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Old 08-30-2024, 06:04 AM   #1566
FuzzyRussianHat
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Join Date: Dec 2020
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2012 in E2L



Valencia earned back-to-back playoff berths in the European Second League’s Western Conference. The Vandals took the top spot at 106-56, finishing eight ahead of second place Reykjavik at 98-64. The Raccoons earned a third straight playoff berth, hoping to finally earn promotion. Zaragoza was a close third at 97-65. The Gold Hawks hadn’t posted a winning season in their previous seven seasons of existence.

The fourth and final playoff spot was Stuttgart at 92-70, edging out Berlin (91-71) and Nottingham (90-72). This was the fourth time in the playoffs for the Silver Sabres, although they hadn’t gotten promoted yet. 90 wins was a new best for the North Stars, but they still didn’t secure their first-ever playoff spot. Rome, last year’s conference finalist, fell to eighth at 81-81.



Tbilisi led the Eastern Conference at 101-61, followed by Gothenburg at 95-67. The Gales had an impressive turnaround, having won a franchise-worst 60 games in 2011. Tirana at 92-70 took the third place spot. The Trojans were in their second E2L season after being demoted in 2010.

There was a tie for the final spot with Ljubljana and Cluj-Napoca both at 88-74. The Juggernauts won the tiebreaker game for their first playoff try since 2005. Close behind but just short were Sarajevo at 87-75, and both Lodz and Odessa at 85-77.

Lviv notably collapsed, having earned five straight playoff berths without a promotion. The Lunkers won 97 games in 2011, but plummeted to 65-97 in 2012. Kyiv’s E2L debut saw a lackluster 73-79 for 13th place. It showed how quickly a team could fall, as the Kings had won the European Championship only four years prior.

Reykjavik was the top squad from the Western Conference’s Round Robin at 5-1. Zaragoza and Stuttgart both were 3-3, while top seed Valencia faltered at 1-5. The tiebreaker went to the Gold Hawks, who proceeded to sweep the Raccoons in the Western Conference Championship.

Gothenburg led the Eastern Conference’s Round Robin at 4-2. Ljubljana and Tirana were both 3-3 and Tbilisi was 2-4. The Juggernauts had the tiebreaker over the Trojans to advance, but fell 4-1 to the Gales in the Eastern Conference Championship.



The Second League Championship was anti-climactic with Gothenburg sweeping Zaragoza. Either way, both guaranteed promotion to the EBF Elite for the first time in franchise history. If additional spots open up because of 100+ loss EBF Elite teams, Reykjavik would be first in line, followed by Ljubljana.



Other notes: Stuttgart’s Dieter Launhardt threw two perfect games in the 2012 season. The first had 11 strikeouts on May 30 against Turin, while the second had 15 Ks over Valencia on September 24. Lviv LF Zurab Karpenko became the first three-time MVP in E2L history.


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