games for you.

Northern Ascendancy with the fast paced very beautiful style of playing ended the regular season on a solid fourth place. @poliskontroll has been better this season and @Foppatofflan has been scoring points as usual. This season he got some help from @hpkfani (MuKiMaisteri) who was the leading scorer this season for NOR. @MartindalexC has switched from LW to RD and transitioned quite nicely making a nice pair with @Haldeem. And the cherry on top is that you have @anrh17, an excellent two-way player, as a center. You could think this team would be ready for a championship. However, once again they are facing a team who looks to want it more and play to win and not simply to get on the scoresheet. Can NOR bounce back, come together and break the trend that has been haunting them and get past the quarterfinals?

Prediction: 4-2 Unlucky Boys

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 (3) Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan (6) 

Carlsberg HC was one of the hottest teams in the off-season and was one of the favourite teams coming into ECL 6. They finished with a solid third place right after Written In The Stars and Dynasty. @Vilupoika, @Penatski and @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) comprise a forward line that makes any GM out there jealous. All of them have great hands and vision and also the game changer ability, as anyone of them can win a game for their team. With one of the best defensive pairings in the league with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, this team looks like you couldn't replace one player with another and expect better results. If CAR wants to be successful they can and if they can stay humble and focused facing a very seasoned 112, they will prevail.

Don’t count their opponent out just yet! You can easily say that Sjukstugan is the underdog in this matchup, but if you look closer at the players they have, the team looks really good. With one of the most prestigious right defensemen in the game in @Gustafsson7 returning back after a season in Synergy, taking his familiar place as the king of the hill in Sjukstugan's defense, they have a strong leader down low. Helping him along the way we have @Karkkyjaa, @Basstian23 (JaromirSniper) and @Klingen45 who is expected to be dressing for the next game. Look for him to be a game changer as well. On the forward side we have the brothers @pnordetun and @Bjono with @Norpee skating out with them. Norpee could easily be one of the most underrated players in the whole community. I suspect we will see @Nampa77 in this series as well, as he adds something the rest of the forward core doesn't have - the right-handed shot. The real MVP of Sjukstugan can be found in net as @Hullued has taken the community by storm and been excellent throughout the season.

If CAR can stay focused and disciplined for the entire length of the series, they will move on to the next round. On the other hand, if 112 wants to have a chance in the series, they cannot try to mimic the play style of opponent Carlsberg, as they tried to do in game #2 of the series. The series currently stands at 1-1. If Sjukstugan can score the first goal and play as a defensive unit out on the ice, we might have a long series here that could end either way.

Prediction: 4-3 Carlsberg HC

Current results:

Northern Ascendancy 2:3 Unlucky Boys HC
Carlsberg HC 3:2 Sjukstugan

All teams have agreed to finish both series tonight. We will focus on Northern Ascendancy vs. Unlucky Boys HC, and in case the first machup ends early, or Carlsberg HC vs. Sjukstugan goes into game 7, we will cover that one as well!

Here are tonight's lineups:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch and will feature commentary by @gzell60 and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

It's that time of the ECL Lite season, when we've narrowed it down to only two teams that can take home the championship! We are very excited about this matchup, and we will do our best to cover it on our Twitch channel. Further details will be announced as the dates of the games are confirmed.

(2) Cowabunga Hockey vs  EV Duisburg (8)

Cowabunga Hockey has, as a newcomer in ECL, already captured a spot in Pro and it looks like they want to go all the way. After posting a 15-2-1 record in the regular season they have showed everybody that they are a team that never gives up. After sweeping Slapshot Club Germany in the first round they faced off against Bucketeers. That series took them all the way to a game 7 that they managed to win. In the quarter finals they swept MotherPuckers and in the semi finals they managed to come back from a 0-2 deficit against Sektion K. The team is balanced and showed a lot of heart by coming back in that series. This team has only used 7 players this season and it shows that they are a very cohesive unit that wants go all the way.

EV Duisburg has had a much bigger troop this season and rotated it quite nicely. They played solid in the regular season with posting a 14-4 record, but in the playoffs they have really taken off. In the first round they met Soldiers of Odens and won the series with 4-1. In the second round they faced Etelan Vetelat, which took them six games to dismantle. In the quarter finals they swept Pohjoista Voimaa 4-0. That put them against a very good team, as they met Style in the semi finals. EV Duisburg managed to win this series in six games and are looking to play their best games in the finals. The one thing that stands out about EV Duisburg is their goaltender FoxGoalie, who has posted an insanely good 89,36% save percentage in the playoffs. He has taken the goalie statistics close to the 90% magic number and has to be a Conn Smythe candidate after this season is done.

The teams that face off are two tight-knit groups of players. I expect this to be a series with really good hockey and expect the goalies to shine. I fully expect that this series goes to a game 7.

Prediction: 4-3 Cowabunga Hockey

The finals are underway now and have to be finished by 21st of April 2018 (Saturday). No extra time will be given!

We wish the two remaining teams good luck and most importantly: have fun! Please let us know when you will play your respective games so we have the chance to cover them.

Hey NHLGamers,

the second round of the Pro playoffs are finished and we go on to the next round. All remaining teams got one step closer to their chance to play in the Elite division next season in ECL 7 by winning their respective series. The two finalists will be qualified directly, while the two semi final losers have their chance by playing against the Nordic Stars or Pata Hellalla in the relegation battles. We are excited for these tough battles, which we will do our best to cover on our Twitch channel.

These are the upcoming matchups for the semifinals:

(1) FILADELPHIA vs White Trash  (7)

FILADELPHIA sweeped their quarter final opponent Deadly Phantoms HC right away and don't seem to hesitate on finishing their season goal of qualifying for Elite! They needed only a total of 9 games in the first two rounds to go on to the semi finals and even with that low game count,@Erkki (I_Eki_I) and @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) are in the Top 10 playoff scorers. They lead their Elite style offense, generating dangerous scoring chances and always seem to have the patience to make the right decisions. @xDoumi and @oGBioLan are strong on both ends of the ice and very decent on the opening pass.

White Trash had to go the full distance in their seven game series against SIKA, just as in the first round. Lead by @Zip player, the dynamic offensive trio of @rGinnu and @Kane can score some goals and can make every defense hurt by gaining chances out of their mistakes. They showed us that they can stand the pressure by winning two game 7's. Are they able to shut down the weapons of FILADELPHIA and score efficiently enough on the chances they will get?

 (2) Monarchs vs Almost Famous (3) 

Monarchs impressed everyone so far this season. Mentioned as the underdog in our season preview, they topped their group and have only lost two games in this seasons playoffs so far. The team - previously called Lavetten - had a sweep in the first round and nearly controlled all of their second round matchup against Red Machine. Led by the captain @chavelski in net, the whole team showed up as a future Elite team. @pajenc , @Tacterz and @Zalaz know every trick of the game and are able to spin the defense's heads around.

Almost Famous tries to accomplish the walk-trough from Lite to Elite in only two seasons. They flew under the radar at the beginning of the season, but were noticed by everyone, starting their first Pro-season 9-1-0, with wins over the top contenders Shameful Knights and Baltic Sea Eagles. As in the regular season, they defeated the Baltic Sea Eagles in the second round (4-1) and try to keep their hope of the Elite division alive. They don't win their games in a spectacular fashion, but @Ikavalko , @Rimpe and @Devilfish14 strike whenever they have to.

As part of the regular season in group 1 they already played two games against each other. Both teams won their respective home games (3:1 and 4:2) so we can expect a really tough matchup and a long series!

Prediction: 4:3 Monarchs

The semifinals are underway (from 13th April 2018) and have to be finished by 20th April 2018 (Friday). No extra time will be given!

We wish all the remaining teams good luck and most importantly: have fun! Please let us know when you will play your respective games so we have the chance to cover them.

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoff continue tonight! Starting at 20:15 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we continue yet another two exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be faught between ECL Elite teams Carlsberg HC and Sjukstugan -  a good Finland - Sweden matchup!

Below you'll find our original prediction for this series:

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 (3) Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan (6) 

Carlsberg HC was one of the hottest teams in the off-season and was one of the favourite teams coming into ECL 6. They finished with a solid third place right after Written In The Stars and Dynasty. @Vilupoika, @Penatski and @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) comprise a forward line that makes any GM out there jealous. All of them have great hands and vision and also the game changer ability, as anyone of them can win a game for their team. With one of the best defensive pairings in the league with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, this team looks like you couldn't replace one player with another and expect better results. If CAR wants to be successful they can and if they can stay humble and focused facing a very seasoned 112, they will prevail.

Don’t count their opponent out just yet! You can easily say that Sjukstugan is the underdog in this matchup, but if you look closer at the players they have, the team looks really good. With one of the most prestigious right defensemen in the game in @Gustafsson7 returning back after a season in Synergy, taking his familiar place as the king of the hill in Sjukstugan's defense, they have a strong leader down low. Helping him along the way we have @Karkkyjaa, @Basstian23 (JaromirSniper) and @Klingen45 who is expected to be dressing for the next game. Look for him to be a game changer as well. On the forward side we have the brothers @pnordetun and @Bjono with @Norpee skating out with them. Norpee could easily be one of the most underrated players in the whole community. I suspect we will see @Nampa77 in this series as well, as he adds something the rest of the forward core doesn't have - the right-handed shot. The real MVP of Sjukstugan can be found in net as @Hullued has taken the community by storm and been excellent throughout the season.

If CAR can stay focused and disciplined for the entire length of the series, they will move on to the next round. On the other hand, if 112 wants to have a chance in the series, they cannot try to mimic the play style of opponent Carlsberg, as they tried to do in game #2 of the series. The series currently stands at 1-1. If Sjukstugan can score the first goal and play as a defensive unit out on the ice, we might have a long series here that could end either way.

Prediction: 4-3 Carlsberg HC

You can read all of our ECL Elite Round 1 Predictions here.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Sjukstugan - Carlsberg HC 3-1
Game 2: Carlsberg HC - Sjukstugan 5-1
 

The teams have agreed to play three games tonight, so there is a hypothetical chance that one team secures their place in the semi finals tonight. However, that's highly unlikely with these evenly matched up teams. Whatever the result tonight, the expectation is a very high-skilled hockey night between these two.

After this, we jump right over to ECL Pro, where SIKA and White Trash will decide who's going to the semi finals. The games are scheduled to start at 21:40 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

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(5) SIKA vs White Trash  (7)

 

SIKA had a rough start into this years playoffs by losing two games out of the first three, but kept their season alive by turning the series around by winning the last three matches. White Trash had to go with a full best of seven series, coming back from being down 2:3 in the series. @rGinnu turned the series into their favour by scoring six points in the last two wins. White Trash has to improve the defensive game, but definitely has the chance to outscore SIKA. We expect a tight matchup and a long series.

 

Prediction: 4-3 SIKA

You can read all of our ECL Pro Quarter Final predictions here.

 

There's been five games played in this series so far and White Trash came out strong, winning the first two with quite big numbers. Someone might have expected even a sweep after that, but SIKA came back strong in their next session, winning games 3 and 5 and losing game 4 by only one goal. SIKA continues to play with their backs to the walls. No more losses allowed. Tonight we'll see if this experienced bunch can come back from this, or if White Trash can find the tools to clinch it.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: White Trash - SIKA 4-0
Game 2: SIKA - White Trash 1-5
Game 3: White Trash - SIKA 0-1
Game 4: SIKA - White Trash 3-4
Game 5: White Trash - SIKA 1-2

You can see tonight's lineups for each team in the image below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @gzell60 and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

It's time for some ECL Elite Playoff action tonight! Starting at 19:45 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we continue two very exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be the battle between ECL Elite teams Dynasty and SJK eSports.

Below you'll find our original prediction for this series:

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 (2) Dynasty vs SJK eSports (7) 

Second seeding Dynasty goes up against SJK eSports in the quarterfinals in a matchup that could have, and in many Community members' minds would and should have been a clash later down the bracket. That's not the case this time around, as here we go! 

Dynasty has been nothing but a true joy to watch in the regular season. With quick passing, movement, their timing close to perfection and some great variety in their offense - they are as effective as they are stylish. @Buantso (Puantso) is deadly and with @jumalpeku and @Tehh (TehhAhola), they have a perfect trio. Puantso and jumalpeku combined for 55 goals between them in the group stage, just 10 shy of the SJK total. As always, it's important to shut your opponents offense down, and this will not be an easy task for SJK to do. Dynasty is also really solid on the defense and won't give up anything for free with @Snapster keeping the lines clear from intruders, alike the Finnish war hero Simo Häyhä. In the net, DYN has a good situation with @Sandr0hh and @Lukkoukko (Lukkolinho) having similar, strong stats.

SJK will have to respond to Dynasty's offense in this series, and they need to prove that they really are defensive masters. Like we are used to, @Dominointi will be the cornerstone of their game. It'll remain to be seen who SJK will ice on the wings but your best bet will likely be @Leksa94 and @indi969. @Ilmari_30 on defense is set in stone and beside him we will most likely see @Selarit. @ICappeI stood tall in net for yet another great regular season, it'll remain to be seen if he can put up another stellar showing in the playoffs. Showcasing their defensive ability, SJK allowed only 48 goals (1,6 per game) in the regular season (2nd to SKY) and they have a tremendous defense in all zones. Sometimes playing SJK you're happy being able to create any good scoring chances at all, and how frustrating isn't that in a best of 7 series for the opponent? Can SJK lower the games' pace and ace their defense? Do they have the variety and creativity not to get stuck chasing behind every game? SJK has so much experience from these games it's almost scary. They are used to tight spots and used to advance - can they do it this time?  

Prediction : 4-2 Dynasty

You can read all of our ECL Elite Round 1 Predictions here.

 

The teams played four games so far and while it looked like Dynasty was going to sweep the series, SJK eSports came back in game 4 and made the series 3-1.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: SJK eSports - Dynasty 1-2
Game 2: Dynasty - SJK eSports 4-3
Game 3: SJK eSports - Dynasty 1-4
Game 4: Dynasty - SJK eSports 0-4

SJK eSports has their backs to the wall tonight, but don't count them out quite yet. Whatever happens, the teams will finish this series tonight, so don't miss this action!

After this, we jump right over to another exciting ECL ECL pair as Written In The Stars and Northern Stars continue their series. The teams have agreed to play up to two games tonight and the puck drop for game 5 will be at 21:00 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

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 (1) Written In The Stars vs Northern Stars (8) 

Written In The Stars won the regular season in style. The team really had that 'wow'-factor being talked about from time to time. A left-wing seemed to be what SKY needed to out them on a rocket ship right towards the title. Except for acquiring the new winger, little has changed and we can expect SKY to try to control this series. With great goalies in @eissi83 and @JanneK. (Januri98), amazing defenders that can dominate both blue lines and all three zones, and a highly skilled offensive trio up-front.

So, is the sky the limit or will Northern Stars be the end of the line? NOS took the 8th and final playoff spot this time, avoiding pressure and expectations, perhaps. However, the old giant fears no one. NOS knows these situations and certainly holds more experience of these tight spots compared to their opponents. With their basic game and some @tbnantti magic they can surely match SKY. These players have been in so many playoff games together that we might see their low playoff seed actually work in their favour.

Prediction: 4-2 Written In The Stars

You can read all of our ECL Elite Round 1 Predictions here.

 

While very even on the ice, Written In the Stars has been able to take control of the series and lead the series 3-1. It's noteworthy that all of the games have ended with a one goal difference and two of them in OT. In game 3 Northern Stars had an opportunity to take control of the series, as they had a 2-1 lead and got a penalty shot with 40 seconds to go. They didn't score here and Written In The Stars bounced back. Quite the display of calmness in a tough situation one might say. The same kind of calmness will be needed from Northern Stars tonight, as they try to get three wins in a row with their back against the wall. We can't wait to see what kind of show these teams put up for us tonight!

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Northern Stars - Written In The Stars 1-2 OT
Game 2: Written In The Stars - Northern Stars 0-1
Game 3: Northern Stars - Written In The Stars 2-3 OT
Game 4: Written In The Stars - Northern Stars 1-0

You can see tonight's lineups for each team in the image below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @gzell60 and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Elite Playoffs are already partly underway, so let's jump directly into our predictions for the first round, also known as the quarter finals, where the best eight teams battle for a chance to make it into the semi finals. These predictions were written by @chavelski and @pnordetun.

 (1) Written In The Stars vs Northern Stars (8) 

Written In The Stars won the regular season in style. The team really had that 'wow'-factor being talked about from time to time. A left-wing seemed to be what SKY needed to out them on a rocket ship right towards the title. Except for acquiring the new winger, little has changed and we can expect SKY to try to control this series. With great goalies in @eissi83 and @JanneK. (Januri98), amazing defenders that can dominate both blue lines and all three zones, and a highly skilled offensive trio up-front.

So, is the sky the limit or will Northern Stars be the end of the line? NOS took the 8th and final playoff spot this time, avoiding pressure and expectations, perhaps. However, the old giant fears no one. NOS knows these situations and certainly holds more experience of these tight spots compared to their opponents. With their basic game and some @tbnantti magic they can surely match SKY. These players have been in so many playoff games together that we might see their low playoff seed actually work in their favour.

Prediction: 4-2 Written In The Stars

 (2) Dynasty vs SJK eSports (7) 

Second seeding Dynasty goes up against SJK eSports in the quarterfinals in a matchup that could have, and in many Community members' minds would and should have been a clash later down the bracket. That's not the case this time around, as here we go! 

Dynasty has been nothing but a true joy to watch in the regular season. With quick passing, movement, their timing close to perfection and some great variety in their offense - they are as effective as they are stylish. @Buantso (Puantso) is deadly and with @jumalpeku and @Tehh (TehhAhola), they have a perfect trio. Puantso and jumalpeku combined for 55 goals between them in the group stage, just 10 shy of the SJK total. As always, it's important to shut your opponents offense down, and this will not be an easy task for SJK to do. Dynasty is also really solid on the defense and won't give up anything for free with @Snapster keeping the lines clear from intruders, alike the Finnish war hero Simo Häyhä. In the net, DYN has a good situation with @Sandr0hh and @Lukkoukko (Lukkolinho) having similar, strong stats.

SJK will have to respond to Dynasty's offense in this series, and they need to prove that they really are defensive masters. Like we are used to, @Dominointi will be the cornerstone of their game. It'll remain to be seen who SJK will ice on the wings but your best bet will likely be @Leksa94 and @indi969. @Ilmari_30 on defense is set in stone and beside him we will most likely see @Selarit. @ICappeI stood tall in net for yet another great regular season, it'll remain to be seen if he can put up another stellar showing in the playoffs. Showcasing their defensive ability, SJK allowed only 48 goals (1,6 per game) in the regular season (2nd to SKY) and they have a tremendous defense in all zones. Sometimes playing SJK you're happy being able to create any good scoring chances at all, and how frustrating isn't that in a best of 7 series for the opponent? Can SJK lower the games' pace and ace their defense? Do they have the variety and creativity not to get stuck chasing behind every game? SJK has so much experience from these games it's almost scary. They are used to tight spots and used to advance - can they do it this time?  

Prediction : 4-2 Dynasty
 

 (3) Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan (6) 

Carlsberg HC was one of the hottest teams in the off-season and was one of the favourite teams coming into ECL 6. They finished with a solid third place right after Written In The Stars and Dynasty. @Vilupoika, @Penatski and @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) comprise a forward line that makes any GM out there jealous. All of them have great hands and vision and also the game changer ability, as anyone of them can win a game for their team. With one of the best defensive pairings in the league with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, this team looks like you couldn't replace one player with another and expect better results. If CAR wants to be successful they can and if they can stay humble and focused facing a very seasoned 112, they will prevail.

Don’t count their opponent out just yet! You can easily say that Sjukstugan is the underdog in this matchup, but if you look closer at the players they have, the team looks really good. With one of the most prestigious right defensemen in the game in @Gustafsson7 returning back after a season in Synergy, taking his familiar place as the king of the hill in Sjukstugan's defense, they have a strong leader down low. Helping him along the way we have @Karkkyjaa, @Basstian23 (JaromirSniper) and @Klingen45 who is expected to be dressing for the next game. Look for him to be a game changer as well. On the forward side we have the brothers @pnordetun and @Bjono with @Norpee skating out with them. Norpee could easily be one of the most underrated players in the whole community. I suspect we will see @Nampa77 in this series as well, as he adds something the rest of the forward core doesn't have - the right-handed shot. The real MVP of Sjukstugan can be found in net as @Hullued has taken the community by storm and been excellent throughout the season.

If CAR can stay focused and disciplined for the entire length of the series, they will move on to the next round. On the other hand, if 112 wants to have a chance in the series, they cannot try to mimic the play style of opponent Carlsberg, as they tried to do in game #2 of the series. The series currently stands at 1-1. If Sjukstugan can score the first goal and play as a defensive unit out on the ice, we might have a long series here that could end either way.

Prediction: 4-3 Carlsberg HC


 (4) Northern Ascendancy vs Unlucky Boys HC (5) 

Northern Ascendancy vs Unlucky Boys is already far into the series (2-3) as UB are only one win away from the Elite Semi finals in their first season in Elite! The last season runner-up in Pro has surprised the whole community by beating a few of the big teams during the season and finishing the season as fifth in the standings. Lead by @Anhel (Anhel_Kuru) alongside @JimBoo (jm__98___) and @Wenger (re_wenger), the trio has been playing together all season, and with @Jugeh_ and @Frilander on the back end, the five skaters really come together as a team. @Danielcadabra has bounced back from a disappointing last season in Synergy where he looked somewhat rusty. This season he has been again at the very top among goalies and he can steal games for you.

Northern Ascendancy with the fast paced very beautiful style of playing ended the regular season on a solid fourth place. @poliskontroll has been better this season and @Foppatofflan has been scoring points as usual. This season he got some help from @hpkfani (MuKiMaisteri) who was the leading scorer this season for NOR. @MartindalexC has switched from LW to RD and transitioned quite nicely making a nice pair with @Haldeem. And the cherry on top is that you have @anrh17, an excellent two-way player, as a center. You could think this team would be ready for a championship. However, once again they are facing a team who looks to want it more and play to win and not simply to get on the scoresheet. Can NOR bounce back, come together and break the trend that has been haunting them and get past the quarterfinals?

Prediction: 4-2 Unlucky Boys

Many of the teams continue their series' tonight, and while we sadly won't be able to provide an official commentated stream tonight, be sure to be on the lookout for the team's own streams in the streams section and the chatbox over in the community section.

What did you think of the above predicitions? Who do you think will go all the way? Let us know in the comments section below!

Hey NHLGamers,

We continue our ECL Playoff Broadcasts tonight with some ECL Elite and Pro playoff action! 

Starting right now, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as ECL Elite teams Northern Ascendancy (#4) and Unlucky Boys HC (#5) start their matchup with two games tonight. Right after that, it's FILADELPHIA (#1) and Deadly Phantoms HC (#13) from ECL Pro that hit the ice. These two teams we've been following throughout their previous games and it's looking to be quite the matchup.

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch by @Kenu and @Panarinz.

Hey NHLGamers,

After an eventful regular season in ECL Elite, we are ready to start the playoffs. There were some really tough battles for the playoff spots and teams were fighting for their life to avoid the relegation battles up until the very last round.

Our ECL Elite season preview was quite spot on regarding the playoff contenders, as 7/8 of the teams we listed as playoff teams made it. The biggest surprise comparing to our listing was Unlucky Boys HC finishing in 5th place.

We were supposed to have the playoff predictions for you already in the weekend, but sadly it will be a while more. It's coming, though!

Below you will find the matchups for round 1:

(1) Written In The Stars vs Northern Stars (8) 

 (2) Dynasty vs SJK eSports (7) 

 (3) Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan (6) 

 (4) Northern Ascendancy vs Unlucky Boys HC (5) 

All series will be played in a best-of-seven series from 9th until the 16th of April 2018.

Below you can find the exact dates for the ECL Pro playoffs:

• Quarter finals 9.-16.4.

• Semi finals 17.-24.4.

• Finals 29.4-7.5.

Teams Kattiautomaatti and Silver Sword Griffins, having collected the least points in ECL Elite this season, will be relegated and play in ECL Pro next season. Teams Nordic Stars and Pata Hellalla in spots 13 and 14 will be playing against the semi final losers of ECL Pro. The winners of these matchup will be seen in ECL Elite next season.

The teams Evolution, Gotham Knights, Rusty Blades and Falun Coal Miners finishing in spots 9-12 will keep their spots and will be seen in ECL Elite next season.

We thank all participants and hope you will return next season!

Best of luck for all remaining teams, have fun!

Hey NHLGamers,

We continue our ECL Playoff Broadcasts tonight with some ECL Lite action! Starting at 20:00 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as GHETTO FIREBIRDS and Sektion K continue their battle from game #4.

Below you'll find out original prediction for this series:

Quote

(7) GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Sektion K (15)

Firebirds knows what it takes to beat strong teams in the Lite playoffs and they have a season in Pro that would showcase their experience in tight games. With a good mix of strong offense and defense they are a force to be reckoned with this series. Watch out for internal leader in points and assists @GreventiousFIN. Their goaltender TessunTorpeedo (@Tero Lehtiö) made a few classy saves last playoff round as well and knows when he needs to shut the door. Sektion K caused a big upset when they eliminated Sqweer United from the playoffs last round, and in what manner - it only took them five games to get into the 3rd round. They can not be underestimated here. With leading goal and point scorer @Edhoolm97 and a strong overall defense don't be surprised if they come out on top after this series is finished. I'm gonna go with my gut on this one, Sektion K have caused an upset before and will do this time around again. 

Prediction: 2-4 Sektion K. 

See all ECL Lite Quarter Final predictions here.

The teams played the first three games so far and Sektion K is up in the series 2-1.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Sektion K - GHETTO FIREBIRDS 2-1
Game 2: GHETTO FIREBIRDS - Sektion K 3-0
Game 3 : Sektion K - GHETTO FIREBIRDS 3-1

The series will continue tonight with up to 4 games, so we will definitely see who goes into the semi finals tonight.

Depending on when the series ends, we might also jump into the last round game between Gotham Knights and SJK eSports in ECL Elite. Gotham Knights really needs 4 points tonight in order to have a chance to make the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see how they do tonight.

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will be broadcasted by @Kenu and @Panarinz

Hey NHLGamers,

The first round of ECL Pro playoffs offered some really exciting matchups and while the four teams of the top five managed to stand their ground and come out at the top after the first round, we saw some really tight matchups and also saw some upsets, as lower ranked teams made their way into the Quarter Finals. It's the playoffs and whatever happened in the regular season doesn't matter for much else than seeding at this point. The matchups were seeded based on points per game and we can't wait to see these teams hit the ice for the second round of ECL Pro playoffs.

Below are the matchups for the Quarter Finals:

(1) FILADELPHIA vs Deadly Phantoms HC (13) 

 (2) Monarchs vs Red Machine (11) 

 (3) Almost Famous vs Baltic Sea Eagles (10) 

(5) SIKA vs White Trash  (7)

All series will be played in a best-of-seven series between the 5th and the 12th of April 2018. 

Below you can find the exact dates for the ECL Pro playoffs:

• First round 26.3.-4.4.
• Second round 5.4.-12.4.
• Semi-finals 13.4.-20.4.
• Finals 21.4.-28.4.

Best of luck to all of the teams, have fun!

NHLGamer will be covering some of the matchups and we will start tonight, given that the teams start their battle tonight. Please contact @Kenu and @Panarinz with the matchup, time and playing line-ups and you might be featured tonight or later down the line!

You can find our Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hello there NHLGamers,

We are getting closer and closer to the finals and after this round we know which teams will get promoted to ECL Pro. Get ready for some exciting playoff action with, some might say, a few unpredictable matchups.

Our Lite division is going on to it's third playoff round, also known as the Quarter Finals. This means that the best 8 teams, that remain in the Lite division get to compete for the title and promotion to the Pro division. The winners in this series will get an instant promotion to Pro.

The quarter final matchups are:

(2) Cowabunga Hockey vs MotherPuckers  (19)

Both of these teams 2nd round series' went to game 7 and both 1st round series were sweeps. This will be an even and tight set of games. Cowabunga have a strong but small squad, the same lineup played every night in these playoffs and the regular season with only one exception, 2 games where  @Sokkelo__ didn't make it. Strong offense with good defense and a game winning goaltender in @Jonitski. MotherPuckers on the other hand have a deep squad and rely on their defense to win games for them. Motherpuckers need to defend well to get a lead in this series, once they get that they would probably not lose it. Keep an extra eye on @Lainzndr, as he is used to big games and if he gets an opportunity, he will captialize. This can really go either way, I will put my bet on MotherPuckers here - they have showed us that they can cause a upset before. 

Prediction: 3-4 Motherpuckers.

(7) GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Sektion K (15)

Firebirds knows what it takes to beat strong teams in the Lite playoffs and they have a season in Pro that would showcase their experience in tight games. With a good mix of strong offense and defense they are a force to be reckoned with this series. Watch out for internal leader in points and assists @GreventiousFIN. Their goaltender TessunTorpeedo (@Tero Lehtiö) made a few classy saves last playoff round as well and knows when he needs to shut the door. Sektion K caused a big upset when they eliminated Sqweer United from the playoffs last round, and in what manner - it only took them five games to get into the 3rd round. They can not be underestimated here. With leading goal and point scorer @Edhoolm97 and a strong overall defense don't be surprised if they come out on top after this series is finished. I'm gonna go with my gut on this one, Sektion K have caused an upset before and will do this time around again. 

Prediction: 2-4 Sektion K. 

(8) EV Duisburg vs Pohjoista Voimaa (13)

Duisburg showed in their past 2 playoff series' that they have a solid defense that can win the games for them. Pohjoista Voimaa is a similiar kind of team - they heavily rely on their defense. Both teams have strong goaltenders with amazing stats during these playoffs in @FoxGoalie and @meiha, both averaging around 1 goals against and 90 in save percentage. Expect this series to see a lot of games going to overtime. 

Prediction: 4-3 Duisburg.

(11) Style vs Freddie Mercury Insitute  (12) (prediction written by @jahajaha93) 

We'll have a hard fought series on our hands with Style taking on Freddie Mercury Institute. The Swedes have established a winning culture by topping their domestic league the past two seasons prior to joining ECL. However, this time they will be facing FMI, who have been grinding it out in the Lite division for some time now and are surely hungry to show what they can do. Style top scorer @Panarinz will be looking to edge out his FMI counterpart @kApollo in the scoring battle. In net we see @Gunde021 for Style, looking to be matched by @hulkamaania. These two teams will most likely be battling the series at least into a game six. The deciding factor will be the depth players - meaning the less visible individuals of the team who are not putting up the numbers but doing meaningful work night in and night out. 

Prediction: 4-2 Style.

We would like to wish all the remaining teams the best of luck and hope that you, the NHLGamers, will follow their games on their respective Twitch channels.

The third round is going to be played from 30th March until 7th April 2018. No extra time will be given!

Special thanks to @jahajaha93 for assisting with this article!

Hey NHLGamers,

It's time for some more ECL Pro Playoff action tonight! Starting at 20:00 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we continue two very exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be the battle between ECL Pro favorite FILADELPHIA and Quality.

Below you'll find out original prediction for this series:

Quote

FILADELPHIA (1B) - Quality (8A)

We knew going into the season that FILA was a heavy favorite contender. They surely lived up to the hype by surfacing as the number one seed into the playoffs with an astonishing 27-1-2 regular season record. They were by far the highest scoring team in the Pro division, outscoring the second best team in this category by 29 goals in total. Defensively we know these guys can hang with the best in the game. It should be all about motivation and focus for FILADELPHIA in this series. Will they keep powering on in the playoffs or can the underdog Quality put them back in their place? The lowest seed into the playoffs was Quality, a team that underwent several roster changes before the deadline as close to the whole starting lineup was changed at some point. However, the team managed to find their game a bit more closer to the end of the regular season. The addition of @KattenJansson97 seemed to boost their offensive production, but the defensive play is still a concern. Can they match the dominant FILA offensive trio of @mikaasi-@Erkki-@Joonas Paatiala who put up a combined point total of 239 points in the regular season?

Prediction: FILADELPHIA win 4-1.

See all ECL Pro Round 1 predictions here.

The teams clashed together three times so far and FILADELPHIA is up in the series 2-1. You can watch the three first games here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/245816953.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Quality - FILADELPHIA 0-3
Game 2: FILADELPHIA - Quality 3-5
Game 3: Quality - FILADELPHIA 1-4

The series will continue tonight with up to 3 games, so we might see FILADELPHIA walk away with it, or leave the teams and wait for an exciting game 7. Don't miss this matchup tonight!

After this, we jump right over to another exciting ECL Pro pair as Alliance HT and Deadly Phantoms HC  continue their series. The teams have agreed to finish the series tonight and the puck drop for game 5 will be at 21:00 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

Quote

Alliance HT (2B) - Deadly Phantoms HC (7A)
In this series we'll have the clash at the Iron Curtain with a really strong Alliance HT against the Deadly Phantoms HC, who performed well in their inaugural season in Pro. Alliance finished their season with 7-3-0 in their last 10 games as they started to click and find their game. They scored 20 goals in their last four games of the regular season, led by @Awptim as their top scorer. @JaikenK was solid in both ends of the ice, proving to be a tremendous off-season signing and an important addition to the team. The German team Deadly Phantoms HC will certainly have their work cut out for them, but an upset is not completely out of the question in this one. The Phantoms are a solid defensive team who will go for the simple solutions offensively, but tend to be very effective despite that. The most dangerous element in this team is the fact that they can ice five scoring players in any game. There isn't one obvious scorer and one obvious playmaker so it'll keep the Alliance defense on their toes. 

Prediction: Alliance HT win 4-2.

See all ECL Pro Round 1 predictions here.

The played the first four games so far and contrary to our prediction, Deadly Phantoms HC is already up 3-1 in the series. Can they get that one last win to move on to round 2? You can watch the four first games here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/245819765

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Deadly Phantoms HC - Alliance HT 3-0 
Game 2: Alliance HT - Deadly Phantoms HC 1-0
Game 3: Deadly Phantoms HC - Alliance HT 2-0
Game 4: Alliance HT - Deadly Phantoms HC 1-2

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will be broadcasted by @Kenu, who's still looking for a commentary partner for tonight. Get in touch.

Teams, we are still missing your starting line-ups for tonight, with the exception of FILADELPHIA, who has submitted theirs. Please let us know as soon as possible.

ECL All Stars

The first ever ECL All Star week has come and gone, leaving us with a single winner but multiple fond memories. The week began with a draft, broadcasted live at NHLGamerTwitch, as the eight captains came together to select their teams. Every team was to be comprised of one goaltender, one defender and two forwards. At the same time, all of the 16 teams from ECL Elite were to be represented by at least one player. In the end, both the draft and the live broadcast proceeded smoothly and set the tone for future events to come. Once the drafting was complete, many viewers made sure to single out and praise @cHIIMEERa, @FlyerKungen and @vatalisti for putting together strong teams.

The eight teams were randomly seeded into two groups of four. The group stage was played over a stretch of two days (Wednesday, Thursday) with each group taking center stage for one day each. You can watch the recorded streams by following the below links:

Wednesday stream, Group 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/245812315
Thursday stream, Group 2: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/245813540

Here are the results of that group stage:

GROUP 1
1. Team ICappeI - 3 GP, 6 P (3-0-0)
2. Team cHIIMEERa - 3 GP, 5 P (2-0-1)
---------------
3. Team TehhAhola - 3 GP, 2 P (1-2-0)
4. Team SepiDN - 3 GP, 0 P (0-3-0)

GROUP 2
1. Team vatalisti - 3 GP, 4 P (2-1-0)
2. Team FlyerKungen - 3 GP, 4 P (2-1-0)
---------------
3. Team norpee - 3 GP, 4 P (2-1-0)
4. Team MartindalexC - 3 GP, 0 P (0-3-0)


With the first stage of competition complete, it was time for the playoffs. Four teams had qualified; Teams @ICappeI, cHIIMEERa, vatalisti and FlyerKungen. Team @Norpee was also tied in points with Team vatalisti and team FlyerKungen in Group 2, but after the tie-breakers, the goal difference ended up being the deciding factor and putting the other two in front. During the qroup stage, Group 1 seemingly focused more on defense (perhaps not truly in the all star groove yet?) as the second group outmatched the first in terms of goals scored by quite a wide margin. Would it be defense versus offense in the playoffs? To the delight of every viewer who tuned in for the playoffs - it would turn out to be a full-out offensive war.

You can watch the recorded stream with both of the Semifinasl and the Final here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/245814928.

SEMIFINAL 1
Team ICappe vs. Team FlyerKungen 4-3
This game started out as the @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) show, with the highly skilled winger scoring two dazzling goals in the first period. Captain Cappe managed to wake his team up in the second period as defenseman @The_Alpha_Furyan scored two goals to tie the game at 2 before the third period. "Apes" completed his hat trick in the third period and seemed poised to lead Team FlyerKungen to a 3-2 victory... until @tbnantti stepped in with just three minutes remaining. First, he tied the game up and then - with just 55 seconds left on the clock - he scored the game-winning 4-3-goal. What a finish!

SEMIFINAL 2
Team cHIIMEERa vs. Team vatalisti 6-7
If you thought the first semifinal was intense, boy you were in for a treat with this one. Before the game started, both teams were forced into some lineup changes. Due to the unavailability of @jtorro1233 and @Nampa77, @taemtaem and @SadaPoika stepped in as defender and forward for the respective teams. The game featured vatalistis team putting on a show with the captain himself scoring four (!) goals while new recruit Sada supplied a hat trick and playmaker @anrh17 dishing out 6 assists. Team vata held a 7-2 lead with just 8 minutes remaining and things seemed hopeless for cHIIMEERa and his team. Then, the veteran captain got his team moving. With four unanswered goals in the last few minutes, all of a sudden we were back to watching a one-goal game. Despite this, Team vata managed to hang on and secure a 7-6 win. Phew. Surely the finals couldnt top this?

ALL STAR FINALS
Team ICappeI vs. Team vatalisti 5-6 (OT)
You had to know that the ONLY overtime game in the entire All Star-event was to take place in the finals, right? It was just too good to be true. Team vatalisti once again got out to a comforting lead by going up 4-1 - paced by two goals and two assists from the captain himself - before Team ICappeI even knew what hit them. Even though @Lamsa scored a nice goal to get the game to 4-2, things seemed hopeless with just a single minute remaining of the game. Thats when Team ICappeI scored twice to knot the game at 4. Incredibly enough, with a mere ten seconds remaining they scored again. 5-4 Cappe with 19.50 on the clock! Surely this was it? Nope. Team vatalisti won the faceoff, came down on one final rush and tied the game at 5 with SadaPoika dishing an incredible pass to anrh17 who scored. At this point, @Kenu and @Panarinz were going nuts in the broadcasting booth. In the overtime, Team vatalisti was the stronger team and took home the first ever ECL All Star-win through a goal by captain vatalisti.

Congratulations to Team Vatalisti for taking home the first ever ECL Elite All-Star Week win!

Thanks to all participants and viewers for a great event that is sure to come back again in the future. Below you will find the full stats and logos for each team:

Team cHIIMEERA
G, Supreex, 4GP 2W 71,1SV% 2,75GAA
D, jtorro1234, 3GP 4+3=7
D, taemtaem, 1GP 3+2=5
F, indi969, 4GP 5+6=11
F, cHIIMEERa, 4GP 2+8=10

Team TehhAhola
G, Zande95, 3GP 1W 69,56SV% 2,33GAA
D, OxtreeLAT, 3GP 0+2=2
F, Foppatofflan, 3GP 2+1=3
F, TehhAhola, 3GP 3+1=4

Team SepiDN
G, SepiDN, 3GP 0W 70,96SV% 3,00GAA
D, Isumpppi90l, 3GP 1+1=2
F, Puantso, 3GP 1+1=2
F, koojiikoojii, 3GP 0+1=1

Team ICappeI
G, ICappeI, 5GP 4W 70SV% 2,4GAA
D, The_alpha_furyan, 5GP 6+6=12
F, tbnantti, 5GP 6+8=14
F, Lamsa, 5GP 5+7=12

Team MartindalexC
G, Hullued, 3GP 0W 38,09SV% 4,33GAA
D, MartindalexC, 3GP 0+2=2
F, Kungenkurwa, 3GP 2+2=4
F, Penatski, 3GP 4+2=6

Team Norpee
G, poliskontroll, 3GP 2W 53,33SV% 4,66GAA
D, JParola, 3GP 0+8=8
F, SadaPoika, 5GP 12+11=23
F, Norpee, 3GP 5+3=8

Team FlyerKungen
G, Ranta83, 4GP 2W 51,43SV% 4,25GAA
D, Ilmari30, 4GP 4+6=10
F, KingOfApes_, 4GP 10+4=14
F, FlyerKungen, 4GP 4+7=11

Team Vatalisti
G, Danielcadabra, 5GP 5W 48,98SV% 5GAA
D, Vatalisti, 5GP 12+13=25
F, Anrh17, 5GP 7+20=27
F, Nampa77, 3GP 9+6=15

Hey NHLGamers,

we witnessed what some would describe as upset wins in the Lite playoffs. We definitely have to mention that there is only one team out of the top six regular season teams remaining. At this stage, there are no teams left that don't belong there, though. The level of competitiveness is very high and all teams want to pick up their spots for the Pro division. The winner of the series earn their guaranteed spot in the higher division in ECL 7. So the price is high, the fall is near endless.

Let's have a look at the upcoming matchups:

 (2) Cowabunga Hockey vs MotherPuckers (19)

(7) GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Sektion K (15)

 (8) EV Duisburg vs Pohjoista Voimaa (13) 

(11) Style vs Freddie Mercury Institute (12) 

The quarter final round is going to be played from 30th March until 7th April 2018 (Saturday). No extra time will be given!

We hope we can cover some playoff action via our NHLGamer Twitch channel. At the very least you will be able to follow the action by following the respective team channels. Stay tuned on the NHLGamer.com front page to stay on top of the action.

Best of luck to all of the remaining teams!

Hey NHLGamers,

I hope you're as excited as we are about the ECL Playoffs that are underway in the Lite and Pro divisions at the moment. Tonight, starting at 19:30 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we start things off with some ECL Lite action, as GHETTO FIREBIRDS and Korpens Finest finnish their battle to figure out who will move on to the quarter finals. We anticipated an even series between these two and so far that prediction has been spot on, as the teams start from 2-2 in wins, going into game 5. You can read our prediction below:

Quote

 (7)  GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Korpens Finest  (10) 
In this series we have GHETTO FIREBIRDS who are looking to redeem themselves after a tough last season in Pro. The regular season didn't go as well as they maybe would've hoped, but the birds still easily made the playoffs and managed to overcome their first-round opponent 4-1. This series isn't going to be as easy, as Korpens Finest is hoping to put up a good fight. Although seeding 10th into the playoffs, we must not forget that Korpens topped their regular season group.

Prediction: 3:4 Korpens Finest

See all Lite Round 2 predictions here.

After these two have decided their series, we will jump into some ECL Pro action, as Alliance HT and Deadly Phantoms HC play their first Playoff games of the season. The teams have agreed to play a total of four games tonight and the action starts at 21:00 CEST. You can read our prediction about the series below:

Quote

Alliance HT (2B) - Deadly Phantoms HC (7A)
In this series we'll have the clash at the Iron Curtain with a really strong Alliance HT against the Deadly Phantoms HC, who performed well in their inaugural season in Pro. Alliance finished their season with 7-3-0 in their last 10 games as they started to click and find their game. They scored 20 goals in their last four games of the regular season, led by @Awptim as their top scorer. @JaikenK was solid in both ends of the ice, proving to be a tremendous off-season signing and an important addition to the team. The German team Deadly Phantoms HC will certainly have their work cut out for them, but an upset is not completely out of the question in this one. The Phantoms are a solid defensive team who will go for the simple solutions offensively, but tend to be very effective despite that. The most dangerous element in this team is the fact that they can ice five scoring players in any game. There isn't one obvious scorer and one obvious playmaker so it'll keep the Alliance defense on their toes. 

Prediction: Alliance HT win 4-2.

See all ECL Pro Round 1 predictions here.

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will be broadcasted by @Kenu, @nylanderi and @Panarinz.

Check out the starting line-ups below: