Two final-round spots are up for grabs as four teams face off in the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup, Round 2, Group C, hosted in Angers, France, from 14–16 November 2025.
Thrilling games await fans inside Angers IceParc, where Angers Ducs (FRA), SG Cortina (ITA), HK Mogo (LAT), and ACS Gyergyoi HK (ROU) will battle to secure their place in 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final in January in Nottingham, Great Britain.
After breezing through the opening round, Mogo and Gyergyo arrive full of confidence, but can they mount a challenge against French Cup winners Angers and Italian champions Cortina?
All six games will be streamed live on IIHF.TV.
Details about the game schedule: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/ccc/schedule
The top two teams from this round-robin showdown will punch their tickets to the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final contested between 14–17 January 2026 at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, where Nottingham Panthers (GBR), HC Torpedo (KAZ), GKS Katowice (POL), and Herning Blue Fox (DEN) await.
Here’s a quick lowdown on the four teams ready to lock horns in Angers.
Angers Ducs (FRA)
Getting ready to step out in front of their home fans in tailor-made Continental Cup jerseys, Angers clearly means business. “We expect a very competitive tournament and know our three opponents have a lot of quality and very good players. However, we have many players who have already played in this competition. Their experience can help us get through this stage,” said the host team´s coach Jonathan Paredes.
Angers IceParc hosted both the second and final rounds, when the team with the eagle-owl on the chest finished second at the 2023 IIHF Continental Cup. Several players from that 2023 campaign remain on the roster, including forward Nicolas Ritz and defenseman Vincent Llorca. Both were in action for France in last week´s IIHF European Cup of Nations in Epinal, France.
Philippe Halley, in his sixth season with Angers, has been a consistent point scorer, while recent signing Orrin Centazzo currently leads the team in scoring. Romain Gutierrez, a 2012 IIHF Continental Cup champion with Rouen, brings additional experience from a trophy-laden career in French hockey.
Sitting atop the Ligue Magnus standings and undefeated at home this season, Angers' dress rehearsal ahead of the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup was a 2-1 shootout league victory at home over Gap on 11 November.
SG Cortina (ITA)
With ten points from their last five games in the cross-border Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL), Cortina appear to have got into their stride after a slow start to the season. The 18-time Italian champions are traditionally strong at home amid the Olympic surroundings of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Now, the challenge will be to carry that form onto the road in Angers.
“Our goal is to keep improving with every game. We’re a hard-skating team with plenty of individual skill, and our identity is becoming clearer each time we play,” said Cortina´s Sports Manager Andrea Moser. “We still need to fine-tune our defensive tactics. All the teams we’ll face are strong and play different styles, so it will be a great challenge for our young group."
Making their second IIHF Continental Cup appearance, Cortina last skated at this stage two years ago, narrowly missing a final berth after a late lapse against Hungary’s Ferencvaros.
This year´s roster features several key new additions, including the Finnish duo of goaltender Antti Karjalainen and top scorer Oskari Kalajanniska. Brandon Fortunato patrols the blue line, while young Italian forward Nicolo Remolato adds energy up front. Adding a family dynamic to the Cortina roster are the three Pietroniro brothers — Chad, Kris, and Massimo.
HK Mogo (LAT)
With their last competitive game on 1 November, Latvian reigning champions HK Mogo arrive in Angers well rested, undefeated in their last four Optibet Hokeja Liga (OHL) games, a league featuring teams from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
“This year the OHL has more teams at a similar level. That’s good as it means we need to work harder. We have a group of very experienced players but also talented young guys who can learn from them,” said Mogo coach Girts Ankipans.
Among the veterans, Kaspars Daugavins, hung up his skates last year, before returning to play. The 37-year-old recently skated for Latvia at the Deutschland Cup in Landshut, Germany. A young prospect to keep an eye out for is 19-year-old Kristers Ansons.
Mogo are making their fourth IIHF Continental Cup appearance. Their best run came in 2016, when they reached this penultimate stage but lost all three games. In this year´s edition, the Latvians open their Group C campaign against Angers.
ACS Gyergyoi HK (ROU)
Gyergyo, last season’s winners of all four tournaments they entered, have carried their dominant form into this year’s Hungarian-Romanian Erste Liga, racking up 12 straight wins before their first loss ahead of November’s international break. Can they become the first Romanian team to reach the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final?
"We are strong in attack with many skilful players. But our main strength is team spirit, and that shows on the ice,” said Gyergyo coach Markus Juurikkala.
Romanian teams have often been hampered in the IIHF Continental Cup by strict domestic import rules, but this season Gyergyo benefits from the more relaxed Erste Liga regulations. The local flavour remains strong, with 12 members from the previous round´s roster hailing from Gyergyo´s Harghita County in eastern Transylvania. For three of those, Gergo Ambrus, Csanad Ravasz and Nandor Fejes the IIHF Continental Cup also means a swift return to France, having represented Hungary in last week's 2026 IIHF European Cup on Nations in Epinal.
Top-scorer Christopher Bodo, a member of the September and October Erste Liga team of the month, will spearhead Gyergyo’s attack as they face Cortina in their opening Group C game in Angers.