Rouen Dragons vs. MHC Martin 5-4 (2-1, 1-2, 2-1)

ROUEN, France – MHC Martin is the 2008-09 Continental Cup champion. Despite a 5-4 defeat against host Rouen, the Slovakian  club team won the Super Final weekend and claimed the crown.

With three teams tied in the standings at six points, Rouen needed to beat the undefeated Slovakian team, MHC Martin, by at least four goals to win the championship. And the Dragons didn’t have as much fire for that.

Rouen had a good start as Julien Desrosiers scored a shorthanded goal with his breakaway at 10:24 and Marc-André Thinel scored on a five-on-three power play four minutes later.

But MHC Martin came back with Lukas Havel scoring from the blueline on the power-play at 16:41. Lukas Havel equalized at 27:12 with a two-man advantage on a rebound after David Appel hit the post.

The Rouen Dragons took the lead two more times but each time, the Slovaks answered. Until the last minute. Thinel’s second goal of the game at 59:11 was too late for a Slovakian reaction and the host secured at least silver thanks to this last-minute marker.

While Rouen and the home crowd celebrated tits second win in three games, the MHC Martin players partied with the Continental Cup plate which was in Slovakian hands for the fourth time.

“It was a pleasure for us to play at the tournament and I want to say a very big merci to the organizer, who worked at a high level, and to the Rouen fans, who created a great atmosphere. We won the tournament thanks to our good start with two victories and where we were clearly the better team,” Martin’s assistant coach Juraj Jakubik said after the game.

“Against Rouen we played shorthanded far too often but at the end it was enough to win the Continental Cup.”

Click here for the game’s photo gallery.

Keramin Minsk vs. Bolzano Foxes 1-7 (1-3, 0-4, 0-0)

The Bolzano Foxes won their second game in the Continental Cup Super Final and won the bronze medal with a 7-1 victory against Keramin Minsk.

Coming to the next level, where champions from different countries play each other, is not always an easy adjustment. What some teams had to experience in the Champions Hockey League, Keramin Minsk felt in the Continental Cup. Despite their skilled players, they weren't efficient on offence and were too passive on defence.

After losing to MHC Martin and the Rouen Dragons, Keramin was demolished by the Bolzano Foxes. The Italians won the game, 7-1.

The start of the game was not promising for Keramin. Jamie Schaafsma opened the scoring at 4:10. Two minutes later with four-on-four, Italian national team player Florian Ramoser made it 2-0 and three minutes later, Josh Olson beat Keramin goalie Matus Kostur with a shot between the legs. Alexander Zhydikh scored the first Keramin marker at 19:50.

Ryan Jardine and Encrico Dorigatti, who scored on a rebound, made it 5-1 midway through the game and Schaafsma scored his goals number two and three before the middle period ended. After a scoreless last period, it was a 7-1 victory for the Italian champion.

Click here for the game’s photo gallery.

Click here for scores and stats.


Final standings: <table><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td colspan="3">Standings total
</td><td> </td><td colspan="3" class="even">Mutual games 1-3
</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>GP</td><td>PTS</td><td>GF-GA</td><td> </td><td class="even">GP</td><td class="even">PTS</td><td class="even">GF-GA</td></tr><tr><td>1.</td><td>Martin</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>16-9</td><td> </td><td class="even">2</td><td class="even">3</td><td class="even">11-8</td></tr><tr><td>2.</td><td>Rouen</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>12-11</td><td width="10"> </td><td class="even">2</td><td class="even">3</td><td class="even">6-7</td></tr><tr><td>3.</td><td>Bolzano</td><td>3</td><td>6</td><td>13-9</td><td> </td><td class="even">2</td><td class="even">3</td><td class="even">6-8</td></tr><tr><td>4.</td><td>Keramin</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>6-18</td><td> </td><td colspan="3"></td></tr></tbody></table>
Awards:
Best goalkeeper: Vlastimil Lakosil (Martin)
Best defenceman: Christian Borgatello (Bolzano)
Best forward: Marc-André Thinel (Rouen)

MARTIN MERK