Hey NHLGamers,
we hope you are excited as we are to get the playoffs started.
As we mentioned in our post about the playoff-pairings, it’s now time to step up or step aside. Can an underdog step face-to-face against a goliath, or are there going to be dreams crushed by the recent favorites?
In this article we give you our predictions about every match-up and mention possible factors for every team.
VS 
Bare Knuckles Hockey (17-1-0 / L10: 9-1-0) vs EaLogic (9-7-2 / L10: 3-6-1)
David vs Goliath or EaLogic vs Bare Knuckles Hockey. Is it even fair? Bare Knuckles Hockey finished with the best record in the regular season, coming up short of a perfect regular season with a loss in the last game. EaLogic had an upside down season: they failed to compete against the top guns of their group and were the last team to jump on the playoff train via a nail-biting tie-breaker. We don't mean to be harsh, but this sounds like a pretty obvious outcome. The cornerstone of this high scoring offense (78 goals) is right winger Teroe94 with 60 points, finished #2 among skaters. Their man in the crease Geqee also had a strong regular season, gaining 15 wins with only 1,81 GAA by 4 shutouts. On the other side of the field center Chaostive has to lead his team offensively and get their defensive tight to reduce scoring chances.
Prediction: 4:0 Bare Knuckles Hockey
VS 
Cowabunga Hockey (15-2-1 / L10: 8-1-1) vs Slapshot Club Germany (9-6-3 / L10: 5-4-1)
Cowabunga Hockey can tear apart opponents with their high-scoring offense (84 goals), which is lead by #1 top scorer Fin_torsp90 (63 points). As if that wouldn’t be enough, they have the best goaltender so far in this season. Jonitski managed a 1,44 GAA average with an outstanding save percentage of 88%. Cowabunga Hockey's whole defensive game plan worked so far, with only 26 goals against in 18 games.
Slapshot Club Germany had a bad start, strong mid-season and an even worse finish. Despite managing to get the necessary wins to make it to the playoffs, the team struggled to find their game all season long. Their defensive core has to step up and needs to keep clear shots for their netminder NHLDennis86. As they won’t get that many scoring chances, they have to be very effective in the offensive zone.
Prediction: 4:1 Cowabunga Hockey
VS 
SGWEER United (15-2-1 / L10: 7-2-1) vs Kaksikymmentaseitseman (8-7-3 / L10: 6-4-0)
SGWEER United had the top scoring offense (86 goals) of this past regular season, but their defense is one of the weakest among the top teams. The top offensive duo Gregson91 and riNBF3 (both over 55 Points) needs to keep scoring to keep their hopes of moving on to the next round alive. The Germans also have the best defensive pairing measured in points, but they need to step up in the defensive zone. Their lack of effectiveness could bother them as you can see in the first two results (7:3 win, 2:1 loss).
Kaksikymmentaseitseman had a sloppy start, but gaining 6 out of their 8 wins in their last 10 games. They need to keep their net clean and score on the chances they will get.
Prediction: 4:2 SGWEER United
VS 
Hippo Rangers (15-2-1 / L10: 10-0-0) vs KulmalaHengaus (8-7-3 / L10: 4-4-2)
Hippo Rangers had the best possible record in the last 10 games, finishing strong with 10 wins. Their strong defensive core around their goaltender Perkkari - who managed a 1,50 goals against average with a save percentage of 84% - needs to play as they're used to. They are strong in faceoffs (57%), which could be the factor in tight match-ups. Their wingers lilchippah and Jii84-- (nearly 100 points in 18 games combined) need to keep their path going and hype their team up.
Kulmala Hengaus struggled all season long, but won all important matchups against their evenly skilled opponents. They need to power up their offense to score against their opponents really good defense.
Prediction: 4:0 Hippo Rangers
VS 
Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat (14-3-1 / L10: 8-2-0) vs Rusty Bulls (10-7-1 / L10: 7-3-0)
Rusty Bulls is a experienced team with a lot of tournaments under their belt. Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat had one of the best goal differences in the regular season. Rukoilevat have a well merited LW/C in Samzoni and he knows how to play the tough games and get out with a win.
Prediction: 4:1 Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat
VS 
Suomen Sonnit (14-3-1- / L10: 8-2-0) vs Cancun Pirates (10-7-1 / L10: 5-4-1)
Suomen Sonnit has a lot of really experienced former ECL Pro players. Cancun Pirates is a sponsored French team in their first season. In this series the Bauer sponsorship will not matter. Sonnit would want to make an early statement and sweep Cancun.
Prediction: 4:0 Suomen Sonnit
VS 
Ghetto Firebirds (14-3-1 / L10: 7-2-1) vs ICEBREAKERS EAGLES (10-6-2 / L10: 6-3-1)
Ghetto Firebirds have been pendling up and down between Pro and Lite. This time they will try their hardest to get up to Pro and stay there. With a faceoff percentage of over 58% they can build a little momentum in tight matchups. ICEBREAKERS EAGLES is a fusion of three old OEHL teams. Eagles can surprise quite a few people. They have a good mix of players and it's worth keeping an eye on Willander97, if he gets playtime in this series, as I'm sure he will score some goals.
Prediction: 4:1 Ghetto Firebirds
VS 
EV Duisburg (14-4-0 / L10: 8-2-0) vs Soldiers of Odens (11-7-0 / L10: 7-3-0)
EV Duisburg has a lot of experience in ECL Lite, having played 3 seasons in Lite. However, this time their roster looks strong and deep, so they will look to get promoted. Their decent power play (30%) could take them a little step further into the next round. Soldiers of Odens have a couple Lite seasons under their belt, but they barely made it through to the playoffs with a negative goal difference. Odens improved their game towards the end of the regular season, are they able to continue?
Prediction: 4:2 EV Duisburg
VS 
Etelan Vetelat (14-4-0 / L10: 8-2-0) vs 5th Line Heroes (11-7-0 / L10: 6-4-0)
Etelan Vetelat had a good regular season throughout, from a good beginning to a strong finish with 8 wins in their last 10 games. Their decent defense, backed up by their goaltender AcED719 with a 84% save-percentage, has to prevent the scoring chances of the stacked up offense of 5th Line Heroes. Their key to success will be to build up from their offensive outcome and reduce their turnovers. 5th Line Heroes key player will be Ale_012 with an incredible shot percentage of 56,4% by 22 goals in the regular season.
Prediction: 4:2 Etelan Vetelat
VS 
Korpens Finest (13-3-2 / L10: 9-0-1) vs The Black Jacks (11-6-1 / L10: 4-5-1)
Korpens Finest topped a very tough ECL Lite group - some would say the toughest this season - and played very evenly throughout the season. The Black Jacks played in the same group and could have finished top of the group if two or three results had gone their way. Expect this one to be a tough fight until the very end, maybe with a small advantage for Korpens Finest, as they won both games in the regular season, but it could go either way.
Prediction: 4:2 Korpens Finest
VS 
Style (13-4-1 / L10: 9-1-0) vs Roistot (10-4-4 / L10: 8-1-1)
Style struggled at the beginning of their season, but got their things together trough mid-season. Their positive trend shows up in their last 10 games, where they won 9 out of 10 games. Roistot's key to success will be to shut down Styles' top scorer Panarinz with 48 points in 18 games. Roistot has a nearly similar path to the playoffs. Their dynamic duo of altsu123 and taikuri8_0, with over 100 combined points, can easily outscore every opponent when they are on fire. They might be the best 5th seed of this season.
Prediction: 4:3 Style
VS 
Freddie Mercury Institute (13-4-1 / L10: 6-3-1) vs Elämäm Kiekko (11-5-2 / L10: 6-4-0)
In this match-up pair between Freddie Mercury Institute and Elämän Kiekko we find two well experienced teams with several ECL seasons in the bag, both as a team and as individuals. This is a hard matchup to predict. The key duel could be the FMI defense with only 1,5 GA per game versus EMK's right wing Markogirl87, who is ranked #9 in the division with 53 points (23G, 30A).
Prediction: 4:3 Freddie Mercury Institute
VS 
Pohjoista Voimaa (13-4-1 / L10: 7-2-1) vs DELIRIUM (12-6-0 / L10: 8-2-0)
Pohjoista Voimaa's games may not be spectacular to watch (38 Goals, 25 Goals against), but they are highly effective. Their key to success is to build from their very decent defense around their netminder Meiha (88% save-percentage). DELIRUIM had a strong push towards the end of the regular season and have to be very effective on the few scoring chances they will get, in order to move forward.
Prediction: 2:4 DELIRIUM
VS 
Club de Caballeros (12-3-3 / L10: 7-1-2) vs Motherpuckers (12-5-1 / L10: 6-3-1)
Also a big matchup with teams from a really tough group. Motherpuckers is an old top team and consists of multiple old Elite players and also a few old EHL winners. Their special teams with a 35% power play could be the key factor in this series. Club de Caballeros have a good mix of new talent and former Pro players. It's also worth mentioning that they have MovaaN, a big name in the community who played for both several Pro seasons and one in Elite. This will be the toughest matchup in this round. Both their mutual regular season games went to OT and you might see these teams needing some extra time a few times this series as well.
Prediction: 3:4 Motherpuckers
VS 
Sektion K (12-4-2 / L10: 6-2-2) vs Finnish Hockey Legends (12-5-1 / L10: 6-3-1)
Sektion K has players with Pro experience that know what it takes to win against top teams. Honorable mention goes to Edhoolm97, a former Lavetten (ECL Pro) player that knows how to score goals. Finnish Hockey Legends has played well throughout this season but Sektion K have the edge in this series due to their experience.
Prediction: 4:1 Sektion K
VS 
HokiDogit (11-3-4 / L10: 6-1-3) vs Bucketeers (12-5-1 / L10: 7-3-0)
The regular season records don't not tell you much in this matchup. Even though HokiDogit finished in a higher position in their group and with more points than Bucketeers, Bucketeers is a strong team that played in a tough group. They shouldn't be underestimated here. Bucketeers may not be very well-known in the ECL community, but when you face them in EASHL games that would not be noticeable. With a high paced attack and a strong defence, they will give HokiDogit some tough games.
Prediction: 1:4 Bucketeers
We are sure that there will be tons of highlights in this years Lite playoffs and they will be very fun to watch, so be sure to save them and send them our way!
Credits to @Panarinz and @iRSPe for their help with this article 
Best of luck to all the teams, play fair, respect your opponent and have fun!
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