Nottingham Panthers began their IIHF Continental Cup Final Tournament with a 4-0 victory over Latvian champions HK Mogo at the Motorpoint Arena last night.
The result opened the final stage of the Continental Cup, Europe’s second-tier club ice hockey competition, which Nottingham is hosting this week.
For the Panthers, the tournament marks a rare opportunity to compete for European silverware on home ice.
Panthers head coach, Danny Stewart, said the opening game required patience as both sides adjusted to tournament conditions.
He said: “I certainly think we had to work for that one…both teams took some time to find their feet in the game.
“First period we weren’t exactly at our best. We came back out in the second and we looked a different team…it settled us a bit.
“Second and third we looked a little bit more of ourselves.”
The tournament is organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and brings together league champions and top finishers from across Europe.
This season’s competition began in October with first round tournaments in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Remetea, Romania, before progressing to a second round in Angers, France. Six teams have qualified for the final tournament in Nottingham, including the Panthers as hosts after winning the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) play-offs.
The final stage is split into two round-robin groups. Nottingham are in Group A alongside Polish side GKS Katowice and HK Mogo, while Group B features Denmark’s Herning Blue Fox, Kazakhstan’s HC Torpedo and French champions Angers Ducs.
Panthers forward Bryan Lemos echoed his coach’s assessment of a slow start but praised the response after the first period.
He said: “I think we got off to a slow start…you can’t take anyone lightly here.
“There’s ups and downs and it’s just how you bounce back and I think we did that in the second and third.”
The group-stage format sees teams play each other once between Wednesday and Friday, with final standings determining placement matches on Saturday, November 17.
The fifth-place game will be played at 11am, followed by the bronze medal game at 3pm, before the tournament concludes with the gold medal final at 7pm.
Stewart believes the atmosphere inside the Motorpoint Arena will continue to build as the week progresses.
He said: “It’s exciting…as the week goes on you’ll see more people in the stands and it’ll get louder.”
For players, the Continental Cup offers a rare mix of competition and camaraderie on the European stage. Lemos said the tournament experience added extra motivation as the Panthers target gold.
He said: “You get to meet new people, I have buddies on other teams and it’s always good to see them.
“It’s always exciting to win a trophy and we have such a great group of guys that we want to win for each other, it’ll make it great.”
The group stage continues for the Panthers on Friday as they look to build on their opening victory and secure a place in Saturday night’s gold medal final.
Full IIHF Continental Cup Final schedule
Wednesday 14th January
14:30 Angers v Herning Blue Fox (1-4)
19:00 HK Mogo v Panthers (0-4)
Thursday 15th January
14:30 Herning Blue Fox v HC Torpedo
19:00 GKS Katowice v HK Mogo
Friday 16th January
14:30 HC Torpedo v Angers
19:00 Panthers v GKS Katowice
Saturday 17th January
11:00 Third Place Blue Group v Third Place Red Group
15:00 Bronze Medal Game: Runner-Up Blue Group v Runner-Up Red Group
19:00 Gold Medal Game: Winner Blue Group v Winner Red Group
