One shot away from the semifinals

Rebels have taken yet another series to 7 games, this time with a different outcome. We lost game 7 in OT on a penalty shot. We were matched up against Power of Finland a strong contender to the finals. POF had a record of 25-2-1 during the regular season and were ranked no.1 in the playoffs.

A lot of things have happened in DRS this year, we moved the whole team to xbox. Tried some new players which had to leave right before the tournament. We knew this was going to be tough and that this was not our tournament. Our goal was to watch and learn from all these new teams and make the playoffs. We do what we can, we showed some great character, we fight for each other, we fall with our flag on the top and we fall together. I am damn proud to be a part of this group.

There is no fucking way in hell that anyone in DRS get to spend some Christmas holiday after this, they should drop down and give me twenty push ups before each game until they learn not to loose 😉 The work to build on this, get stronger and add the missing pieces to the squad starts right here and right now. We also want to thank everyone who makes these tournaments possible and every team that we have played. We’ll be back for the next one. Cheers

Quarterfinals

Okay so this is not Drunken Rebels official opinions…just want to make it clear that people tend to either consider this blog MY blog…probably because Ive been most active with the posts here. But we are several guys who post here. Second…it’s our opinions that are reflected here, not Drunken Rebels opinions.

I will dispense my tips for the quarterfinals…and they are MY tips…not Nephenzy’s (he actually hade 7/8 of the first round winners…although he only gave his tips to the highest ranking teams so I considering him disqualified for the first round haha) but I hope he will make his tips for the quarterfinals official here on the blog in a day or two. Anyway lets go!

Quarterfinals are determined by the teams ranking by average point per game in the group stage.

What’s interesting is that 4 teams from each group advanced…also the top 8 teams from the group stage. Furthermore, they all play teams from their own group.

1. Power of Finland vs 8. Drunken Rebels

Alright…I admit, PoF is favorites in this one. They showed an impressive form in the group stage, they have won titles, have experience, skill, game winners everywhere etc etc. BUT…do they have the teamplay and tactical sense that will be required to beat us? Im not entirely sure. I think we showed a few teams that offensive skills alone does not win games against us. In the group stage they shocked us with a 6-1 win in game 1. We adapted in game 2 and won. PoF is probably experienced, but we have everything to win in this series, and the pressure is definitely on them. I think over 7 games we will find a way to beat them.

Group Stage

6-1, 4-5 (OT)

Tip: 3-4

2. Sons of the Morning vs 7. Laser HT

Sons beat Rednecks in 5 games…as predicted. Laser beat COG in 5 games…not what I expected. They finished the group stage on a strong note and impressed in the first round. Might be a tough opponent for Sons. I think it depends a bit on what squad Sons will play during this series. But they don’t seem to have too much difficulty with Laser.

Group Stage:

2-1, 3-1

Tip: 4-2

3. Northern Stars vs 6. Baltic Sea Eagles

Northern Stars are definitely favorites, but BSE seems to be on a roll at the moment, and Honkanen can obviously win games by himself (Player of the tournament?). NOS will advance, but it will not be a walk in the park for them. BSE are extremely offensive scoring the most goals of any team in the group stage. Although NOS seem to prefer offensively over defensively skilled teams.

Group Stage:

6-0, 3-2 (OT)

Tip: 4-2

4. Sjukstugan vs 5. HC Sika

Sjukstugan advanced from first round by w.o since Red Light Zone withdrew from the tournament. They showed us during the group stage though, that they are very competent and a contender to win the tournament. HC Sika also impressed and are very tough team to beat so Im really looking forward to see how this series will turn out. I somehow get the feeling that HC Sika doesn’t suit Sjukstugan to well. Either way it will be a battle to behold.

3-2 (OT), 0-1

Tip: 3-4

Rebels win first round in game 7

It was one of those days… When you could almost touch the pressure through the tv-screen. When heroes are born and someone gets to be a scapegoat. When your goalie steps up after losing game 6 with 2-8 and says he’s gonna do his game of a lifetime. It was just one of those days… Nothing gets to you like game 7 does. I have been there before and I’ll never forget when we beat Motherpuckers in game 7 as heavy underdogs in EHL 2010 on ps3. I am so pumped up with energy and feelings during the game and when the whistle blows its almost like as the world stops spinning. I can’t feel anything, I’m not happy or sad… It’s just quiet, dark, empty and I’m shaking like never before. Who needs drugs anyway? It took a few minutes before I could report the game and I can’t even remember that I scored in this one. I want to thank everyone in this community for making this possible. I feel for Cosa Nostra, after 7 games 47 goals it all comes down to the very last second. Sports can be so brutal. Nostra is a very competent team with a lot of offensive skills, we are more of a tactical team and it could have gone either way. We play with different guys in the line-up every night and every player in our squad gets the credit for this effort. The biggest problem for us now is not to be too happy and satisfied with this, there are a lot of work left. Power of Finland is of course favorites against us but we know how they play and we know how to disturb their game. We just have to stay focused and get the job done, battle until the very end again.

Playoffs!

Some players might have considered the group stage a stretch of waiting for the playoffs. I don’t know how players in Northern Stars or Power of Finland view the group stage games. But I think it’s been a fantastic tournament so far. Incredible tight and uncertain games with upsets almost every game night. I have to brag a little bit about my predictions. Top 5 teams in Group A were actually identical with my predictions. Top 6 teams in Group B were the same teams but in different order. I managed to predict 13 of the 16 teams for the playoffs, which is pretty okay I guess.

I also think a few teams that finished the tournament without any w.o losses and without making it to the playoffs should receive an honorable mention. To be able to hold a really good tournament the community depends on teams that don’t quit when things are going against them.

Thank you!

• Russian Rockets DTM
• FHR Punakone
• Vapor Snipers
• Ducktales BK
• Bare Knuckles Hockey
• Latvian Blades
• Russian Royal League

The 1/8-finals are:

1A Power of Finland – 8B HC Meteor

HC Meteor has a great goaltender that can win games alone…against most teams. Not against PoF. Not 4 times out of 7 at least. Power of Finland looks to be in great shape and it would surprise med if Meteor won 1 game in this series.

Tip: 4-0

2A Sons of the Morning – 7B HC Rednecks

Sons didnt impress that much in the beginning, although they still managed to win games. But lately they started to play certain players a bit more such as Craig, Tjandor and Camel2e. Looking stronger and stronger, and although ImSteelD left the team and quit playing, their defense looks solid. Their offense has always been top notch. Can get a bit sloppy overall though so I wouldnt be surprised if Rednecks steal a game.

Tip: 4-1

3A Laser HT – 6B Company of Geeks

This one is going to be tough. Laser didnt impress that much in the beginning (except when they played us) but moved up from 8th position to claim no 3 spot in Group A in just 4 rounds. CoG on the other hand has not impressed as I would have expected. On the other hand they made some impressive signings with Pulverapa, Laurillon and Lycklig Man. Question is if they can get their teamplay together for such short notice? Captain Jesus been busy saving humanity instead of playing EHL in the group stage. CoG’s survival in the playoff will depend on his resurrection. CoG has the experience though and I think they will advance by a slim margin.

Tip: 3-4

4A Drunken Rebels vs 5B Cosa Nostra

Another series that feels uncertain. Cosa Nostra has struggled a little bit against the top teams so far. Although getting 4 points in the last round against NOS is impressive, and their squad looks solid. Plus Foppatofflan is always a threat. Hopefully he will focus on United Knights on PS3 😀 DRS has played very disciplined for the most part of the tournament. What we may lack in experience we definitely make up for with winning mentality. I suspect its going to be a low scoring contest where our rookie goalkeeper SixTer will push us forward to the quarterfinal in a seven game win.

Tip: 4-3

4B Baltic Sea Eagles – 5A Birka Vikings

Baltic Sea Eagles reminds me of a loose canon when Ive watched them play. It doesnt look like they have a game plan. That is if wraps and trying to pass the puck from behind the goal to the slot is not considered a game plan. They look outright weak in their own zone. But undeniably they score goals. A lot of them. Birka on the other hand is an allround strong team that plays a little bit more tactical. If Birka kan stop BSE’s offensive they might face less problems than suspected.

Tip: 2-4

3B HC Sika – 6A Tico Tico

I havent really seen Sika play so far but looking at their result I think they impressed so far. Tico Tico had a slow start but has been playing better and better. I still think Sika will advance without too much trouble.

Tip: 4-1

2B Sjukstugan – 7A Red Light Zone

Sjukstugan had a good chance of winning their group, but lost their last game and finished second. Still, very impressive and they play extremely well defense, combined with some very skilled offense. Its a winning combination. Red Light Zone didnt impress me before EHL and not the games we played against them…but somehow they managed to win quite a few games. I dont think thats enough though to overthrow Sjukstugan.

Tip: 4-0

1B Northern Stars – 8B HC Redballs

Some might say NOS has not played as well as expected. I dont know…there are a lot of good teams and they still managed to finish first in their group. Even without Floorbandy. With him…they are 1 level better so they are still my favorite to win EHL.

Tip: 4-0

Considering the accuracy of this blog’s predictions you know you have the results already…but anyway good luck to all the teams! 😀

EHL Group Stage Final Spurt

The Group Stage of 2012 EHL is coming to its end. As many predicted it has been an extremely even tournament (on Xbox that is) so far. Almost any team can beat each other. NHL13 has made different playing styles even more obvious than previous games. Drunken Rebels is a fairly good example of that. We were never that great at dangling and stuff in NHL12, but there were few teams that matched our passing play and tempo. It was always a surprise those few times another team had more time on attack. NHL13 made that style almost impossible (which I think is one of the few drawbacks with this years game) so instead we have to rely on our structure, discipline and solid defense.

In group A, things are as they have been throughout the whole tournament….extremely even and uncertain. Laser HT has imo underperformed a bit and find themselves hugging the last playoff spot. They have 8 games left though against FHR Punakone, Redballs, Kristinehamn Bombers and Tico Tico. Its gonna be interesting to see if they will step it up in the last games to avoid playing Northern Stars in the first playoff round. Voodo People has done a great tournament so far but maybe reality caught up with them finally? Not counting their w.o wins over Mullsjö, they are on a loosing streak of 6 games. They find themselves at the 10th spot with 26 points…also 8 games left but tough opponents in Redballs, Bombers, Tico Tico and Birka. They probably need around 18-20 points to make the playoffs. That will be a challenge.

Group B didnt look as exciting halfway but things are starting to look really interesting. The top 5 teams have practically secured a playoff spot. Behind them we find the teams of Ducktales, Company of Geeks, Cosa Nostra, Meteor and Toy Story. Ducktales has played 22 games, Toy Story 20 and the rest has played 18 games. Im fairly certain that Company of Geeks and Cosa Nostra will secure two of the three spots so the question is who the last team will be?

Ducktales has 33 points and 4 games against Sjukstugan and Sika left. Thats two very tough opponents and Ducktales cant be sure of any more points.

Meteor has 27 points and 8 games left against Cosa Nostra, Bare Knuckles Hockey, Russian Royal League and Toy Story. Im sure they will get more than 6 points in those games which puts the pressure on Ducktales to get at least 1 or 2 wins in their games.

Toy Story has 24 points and 6 games left against Baltic Sea Eagles, Company of Geeks and HC Meteor. I don’t think they will get many points against BSE or CoG so 6 points against Meteor is absolutely crucial, but still…they depend on the other results going their way.

My bet is that around 37 points will get you the last playoff spot and I believe it will be Meteor who step up to the challenge.

 

 

EHL Half-time report Group B

After half the games in the group stage of this years EHL it is obvious that Group A and B differ on several points. I believe Group A is a success for the community, TGMA and the tournament. There are actually 12 teams out of the 16 that not only have a good chance of making it to the playoffs, but are extremely close to each other in points. DRS has 33 points at 4th place. Russian Rockets has 27 points at 10th place. Okay okay this post is about group B

Group B feel a bit less interesting if you look at the standing. 1 team dropped out so they are only 14 teams left.

Leading group B pav is Sjukstugan which showed an impressive form so far. They look very solid and are definitely a huge contender to win EHL this year. Right behind them is Northern Stars which obviously are still favorites to win the tournament. HC Sika has also impressed so far. Baltic Sea Eagles are doing great at 4th place Behind them, the other teams have struggled a bit…and perhaps should be lucky CSSR dropped out…because the competition for a playoff spot in group B doesn’t look to fierce at the moment. 21 points will get you a playoff spot. I only see 9 teams actually battling for the spots and in the end it will be about either Ducktales or Toy Story. I look forward to watching their games on Ducktales stream November 19.

EHL Half-time report

The Group Stage in EHL 2012 is halfway done. As predicted its a very tight tournament overall. We’ve seen very few games with big wins (BSE vs Latvian Blades 10-1 being the biggest so far?). Personally I really like it. There’s no easy wins anymore. Even if you play a team that struggled and lost most of their games…nothing is certain and a simple misstake could end up costing you 3 points. In group A, Power of Finland has taken a comfortable lead. We knew they were coming out strong for the EHL, but looking at their results, they seem even better than we thought and are definitely one of the strongest contenders to win the tournament. 14 regular wins out of 14 games is simply impressive. They have lost Imosi to Sjukstugan which is a setback, but Im sure I WiLLii I(Hpkfani) is one of the best replacements they could find. Playing against him on PS3 in NHL 12 I know he is very skilled.

Behind PoF is a fairly open affair. At the moment the top 5 teams in Group A are the same as this blog predicted…although we’re only halfway through so the standings are still a bit dependent on the schedule and which teams you’ve played etc. Battling for a playoff-spot at the moment are

The outcome is obviously uncertain. Redballs and Tico Tico seem to have a fairly tough schedule ahead of them, although since Norrlands Guld is making a comeback with, what appears to be almost a new team…the presets have changed. Add to the fact that I still don’t think Punakone had their last say in this group. Punakone has not performed as I thought but they also had a really tough schedule so far.

Drunken Rebels EHL so far is pretty much like predicted. Besides som pretty frustrating last minutes lost points (RLZ, Redballs etc) I think we performed well. We play disciplined with a really strong defense which help in tight games (most of the EHL games so to speak). Any team who wants to beat us has to play good. The only draw for me was the games against Laser where I think we greatly underperformed, not sticking to our game plan. But we put ourself in a good position to make the playoffs. Which obviously must be a huge surprise to the community judging by other teams EHL-predictions 😉

Stay tuned for the report on Group B

 

EHL Forecast Group B

Okay…not really a forecast eh? EHL already started goddamnit. Well, most team only played 2 rounds so far so I say it’s still legit to forecast the outcome even though I got some help already from the games that has been played. Without further ado, here’s my forecast of group B.

1. Northern Stars

Really??? Well, the team to beat on the xbox-console, period. Northern Stars is a machine. I always feel we play kind of bad when we’re playing them. One game could be a coincidence, but not 5 straight games. They are experts in making you feel like you are not playing your best and even in games when they don’t seem to play their best, they still win the games. Anything else but another tournament victory for NOS would be a huge upset…and quite fascinating to be frank.

2. Cosa Nostra

Who are these guys? Headed by what I call ”ps3-guys” Foppatofflan and Lainville they obviously have the offensive tools to  go far. And apparently one of my favourite D’s in Swedish Hockey Kennholt started playing eashl and he is doing fine so far. 🙂

3. Sjukstugan

Another great Swedish team. We’ve been struggling alot against them. They are good no doubt, even though I felt we underperformed in our games against them. Still…Sjukstugan got alot of good players on all positions. Im especially fond of their RD Jaiken.

4. Company of Geeks

I don’t know how good they were in previous games, but stats don’t lie (most of the time anyway) and COG usually makes it to the semifinals. This year I believe they will struggle with that. They have alot of qualities and Im not writing them off. Just saying the competition this year is fierce and going the distance will be harder than ever. Does have the experience that many other teams lack which might benefit them in a tight series. Hold them as a little bit of an outsider to the very top teams…and that might suit them quite good.

5. Baltic Sea Eagles

Another great team, which we traded some wins and losses with. They are good all around but might lack a few top players to be a real threat to the top teams in these tournaments. No doubt they will make it to the playoffs though.

6. HC Sika

If there is one thing Ive always hated with the NHL-series its the f****** interferences that EA dont want or cant fix. You pass the puck…no one is around and then suddenly someone change direction and comes charging at you. In real hockey that is a 2 min penalty for sure. If you are heading in a direction, someone passes the puck and you check him…thats fine. But in NHL13 you can actually start charging someone after they passed the puck. You have around 3 seconds to hit him. I fuckin hate it. Sika loves it! Im sure in future games they will have to change their style of play, but as it is now…their rape-hockey is legit…and to some extent I love it haha…I just don’t wanna be their opponent. Still Sika is not a bad team. They don’t look too good when they play, but they know their strengths and play to it. Very aggressive team and does the whole north south hockey very good. Broad Street Bullies anyone?

7. Toy Story

Lots of people think they will be a big surprise in the tournament. I haven’t really seen them lately. I heard they are alot better than in the beginning of NHL13. I hope so for their sake, cause they didnt look to good last time I played them. That being said, its a playoff team…I just dont see them going far in this tournament due to the competition. Note: Our former teammate Zlaktarn joined the team so best of luck to you Zlaktarn!

8. HC Rednecks

Their wins over Ducktales in the first round was impressive and maybe this team will do better than one would have expected. Still, not a favourite in this group and will probably end up somewhere in the middle, but playoff should be within reach.

9. CSSR Team

Occasionally they play really really good. They are just not consistent enough. Not compared to the other teams in this group. Will definitely battle for a playoff spot.

10. Ducktales

Ducktales at 10th place? Well, this might be a miscalculation of course and I actually hope it is because I like them. But their games against Rednecks didnt look good. They need to step it up if they wanna continue to the playoffs.

11. NHL Naturell

They started EHL very good…being the only team in group B alongside NOS to score a clean sheet so far with 4 straight wins. 2 of them came against Toy Story, so definitely a team to reckon with. But in the long run I think they will find it difficult to make the playoffs.

12. Bare Knuckles Hockey

They are decent. But that just aint good enough in this group. Would surprise me alot if they made it to the playoffs.

13. Latvian Blades

On the occasional offhand game they can steal a victory from far better teams, but in a series of 25+ games against top teams I don’t think they have the consistency nor the skill to be successful.

14. Russian Royal League

Looking at their results in the first games, they don’t seem like a terrible team in any way…but I think they will struggle to win games in this group. Did push Cosa Nostra into OT, so there is definitely potential for a steal or two…but in the long run…nope.

15. HC Meteor

A team with no real offensive force. They play an okay defense in the sense that they know how to clog up in front of their goalkeeper. They will probably not loose many matches big time, but then again…they probably won’t win many matches either.

EHL Round 1-3

EHL kicked off a couple of days ago and DRS was of to a flying start…or so it seamed. A very solid performance where we beat Norrlands Guld 6-2 promised good things ahead. But in game 2 against same team something went wrong and we ended up loosing the game 0-1. Next opponent två days ago were Red Light Zone. We knew they were fairly good. They might not be the team with the fastest game style, but they do thing properly. They play solid defense…doesn’t rush passes and stay in position. You have to play good to beat them. In the first game we didnt, although we were up 1-0 with 42 seconds left when they tied the game and then finished us off in OT. It didnt feel completely fair to be honest, but to some extent I guess it is. Thats part of the beauty with NHL13. If you play a solid game and limit the misstakes you most always have a good chance of winning. In the second game though we scored a couple of games early on and ended up winning 6-0.

Not completely satisfied with 7 points in 4 games so far, we knew the games against FHR Punakone tonight were gonna be both important and though. I think the first game today were our best performance so far. We played an extremely good defense and basically gave them nothing. And what they got, Sickan (Goalkeeper) took care of. The score 3-0 could have been a goal or 2 up actually. Second game is sometimes tricky. You are happy with the win, and start to think you can loosen up a bit. This time we knew better. Although Punakone cam out hard, shooting at every angle and crashing the net for rebound. Luckily Sickan were simply amazing in net, once again putting up a shutout. We were also lucky with our only goal (own goal by Punakone) but maybe our bad luck against Red Light Zone game 1 came back to us tonight. Karma! 🙂

Anyway our first 6 points which moved us up to 2nd place in Group A and 11th overall in the tournament if you count points average per game.

Tomorrow the tournament continues with back to back matches against Voodo People.

EHL forecast

Tonight EHL will officially kick off. There’s already been a couple of games played but the official start of EHL with the majority of teams entering the tournament is today. It seem rather popular (trendy) to forecast the outcome of the tournament so here is my contribution to that.

I will only do group A for now, where DRS is playing.

1. Power of Finland

I think they are underrated haha. Weird thing to say. But yeah they look really good. 5-0 against Sons the other day show that Pof means business. Solid all over the ice and the team to beat in Group A.

2. Sons of the Morning

They were good before the patch, and I think they will be even better with the new release. Perhaps the most skilled team in the tournament. Definitely a contender to win EHL. If there is something negatively to be said is that one could question the team spirit? Have they played to much FIFA? And which players will get the most time on the ice? The ones who actually played alot lately or the ones who played fifa but wants to play EHL now? Anyway, no matter what lineup they choose you can bet its gonna be a good one.

3. Laser HT

The finnish team looks extremely solid. One of the teams we’ve struggled the most against. They play an extremely aggressive forechecking…almost suicidal one would think, but they get it to work. Should do well in the tournament and I think they have a good chance of making it to the semifinals.

4. Drunken Rebels

NHL13 has been a roller coaster for us. We continue to loose games against far worse opponents. But when we play 6v6 against EHL rivals…we tend to play fairly well. The roster has been cut and the team spirit is high. The new patch will definitely benefit our game style so we feel optimistic.

5. Birka Vikings

Another solid team. Think they are a little bit to dependent on certain players to be successful in the long run. Although I might be mistaken here since I know the community as a whole see them as one of the top teams. Maybe Im underestimating them based on the games Ive played against them.

6. HC Redballs

They seemed to start NHL13 in a very strong way…and I haven’t really played them lately so hard to tell what kind of form the will show but should definitely make it to the playoffs.

7. FHR Punakone

Always had good games against Punakone. But the loss of some key players will hurt them a bit. Kenu seem to stay with them which will be important. Playoffs should be within reach.

8. Russian Rockets

The best russian team. Don’t know much about them besides that. And the fact that they beat Tico Tico in two straight games at the start of EHL.

9. Voodo People

They are fairly good, but not great. Could make it to the playoffs but probably not. I don’t think we ever lost to them, although I could be mistaken here. Seems like a fairly even team but lacks in the offensive skills.

10. Capital Punishment

Same as Voodo People…they are good but not great. Quite good offense but not to good in their end of the ice. Need a goalkeeper that stands on his head if they want to make it to the playoffs.

11. Red Light Zone

1-0 was the score in our favor last time we played. Strange game seeing we dominated the game. But they are disciplined and might steal a few points from the top teams in this group. Shouldn’t be enough to qualify for the playoffs though.

12. Tico Tico 

Don’t think I ever played them in NHL13. They seemed to have performed well in NHL12…but I don’t even know if they had a similar lineup then. 1-4, 0-4 against Russian Rockets doesn’t bode to well for the future.

13. Norrlands Guld

Don’t know much about the last 4 teams. Norrlands at least has EHL experience which is why I put them above the others.

14-16 Mullsjö, Kristinehamn Bombers, Vapor

I don’t know much about these teams. In fact nothing. Except Vapor lost 1-4, 2-4 against Voodo People.

All in all it seems like its gonna be a tough group so it’s very hard to predict the outcome. Im pretty sure there won’t be any easy games or 10-0 wins in this group.

Best of luck to all the teams!