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Hello NHLGamers, As you may already have noticed, the first ever NHLGamer.com Xbox tournament has arrived! Going by the name Xbox ECL (or ECL Xbox depending what your preference is), our first tournament on the Xbox One console will feature a total of 7 teams. Now, it may be a far cry from the 78 teams of ECL 4 but as the saying goes; you have got to start somewhere. Expanding our popular ECL franchise to feature both consoles has always been in the back of our minds and taking this first step into the Xbox world should only serve to expand the NHLGamer community platform, elevate the ECL franchise and bring more people together than ever before. Without further ado, here are your participating teams for the inaugural Xbox ECL; CocaColaCompany Erols Nya TV Finnish Prospects OHO SORI Team Rocket DK The Black Jacks Wild Wild West Game Reporting As most, if not all, Xbox captains are already aware of - the reporting tool isn't working 100% when it comes to the Xbox league right now. That said, you are of course free to play your scheduled games this week but make sure you save the relevant screenshots for each game. We are hoping to have the reporting tool up and running properly by the end of the week but until then the game reports might look a little faulty. As long as you save the proper information, we can always report the games correctly afterwards. This being NHLGamers first Xbox tournament there were bound to be a few kinks to work out, but once the reporting tool is up and running the league should run smoothly. Good luck out there! With regards, NHLGamer.com

Good afternoon NHLGamers, One look at the calendar and you might think its just another Monday at the start of July. Here at NHLGamer.com we know better though, for today is anything but an ordinary day... it is the start of the playoffs for Summer Cup 2, presented by Webhallen! Ever since the Summer Cup draft took place on May 28th, 30 unique teams and more than 300 of the top european EASHL players have clashed - repeatedly - in order to have a chance at the ultimate prize when it comes to summer hockey; the NHLGamer Summer Cup title. This year, conquering that title doesn't just come with bragging rights amongst your peers, it also means winning extraordinary prizes courtesy of our tournament sponsor Webhallen. Needless to say, the coming weeks hold plenty to get excited about! With that said, there are a ways to go before a champion can be crowned. First of all we have the intriguing (and brutal!) matter of getting 16 playoff teams to become just 2 finalists. Without further ado, here are your 2017 Summer Cup playoff pairings; NG Club Kannunkulma - NG Oispa Taitoo NG KELAMIEHET - NG Cheap Shot NG Blackout - NG International Army NG Parolan Visa - NG Puck Nation NG Nighthawks - NG Goose Egg NG 50 Shades of Blades - NG Paikallinen NG Texas 6 Rangers - NG Trashers NG Alcohology - NG Ultras You can find the entire playoff tree here Walkovers On a more somber note, we regret to announce that there was some administrational intervention required when it came to the matter of finishing the regular season. The following Summer Cup teams failed to complete the season on time and were dealt Walkover losses: - NG Hupimunat: 4 WO Losses - NG Hunky Dory: 4 WO Losses - NG Golden Nuggets: 4 WO Losses - NG Terror Squad: 4 WO Losses - NG PONTIKKAPOJAT: 2 WO Losses Playoff specifics The first round of the playoffs is to be played 3.7.2017 - 9.7.2017. This means the second round will start on 10.7.2017 with the rest of the playoff rounds following the same Monday-Sunday pattern. Should all playoff pairings in a round be ready ahead of time there is the option of starting the next round early, so do bear that in mind when scheduling games. The goal and intention of the NHLGamer Staff remains to have a Summer Cup winner crowned before the NHL 18 Beta is released. Furthermore, all playoff rounds are to be played Best-of-5. This is, of course, a procedure specific to our Summer Cup format (ECL remains Best -of-7), designed to make sure the 1-week time span is enough to complete each playoff round even during summer. Additional thoughts On a personal note I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all the players I have gotten to interact with during this Summer Cup. Just like last season, I have made many new friends and aquintances among my own Summer Cup teammates but also among our opponents. In the end, bringing the community closer together is the ultimate purpose with the Summer Cup and if you'd ask me; I'd say it was another great experience! Good luck in the playoffs and as always... later skaters,

Article updated: start time is Sunday 2nd if July at 19:30 CEST (20:30 EEST). Good afternoon gamers, You might remember a month ago when we showcased our very first edition of the NHLGamer Presents banner, in this post. That time the series in question was NHLGamer Presents: Goalie School, the arena was Youtube and you can check out the first two episodes here and here. More to come in that series! Anyway, back then we did say there'd be more material coming and today we are here to deliver on that promise. Introducing... the second unique series to be featured in NHLGamer Presents: Staff Hangout. NHLGamer Presents: Staff Hangout will, just like Goalie School, be a recurring feature only it will take place mainly on our NHLGamer Twitch channel instead of on Youtube. As the name suggets, Staff Hangout will simply be the NHLGamer staff hanging out, talking about a variety of topics, playing some games (mostly NHL) and above all taking your questions on everything related to NHLGamer, Summer Cup, ECL, Versus or anything else you can think of. One could say the series is not entirely unlike a Podcast in that sense, only with more Live interaction from anyone who is interested to comment. Episode #1 of Staff Hangout will be streaming on NHLGamer Twitch this Sunday at 19:30 CEST (20:30 EEST) and featured will be: vSilenttio The_Alpha_Furyan KenuFHR janbonator (maybe) TBD Topics will include (but not be limited to): Summer Cup, the Staff meeting in Finland, future of NHLGamer, Versus & ECL 5. See you all there!

Good day NHLGamers, As the title suggests, you guys are in for a treat as NHLGamer.com is doing its biggest giveaway yet! But first of all I'd like to invite you all to take a trip down memory lane. Specifically, I'd like you to track back to the 2009-10 season when the Washington Capitals were the team of the future and Mike Green was the "next Bobby Orr" just coming into his own as an NHL superstar. 2010 is also the year when a very young, fresh faced @The_Alpha_Furyan visited Washington and through some clever scheming (I showed up at the Caps' practice rink) and questionable morals (I told Mike Greens father that I was leaving the country in a few hours and all I wanted was Mike Greens signature) got Mike Green to sign my newly purchased authentic Washington Capitals hockey jersey. Mike was also gracious enough to pose for a picture with me - the result of which you can see above. Now, we at NHLGamer.com are giving you, the community, a chance to win this amazing piece of memorabilia and all you have to do in order to be eligible is the following; Go to https://www.facebook.com/NHLGamer/ and press "Like" on our Facebook page. Comment "Green52" on the pinned post at the very top of the page that says "GIVEAWAY TIME!" Once the NHLGamer Facebook page reaches 1252 Likes (Green wore #52 for the Capitals) a winner will be randomly drawn amongst all who Liked our page and commented "Green52". Be sure to share the Facebook page/post with anyone who could be interested in NHLGamer and/or this particular giveaway. Good luck skaters, PS. In addition to Facebook, NHLGamer is also active on the following social media: Instagram: nhlgamerofficial Twitter: nhlgamerCOM Twitch: nhlgamertwitch Youtube: NHLGamer Official

Hello NHLGamers, As the saying goes, better late than never. After janbonators first article as a returning member of the NHLGamer staff, the exquisite ECL Elite Season Report, we are back to tie a final bow on our ECL 4-season with the ECL Pro and Lite Season Reports. While they won't be as extensive as janbos in-depth chronicle of the Elite season - there are awards to be handed out and individual performances to celebrate. ECL 4 - PRO The Pro division featured a total of 32 teams competing where 16 made the playoffs and 8 faced relegation. The Top 4 teams of the Pro playoffs all secured a spot in Elite for next season, truly displaying what a competitive hornets nest the Pro division was in its first ever season. The ECL 4 Pro Champion was Carlsberg HC, who achieved this honor by beating Sjukstugan 4-1 in the Best of-7 Finals. Let's get to some of the other individual and team performances. Promotions & Relegations The teams that were promoted from Lite to Pro for ECL 5 were: Lavetten, DEAD END KINGS, Hawks Hockey Club and Lite champions J P T J. Congratulations to all these teams on well executed seasons! The teams that were relegated from Pro to Lite for ECL 5 were: Company of Geeks, Thunder Tigers, The Lights Out and The Beagle Boys. We hope to see you back next season, hungrier than ever. Stay strong! Should there be any changes to the divisions and teams after ECL 5 registration, we will inform you of these events. Awards Here's a list of the best performers in the Pro division during ECL4. Forwards Most points: Tapparafan- [52+48 = 100p in 30 games - 3.33 Points/GP], Nordic Stars Most goals: BiggestEight [61g in 30 games - 2.03 Goals/GP], HC Checkmate Most assists: TackleControl [55a in 28 games - 1.96 Assists/GP], HC Checkmate Most hits: jnmxx [171 hits in 30 games - 6.57 Hits/GP], Kattiautomaatti Best +/-: Janzuh [+85 in 28 games], Carlsberg HC Defensemen Most points by a Defenseman: Janzuh [11+31 = 42p in 28 games - 1.50 Points/GP], Carlsberg HC Most goals by a Defenseman: Janzuh [11g in 28 games - 0.39 Goals/GP], Carlsberg HC Most assists by a Defenseman: Janzuh [31a in 28 games - 1.10 Assists/GP], Carlsberg HC Most hits by a Defenseman: Tanski87 [164 Hits in 28 games - 5.85 Hits/GP], Rusty Blades Goalies Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Hullued [83.62% in 24/28 games], Shameful Knights Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Zande95 [1.52 GAA in 17/28 games], Carlsberg HC Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: hoiggaa [25 Ws in 30 games], Kattiautomaatti Most Shutouts: LastMandalorian [5 shutouts in 26 games], Sjukstugan Playoff MVP joukki13, Carlsberg HC ECL 4 - LITE The Lite division featured a total of 32 teams competing, including two different conferences with 16 teams each. All Lite teams made the playoffs where they had the opportunity to both win the title and secure promotion to Pro. The ECL 4 Lite Champion was J P T J, who won the championship after a grueling series versus Hawks Hockey Club that lasted all 7 games. Awards Here's a list of the best performers in the Lite division during ECL4. Forwards Most points: makeee76 [71+56 = 127p in 28 games - 4.53 Points/GP], J P T J Most goals: makeee76 [71g in 28 games - 2.53 Goals/GP], J P T J Most assists: moilanenC & mikihoo [60a in 28 games - 2.14 Assists/GP], J P T J Most hits: Albaz90 [162 hits in 30 games - 5.40 hits/GP], Vemppaosasto Best +/-: makeee76, moilanenC, mikihoo & jonezki26 [+85 in 28 games], J P T J Defensemen Most points by a Defenseman: Rankaisija_ [8+50 = 58p in 30 games - 1.93 Points/GP], Old Farts Most goals by a Defenseman: Anenthran [11g in 25 games - 0.44 Goals/GP], Dynamo Danglers Most assists by a Defenseman: Rankaisija_ [50a in 30 games - 1.66 Assists/GP], Old Farts Most hits by a Defenseman: TEAMSEILA [228 hits in 28 games - 8.14 hits/GP], EN HUND Goalies Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Gunde021 [86.69% in 19/28 games], DEAD END KINGS Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Gunde021 [1.52 GAA in 19/28 games], DEAD END KINGS Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: Tonza-_-89 [21 Ws in 27 games] & Nebelparder55555 [21 Ws in 26 games] Most Shutouts: IFKPEKlNG2k15 [5 shutouts in 26 games], Lavetten Playoff MVP moilanenC, J P T J Thank You As janbonator took the opportunity to thank us Staff members for organizing the ECL 4 season in his Elite Season Report, I would in return like to thank everyone in the community for your participation and continued support. The ECL franchise is something we are immensly proud of and truly the flagship in our journey towards the ultimate NHL gaming experience. With the introduction of Versus (and possibly other types of tournaments...) NHLGamer.com is taking the next step in its development, but make no mistake: ECL is at our core. Again, thank you. Later skaters,

Hey NHLGamers, Keep your eyes peeled at 20 CEST/21 FIN time tonight when the Summer Cup Draft Order will be announced through a lottery at the official NHLGamer.com Twitch Channel: NHLGamer Twitch Also make sure you take this opportunity to subscribe to our Twitch channel to receive updates any time we go live (something that will be happening a lot more frequent moving forward) but also to show your support for NHLGamer.com We love hearing from everyone in the community and we also love being able to show partners and future sponsors how committed and large our community is. Every Like, Share and Subscription to our channels helps us achieve that, so if you want to help the community grow - this is one way of doing it! Thanks in advance. Our other channels: YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram Here is what is on the agenda for tonights stream: The announcement of all Captains for the Summer Cup As a side note, we are currently short about 2-3 captains so if you were on the fence about being a captain but decided against it... this is your chance to change your mind and be in the drivers seat when the Live Draft begins on Sunday evening! Get in touch with a Staff member as soon as you can if this sounds interesting to you. A lottery for the Summer Cup Draft Order Get the full summary of when each captain will get to make their picks! This years draft will, just like last year, be held in a "Snake draft"-format. This means if you pick first in the first round - you then pick last in the second round and so forth. A walk-through of how the Live Draft will work A detailed rules summary will be posted at a later time but here is your first chance to get an insight into how the process will work - basically the Do's and Dont's. Q&A with NHLGamer Staff If you have any thoughts, questions or comments - post them in the Twitch chatbox while we are live. We will try to collect and get to as many questions as we possibly can during the broadcast, but we cannot guarantee we will have time to answer all questions. I will see you all later tonight at the Twitch channel, where we will have the distinct pleasure of watching @Kenu do his thing, accompanied by strange music (and perhaps some cat videos!). Later skaters, Edit: Below you can see the lottery results. We are missing 4 captains, and they will take the TBD spots. Please get in touch with the staff, if you wish to be a captain. More info to follow during Saturday. The Draft stream is on Sunday at 16:00 CEST (17:00 Finnish time). 1.Team pelimies80 (Captain: @pelimies80) 2. Team xDoumi (Captain: @xDoumi) 3. Team Pair4You (Captain: @Pair4You) 4. Team Selezny (Captain: @Selezny) 5. Team Floor17 (Captain: @Floor17) 6. Team DenisovDenisI17I (Captain: @Denisovl17l) 7. Team The_Alpha_Furyan (Captain: @The_Alpha_Furyan) 8. Team Crisu_Rottis (Captain: @Crisu_rottis) 9. Team MAYZIIX (Captain: @MAYZIIX) 10. Team TerrorsenkoI91I (Captain: @Isidor1891) 11. Team seksileijona69 (Captain: @Seksileijona69) 12. Team topikeranen (Captain: @topikeranen) 13. Team Tactical_Face (Captain: @Casper) 14. Team MartindalexC (Captain: @MartindalexC) 15. Team xsakux99 (Captain: @xsakux99) 16. Team juha96 (Captain: @juha96) 17. Team Yoloberg (Captain: @Yoloberg) 18. Team Taunomaister1 (Captain: @Taunomaister1) 19. Team Hazard-laser (Captain: @Hazard-laser_) 20. Team Pelle3000 (Captain: @Pelle3000) 21. Team AzByCxx (Captain: @AzByCxx) 22. Team lbjonol (Captain: @Bjono) 23. Team nylanderi (Captain: @nylanderii) 24. Team Drunk_Charles (Captain: @DougGlatt) 25. Team KattenJansson97 (Captain: @KattenJansson97) 26. Team JParola (Captain: @Jorma Parola 27. Team artzirocks (Captain: @artzirocks) 28. Team AzeStiNE (Captain: @Aze) 29. Team Epsri (Captain: @Nahkatoteemi) 30.Team Ebinmikka31 (Captain: @Ebinmikka31)

Good evening NHLGamers, ECL 4 is behind us and it is time to once again direct our gaze forward - towards the future. Here is what's next for NHLGamer.com; We will have ECL 4 season recaps coming up for Elite, Pro and Lite Our Xbox league is kicking off its inaugural season very soon. Xbox teams, make sure you sign up and practice hard! Our second edition of the much appreciated Summer Cup is also set to begin shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for when registrations will open plus all other details on how the tournament will work this year! There will soon be a chance to win an autographed Washington Capitals hockey jersey (Mike Green) through our social media channels - don't miss your chance to win it! All of this brings us to our final topic of the day and the reason I am writing this story: our new YouTube series called "NHLGamer Presents"! In our on-going quest to provide the best website experience possible for NHL gamers everywhere, we are always looking into different ways to produce quality content. Our latest report from the IS Cup - a feature we called "NHLGamer On The Road" Part I & II which included text, photos and video - was a sign of things to come and today we are taking another step in the same direction. NHLGamer Presents will be a recurring series featuring a variety of different content generators and Youtubers. The goal is to produce quality NHL-related content that is fun and relevant to the NHL community, but also to casual fans of the gaming series that might stumble upon them and find their way over here to our website. The first video in the NHLGamer Presents-series comes from the editor responsible for putting together our IS Cup Video; @LastMandalorian. His segment is called "NHL 17 Goalie School" and will focus on a very tough position to play in EASHL, namely that of the goaltender. Enjoy! (Be advised: This video contains strong language on a few occasions.) If you have an idea for future content, or if you feel like you've got what it takes to produce some videos under the NHLGamer banner yourself, contact the website admins and let us know! We love interacting with the community so all messages are welcome. Until next time... later skaters, @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Good day NHLGamers, As some of you may know, we here at NHLGamer.com recently made the decision to provide coverage of the IS Cup NHL tournament, hosted by SJK (Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho) - a sports team in the top professional league of Finnish football and also one of the first organizations to establish an eSports section within their club. You may remember that a big part of SJKs investment in eSport was signing NHLGamer staff member Dominointi as their NHL player and enlisting ECL franchise Rynnäkköviikset as their grassroots organizaton. The following article will be Part One in a Two-Part series where we cover the event, recap all the exciting things that happened and show off all the fun image and video material we collected during our stay. Look for a video-heavy Part Two later this week where we provide you with some interviews plus some sights and sounds of the tournament! The IS Cup The concept of the IS Cup meant bringing together 16 top NHL Versus players from all over Finland (including NHLGamer members Jageksi, Hansulinho, Dominointi, Artuzio, KingOfApes_, Chafak, PleeMaker, Kaneyh and I_Eki_I) to do battle at SJKs home stadium, OmaSP Stadion, for a total prize pool of 1500 €. The tournament also featured a FIFA competition using the same structure and prizes but for the purposes of this article, we will be focusing on NHL. To be able to participate in the IS Cup finals, the contestants had to either fight their way through an extensive online qualifier or participate in a local event organized in Seinäjoki a couple of weeks prior. For me personally, covering this tournament meant traveling from the relatively safe confines of Stockholm, Sweden to the deep forests of Seinäjoki, Finland. In an effort to try and get to know the city I was due to visit, I did what any reasonably sane man with limited time would do - I turned to Wikipedia. During my research process, I learned a great many things. I learned that the city of Seinäjoki originated around a gunpowder factory around the turn of the 18th century. I learned that the city is famous for its three big events; its tango festival, its racing festival and its rock festival. Finally, I also came to understand I was looking at a 3 hour train ride from Helsinki to Seinäjoki, accompanied by nothing more than @Kenu and his wits. As I was leaving Wikipedia, I was not sure what to expect. However, as it turns out, I needn't worry - the city (and tournament) exceeded all my expectations. But now, let us get to the coverage of this event: All 16 players of the IS Cup were divided into groups of 4 and put through a group stage to determine which 8 players would move on to the tournament Quarterfinals. Going into the tournament, professional eSports players Hansulinho of ENCE eSports, Dominointi of SJK eSports and Chafak of Paranoia eSports had to be considered among the favorites to win the trophy, but each player would be tested early and often in their groups. The level of play at IS Cup was incredibly high and not something you see in your everyday NHL 17 Versus sessions. After many tough games and unexpected outcomes, the playoff tree shaped up like this (with all series being played Best of-3): Quarterfinals Dominointi - PleeMaker [1-2 in games] Hansulinho - Eskoeinari [2-0 in games] Chafak - Dreammickie [0-2 in games] I_EKI_I - EEPI [2-0 in games] As expected, the Quarterfinals featured several big moments and tight-checking playoff hockey. The first-round series we found ourselves most invested in was the one between @Dominointi and @plee999, this partly due to the rivalry of the match-up (these players faced each other quite recently in another Versus tournament, FCT - Finnish Championship Tournament, where Plee barely edged out Domi in the Semifinals) but also due to the big crowd of people amassed around these two star players. Throughout the entire tournament Plee had, without a doubt, the biggest fan following - something that can usually either make or break a player when push comes to shove. At this point in the tournament the fan support had seemed to benefit Plee, but going up against Domi would prove to be his biggest test yet. Plee took Game 1 by a score of 4-3 and also took the lead in Game 2 to loud cheers, but Domi showed his tournament pedigree and came back to win Game 2 by another 4-3 score. The stakes were incredibly high for Game 3 but both players seemed unfazed and cool under pressure. Ultimately, Plee got off to a good start by scoring the first goal, forcing Domi to play more aggresive to go for the equalizing goal. As often happens when one team goes all-out, the other team takes advantage and mounts an effective counter-attack. Plee did just that and ended up shutting the game down by a 3-0 score. Plee moved on the next round where he would face tournament favorite @Hansulinho. In the other playoff series, MUKIMIEHET player @Erkki (I_EKI_I) managed to win his round and move on to the next round where he would face Dreammickie. Dreammickie advanced through somewhat of a surprise 2-0 win over @EA_BUNKA (Chafak). Semifinals I_EKI_I - Dreammickie [2-1 in games] Hansulinho - PleeMaker [0-2 in games] The matchups above meant 3 out of 4 players in the final rounds were members of the NHLGamer community, something we couldn't be prouder of. Perhaps Dreammickie will make it 4 out of 4 in the near future? Keep an eye out, Gamers! Sadly, we didn't get a chance to watch the Semifinal games as we were busy interviewing SJK tournament host Mikko Jokipii at the time, but judging by the amounts of cheers coming from the main event hall (where the game between Hansu and Plee was being displayed on the main screen), we could tell there was a great game going on. After consulting with fellow NHLGamers that were at the stadium, we learned that I_EKI_I had won his matchup over Dreammickie in a tight 2-1 series while Plee had continued his incredible hot streak and beaten Hansu by a score of 2-0. Bronze game Hansulinho - Dreammickie The Bronze game didn't actually feature a Best of-3; the tournament organizers instead opting for a one game, winner takes all-approach to this battle. Ultimately, these types of games can be hard to re-load for after you've been eliminated in the semifinals, but Dreammickie managed to give it one last push to beat Hansulinho and receive the consolation prize of a PSN Plus subscription (12 months). Finals I_EKI_I - PleeMaker [0-2 in games] So came the finals, and a chance for the winning player to walk away with 1000€ while the runner-up would receive 500€. Plee was heavily favored by many after weathering such a tough storm on his way to the finals, but I_EKI_I had nonetheless impressed as well on his way to the championship finals. The room was packed, the crowd was loud, both players had music in their ears and the announcers were ready - showtime. During the finals, the Twitch stream for the event reached almost 1000 viewers, which was incredibly fun to see. As far as the actual games go, Plee came roaring out of the gates with a vengeance and put up several goals in the first few minutes of Game 1. I_EKI_I never recovered from the intense start by Plee and lost Game 1 by several goals. He managed to re-load for Game 2 though and went toe-to-to with Plee through the scores of 1-1 and 2-2. In the end, Plee was a man on a mission and despite a quality game from I_EKI_I, Plee was the ultimate - and well deserved - winner of the IS Cup. Additional thoughts As we approach the end of this article, NHLGamer would also like to give a shout-out to the members of our community we got to meet that weren't playing in the tournament. For me personally, it was a lot of fun putting faces to gamertags I had been playing against for years. Outside of our 9 members that were tournament contenders, we met at least 9 more around the event hall. I can't even remember everyone I shook hands with and talked to but off the top of my head @Joonas Paatiala, @nylanderi, @Hoiggaa, @Zande95, @FinKonna & @RutonMosse. Remind me in the comment section who I missed out on mentioning! On a final note, we here at NHLGamer.com would like to thank organizers SJK for being so incredibly hospitable towards us - offering us chances both to interview tournament host Mikko Jokipii and to be interviewed ourselves on the official Twitch livestream for the event, putting us in front of hundreds and hundreds of stream viewers wearing nothing but our NHLGamer shirts. Well, pants too. We should have an edited version of the clip for you available in our upcoming video coverage of IS Cup, but if you want to check it out right now, go to the IS Cup Twitch feed and browse to the 3 hour, 42 minute mark. Look for the two guys wearing NHLGamer t-shirts Until we see you again in our video coverage post from IS Cup - later skaters, @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers, We are entering the third week of the ECL 4 playoffs and temperatures are without a doubt rising. Not only outside - where the rapidly approaching spring weather threatens to completely overtake the last remnants of winter - but also inside our many virtual hockey rinks. We are finally reaching the final stages of competition and the stakes couldn't be higher. For Elite, the ECL finals are already here. Our finalists Laser HT and Dynasty fought well and hard for an entire 30-game regular season, in what can most accurately be described as an all-out war against the 14 other Elite teams. After narrowly making the playoffs (the separation between teams #1 to #8 were only a few points), both teams continued to grind their way through challenging playoff series versus Synergy/Nordic Nightmare and Written In The Stars/Limitless. Now that they've finally arrived at their ultimate test, both of these classic ECL franchises will be looking to bring the trophy home for the first time. In Pro, we've arrived at the Semifinals where Carlsberg, Kattiautomatti, Sjukstugan and Silver Sword Griffins are the final four standing. It might not come as a surprise to long-time members of the community to see these teams among the potential finalists, even if all of them have had to be at their absolute best to advance for as long as they have. The two winners of these series will not only advance to the Pro finals, they will also have a guaranteed spot in Elite for next season. For the semifinal losers, a promotion/relegation series Versus either SIKA or Finnish Rooster awaits. For Lite, we are down to 8 teams which effectively means we've arrived at the quarterfinals. The teams that are fighting for a guaranteed spot in Pro next season (and the Lite title) are Hawks Hockey Club, HC Ancient Warriors, DEAD END KINGS, Banterfield Battalion, EN HUND, Lavetten, J P T J and Dynamo Danglers. Best of luck to all teams and remember - all 4 winners of these series will play in Pro next season. Do or die! I'd like to sidetrack this story for a bit here by giving myself a tiny pat on the back as I correctly predicted the results of 11 out of 13 series last week, even getting the series' scores right on a few of them (!). I know, I know - I'm being "that guy". Hey, all I am saying is that I would like to see some more predictions come out of the community! I know for sure there are far more knowledgeable NHLGamers out there than me - make yourselves heard. Show Alpha who the real prediction master is, so to speak. Anyway, let us get to it y'all. As always, be sure to share your comment on the news story or in the forums with your own predictions. (Predicted series winners will be marked in Bold text) ELITE Dynasty vs. Laser HT - Two teams I know quite well and also two teams I'd really like to see do well. So much for being impartial, right? I've said it repeatedly in these predictions, the time has come for Dynasty to make a run. They are going up against possibly the best offensive team in the world right now with Leksa94 and Dominointi leading the charge. Lasers quick-pass system around the net is better than it ever has been... and yet, for the duration of these playoffs I haven't been able to shake the feeling that Dynastys time is now. Therefore, I will continue to predict success for them. They win this one 4-3. Make sure to check this one out though folks, we are talking playoff hockey at its finest. Look for both team to broadcast! PRO Carlsberg HC vs. Silver Sword Griffins - The all-out Pro favorites versus a team on a mission of revenge from last seasons dissapointing exit. This should be a playoff series for the ages... which is a big reason I am inclined to pick SSG as the winners. Watching them power through one of the most intense series' I have seen in years, courtesy of "Most improved team"-candidate Rusty Blades, was nothing short of spectacular. Alas, I predict Carlsbergs desire for Elite will prove to be too strong for SSG here. I predict 4-2 Carlsberg with SSG re-loading for a hard battle against SIKA/Roosters. Sjukstugan vs. Kattiautomaatti - [Long prediction courtesy of Mr. @Ranksu - thank you for chipping in, sir!] Sjukstugan, who ended their regular season in the 2nd position for Group 1 are here faced with Group 2 winner Kattiautomaatti. Two teams who rely heavily on puck possession and also two teams that have came through this stage pretty easily (both have played just 10 games in two series). 112s all-important breakout will be depending on how well their defenders The_Alpha_Furyan and Gustafsson7 can handle pressure as puck carriers and get the puck up to forwards Ibjonol, patovic_ & 112 leading goal scorer Filariou. On the other hand, Kattiautomaatti has overall more scoring depth than Sjukstugan, in my opinion. Especially CATs Slaivone has been producing heavily from the blueline so far in the playoffs. A short word here also needs to be said about the goaltending battle, featuring two of the absolute best goalies this community has to offer right now (including Elite): LastMandalorian and hoigga. Whoever can reach their peak level in this series could potentially steal it. This series is indeed going to be hard to predict. A closer look at PP stats reveals Kattiautomaatti really has an advantage here, scoring 5 powerplay goals spread out through the roster while Sjukstugan only has two (!) goals which both came from defenders... did I reveal too much here? The faceoff dot is pretty even 50-50, but I think advantage there goes to Sjukstugan center patovic_. These are of course just small details, but in a tight series it could be a difference maker. I was almost ready to give this series for Kattiautomaatti, but seeing how much Sjustugan has developed their game throughout the season I will give them this one in game 7. Kattiautomaatti 3 – Sjukstugan 4. Projected lineup for Kattiautomaatti: xMaick82x - BiiAiDii - jnmxx Isumppi90I - Slaivone hoiggaa Projected lineup for Sjukstugan: Filariou - Patovic_ - Ibjonol The_Alpha_Furyan - Gustafsson7 LastMandalorian LITE Hawks Hockey Club vs. HC Ancient Warriors - HC Ancient Warriors surprised me by dispatching Old Farts by a score of 4-1 in games. By all accounts, their game has reached a level that most would consider truly worthy of the playoffs. Meanwhile, favorites Hawks Hockey Club might not be fully warmed up yet, with them having only one series under their belts thus far. I predict a tough battle as always but a 4-2 win for HC Ancient Warriors. DEAD END KINGS vs. Banterfield Battalion - Should be a fun series to watch with two smart, tight-checking teams facing off. DEAD END KINGS have yet to face a true test while Banterfield are a scarred and battle-hardened Battalion by now. Not to mention the inspiring effect the creative GIFs and video shorts Banterfield player @Stu has been uploading, must have on his teammates! Then again, DEK could use those same videos as inspiration to shut up their opponents... I say 4-2 BB. EN HUND vs. Lavetten - Two teams from opposite ends of the spectrum. Lavetten likes to rush and score goals while EN HUND likes to hit and shut down the opposition. If Lavetten can overcome being truly challenged by a tough defense, then this series is theirs. Meanwhile, if EN HUND can maintain their poise and calm against the most dangerous offensive squad they have faced in the playoffs, they will stand victorious. I say Game 7 and I say Lavetten wins. J P T J vs. Dynamo Danglers - Offensive beasts J P T J might finally have met their match skill-wise in Dynamo Danglers. Then again, at this point, can anyone really stand in the way of J P T Js goal-scoring machine? They have smashed their way through both the regular season and the playoffs (by scores of 12-0, 8-1 & 9-2) so far and look like a potential top Pro team for next season. I am going with a 4-1 J P T J win here. The third round of the ECL 4 Playoffs is to be played 19.04 to 25.04. Good luck in the playoffs to all remaining teams! Later skaters, @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com