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The North American Championship league is making its long-awaited return. Would you like to help us come back in a big way? We are looking to bring the most exciting competitive format to the community by proposing a major playoff system change. This will be the first of its kind in NHL esports and we are looking for your feedback. With the new season of NACL, we want to make the regular season more meaningful and the playoffs more exciting. Keep reading to learn more about our proposal and what we plan to achieve by doing this. Proposed Playoff System: Challenge System To illustrate the proposed Challenge System, we will use a 16 team league format where 8 teams make the playoffs. However, this system can be adjusted depending on the number of team signups. In traditional playoff formats the 1st seed will play the 8th seed, the 2nd seed will play the 7th seed, and so on. While this format can still produce high quality matchups and excitement, we believe the proposed Challenge System will give teams more incentive to finish the regular season on top and will add a layer of anticipation to the first round of the playoffs. The proposed format will separate the playoff teams into two groups; group 1 will be teams seeded 1-4 and group 2 will be teams seeded 5-8. Example Standings: Team A Team B Team C Team D --------- Team E Team F Team G Team H Group 1 consists of teams A, B, C, and D, while group 2 consists of teams E, F, G, H. How the Challenge System will work: Team A will pick their first round opponent from any team in group 2 (team E, F, G, or H) Team B will then pick from the three remaining teams Team C will then pick from the two remaining teams Team D will match up with the team that wasn’t picked by the top 3 seeds To make this even more exciting, it is our goal to have the selection process broadcasted live on Twitch with one representative from the top three teams. The key benefits of this system: Additional content and added excitement during the first round of the playoffs Potential for new rivalries Completely eliminates any benefit of seed manipulation This new system is a fantastic way to build excitement and hype for a potential series. For starters, there will be a lot of anticipation to know which teams get matched up. There is also potential for drama during the draft: a team can fake out the stream, playfully trash talk their opponent, or present their case why they think they're number one. All of these factors can create an even more intense atmosphere, which will give viewers and the community more reasons to tune into the broadcasts. With this system, anyone who is looking to gain an advantageous first round matchup by intentionally underperforming won’t be able to, as the control of the pairings is in the hands of the top 3 performing teams. The rivalries that build up during the regular season, especially the rivalries that have been building up for years in other leagues, will be put to the test. Will the high seed play it safe? Will they challenge a familiar team to flex in front of an audience? The possibilities! The inspiration for this format comes from the Southern Professional Hockey League which has also inspired rule changes for the NHL. The most recent change being the implementation of 3-on-3 overtime. We are hoping this will bring a fresh, highly competitive format to NHL 6v6 in North America. Let us know how you feel about this new format in the comments section below.

NHLGamers, The second round of playoffs offered some even games, but in all matchups except one, it was the home team and thus the favorite who walked away with the win and on to the quarterfinal round. This is the last stage of the online phase and the winners of this round will have paved their way all the way to the live event at GameXpo next week! Please note that the schedule for the IS Cup 4 playoffs is as follows: Round 1: 28.10 - 30.10 Round 2: 31.10 - 3.11 Quarterfinals: 4.11 - 6.11 Semifinals & Finals @ GameXpo: 15-16.11 Here are the matchups for the quarterfinals: (1) HAVU Gaming vs Roots (12) (2) Delusion vs POGGERS (8) (3) Symphony vs Butterfly Effect (6) (4) TIKI TALK vs FILADELPHIA (5) We would like to wish all of the teams good luck! Please agree on your game times as soon as possible and let us know in the comments when your games will be played. We will do our best to broadcast as much as we can during the quarterfinals, so knowing our options well ahead of time gives us the best chances of featuring matchups! Also feel free to let us know your predictions for this round in the comments!

NHLGamers, The playoffs for IS Cup 4 are well underway and we've already bore witness to a few upsets. Will we see anymore now that the stakes have been raised and the level of play has intensified, or will it be 'business as usual' for every higher ranked seed? All we can do now is wait and see! Please note that the schedule for the IS Cup 4 playoffs is as follows: Round 1: 28.10 - 30.10 Round 2: 31.10 - 3.11 Quarterfinals: 4.11 - 6.11 Semifinals & Finals @ GameXpo: 15-16.11 With that out of the way, here are the matchups for round 2: (1) HAVU Gaming vs Vaxjo Lakers HC (24) (2) Delusion vs Reality Check (23) (3) Symphony vs Almost Famous (17) (4) TIKI TALK vs Raccoon Rampage (15) (5) FILADELPHIA vs Vesa Pompa HC (14) (6) Butterfly Effect vs Unlucky Boys HC (13) (7) Bucketeers vs Roots (12) (8) POGGERS vs Northern Ascendancy (11) We would like to wish all of the teams good luck! Please agree on your game times as soon as possible and let us know in the comments when your games will be played. We will be broadcasting some games during the playoffs, so knowing our options well ahead of time gives us the best chances of featuring matchups! Also feel free to let us know your predictions for this round in the comments!

Hi NHLGamers! 29 teams down, 2 remain. The finals for SC4 are to be played by the end of the 10th of September. Furthermore, this series like all before it, will be played in a best-of-5 format meaning that whoever gets to 3 wins, clinches the tournament. NG Vilun Taksi (#2) vs. NG Moevenpick (#7) As always, good luck to both teams! As for spectators, keep an eye out for any streams for this, as we're sure it's going to be a very interesting matchup and a great way to conclude NHL 19!

Hi NHLGamers! The semifinals are to be completed and reported by the end of Thursday the 5th of September. The playoff series are played in a best-of-5 format, meaning that three wins takes you to the next round. We would like to add that whilst the 5th is the deadline, it is encouraged that teams try to play their games as soon as possible, as we're sure most want to get ready for the release of NHL 20 as soon as possible! NG Karaokemiehet (#1) vs. NG Moevenpick (#7) NG Vilun Taksi (#2) vs. NG PepeHands (#6) As always, good luck to all remaining teams!

Hi NHLGamers! The quarterfinals are to be completed and reported by the end of Monday the 2nd of September. The playoff series are played in a best-of-5 format, meaning that three wins takes you to the next round. We would like to add that whilst the 2nd is the deadline, it is encouraged that teams try to play their games as soon as possible, as we're sure most want to get ready for the release of NHL 20 as soon as possible! NG Karaokemiehet (#1) vs. NG Pay To Win (#12) NG Vilun Taksi (#2) vs. NG Swedish Giants (#8) NG Take Me To Church (#3) vs. NG Moevenpick (#7) NG Baraben (#4) vs. NG PepeHands (#6) As always, good luck to all remaining teams!

Hi NHLGamers! With the regular season of Summer Cup 4 being concluded yesterday, we move on to a series of playoff rounds that are... hectic, to say the least. As always, we would like extend a massive thank you to all teams and players, playoff bound or not, for taking part! Without further ado though, let's get to the playoff pairs! The first round of the playoffs is to be completed and reported by the end of Thursday the 29th of August. Playoffs are played with a best-of-5 format, meaning that three wins takes you to the next round. We would like to add that whilst the 29th is the deadline, it is encouraged that teams try to play their games as soon as possible, as we're sure most want to get ready for the release of NHL 20 as soon as possible! NG Karaokemiehet (#1) vs. NG Spacemonkey Mafia (#16) NG Vilun Taksi (#2) vs. NG TYV HC (#15) NG Take Me To Church (#3) vs. NG Setelit (#14) NG Baraben (#4) vs. NG Rumat ja Kaunis Ilmari (#13) NG You Got Floored (#5) vs. NG Pay To Win (#12) NG PepeHands (#6) vs. NG Blue Circle (#11) NG Moevenpick (#7) vs. NG Baarikarpanen (#10) NG Swedish Giants (#8) vs. NG Kesahessut (#9) Good luck to all the teams in the playoffs - we can't wait to see what happens next! --- Edit: The schedule appears to have an error in it, in that the team with the better seeding ends up having to play the first game at home, then goes on to play the next two games away from home. This is not intentional, as such we ask that teams try to emulate the Home / Away / Home / Away / Home structure instead (from the perspective of the better seeded team). Edit 2: Fixed.

Hi NHLGamers! We want to start by thanking all teams and players for making the hectic group stage as efficient and problem free as it has been! We've seen some great battles within each of the groups and it really was a nail-biter all the way to the last round! As the FCL was wrapped up tonight, a situation has arisen in which tiebreakers will have to be applied. The situation in question is as follows: Butterfly Effect (+43), Dynasty (+25), GHETTO FIREBIRDS (+22), Rusty Blades (+23), Symphony (+41) and TIKI TALK (+15) all finished the season with 12 games played, 9 wins, & 19 points. The numbers in the brackets denote the goal differential for each team. Per the rulebook, in the event of such a tie occurring the following tiebreaks shall be used: Unfortunately, we failed to spot that having ‘head-to-head results’ would lead to some pretty major complications due to the multi-group setup that we are running with the FCL. While it works excellently within the groups or solely involving teams that played each other, it can not be implemented in this case. As such, we have decided that as this tiebreaker is only relevant to some of the teams (GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Symphony and TIKI TALK vs Butterfly Effect), we will have to disregard it from the tie-breaking process and move straight to goal differential instead. Once again, this error is on us for not spotting the possible discrepancy in the rules, as the tie-break procedure was drawn up to be applied in a tournament setting where there is only one group, such as ECL: Elite, or at the very least a tournament with an even number of groups and cross-seeding in the first round. Ergo, as no teams are tied regarding ‘goal differential’, Butterfly Effect will take #7, followed by #8 Symphony, #9 Dynasty, then Rusty Blades, and finally bringing up the rear of the group we have GHETTO FIREBIRDS at #11 and TIKI TALK at #12.With this out of the way then, we can now give everyone a full rundown of the seeding for the playoffs, which will be shown below. As always, we would like to extend a thanks to everyone for competing thus far, as well as wishing good luck to all of the remaining teams! The first round of playoffs is to be completed and reported by end-of-day Sunday July 21st. Playoffs are played best-of-3 - meaning two wins takes you to the next round. Dynasty (#9) vsSymphony (#8) Rusty Blades (#10) vs Butterfly Effect (#7) GHETTO FIREBIRD (#11) vsRaccoon Rampage (#6) TIKI TALK (#12) vs Almost Famous (#5) POGGERS (#13) vsHAVU Gaming (#4) HC Wildcard (#14) vs Northern Ascendancy (#3) Mockba (#15) vs SOPPAJENGI (#2) Invictus (#16) vs FILADELPHIA (#1) For future leagues/tournaments involving more groups, we believe that defining the head-to-head result being applied only within the group and adding a tie-breaker using the placement within the group (i.e. Dynasty #1 in group 4) as the third tie-breaker would help value the group standings better. Please share your opinion with us in the comments. Good luck to all the teams in the playoffs - we can't wait to see what happens next!

Hey NHLGamers, the second round of the Spring League has come to an end and had a banging upset with it. Will there be one more in the next round when The Black Jacks face the six-headed monster of Written In The Stars? Without further ado we want to announce the third round of the playoffs: #1 Written In The Stars vs The Black Jacks #35 #3 Butterfly Effect vs AIK Hockey #27 #4 Northern Ascendancy vs Gotham Knights #20 #5 Invictus vs Deadly Phantoms HC #17 #6 The Next Gen vs Nordic Stars #15 #8 Reality Check HC vs Vesa Pompa HC #14 #9 MUKIMIEHET vs Almost Famous #12 #10 Unlucky Boys HC vs Supernatural #11 As in the first two rounds, the third edition will also be played in a best-of-5 series, so you need three wins to advance to the next round. The third round starts Thursday, 27.06.2019 and all games have to be played by Wednesday, 03.07.2019, 23:59 CEST. Whether you're playing in the Spring League or not, please make sure to follow our news section as info for further tournaments will be released soon.

Hey NHLGamers, as the spring itself, our Spring League is closing in towards its end. The temperature is getting higher, as is the intensity on the virtual ice. Over 1.700 matches were played and over 800 players took part in this tournament. We saw tight games, we saw some upsets, we saw some big guns firing everything they've got. The top 8 in points have 100+ points with an average of nearly 4 points per game - who the heck is Gretzky right? But there is nothing like playoff hockey, even in a fun and more relaxed league like the Spring League - if you sign up, you want to go all the way and win the whole thing! Without further ado we would like to introduce you the playoffs for this seasons Spring League: 48 Teams are qualified for the playoffs - the top two teams of each group will have a bye round in the first week. In addition, the 4 next teams with the best points per game average (PPG) will also be joining this bye round. The other 32 teams are getting seeded due to the following factors: PPG average during the regular season Wins (per game - as there were some groups with less games than others) Head to Head record Goal Difference Goals scored Every series is a best of 5 series, so you need three wins to advance to the next round. The higher ranked team has the home ice advantage. This leads to the following seeding and playoff pairs: Teams with bye round: #1 Written In The Stars, #2 Symphony, #3 Butterfly Effect, #4 Northern Ascendancy, #5 Invictus, #6 The Next Gen, #7 Checkmate, #8 Reality Check HC, #9 MUKIMIEHET, #10 Unlucky Boys HC, #11 Supernatural, #12 Almost Famous, #13 Six Sticks Misfits, #14 Vesa Pompa HC, #15 Nordic Stars, #16 Cheers Hockey Playoffs round 1: #17 Deadly Phantoms HC vs ExBox #48 #18 LIONHEARTS vs Old Farts #47 #19 GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Freddie Mercury Institute #46 #20 Gotham Knights vs Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat #45 #21 Raccoon Rampage vs United Crew #44 #22 Blackdawgs vs EV Duisburg #43 #23 Horror Hockey vs Beast Hockey #42 #24 TIKI TALK vs Speedy Bros Hockey #41 #25 Virtual Horizons eSports vs MahtiAnkat HT #40 #26 FarmiNaattori vs HC Unknown Diamond #39 #27 AIK Hockey vs Clowns On Ice #38 #28 Cannonieris vs EV Fuessen eSports #37 #29 Company of Geeks vs Murohoki #36 #30 Bellizzi vs The Black Jacks #35 #31 Silver Sword Griffins vs UnderRated Lekstuga #34 #32 Wolverines HC vs SOPPAJENGI #33 The first round off the playoffs will take place between Sunday 09.06.2019 and Thursday, 13.06.2019. We want to wish every team good luck and have fun! Captains of the teams which didn't qualify for the playoffs, please check your inbox during the weekend as League Administration will want your teams interest in a lower tier playoffs and if you are ready to participate - or if you'd rather call it a day. Nevertheless we want to thank all of you for participating!

Hello NHLGamers, We are a few weeks in to the ECL 8 Lite Playoffs and have now reached round 3. We've had the opportunity to watch a bunch of exciting games in the first two rounds and a some of the matchups have taken surprising turns! Round 3 of the ECL 8 Lite playoffs is to be played between Thursday, 21st of February and Wednesday, 27th of February. From now on we'll be polling Lite captains for the outcome of upcoming playoff series. We did just that for the 3rd round and below the matchups you can see our calculated result presented. Here are the matchups for round 3 of the ECL 8 Lite playoffs: (1.) Prowlers vs. Poston Fruits (36.) Prowlers 55% (3.) Dystopia vs. Western Express (31.) Dystopia 91% (5.) Blackdawgs vs. LammasLauma (28.) Blackdawgs 64% (11.) We Kings vs. Beast Hockey (27.) We Kings 73% (12.) Saucer Hockey vs. FarmiNaattori (26.) FarmiNaattori 91% (14.) Oton Letkutemppu vs. Me Carvoset (25.) Me Carvoset 55% (16.) Cheers Hockey vs. Reaperr (22.) Reaperr 55% (18.) Chatbox vs. Vesa Pompa HC (20.) Vesa Pompa HC 70% There you have it, guys! We're excited for the upcoming round and expect to see some tight games. Who do you think will advance? As always, play hard and fair out there, see you on the ice! ECL Lite Writing Team, @Willander97 & @Tonimo92

NHLGamers! Yet another Pro season is in the books. We had some exciting times and now 30 games later the deserving playoff goers have been weeded out from the rest. Tomorrow we'll be kicking off the fight for the ultimate goal for any of these remaining teams - promotion to ECL Elite! We'll also have some quality relegation battles up for you guys. As no teams folded or were disqualified, the teams placed 13th to 16th in each group will battle against each other for the right to play in ECL 9 Pro. The ECL Pro Playoffs Round 1 is to be played between Monday 11th of February and Sunday, 17th of February. Without further ado, here are your ECL 8 Pro Playoffs Round 1 matchups: (G1 #1) TIKI TALK vs. Bellizzi (G2 #8) Both teams in this series are very experienced. TIKI TALK has started to find beck their winning ways after a bit of a struggle for the past few seasons. Bellizzi on the other hand has been a Pro competitor for a long time already, but they always seem to get stuck in the masses along the low middle of the table. It'll be interesting to see if they can match up to TIKI, who have found some convincing form lately. (G2 #1) The Next Gen vs. GHETTO FIREBIRDS (G1 #8) The Next Gen is a team whose talent cannot be understated. They have versus powerhouse @kriketski17 centering a line with @Thounii and @NikkeDangles on the flanks and boy have they been dangerous! @oGBioLan will play a crucial part in their playoff run as their most experienced ECL player. Opposing them is GHETTO FIREBIRDS, who are making a strong push back into the top of the Pro division after missing the playoffs last season. Going into the post season as an eighth place seed won't be easy but they should be able to put up a decent fight. (G1 #2) Gotham Knights vs. SPARTANS (G2 #7) Gotham Knights showed us what it takes to be one of the top teams in Pro. Their centerman @ReDMisTi finished the season with 36 points and was a valuable asset for the team all season. On the other side we have Spartans, who got the chance to play in the Pro division and they really made it count. With @rize1988 leading the team in points alongside the fabled @Drunkendefender on defense they managed to finish in seventh place in their group. This series is going to be a tight one but a Gotham win 4-2 is our prediction. (G2 #2) Born With It vs. SIKA (G1 #7) The battle of the veterans! Born With It has had a great season so far and most of it can probably be attributed to being one of the more experienced teams in the league. SIKA is better known as a team and the same could be said for them. We'll expect to see a scoring onslaught as neither teams have been all too convincing in their own end. (G1 #3) Checkmate vs. Speedy Bros Hockey (G2 #6) This is going to be a tough series to call. Checkmate has a stacked roster, featuring former Elite All-Star @Tuukka.R and long-time SIKA forward @Naikou88 to name a few. They seem to be rotating their roster quite much though - do they have chemistry? Their opponent Speedy Bros Hockey declined an Elite promotion during the offseason in order to improve their game for another season in Pro. We'll be waiting to see if all that practice pays off as they go head to head with their toughest opponent yet in this series. (G2 #3) Mentula SKA vs. Rajatorpan Mafia (G1 #6) Two teams that are playing their first Pro season face each other in the first round of the playoffs. Rajatorpan Mafias power play won't get many chances as Mentula SKA play a clean game where they had the least amount of penalties and third least hits in the regular season. Rajatorpan can challenge any team with their consistent play, they got at least a point from every opponent in the regular season. Additionally they had nine games that were decided in overtime. Mentula SKA has a core that has played together for four consecutive ECL seasons and the addition of ECL veteran Hanssonni makes them favorites in the series. (G1 #4) Silver Sword Griffins vs. Black Horse (G2 #5) SSG is one of the older ECL teams, they are in fact closing in on the 300 game mark as a franchise and that's something most teams could only dream of right now. They've gone through some rough times but lately it seems they've found their stride a bit. Maybe this is the season they will take the step back up to the highest level? Black Horse is their opponent. They're a new team that's built around the former Shameful Knights core of @Hullued, @Exel56 and @Tapparafan to name a few. They aren't total newcomers either so to speak. The interesting thing about them is the former top goaltended Hullued making the switch to the forward position and dominating at that too - 54 points in 28 games isn't too shabby for a guy who used to stop pucks more than shoot them. (G2 #4) Raccoon Rampage vs. POGGERS (G1 #5) This series is going to be an even one. POGGERS is the more experienced team, but Raccoon Rampage is a team full of young, hungry players who have successfully been building a decent buzz around themselves recently. Both teams are very responsible defensively and have great goaltending, but the prediction here would be that it all boils down to who can be more effective up front. The Poggers duo of @JaKurrii and @Chafak are something to keep an eye on. Relegation matchups: (G1 #13) EV Duisburg vs. Bone Breakers (G2 #16) (G2 #13) Cowabunga Hockey vs. Murohoki (G1 #16) (G1 #14) Clowns On Ice vs. Pata Hellalla (G2 #15) (G2 #14) Freddie Mercury Institute vs. Tiffen (G1 #15) We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all teams for participation, it was fun to watch and follow your games. Good luck for all teams with the further rounds and battles, good luck and most important - have fun! ECL Writers, @Tonimo92, @Willander97 and @jahajaha93

NHLGamers! The ECL 8 Lite Playoffs are finally here and we have got some very strong teams that will battle each other for a Pro spot. From each group the teams that finished top 8 will make the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs will start today on Thursday, February 7th, 2019 and end on Wednesday, February 13th, 2019. According to section 5.6.1 of the ECL 8 Rulebook, the first round of the ECL 8 Lite Playoffs will be played as follows: In ECL Lite, the top 8 teams from each of the 6 groups will make the playoffs. For each group the top 2 teams will have a bye round and advance directly to round 2. All remaining teams will be seeded according to the tiebreakers mentioned in 11.3. The top 4 teams of these seeded ones will also advance directly round 2. This leaves 32 teams playing in round 1, where the top seed plays the 32nd seed, 2nd seed will play 31st etc. The winning teams will be merged with the bye teams and play the 2nd round, making a total of 32 teams competing in round 2. Tiebreakers (ECL 8 Rulebook 11.3): Wins (including OT-wins) Head-to-head record (points in mutual games) Goal difference (across all games played) Scored goals (across all games played) After the first round, all remaining teams are again re-seeded. Every series are played in best of seven games and the highest seeded team will play the first game at home. (10.7.2 ECL Rules). Here are the matchups for round 1 of the ECL 8 Lite Playoffs: (17.) Mighty French Roosters vs. Atomic Hamsters HC (48.) (18.) Chatbox vs. Uncle Dens (47.) (19.) Suomen Sonnit vs. Stayhard Stallions (46.) (20.) Vesa Pompa HC vs. Niederrhein Canucks (45.) (21.) Finnish Hockey Legends vs. Pink Panthers HC (44.) (22.) Reaperr vs. K A R H U T (43.) (23.) Kaukosen Luistin vs. Korpens Finest (42.) (24.) EV Fuessen eSports vs. Campo De Juego (41.) (25.) Me Carvoset vs. UnderRated Lekstuga (40.) (26.) Farminaattorit vs. Kouvola Screaming Eagles (39.) (27.) Beast Hockey vs. Polarbears HC (38.) (28.) LammasLauma vs. Red Devils HC (37.) (29.) North Pole Huskies vs. Poston Fruits (36.) (30.) SKA vs. SKA Hokurit (35.) (31.) Western Express vs. Rusty Bulls (34.) (32.) Nordic Nosebleed vs. Club Savage (33.) Play hard and fair out there, see you on the ice! ECL Lite Writing Team, @Tonimo92 & @Willander97

Hey NHLGamers, The ECL 7 Lite Final has now been played and we have a winner! In their second ECL season, The Black Jacks set an objective that was very clear - promotion. Very well, they certainly had a season to remember and succeeded in accomplishing their goals set. Their offense dominated the Lite division all season long, finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the top scorers department by amassing 246 points between their three top forwards @julmi21 (Original-SnuS), @Freeman7187 and @Krinke. The trio continued their scoring in the playoffs, being one of the decisive factors for the success of TBJ this season. They marched on convincingly through almost every playoff matchup, the only team to really surprise them was Lehmannen Badboyz, who took their round 2 series into game 7 overtime. Captain Original-SnuS bailed TBJ out with arguably the most important goal of the season to push them forward, ultimately all the way. If you missed any of the action, you can check the games out on Twitch. These are the results of the final series: Game 1: The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 6-7 Game 2: The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-1 Game 3: The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 3-2 Game 4: The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-3 Game 5: The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 1-2 Game 6: The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-1 The Black Jacks - Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #22 @afc_Tschitsch #30 @NHLDennis86 DEFENSEMEN #7 @Cami_7 #66 @Bille1990 #77 @Tornado.hr #88 @burban26 FORWARDS #6 @Krinke #13 @Freeman7187 #15 @Tron1x90 #16 @RudY51 #21 @julmi21 (Original-SnuS) TBJ's road to the cup: 16-2-0 during the regular season, seeding 3rd into the playoffs. 24-5-3 in the playoffs. Round 1: 4-0 VS HC Keskikalja Round 2: 4-3 VS Lehmannen Badboyz Round 3: 4-0 VS Infinity Quarterfinals: 4-2 VS Dubnation Gaming Semifinals: 4-1 VS Mentula SKA Finals: 4-2 VS The Next Gen Congratulations to TBJ on behalf of the whole NHLGamer staff! Thanks for tuning in NHLGamers! Be on the lookout for the season recap article, up soon. Your NHLGamer Editor jahajaha93

The end of the line. That's where we've come. Season 7 of ECL Elite consisted of 15 teams in total, fighting tooth and nail for each and every point available. The regular season was tougher than ever - no, that isn't an overstatement. We were treated to exciting matchups all the way to the end as the last regular season matchups were decisive for the outcome of the regular season winner, as well as regulation matchups and the very last few available playoff spots. Your ECL 7 Elite Final matchup: (1) FILADELPHIA - Symphony (2) In competitive matchups, FILADELPHIA and Symphony have gone head-to-head a total of six times within the last few months, game wins being tied at 3-3 as it stands currently. FILA managed to overcome SYM in two games during the Finnish Championship Semifinals, but it's worth noting that SYM has swapped centerman @ADETIKKI for @tbnantti since. Their more recent ECL games ended 2-0 and 3-2 in favor of SYM, meaning FILA is yet to win against Symphony 2.0. @Eki and @PleeMaker of the FILA lineup have a big weekend behind them, with some tight 1vs1 games in the Finnish Championships that eventually had the pair meet in the Finals, where Eki was able to come out on top and win the title. We'll see if the wear of grinding live games for a day straight is still taking its toll as the big ECL games start tonight. It's an interesting game FILA plays, as their tasks are rather nicely divided on the ice. They have a more defensive defenseman in @Janzuh, who controls the pace of the game at appropriate times whereas his partner @vatalisti is the more offensive part we get to see more of on the breakout. Wingers Eki and Plee link up beautifully while "Mr. Selke" @Patzlaf hangs back and provides danger coming in the second wave. @Zande95 has been the brick wall we are used to seeing in net. Symphony's gone through an intriguing development during the season. They went from being just a shell of the former SJK eSports to an Finnish Championship (IS Cup 3) bronze medalist to an ECL Finalist. Some would call that a decent development curve, which is exactly what I'm doing in this preview. Their opponent is absolutely stacked to the gills with talent, but so is Symphony. Goaltender @ICappeI has been dominating the competition, setting a new Elite regular season record of 8 shutouts in 10 games. I don't regard their defense with @vSilenttio and @Ilmari_30 as balanced as FILA's counterpart, but the duo has still proven that they can swing against the best of them. @tbnantti at center seems to be what the doctor ordered for Symphony as the team has consistently improved since his addition. A few interesting notes stat-wise are that Symphony is the more physical team of the two, with especially Puantso and vSilenttio leading the way in that department. The explanation for this might be that FILA is controlling the puck more in most of their matchups. FILA seems to shoot slightly more than Symphony, as the shots for differential is 110 to 92 in favor of FILA in the playoffs so far. This is really a tough battle that can go either way and neither team winning would be an upset. FILA has, however managed to build quite the winning culture both as a team and for their individual players and head into the series as the favorite. Our prediction: FILADELHPIA wins 4-2 FILADELPHIA starting lineup evaluated by @ICappeI LW @PleeMaker 9GP, 7+12=19 FILADELPHIA's best player. Always a threat when he has the puck. C @Patzlaf 9GP, 7+5=12 Mr. Selke. Great two-way player. RW @Eki 9GP, 6+10=16 Also a great two-way player, who’s linking up good with Plee. LD @Janzuh 9GP, 0+3=3 Their most experienced guy. A calm player who doesn’t do a lot of mistakes. RD @vatalisti 9GP, 1+5=6 The best offensive d-man in the game. Will be interesting to see if he can handle Hans Moleman. (Puantso) G @sibeelius 7GP, 7W, 91.89 SV%, 0.42 GAA, 4 SO Amazing G! Looking forward to play against him. I think that both of us is going to face our most difficult challenge of the season in this series. Vatalisti scored the decisive goal of the Finnish Championship 6vs6 finals. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) Symphony starting lineup evaluated by @Eki LW @Buantso 9GP, 6+8=14 The best player in symphony and one of the best players in the game . You can see he was born in a hockey family 🙂 C @tbnantti 9GP, 7+10=17 Symphony started playing better as soon as Antti started playing. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so. RW @indi969 9GP, 7+4=11 Solid two way forward. Very easy player to play with. LD @vSilenttio 9GP, 0+11=11 Good sense of humor. RD @Ilmari_30 9GP, 2+5=7 Very good offensive defenseman, one of the best in the game. But could improve defensively. G @ICappeI 7GP, 7W, 94.44 SV%, 0.57 GAA, 4 SO The 2nd best goalie in the game. Haven't really been tested this year so I'm interested to see how he does in the Finals. Symphony finished 3rd in the Finnish Championships and have a chance to go all the way in ECL 7. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) How to watch the finals? All of the ECL Elite Finals will be broadcasted with English commentary on our Twitch channel, which can be found at twitch.tv/NHLGamer, be sure to join us for the action! Schedule for the finals: Game 1: Monday, 17th of December 20:30 CET Symphony vs FILADELPHIA Game 2: Monday, 17th of December 21:00 CET FILADELPHIA vs Symphony Game 3: Tuesday, 18th of December 20:30 CET Symphony vs FILADELPHIA Game 4: Tuesday, 18th of December 21:00 CET FILADELPHIA vs Symphony Game 5: Thursday, 20th of December 20:30 CET Symphony vs FILADELPHIA Game 6: Thursday, 20th of December 21:00 CET FILADELPHIA vs Symphony Game 7: Thursday, 20th of December 21:30 CET Symphony vs FILADELPHIA Tonight's matchups for games 1 & 2 What are your expectations for the games? Let us know your thoughts below!

Hey NHLGamers, The ECL 7 Pro Final has now been played and we have a winner! After a long season with a total of 52 games played, we're able to crown Deadly Phantoms HC the champions of ECL 7 Pro! DPH had an excellent playoff run, where they were able to overcome adversity and power on until the end. They really made a statement in the finals by dominating opponent Synergy Hockey. The final series were expected to be very tightly contested as both teams play a very conservative game, leaving very little to chance and defending well. Synergy had a tough time figuring out the German defense and fell short this time. Both teams are promoted directly to ECL Elite for season 8. Congratulations to the teams! If you missed any of the action, you can check the games out on DPH's twitch channel. These are the results of the final series: Game 1: Synergy Hockey @ Deadly Phantoms | 2-1 OT Game 2: Deadly Phantoms @ Synergy Hockey | 3-2 OT Game 3: Synergy Hockey @ Deadly Phantoms | 2-3 OT Game 4: Deadly Phantoms @ Synergy Hockey | 1-0 Game 5: Synergy Hockey @ Deadly Phantoms | 1-2 Deadly Phantoms HC - Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #30 @RPH_31 DEFENSEMEN #23 @gzell60 #27 @Mannheimer1938 #40 @willywonkaaa #83 @steveERC #90 @Jeason99 FORWARDS #11 @neymar92ftrio2 #13 @Rayman (The_Rayman80) #16 @Tim_FlyersFan #87 @Daniel Thenextone (XxTHENEXTONE89xX) #96 @Playmaker (Playmaker1010) DPH's road to the cup: 27-3-0 during the regular season, seeding 1st into the playoffs. 16-4-2 in the playoffs. Round 1: 4-3 VS Saints Quarterfinals: 4-0 VS Pata Hellalla Semifinals: 4-2 VS Bucketeers Finals: 4-1 VS Synergy Hockey Thanks for tuning in NHLGamers! Be on the lookout for the season recap article, up soon. Pro Writing Team @Panarinz & @jahajaha93

73 teams down, two remain standing. It's been a wild ECL 7 in 'The Jungle' formally known as ECL Lite. As we know, the Lite regular season is probably not as tightly contested as in our other divisions simply due to the fact that a vast majority of teams will make the playoffs. The playoffs, however, are an absolute free-for-all. With 64 teams making the playoffs, we've now weeded through five rounds in order to make it to the finals, that's a lot of games right there. Number one seed The Next Gen has played a total of 25 playoff games so far and the opposing number 3 seed The Black Jacks have fought through a total of 26 playoff battles. Here's what our ECL 7 Lite Final matchup looks like: (1) The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks (3) As previously stated, both teams have fought a long way to make it to the final. There's still a lot of hockey left to play, so let's hope their tanks don't run empty and there is some hunger left to claim the very top spot of ECL 7 Lite. Seeding first into the playoffs, we have the favourite from Finland, The Next Gen. The offensively strong team started off with a 'bang', sweeping Bombers Hockey in the first round. After this, they've ran through their opponents at a rather steady pace (Pink Panthers HC 4-2, Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat 4-0, Supremacy 4-2 and Supernatural 4-2). You could see that the opponents were getting tougher as the games went on, but the playoff favourites still managed to engine their way on. By advancing to the semifinals The Next Gen gets to enjoy a promotion to ECL Pro for season 8. On the opposing side is a team from small Switzerland, The Black Jacks. TBJ has had a similar playoff run as their final opponents, but they ended up with a close scare in round 2 against Lehmannen Badboyz. Their round 2 went into overtime of game seven until captain and center @julmi21 (Original-SnuS) scored the decisive goal. This is the complete run of TBJ: HC Keskikalja 4-0, Lehmannen Badboyz 4-3, Infinity 4-0, Dubnation Gaming, 4-2, Mentula SKA 4-1. Alike their final opponents, TBJ has secured promotion to ECL Pro for season 8 by advancing to the semifinals. It'll be interesting to see these teams go at it, as we without a doubt have two highly skilled opponents going head-to-head. The Next Gen packs a massive amount of individual skill and holds several young and potential players, whereas The Black Jacks are probably more reliant on their routine and some set plays in their game. Both teams like to use their center as a target player to set up their game, so it'll be a battle of who can execute said strategy better. My personal opinion is that TnG has a slight advantage in skill level but TBJ is a more coherent unit. Margins are small and I expect a tightly contested series. My prediction is TnG in 7. Head-to-head The Next Gen The Black Jacks C NikkeDangles C Original-SnuS LW Ninjawiq LW Krinke RW thounidinho RW Freeman7187 LD koppipelaaja LD Bille1990 RD lambu89 RD Cami__7 G ramseyyy2 G Afc_Tschitsch TOP SCORER Thounidinho (25GP, 22+23=45) vs Krinke (26GP, 34+39=73) GOALTENDERS Ramseyy2 (25GP, 19W, 91.75 SV%, 1.24 GAA) vs Afc_Tschitsch (12GP, 11W, 87.57 SV%, 1.66 GAA) Schedule for the finals: Game 1: Wednesday, 12th of December 20:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 6-7 Game 2: Wednesday, 12th of December 20:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-3 Game 3: Wednesday, 12th of December 21:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 3-2 Game 4: Wednesday, 12th of December 21:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-1 Game 5: Monday, 17th of December 20:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks Game 6: Monday, 17th of December 20:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen Game 7: Monday, 17th of December 21:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks The games will be streamed on: twitch.tv/gameturniertv and twitch.tv/tbj_hockey unless otherwise informed. Good luck in the finals for both teams! Thank you to @julmi21 for reaching out and assisting with this article. All opinions are my own. Your NHLGamer Editor

Hello NHLGamers, It's 'final-ly' time for the Pro Finals! After yet another exciting season full of interesting events and lots of surprises, the time to crown a winner is nigh. The playoffs have certainly left us gasping for air at times, with surprises like ECL 6 Lite silver-medalist Cowabunga winning their group, seeding in second place into the playoffs only to be eliminated in the first round by 16th seed Pata Hellalla. Bucketeers, another newly promoted team also seemed to find their stride this season, pushing far into the playoffs and reaching the semifinals for a shot to make Elite through a relegation battle. Our final two isn't maybe the most predictable matchup, but certainly two well-rounded teams that have been strong performers all season long. Here's how our final matchup stacks up: (1) Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey (4) In this iteration of the ECL Pro Finals, we'll have a somewhat rare sighting as neither finalist is Finnish. I even believe neither team has any Finnish colour in their roster. Refreshing, to say the least! After a great semi-final round against Bucketeers in a thrilling and even series, the deadliest of Phantoms have yet again stated their claim for an Elite spot and are looking to get that big trophy as well. They've been one of the great storylines this postseason, as they've had to overcome adversity not many teams in the community has faced. From having their play style under scrutiny in the first round to switching up the lineup throughout the playoffs, they have prevailed every time. Synergy Hockey has really gone back to their roots and found the strong play we're so used to seeing from the veteran Swedes. They're a strong defensive unit that doesn't put on a show on the ice, but is tremendously effective at everything they do. The team has had everything go their way this season, starting all the way from the back end, where the marvelled @DUNZA has been taunting forwards on a nightly basis. Synergy has had a rather convincing playoff run so far, as they've dropped only two games in the three series played so far. Prediction: Deadly Phantoms HC in 7. Head-to-head: TOP SCORER The_Rayman80 (17GP, 17+11=28) vs Isindar (14GP, 9+13=22) GOALTENDERS RPH_31 (17GP, 12W, 83.81 SV%, 1.64 GAA) vs DUNZA (14GP, 12W, 91.00 SV%, 0.64 GAA) Schedule for the finals: Game 1: Monday, 10th of December 21:00 CET Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey (1-2 OT) Game 2: Monday, 10th of December 21:30 CET Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC (2-3 OT) Game 3: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey Game 4: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC Game 5: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey Game 6: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC Game 7: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey That's all for now gamers and as always, be sure to check out our twitch channel for streams on these games and from our other leagues, that's got some exciting playoff action for yall. PS: Stay on the lookout for our ECL 7 Pro Season Recap article, it might be posted sooner than you think... Pro Writing Team @jahajaha93 & @Panarinz

After some external difficulties and other issues, we've been able to compete the ECL7 Elite Quarter Finals with four extremely skilled teams advancing. Interestingly enough, we're also 4/4 for IS Cup 3: 6vs6 finalists in the Semi's of ECL 7. It'll be interesting to see how these games turn out this time around, as matchups are slightly different and some minor changes might have happened within the teams. As usual, the series are played with a best-of-7 system, meaning the first team to reach four wins advances to the next round. The Semifinal round has to be finished by Thursday December 13th, 2018. These are the matchups for the second round of our ECL 7 Elite Playoffs: (1) FILADELPHIA vs. Dynasty (4) Courtesy of @jahajaha93 Neither of these teams had a straight path to the semi-finals. FILADELPHIA in the sense that they had to battle through some server issues and a scheduling debacle, which again heated up things on the community side a bit. Dynasty in the sense that they clashed with Sjukstugan, the early Swedish sensation, who were now making their second Elite playoff showing, hungry to prove they could go far. This matchup wouldn't seem all too interesting if the teams we would take it back a month to the IS Cup, as Dynasty had a tough time competing at the Final event whereas FILADELPHIA went on to take it all home. Tables have turned, however. It's amazing how a little bit of time can work magic on the play of any said team. Dynasty has improved tremendously with the season progressing and are now looking to really challenge the IS Cup champions. One notable change Dynasty has made as of late is keeping @Leksa94 at center instead of @Tehh, as we're used to seeing. It would seem as if their decision is paying dividends as Leksa is a more offensive-minded player, with a slightly higher faceoff skill too - if we are to trust the stats. FILADELPHIA, on the other hand has been firing on all cylinders all season long. The team seems to have a relentless drive for success. Their first round opponent Northern Ascendancy didn't give up easy although the series ended 4-1, all but the last game were one goal games. FILA will surely look to play @Zande95 in net as he is yet to let in a goal during the playoffs. Possible Elite top-6 goaltender this season? Personally, I'm expecting FILADELPHIA to take the lead and never look back in this series. Although Dynasty is more than a capable team, they are simply up against a stronger force right now. I'll be more than happy to admit I'm wrong as that would set up an amazing success story for DYN, however, my prediction is FILA in 5. (2) Symphony vs. Written In The Stars (3) Courtesy of @MartindalexC Both competitors are coming off of similarly impressive routs of their previous opponents in Northern Stars & Butterfly Effect respectively. Symphony holds a slight edge given that they beat their opponent by over two goals in all but one of their wins, whereas Written only managed to do that very same feat two times. On the face of it then one would imagine that this series should be a close affair, with that said however some cracks have started to appear for the Written side. They may have beaten Butterfly Effect extremely convincingly to start the series (4-1 & 5-0 wins), yet their play degraded quite heavily as the series went on, as shown by them whimpering through to the second round off the back of two 1-0 wins, as well as being bested 3-1 by FLY. Such a drop off of goals as the series progressed is certainly a large red flag, especially as Butterfly Effect almost punished them for it. If FLY were almost able to make them look foolish then Written are in for one hell of a rude awakening as Symphony are assuredly better than Butterfly Effect, both defensively and offensively. The latter point is of great importance as we will now truly see what impact @Totalii's absence will have on the somewhat ‘untested’ Written back end. Regarding the actual prediction however I feel that this series has real potential to be an absolute bloodbath, on the other hand I can conceivably see Written getting ‘manhandled’ by Symphony in a bunch of 3-1-ish affairs if Written does not manage to restart their offence in time. Therefore, I’m going to play it somewhat safe and go with Symphony in 6 games, although as I’ve said before I feel as though this series, more than any other, has the potential to go absolutely ‘hay-wire’ at any second. So, what do you guys think? Agree with our predictions? Give us your thoughts below! Also, remember to stay tuned for upcoming playoffs broadcasts on our Twitch-channel! See you on the ice, ECL Elite Writing Team

Salut NHLGamers, After a thrilling round 2 featuring at least one major upset as 5th seed Wasps Gaming was knocked out by 8th seed Bucketeers, we're now at the semi finals in Pro! All of the remaining four teams will stand a chance for promotion, either directly or through a relegation faceoff against SIKA or Gotham Knights. Here are your matchups for the Pro Semi-Finals: (1) Deadly Phantoms HC vs Bucketeers (8) Preview courtesy of @Panarinz After a controversial 1st round that at last ended 4-3 to the Phantoms, they swept Pata Hellalla in the 2nd round and made it clear that they are going for that Elite spot and maybe even a Pro win. Here we have a pretty defensive series. Phantoms are known for their solid defense, as they very rarely concede more than a goal against. The same can almost be said about The Buckets as well. Solid defense with strong goaltending make them a hard team to score against. Some might call them an underdog this series. But don't let that fool you, as they know how to win tough games which they very well proved in the second round against Wasps Gaming. However, in my humble opinion, this series will be decided by the Phantoms x-factor. They have incredible offensive firepower in their lineup and I won't leave out top regular season point and assist man @Playmaker and top goal scorer @Rayman, who both showed that they can win games on their own, even though it's a team game. One that shouldn't be underestimated is @Demski13 in the Bucketeers lineup, though (2nd in points during the playoffs). He's really put up points left, right and center during the playoffs. Definitely a decisive factor to look out for on the Bucketeers side. (4) Synergy Hockey vs Resurrection (6) Preview courtesy of @jahajaha93 This is a great matchup in a sense that there are many fundamental differences between these teams. The Swedish Synergy, being a very experienced and defense reliant team facing off against the Finnish Resurrection, who mostly consist of young, very individually skilled players who are hungry to prove their capabilities in the 6vs6-scene. Synergy had a convincing regular season and have continued on the same path in the playoffs, dropping only one game out of their total nine so far. As per usual, @DUNZA in net has been as solid as ever amassing six shutouts in the process of outclassing the opposition. On the other hand, the team has struggled a bit offensively, managing to net under 2 goals per game in the offensive zone. Arguably, that isn't too much of a worry if you let in none. The slight underdog in this series is Resurrection, their lineup features one of the more effective offensive trios in @Artuzio, @J0HTAJA and @xKeskitalo, who so far have combined for 30 goals in 13 playoff games. It'll remain to bee seen wether the more experienced Johtaja can guide his young wingers to the path of victory. That'll be all for now, gamers. We sure have some exciting games ahead and they won't be over anytime soon. Be sure to follow our twitch channel for our broadcasts on these matchups and keep following these exciting matches on our website. Your Pro Writing Team, @Panarinz & @jahajaha93

What's up NHLGamers, 28 games later, right? That's where we stand now compared to where we started off in mid-October. As always, there's been no shortage of action and interesting events during the regular season in Elite. Unfortunately, we saw a team fold this season, nothing you'd want to see on the very highest level but sometimes our minds don't think alike and conflicts prevail. This time around, we were treated to suspense all the way to the end, as no playoff matchups were solidified prior to the last round. Also, a tight battle was being fought over the last playoff spot, as Northern Stars needed a mede 2 points from their matchup against Rusty blades to overtake Unlucky Boys for the final spot. The outcome sure was unlucky for the Boys, as Northern Stars rose to the occasion and clinched a spot in the playoffs. With all this being said, the ECL 7 Elite Playoffs start today, Tuesday November 27th of November 2018. Teams are allowed to start scheduling games immediately and the games of the first round have to be finished by Tuesday December 4th, 2018. As you guys know, the series are played with a best-of-7 system, meaning the first team to reach four wins advances to the next round. As we had one team fold this season, only the team placed 15th will face automatic relegation. This season, Falun Coal Miners is the team that is facing relegation. On top of that, we have two relegation battles that will commence once the Pro playoffs have been played. The ECL 7 Elite teams heading into these battles are SIKA (14th) and Gotham Knights (13th). These are the matchups for the first round of our ECL 7 Elite Playoffs: (1) FILADELPHIA vs. Northern Ascendancy (8) Courtesy of @vSilenttio The Finnish Champions of FILADELPHIA surely weren't joking when they stated in their 16 in 16 that they'd be the team that is going to take home all of ECL 7 Elite. We know it's only the regular season but so far, so good. Of course they had their own problems during the regular season just like every other team out there but when it comes to FILA, these guys know how to handle those situations and how to move on, being even better going further. Stat-wise FILA's players were on at their best when the games mattered the most. Four out of their five opening roster guys were in the scoring top 20 after 28 games - and the remaining guy who's not there is @Janzuh, who is known as one of the best D-men of the whole next gen era. You could say no wonder things went well for these guys. The main offensive trio of @PleeMaker, @Patzlaf and @Eki was dominant as they scored 55 goals together which sounds pretty crazy when you compare it to other Elite teams who made the playoffs - teams such as Northern Stars (40GF), Northern Ascendancy (53GF) and Sjukstugan (58GF). So their offense is fine, their defensive pairing is perhaps the best in all of Europe and they have two top goaltenders who can bail them out if they end up being in a tough spot. On the opposing side we have ECL 6 Elite's finalists Northern Ascendancy. They didn't have the easiest road to the playoffs, that's for sure. The team had a really slow start as they managed to win only 3 out of their first ten outings. Granted, their schedule was on the more difficult end. With one win less they would have placed 9th in the final standings and thusly falling short of a playoff spot. After somewhat surprisingly losing a few games against non-playoff teams such as Unlucky Boys and Almost Famous and having a rather shaky vide to their game, the veterans in NOR found a way to make the playoffs. Experience is the key word I believe. At one point they even started rotating their roster for some reason, D-men playing offense and vice versa. FILADELPHIA simply has to be the team coming out on top in this series. I predict a series score of 4-1. (2) Symphony vs. Northern Stars (7) Courtesy of @jahajaha93 This matchup is going to be something of a Finland-Sweden battle. As far as I know, at least all NOS skaters are Swedish and SYM on the other hand is all Finnish except for netminder and assistant captain @ICappeI, who managed to set an ECL Elite record by amassing 8 shutouts in just 10 games in the regular season. Symphony has had a great season so far. Despite losing @ADETIKKI after a disappointing third place finish in IS Cup 3 6vs6, the team managed to bounce back and find an even better run of form towards the end of the season. SYM quickly patched up the hole left by ADETIKKI, as @tbnantti joined. Antti is an experienced player, whose importance for his team this season couldn't be stressed enough. He immediately commanded the centerman position and has been a good force to build the teams play around for the remainder of the season. We'll have to hope he can keep up his good form going into the playoffs. I would dare to say that the strength of Symphony lies in their offense. Antti at center is a good balancing factor to the offensively talented winger duo @indi969 and @Buantso, they are also getting some good secondary scoring from down low as @Ilmari_30 chips in on the offensive side quite often. The underdog in this series is without a doubt Northern Stars. Not by a massive margin, though. The Swedes have been playing a solid game for the whole season, while being able to go toe-to-toe with the best of teams in the Elite division. However, they have suffered some surprising losses against Team Frosty and Falun Coal Miners to name a few. One worrying factor for the Stars in this matchup has to be the fact that they are facing one of the hottest goaltenders in the ECL right now, and they haven't directly had an easy time putting the puck in the net so far. 40 goals scored during the regular season is by far the least out of all playoff teams. Experience is the strength of this team though, and hopefully they will utilize that in order to overcome their opponent in tight matchups. All in all, I think this might be an interesting matchup to keep your eyes on, although there's a risk of it being over rather early in the series. Unless NOS manages to completely shut down Symphony and score a few goals here and there, I predict a 4-0 sweep for Symphony. (3) Written In The Stars vs. Butterfly Effect (6) Courtesy of @Serg1vratar Written In The Stars has one of the best offensive lines in the entire league, a feat easily exhibited by the sheer quantity of goals this team scores - 89 for a goals per game average of 3,18, stats in which they are topping the Elite division. two out of their three main forwards made their way intp the top 3 scorers of the regular season, as @Dominointi amassed 59 points for 1st place and Flyerkungen put up 54 points for 3rd place. Talking about SKY, you can't simply forget the weapons they are packing in terms of offensive defensemen, as @jtorro1233 has been terrorising the Elite division from his point for several seasons now. Torro took a long step and ran away from FILADELPHIA's @vatalisti in the race for most points by a defenseman in the regular season with 31 points in 26 games. No ECL team could win without a sufficient backstop, though. SKY has two elite level goalies in @JanneK. and @Hansulinho. Butterfly Effect has had a great start in ECL Elite and one of the game changers for them is definitely @Vilupoika who has 49 points in 28 games. Pair him up with a talent like @RutonMosse (42 points in 24 games) and good things will happen. @JimBoo (jm__98__) joined FLY a bit into the current season and while not topping the scoring boards, he has made his way into the top 3 within his team. There's been some talk about FLY being the minor affiliate of Written, and that surely sets a nice rivalry tone for this matchup, as David is making a stance against Goliath. We could also look to the rosters to find a rivalry, as @eissi83 was a SKY netminder last season, but will now try to take on his old teammates and prove what he is capable of. During the regular season bouts, Written In The Stars won both games (2:1, 6:1). I predict a 4-2 series win for SKY. (4) Dynasty vs. Sjukstugan (5) Courtesy of @MartindalexC Making up the fourth and final matchup in Elite we have Dynasty & Sjukstugan, the only series where, in my honest opinion, both teams 'realistically' have a chance of winning. Both have similar GF/GP (2.25 vs. 2.07) and GA/GP (1.32 vs. 1.39) averages with Dynasty edging out Sjukstugan in both, albeit slightly. Both have 18 wins on the season. And both are coming into the playoffs with fairly decent L10 records (6-2-2 vs. 6-3-1). Therefore, with such similar statistics one should perhaps expect a frugal affair where most, if not all, games in this series are decided by one goal. Especially so with the knowledge that teams tend to play even more conservative once the playoffs come around, so at the very least this series should offer up a level of parity between the two opponents that potentially won’t be seen elsewhere. Regarding who could break this ‘inevitable’ deadlock my votes of confidence are directed towards Dynasty’s dynamic winger in @hpkfani, as well as Sjukstugan’s playmaking head-honcho in @Tacterz, these two alone has exhibited the ability to change any given game more so than any other player on their respective rosters. On the other hand, a factor that should not be disqualified is the familiarity of this scenario that each team has, or rather, the disparity between them. Dynasty have been through this many a time before, with them reaching the Elite playoffs every single season thus far. Sjukstugan however are entering largely unchartered territory as only three players (one of which being a goalie) are making their return to the Elite playoffs from last season’s first round exit, the rest are new to this situation and one must wonder how impactful those ‘early series jitters’ will be, and more importantly, whether it will cost them the chance of progressing. In summary then, despite both teams seemingly being a pretty decent match I have to seriously question whether Sjukstugan can carry their play into the playoffs, especially as recently they have faltered against some fairly subpar opponents. Ergo, I feel that Dynasty should best Sjukstugan four games to two. Whilst 112 may cobble together two wins I simply don’t see Dynasty dropping the four games required for a Sjukstugan advancement, nevertheless despite this all games should be very close and this series will certainly be entertaining to watch. There you have it, gamers. Let the first round begin! Let us know in the comments section if you agree with our predictions and opinions about the teams. See you on the ice, ECL Elite Writing Team

Hey NHLGamers, The first round of the ECL 7 Pro Playoffs sure offered some drama! We're in for a treat as the playoffs continue with round 2 starting Monday November 26th, 2018 and goes on until Sunday December 2nd, 2018. As before, series are played with a best-of-7 format, meaning that four wins are required to advance to the semifinals. Also worth noting is that from this point on, teams are seeded based on PPG from the group stage. Without further ado, here are your ECL 7 Pro Playoff matchups for round 2: (1) Deadly Phantoms HC vs Pata Hellalla (16) Oh boy, did we ever se an exciting series in the first round between Deadly Phantoms and Saints! The first three games were a little slow, ending in DPH victories after which we saw a gigantic uproar and a lot of controversy regarding their play style, which was discussed widely in our community. Things got rather nasty, but let's leave it at that here. DPH lost the next three and the decisive game 7 was played Sunday night. The Phantoms seemed to have overcome their demons and advanced to round 2. The decisive effort in round 1 for DPH was seen by LW @Rayman (The_Rayman80), who managed to get on the board in each of the 7 games played so far. Skating up against the Phantoms, we have an underdog by a large margin - Pata Hellalla. This is surely the series to watch in the second round, as Pata Hellalla definitely isn't a team to toy around with. Pata managed to send group 1 winner Cowabunga Hockey packing for vacation to end the first round. All in all, this series has a nice storyline to it. DPH, who have faced the cold shoulder of (some of) the community, going up against the very likeable underdog PTH. We'll have to wait and see if the Phantoms can overcome adversity and harness it to their strength or if Pata will send yet another top seed packing. (4) Synergy Hockey vs CLUB ONE (12) Synergy is surely having a bounce-back season after a disappointing ECL 6. These guys have successfully regrouped and let no questions arise in the first round as they completely shut down their opponent Born With It, a team with serious playoff aspirations of their own. Goaltender @DUNZA has been standing on his head all season long and there is no reason to doubt him going forth to the second round. CLUB ONE on the other hand has had quite a fluctuant season as they haven't really strung together series of victories, but still managed to stay well above .500. The team managed to cause an upset in the first round, by outclassing 4th seed Checkmate in a series ending 4-1. Centerman and captain @epelis is leading his team into what they hope is a long playoff run. (5) Wasps Gaming vs Bucketeers (8) This will be a tough and grindy series. Mark my words. After quite a surprising season from the Bucketeers, we know better than to underestimate them! Definitely keep your focus on sniper @Daniel Gadd (demski13), with 6 goals in 6 games so far in the playoffs. Watch out for their goalies too, doesn't matter who's in the net, no easy way to score will be found. In Wasps, we have a well experienced side who knows how to win tough matchups. Lots of Pro experience in their squad. Worth a mention is @JaKurrii, who's had a great season, making his way onto our Team of the Week several times during the regular season and is expected to continue his strong outings in the playoffs. (6) Resurrection vs Speedy Bros Hockey (7) As a newly established team, Resurrection has managed to pave their way quite far into the big games. With a mix of you talent like @xKeskitalo and @Nikmes7 combine with prime leadership in @J0HTAJA and @Jiihooo86 has proven to be a good recipe for these boys so far. Having a dominant winger in @Artuzio isn't a bad addition to top it off. Resurrection managed to overcome a strong TIKI TALK with a series score of 4-2 in the first round. SBH on the other hand has already established themselves in the pro division. They haven't had any mentionable success so far and their regular season was on the average side. They have a hard-hitting defense and a very prominent scoring duo in @Tzon93 and @mir02k1 on their wings, so let's see if they'll be able to get it done in this series. There are some exciting times ahead, and games are only going to get tougher from this point on! Check our site and social media for any broadcasts coming up in the next few days. Until next time, @jahajaha93 & @Panarinz

Hello NHLGamers An exciting week with Lite round 2 is over and it's time for round 3 of the ECL 7 Lite playoffs! There are 16 teams left and only 6 of them were seeded top 10 into the playoffs, so we've seen some big upsets in round 2. In round 1 we saw only 2 out of 32 underdogs that went on to round 2. With some tight matchups in the second round, six teams with a lower seed ended up as winners. Five out of sixteen matchups went to game 7 and we should expect another exciting round and maybe even tighter series overall from now on. The games will be played in a best-of-7 manner, meaning it takes four wins to advance onto the next round. Round 3 has to be finished by Monday the 26th of November 23:59 CET. Matchups for round 3: (1) The Next Gen vs. Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat (35) (3) The Black Jacks vs. Infinity (28) (4) Mentula SKA vs. Elämäm Kiekko (27) (5) Clowns On Ice vs. Supremacy (24) (8) Supernatural vs. K A R H U T (23) (9) Rajatorpan Mafia vs. Dubnation Gaming (18) (12) SPARTANS vs. Kalamasu HT (16) (13) Freddie Mercury Institute vs. Inter Iceland (14) Broadcast We covered some good matchups in the second round on our Twitch channel. Should you want your games to be covered in our live broadcasts, please inform @Kenu about it as early as possible before the games. Necessary broadcast information includes: Date Time Line-ups for both teams (including correct spelling of PSN ID’s and player numbers) Captain/player interviews are a plus! We wish all the teams the best of luck - have fun out there!

Hi NHLGamers, the regular season of the Pro division is over and without further ado we start the first round of the ECL Pro Playoffs tomorrow, Monday 19th of November 2018. The first eight teams of both groups qualified for the playoffs with the goal of winning ECL Pro and having the shot of getting promoted to our highest tier division - ECL Elite! The teams will be cross-seeded so that e.g. the 1st placed team of group 1 will be playing against the 8th placed team in group 2 and so on. Starting from the second round, all teams will be seeded based on PPG and the other tie-breakers, where necessary. Every series will be played best-of-7, i.e. a team has to take four wins to advance to the next round. Teams have 7 days to finish the series, so the first round will take place starting Monday and ending Sunday, 25th of November 2018 23:59 CET. As there were no teams which got disqualified or folded, we will continue with four relegation battles with places 13 to 16 of both groups fighting for their right to play again in the Pro division next season. The relegation battles will also be cross-seeded between the groups and it takes 4 wins to close the series. The relegation battles will also take place from Monday, 19th November 2018 until Sunday, 25th November 2018 23:59 CET. These are the pairings for the first round of the playoffs: Pata Hellalla (G2 #8) vs Cowabunga Hockey (G1 #1) Born With It (G2 #7) vs 2. Synergy Hockey (G1 #2) Belizzi (G2 #6) vs Wasps Gaming (G1 #3) Raging Monkeys (G2 #5) vs Speedy Bros Hockey (G1 #4) EN HUND (G1 #5) vs Bucketeers (G2 #4) TIKI TALK (G1 #6) vs Resurrection (G2 #3) CLUB ONE (G1 #7) vs Checkmate (G2 #2) Saints (G1 #8) vs Deadly Phantoms HC (G2 #1) These are the pairings for the relegation battles: Nordic Nosebleed (G2 #16) vs Murohoki (G1 #13) Sektion K (G2 #15) vs 14. EV Duisburg (G1 #14) Free From Rodents (G1 #16) vs Nordic Stars (G2 #13) Unity (G1 #15) vs Bone Breakers (G2 #14) Teams that ended their season in no-mans-land (Places 9-12) will stay in Pro for the next season. The teams are: Racoon Rampage GHETTO FIREBIRDS Baltic Sea Eagles Style The Visionaries Pohjoista Voimaa Silver Sword Griffins Le Coq Sportif We would like to take this opportunity to thank all teams for participation, it was fun to watch and follow your games. Good luck for all teams with the further rounds and battles, good luck and most important - have fun!

Hi NHLGamers, We are ready for round 2 of the ECL 7 Lite playoffs! After a very quiet first round with nearly no upsets, as 30 out of 32 ended with the higher seed winning. The stage is set for another exciting week of playoff hockey and we are now into familiar territory with the best 32 teams of the Lite division that will have to do or die. We expect some upsets in this round, based on previous seasons, as some favourites will struggle and some underdogs will rise. The games will be played best-of-7, meaning it takes four wins to make it into the next round. Due to the EA server downtime pushing the regular season end and eventually causing the Playoff pairs in round 1 to be published quite late, we ended up allowing one extra day for the first round of the playoffs, thus pushing the rest of the rounds forward, meaning round 2 has to be finished by end of Monday the 19th of November. Below are the pairs for round 2: 1. The Next Gen vs 43. Pink Panthers HC 2. Finnish Snipers vs 35. Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat 3. The Black Jacks vs 32. Lehmannen Badboyz 4. Mentula SKA vs 31. Puck Panthers 5. Clowns On Ice vs 29. Etelan Vetelat 6. Prowlers vs 28. Infinity 7. FarmiNaattori vs 27. Elämäm Kiekko 8. Supernatural vs 26. Suomen Sonnit 9. Rajatorpan Mafia vs 25. Finnish Hockey Legends 10. HokiDogit vs 24. Supremacy 11. We Kings vs 23. K A R H U T 12. SPARTANS vs 21. Poston Fruits 13. Freddie Mercury Institute vs 20. Blackdawgs 14. Inter Iceland vs 19. Kaukosen Luistin 15. Perttilan Kommandot vs 18. Dubnation Gaming 16. Kalamasu HT vs 17. Team France Please let us know when these matchups are going to take place, which gives us a better chance to cover it on our Twitch channel. Should you want your games to be covered in our live broadcasts, please provide us with the necessary information as early as possible before the games. The information includes: Date Time Line-ups for both teams (including correct spelling of PSN ID’s and player numbers) Captain/player interviews are a plus! We wish all the teams the best of luck - have fun out there!