ECL 10 Elite Playoffs: Quarterfinals preview

 NHLGamers,

We've come a long way from where we began, as we started out with 16 teams at the same line, all with one goal in mind - hoisting the trophy and cashing in to cap off the historical ECL 10 Elite season. Now, obviously things don't always go as planned and I'll be the first to attest the truth of that statement. Some stories didn't go as planned, but to those teams we say thank you for a good fight and we truly hope to see each and every one of those back in the competition as soon as possible. To the eight fiercest competitors who have come all this way - now the real fight begins. It is time to see who will perform under pressure.

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5.3 ECL Elite Playoffs

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

10.5.1 ECL Elite Playoff Schedule
• Quarterfinals: 17.5 - 24.5
   - Monday 18th: Series 1 & Series 2 - Games 1 & 2
   - Wednesday 20th: Series 1 & Series 2 - Games 3 & 4
   - Thursday 21st: Games 5-7 (Where available)
   - Sunday 24th: Games 5-7 (Where available)
• Semifinals: 25.5 - 31.5
   - Monday 25th: Both series - Games 1 & 2
   - Wednesday 27th: Both series - Games 3 & 4
   - Thursday 28th: Games 5-7 (Where available)
   - Sunday 31st: Games 5-7 (Where available)
• Finals: 5.6 - 6.6
   - Friday 5th: Games 1-3
   - Saturday 6th: Games 4-7 (Where available)

Here are the matchups for the ECL 10 Elite quarterfinals:

(1)  JYP Jyvaskyla vs Farjestad BK  (8)
RECORD
26-2-2 vs 13-14-3

TOP SCORER
 Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen (32+37=69) vs Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson (12+38=50=42)

GOALTENDER
Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos (26 W, 85,86 SV%, 1,43 GAA, 8 SO) vs Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist (13 W, 75,44 SV%, 3,27 GAA, 1 SO)

I'm doubting it can be called a surprise that JYP eventually secured the number one seed with how dominant they looked from time to time. The former Symphony squad had a massive deviation from their normal form in ECL 9 as they nearly missed out on postseason action, but managed to sneak in and eventually lost in the quarterfinals. Having recruited defensive superstars Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Ilmari @iilmarii Töyrylä, offensive force Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, and capping that off with a backstop the caliber of Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos the black and red look more powerful than ever and are certainly sending a storm surge the way of Farjestad BK ahead of their clash. Much alike JYP, Farjestad also had a rather comprehensive makeover before the ongoing ECL season, the team acquired two new wingers, overhauled their defense and also brought in a goaltender. New faces Sebastian @eBasstian Nagel, Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg, Harri @Totalii Joona and Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist have all fared well so far into the season, but JYP and their smothering physical play can be a difficult beast to overcome for the hard striking offense and quick-footed wingers of FBK.

(2)  Linkoping HC vs Roots  (7)
RECORD
26-3-1 vs 15-10-5

TOP SCORER
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie (58+35=93) vs Timi @Rimpe Rimpeläinen (22+22=44)

GOALTENDER
Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (26 W, 80,67 SV%, 1,53 GAA, 5 SO) vs Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari (15 W, 81,73 SV%, 2,4 GAA, 2 SO)

"At NHLGamer, we're all about setting records..", yes, that's something we wrote in our first ever tweet about the 10th iteration of the ECL. It seems that Paul @PleeMaker Arontie didn't just rest on his laurels, but took this as literally as can be and put up a record-setting goal total of 58 notches in 30 games. Scoring nearly two goals per game as an individual at the highest level of competition is entirely unheard of, but this is where we've come and boy, are we happy to be on that ride! Let's not forget that the reigning champions have a roster full of other superstars too and that will cause trouble for Roots in a best-of-7 series. The fresh organisation hailing out of Kerava, Finland will have their work cut out for them in when taking the ice against one of the most successful teams in ECL history. Roots made a trademark out of keeping scores low, which was a recipe that worked out for them for long stretches of the season. A majority of Roots games were one goal battles and if they can keep that same trend going against LHC, they could very well be able to steal some wins.

(3)  HAVU Gaming vs BRAYCE Phantoms  (6)
RECORD
26-3-1 vs 17-11-2

TOP SCORER
Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (29+44=73) vs Simon @PlaymakerSJ Junker (19+31=50)

GOALTENDER
Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (26 W, 83,26 SV%, 1,33 GAA, 7 SO) vs Patrick @RPH_31 Braun (17 W, 75,79 SV%, 2,18 GAA, 6 SO)

The clash between HAVU Gaming and BRAYCE Phantoms is not only a battle of the 3rd seed and the 6th seed of ECL 10 Elite. It is also a battle of nations, with the full roster of HAVU hailing from Finland while BRAYCE is flying the German flag high. Furthermore, it is a clash between two different styles of play. Both squads enjoy keeping the puck within the team but whereas HAVU prefers keeping it in the offensive zone, BRAYCE is just as happy patrolling the neutral zone – patiently waiting for the correct spot to send in main offensive threat Simon @PlaymakerSJ Junker with the puck through the center lane. Both teams have championship experience. BRAYCE has brought home the German championship on four separate occasions (GCL 2-5) and stand as the reigning champions of that tournament. HAVU has collected three separate titles (ECL 8, eSM 2019 & IS Cup 4 – four titles including Spring League) in the span of about a year, with the same six players on the ice for each one. Captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha usually finds a way to motivate his players for the big games. And it does not get any bigger than the Elite playoffs. Expect HAVU to come out firing right away in Game 1.

(4)  hREDS vs Unlucky Boys HC  (5)
RECORD
19-9-2 vs 17-10-3

TOP SCORER
Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (25+45=70) vs Antti @Anhel Kuru (23+21=44)

GOALTENDER
Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen (11 W, 75,6 SV%, 2,28 GAA, 2 SO) vs Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen (10 W, 84,48 SV%, 1,93 GAA, 2 SO)

Prior to the season a top four was predicted in many sources and the turnout was exactly as expected, probably just not in the order as expected. The big bad red is one of the stronger teams in the league but from looking at the regular season, there still is a gap between them and the top three that set themselves apart with a quite clear 13-point margin. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen continues on the path to stardom that he started last season in the now defunct Butterfly Effect. 70 points in total matches his last season totals and earns him a 4th place finish in the scoring race. Unlucky Boys HC is stepping up against the hREDS skilled offense in this battle. UB had very fittingly an incredibly tough start of the season and their first ten games yielded only two wins. It took some time to fins their stride, but the mid-season acquisition of goaltender Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen seems to have sparked the fire, that pushed UB to one of the hottest runs in the league to finish the season. 

How to watch?

The games will be broadcasted at NHLGamer's Twitch-channel according to the schedule below:

Monday, May 18th
20:00 CEST Series 1: Games 1-2 (puck drop around 20:15)
(1)  JYP Jyvaskyla vs Farjestad BK  (8)

21:15 CEST Series 2: Games 1-2  (puck drop around 21:30 - but only after the above games are finished)
(2)  Linkoping HC vs Roots  (7)

Wednesday, May 20th
20:00 CEST Series 3: Games 3-4 (puck drop around 20:15)
(4)  hREDS vs Unlucky Boys HC  (5)
21:15 CEST Series 4: Games 3-4 (puck drop around 21:30 - but only after the above games are finished)
(3)  HAVU Gaming vs BRAYCE Phantoms  (6)

Thursday, May 21st
20:00 CEST Series x: Games 5-7 (puck drop around 20:15)