Jiihooo86

...And then there were only 4! Fellow hockey fans, the Core division Semifinal pairs have been decided and now we are ready to find out the Finalists of the very first ECL Core season. First of all, I want to say thanks to all of the teams that participated in the ECL 12 Core season. It has been a pleasure to see how many teams this division had, and that made it interesting to watch throughout the season. This preview includes four of the best teams in this division, and I'm extremely excited to see how these matchups finish. The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, July 6th and Sunday, July 11th. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: TOP 4 Teams (1) STARGAZING (2) Stone Age (9) Tohtorit (16) Resurrection Let's start the preview by looking these teams in general. Starting home Teams STARGAZING and STONE AGE have both been in a dominant mode all season long, and both of them had a number 1 seed in their groups after the regular season. The firepower of these teams has been really good, and they've had an easy job protecting the net for their team (SGZ:26GP - 1.46 GAA, AGE: 28GP - 1.5G AA in the regular season). We can assume that their defenses are pretty organized in the semi’s also, and scoring against these teams is going to be hard. Key points for home teams It's hard to find any kind of achilles' heel for STARGAZING, I mean at least when u look at the stats. Stargazing have performed almost flawlessly throughout the playoffs, and will of course be one of the favorites to raise the cup at the end of the season. The main factor of their game is the two-way playing style. This team can score through their wingers and center, but also defenders participate in the offensive plays very actively and that also goes for the forwards participating on defence really well. In the defensive end, they have @Emppa988 (6+16 in 17 games), who is one of the top scoring defensemen in the playoffs, and should be a marked man for the opponent. STONE AGE on the other hand, have had some troubles in the playoffs and there are couple of things that worries me. This team has had troubles with keeping their performance up. From time to time there are difficulties to perform against seemingly easier opponents, for example their last two opponents in the playoffs (Team Rocket & hc marko). This is the time for this team to find their best performance especially from the teams leading characters @anttiko10, @Maexsa and @Liukq. Starting away Teams TOHTORIT and RESURRECTION both are their own groups #2 seeds and are on rather solid runs this season so far. Both of them eliminated each others groups #1 seed in the quarterfinals (Arkham Asylum lost to Tohtorit 2-4 and Pasilan SKA lost Resurrection 0-4), so well deserved Semifinal spots all around. These teams also have pretty good defensive stats, and it will not be a walk in the park for the home teams in their first games of the semi’s. Key points for away teams TOHTORIT is a talented and skilful team. This team’s performance lies on their offensive line @Ojala16, @Linkku60 and @Ristimaki12 and their ability to score, with @johtaja_lebi creating plays on defence. You can’t be underestimating this team at all, or they will surely put the puck in the net more than twice per game. over their last 3 games against Arkham Asylum, they only allowed three goals behind @Stammer70, so good luck for breaking that defense. RESURRECTION Finished second in their group before the playoffs and they have managed to keep the flow going on. Their influence this season was the acquisition of the two-headed monster @tkantola and @Xkeineri. This duo have had an impressive influence on the team, but you also can't forget the third wheel of their offense - @Teemu97 was called upon in the second round of playoffs and quickly filled his spot, gaining the trust of his team and diversifying options for the squad. Defensively the team is very solid and balanced, but there is still room to improve especially in net for experienced netminder @Jiihooo86. Predictions (1) STARGAZING vs Resurrection (16) Resurrection wins 2-4* (2) Stone Age vs Tohtorit (9) Tohtorit wins 2-4 *Note: Writer plays for Resurrection and is probably biased.

NHLGamers, We are heading for the ECL Core Quarterfinals! Round 3 gave us some thrillers (For example Tadpole’s comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to 3-4 series win) and some marathon games like Arkham Asylum’s game 5 against BonusAmbers which took over 126 minutes to decide the winner. Now there are only eight teams left to battle and the stakes are high for this round as each winner will punch their ticket to ECL 13 Lite. The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, June 29th and Sunday, July 4th. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: Here are your matchups for the Quarterfinals: (1) STARGAZING vs Tadpole (27) Stargazing continues being the favorite to advance to the semifinals from this matchup. Even though Tadpole made a huge statement in round 3 where they managed to make a big comeback, the difference between these teams is far too big. The biggest factors are going to be in the net, as the Tadpole goalie @Zuominen (Zumppi_) hasn't had the easiest playoffs so far. A big reason for this is also the difficulties Tadpole has had to defend as a five man unit from time to time. Tadpole needs to step up defensively to hold the scoring chances at minimum for Stargazing if they are to pose a threat for the #1 seed. Stargazing swept their opponent Mora IK in round 3, and I can't see a reason why they wouldn't continue on that path. Prediction: 4-0 Stargazing Players to watch: 1: @ose16 (OSE1688) (SGZ) 2: @Esko-etikka (SGZ) 3: @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) (TAD) (2) Stone Age vs Team Rocket (25) Even though Stone Age took a 4-1 win against hc marko, it felt a little bit odd to see their games. It seemed like their feel for the game was gone the whole series and they just showed up, somehow making that enough to advance. hc marko took four out of five games to OT and I think in two of those games Stone Age came back from being down in the last minutes. Hopefully we see the old Stone Age in the Quarterfinals! This series will be the battle of the goalies. Team Rocket is a pretty welcome surprise with their 1-4 series win over Lemmenvelhot, and will be a big challenger for Stone Age in my books. Team Rocket has a balanced team in front of @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga), and that will be a big factor in this series. Prediction: 3-4 Team Rocket Players to watch: 1: @Lyynas / @Dick Weener (Ewokvillage) (AGE) 2: @Tlindgren96 (HelloImDonga) (TR) (3) Pasilan SKA vs Resurrection (16) Written by @jahajaha93 Both of these teams are on convincing playoff runs without too many hickups on their road so far, but this will be the end for one of these stories this season. Pasilan SKA is entering the series following a comfortable sweep against Virtuoso, who could not match the scoring power that SKA and mainly @hene kettu (juuhen25) combined with @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) has displayed so far. Now, Resurrection who are on a similar run and also very easily trampled Its a nice city in round 3 will aim to stop SKA. Resurrection has a wide array of weapons in their arsenal, mainly the two-headed monster @tkantola & @Xkeineri up front, but also strong backup like @Teemu97. It'll be an exciting clash, and both goalies will have their hands full in order to stop scoring explosions from happening. Players to watch: 1: @hene kettu (juuhen25) (SKA) 2: @Hokitero71 (macentoitunu) (SKA) 3: @tkantola (RES) Prediction: 4-3 Pasilan SKA (8) Arkham Asylum vs Tohtorit (9) This series is interesting. Arkham, who were the #1 team in group 8 against Tohtorit, who were the #2 team in group 7. I wouldn’t be surprised if we will see a game 7 in this matchup. Tohtorit managed to squeak by Jokers Hockey in round 3 in a thrilling series thet extended to seven games. Tohtorit managed to win the decisive bout with a goal in OT to advance with a 1-0 win. If Tohtorit could find the same gear that they had in the regular season, this series would be a walk in the park, but lately they have had some troubles on the horizon. Perhaps Arkhams playstyle will be a more suitable match for them? Arkham took a solid 4-1 series win over BonusAmbers, but they had some difficulties in their game. It’s rare to go 126 minutes in a n ECL playoff game, but they did just that - finally winning the decisive match by an own goal to put them in the quarterfinals. Scoring should be improved! Prediction: 3-4 Tohtorit Players to watch: 1: @Ojala16 (THT) 2: @Hj_projekti (ARK) 3: @TheSpeedo (ARK)

Fellow gamers, we have now reached the top 16 teams in the ECL 12 core division and most likely that means some quality and entertaining hockey lies ahead. The first two playoff rounds surely provided some surprises, for example when Kallenraitti (5th seed) fell down to Deggendorfer SC Esports (60th seed) , or Rahinakaukalo (6th seed losing to New Jersey (59th seed) in the first round. Anyways, now we have eight action-packed matchups to give you, so hopefully you'll enjoy! Round 3 of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs is to be played between Sunday, June 20th and Wednesday, June 23rd. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: Without further ado, here are your ECL 12 Core Round 3 matchups: (1) STARGAZING vs Mora IK esport (41) After a couple of pretty easy series wins, STARGAZING is going up against Mora IK in their biggest challenge yet. The games that we have seen from MORA IK in the past two series have been entertaining and interesting to see, but now they have an opponent with increasingly talented guys. I'm not sure if Mora is capable of stopping STARGAZING, But they can't be ruled out of the game. If Mora IK’s goalie @Tacterz will continue his playoff run like in the first two series, he will be the main player who gives the Swedes a chance for some W’s. Although, even if Tacterz would be amazing in net, he will need the support of the entire team to push them past the opponents. Prediction: 4-2 STARGAZING (2) Stone Age vs hc marko (37) The situation in this series is rather similar to the one in STARGAZING vs Mora. Stone Age will be the favorite to go through, but hc marko has a pretty solid defense and that helps to stop the offensive power that Stone Age possesses. The main factor in this series is how marko adapts to Stone Ages playing style. Marko also needs some diversity in their game, to keep Stone age guessing and on their toes. Prediction: 4-2 STONE AGE (3) Pasilan SKA vs Virtuoso (30) Pasila and Virtuoso have faced each other at the regular season stage this ECL. SKA took the points and won the games 4-2 and 4-5 OT. This series is the first series of the round 3 that could go either way. Statistically SKA is way better of putting the puck in the net (5.12 GF/GP in regular season), but playoff hockey is different beast. This matchup is potentially a series where we will see a game 7. Prediction: 4-3 Pasilan SKA (4) Niitti Pohjassa vs Tadpole (27) This series is interesting. Tadpole is the team that i have followed the most throughout the season. Their playstyle, in my opinion, is so suitable for beating Niitti Pohjassa, that my prediction goes for Tadpole. @Janne Hietala (Hiatala_) and @Zoueli both have accumulated 37 points in the playoffs already, putting themselves in the 4th and 5th place in the player statistics. This team is the first team in round 3 which gets the away series win. Prediction: 1-4 Tadpole (7) Lemmenvelhot vs Team Rocket (25) In this series i would have to bet the team who has goalie who can make saves. The goalie for Team Rocket @Tlindgren96(HelloImDonga) has played well in the net so far. This guy had a 1.5GAA in the regular season and also after two rounds of playoffs. In comparison, the Lemmenvelhot goalie @Tptk00 has been letting the puck behind his back about 3 times per game. Prediction: 0-4 Team Rocket (8) Arkham Asylum vs Bonus Ambers (22) Arkham was the number 1 seed in their group 8. This Team has a really balanced mix of skaters with a good goalie - a dangerous team if you look from the opponents perspective. @TheSpeedo has a defensively strong team in front of him, he is facing only about 7 shots per game. Although the team is good on defense, their opponent BonusAmbers has scored 41 goals in the 8 last games so it is interesting to see who will go to the quarterfinals. Prediction: 4-3 Arkham Asylum (9) Tohtorit vs Jokers Hockey (17) Tohtorit have that "wow-factor" as a team. I have to say I was impressed with this team when I looked at the stats in the regular season. @Ojala16 and @Linkku60 both scoring over 100 points is a great accomplishment in itself. However, as stated, playoff hockey is a different story. I would say that in this series, Jokers Hockey will need to step up defensively and goaltending-wise, because there will be sweaty times in the defensive end for @eKvaarn and the boys! Prediction: 4-2 Tohtorit (10) Its a nice city vs Resurrection (16) Written by @jahajaha93 In this matchup, we'll see two squads who both finished second in their respective groups going up against each other. Its a nice city at 10th seed have had some close calls in their past playoff rounds, barely squeezing by EHC TATNEFT AK BARS in a game seven in the first round, but they will be eager to show what they can do with the lead of top scorer @Toimitusjohtaja3 against Resurrection. On the other hand, Resurrection have passed the previous two rounds with relative ease and are now facing their first real big challenge. The team is heavily reliant on the puck skills of @tkantola and @Xkeineri up front, and if this duo provides, they'll go through to the next round. Prediction: 2-4 Resurrection