ASIAGO/ROUEN – The four teams for the 2016 IIHF Continental Cup Final are known after the Rouen Dragons and the Herning Blue Fox have won the semi-final tournaments. They will be joined by Asiago Hockey and GKS Tychy, who finished their events in second place on Sunday.

The final tournament will be played at a venue to be determined from 8 to 10 January 2016. The winner will not only be presented with the Continental Cup winners’ plate but will also have the chance to play in the Champions Hockey League for the 2016/2017 season pending formal approval by the CHL board.

Rouen Dragons on fire

The Rouen Dragons have had a lot of success in the last 20 years including nine French championships and even a Continental Cup title. Fabrice Lhenry, Rouen’s goaltender during the last five years, will now participate in the Continental Cup final in a new position – as the head coach. He took the helm for this season after the long reign of Rodolphe Garnier had come to an end after a weak start of the last season.

The Dragons started well with six wins in seven games in the French Ligue Magnus and continued their path of success with three victories on home ice in Group E of the Continental Cup. The team was successful especially on offence with goals from several lines and national team forward Sacha Treille as the tournament’s scoring leader with three goals and two assists.

In a tight game against Tychy the team from Normandy stared with a 5-3 comeback win thanks to a strong third period with two unanswered goals within 123 seconds from Jason Krog. Then the Dragons offence was on fire in a 7-3 win against Ukrainian champs Kremenchuk before playing Shakhtyor Soligorsk for the tournament win.

The Belarusians had the best defence with just three conceded goals in three games but the once scored by Leo Guillemain with 49 seconds left in the first period was enough for Rouen’s 1-0 victory and first place in the tournament.

With the result Shakhtyor Soligorsk did not only miss the tournament win but also a berth in the final tournament. GKS Tychy earn the ticket with a second-place finish thanks to a 2-1 win over Shakhtyor on Saturday with two unanswered goals in the last ten minutes of the game from Michal Kotlorz and Mateusz Bepierszcz.

It will only be the second time in eight years that the Continental Cup final will be played without a team from Belarus after Neman Grodno had won the tournament last year. Shakhtyor finished in third place earning its only three points in a 6-0 blanking of HK Kremenchuk.

Click here for scores and stats from Group E.

Herning wins, Asiago joins

In Group D the host club Asiago Hockey didn’t have the same good start on Friday but a happy ending on Sunday night.

The Herning Blue Fox ended the tournament undefeated starting with a 2-1 shootout victory against Asiago. Mirco Presti tied up Herning’s lead after a goal from Jerred Smithson but Jordan George scored the game-winning goal in the fifth round of the penalty-shot competition after a scoreless third period and extra time.

Both teams continued successfully. Herning beat Latvian champion Mogo Riga 5-2 and blanked Kazakh champs Yertis Pavlodar 3-0 to win the tournament. The Danes won thanks to a strong team effort, three goals from George throughout the tournament and strong defence and goaltending from Slovak Lubomir Pisar.

Asiago Hockey recovered from the opening-day loss and got two wins for a second-place finish. The Italian hosts stopped a strong Kazakh offence with a 3-2 win on Saturday night. Canadian imports Anthony Nigro and Layne Ulmer brought Asiago the lead two times but Yertis tied it up with markers from Sergei Sevostyanov and Yaroslav Yevdokimov.

Yertis Pavlodar outshot their Italian counterparts 25-20 and was strong in the third period after Nigro’s second marker for the 3-2 lead but they didn’t manage to score again on Christopher Carrozzi. The 25-year-old former Atlanta Thrashers draft pick stayed strong and finished with a tournament-best 95.36 save percentage.

After the key win Asiago blanked winless Mogo Riga 4-0 on the last day to qualify for the next round. Yertis Pavlodar finished in third place.

Click here for scores and stats from Group D.

MARTIN MERK