Kian Gadsby
European Ice Hockey comes to Nottingham this week with the Panthers welcoming the IIHF Continental Cup to Motorpoint Arena. Six teams from across Europe descend on the Midlands to battle for the coveted trophy, as Nottingham look to secure a second title after their success in 2017.
With home-ice advantage and superb domestic form, Nottingham approach this competition as favourites. They are sat top of the EIHL table with 43 points from their opening 27 matches, and head into the tournament with momentum having won four of their last five matches at the time of writing.
However, Danny Stewart’s side will face a tough task if they are to lift the trophy. In the group stage they will face GKS Katowice, a Polish team who took bronze last season and will contest the competition for the fourth successive season, along with Latvian giants HK Mogo after they qualified in the playoffs.
On the other side of the draw, Danish outfit Herning Blue Fox will pose a threat having claimed silver twice, while Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk from Kazakhstan won bronze in 2008 and return to the Continental Cup for the first time after a long absence. There will also be a Panthers reunion at the tournament, as former head coach Jonathan Parades returns to Nottingham with French Cup champions Ducs d’Angers.
After the group phase is complete, a finals day event will take place. There will be playoffs to settle fifth and bronze, before the winners of the two groups face off for the main prize in the final on Saturday 17th January.
Panthers Key Facts
How did they Qualify?
Nottingham secured their birth at this competition by winning the EIHL Playoff Championship; a feat achieved with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win over Cardiff Devils in the final. The Panthers were then awarded the right to host the final stage, meaning they skipped the qualifying rounds and automatically booked their place in the finals.
Player to Watch: Ross Armour
The Panthers have been flying in attack this season, scoring 101 goals across 27 matches in league play, and summer signing Ross Armour has been instrumental to their success.
Proficient as a centre or on the wing, the Canadian has excelled in his first season in England, amassing 28 points split between 13 goals and 15 assists. This includes a hat-trick which fired the Panthers to a 4-3 victory over arch-rivals Sheffield Steelers back in November, endearing him to the home faithful.
Match Details:
Game 1 vs HK Mogo: Wednesday 14th January at 19:00
Game 2 vs GKS Katowice: Friday 16th January at 19:00
Game 3 Finals Day: Saturday 17th January time TBC
How can I watch?
Tickets are available on the Panthers website, but there is also expected to be a stream available on the IIHF website if you can’t get down to Motorpoint to catch the action.
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of Nottingham Panthers via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of Nottingham Panthers via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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