Nottingham Panthers forward Nolan Volcan jockeys for position in front of GKS Katowice netminder Jesper Eliasson during the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final in Nottingham.
photo: Joshua Day / Panthers Media
Angers Ducs earned a 3-2 victory over Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk in overtime, but it wasn't enough to put the French club into Saturday's medal games. Torpedo's point was enough to win Group B ahead of Herning Blue Fox in second.
In Group A, Nottingham Panthers took a winner-takes-all showdown against GKS Katowice to stay on top. The tournament host will now face Torpedo to decide the outcome of the tournament. Mogo Riga finished third behind tonight's opponents.
That sets up a gold-medal game beween Nottingham and Torpedo at 7 pm on Saturday. Before that, Herning Blue Fox faces GKS Katowice for bronze at 3 pm. In the morning, Angers Ducs and HK Mogo have a placement game at 11 am.
In Group A, Nottingham Panthers took a winner-takes-all showdown against GKS Katowice to stay on top. The tournament host will now face Torpedo to decide the outcome of the tournament. Mogo Riga finished third behind tonight's opponents.
That sets up a gold-medal game beween Nottingham and Torpedo at 7 pm on Saturday. Before that, Herning Blue Fox faces GKS Katowice for bronze at 3 pm. In the morning, Angers Ducs and HK Mogo have a placement game at 11 am.
Olivier Archambault scores the overtime winner for Angers Ducs against Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk at the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final in Nottingham.
photo: Karl Denham / Panthers Images
OT victory not enough for Angers
Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk 2 Angers Ducs 3 OT (0-0, 0-0, 2-2, 0-1)
A fiery finale to Group B saw Torpedo secure top spot despite going down in overtime against Angers Ducs.
The French team faced a tough task if it was to progress to a medal game tomorrow. A victory by three clear goals would earn a shot at bronze, four or more was worth a place in the gold medal game.
And with a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute thanks to goals from Nicolas Ritz and Phillipe Halley, there were real hopes that Angers could upset the odds and claw back the deficit.
“I think the boys fought well tonight and I can only congratulate them for what they did,” said head coach Jonathan Paredes. “We tried to push, push, push. We hit the post maybe three times. It was close, we were leading 2-0 and maybe there was too much emotion at the end. But they fought well and we have to learn from that for the future.”
Ritz broke the deadlock early in the third, finding space on the slot to fire home Cody Donaghey’s pass from behind the net. The next shift saw Orrin Centazzo get one-on-one with Torpedo goalie Vladislav Pestov, and suddenly there was hope that Angers could produce something dramatic.
Hope became belief four minutes when Halley corralled the rebound from Lucien Onno’s shot to double the lead. With 13 minutes to play, one more goal would put Angers ahead of Herning and into the bronze medal game.
“I think we played a great game,” added forward Olivier Archambault, who scored the OT winner. “We deserved to win by more than we did, their goalie was very good, but that’s hockey. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes not.”
A too many players call slowed Angers’ charge and when Nikita Kolobov fired the puck in from the boards, Alexandr Panchenko was sharp at the top of the crease to lift it into Jason Smith’s net. The Kazakh forward’s relief was obvious, and it’s likely there were a few cheers among the Danish camp as well.
Then came an empty net goal from Erik Aldabergenov to draw Torpedo level on 56:30 – and prompt an emotional finish.
Panchenko cupped his ear at the French players while celebrating the tying goal, provoking an angry response from Jordan Herve, who was ejected from the game for a cross check on the forward. At the restart, Les Ducs were reduced to three skaters when Neil Manning hooked Torpedo’s Maxim Musorov between the legs when they tangled after the face-off.
Angers finished the game on the penalty kill and the Torpedo power play continued into overtime. However, the winning goal went to Les Ducs when Jonathan Charbonneau’s stretch pass sent Archambault clean through to beat Pestov and give Angers the win.
“Charbs gave me a good pass and I tried my best to score,” said goalscorer Archambault. “We won, but we should have won by a little bit more.”
Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk 2 Angers Ducs 3 OT (0-0, 0-0, 2-2, 0-1)
A fiery finale to Group B saw Torpedo secure top spot despite going down in overtime against Angers Ducs.
The French team faced a tough task if it was to progress to a medal game tomorrow. A victory by three clear goals would earn a shot at bronze, four or more was worth a place in the gold medal game.
And with a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute thanks to goals from Nicolas Ritz and Phillipe Halley, there were real hopes that Angers could upset the odds and claw back the deficit.
“I think the boys fought well tonight and I can only congratulate them for what they did,” said head coach Jonathan Paredes. “We tried to push, push, push. We hit the post maybe three times. It was close, we were leading 2-0 and maybe there was too much emotion at the end. But they fought well and we have to learn from that for the future.”
Ritz broke the deadlock early in the third, finding space on the slot to fire home Cody Donaghey’s pass from behind the net. The next shift saw Orrin Centazzo get one-on-one with Torpedo goalie Vladislav Pestov, and suddenly there was hope that Angers could produce something dramatic.
Hope became belief four minutes when Halley corralled the rebound from Lucien Onno’s shot to double the lead. With 13 minutes to play, one more goal would put Angers ahead of Herning and into the bronze medal game.
“I think we played a great game,” added forward Olivier Archambault, who scored the OT winner. “We deserved to win by more than we did, their goalie was very good, but that’s hockey. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes not.”
A too many players call slowed Angers’ charge and when Nikita Kolobov fired the puck in from the boards, Alexandr Panchenko was sharp at the top of the crease to lift it into Jason Smith’s net. The Kazakh forward’s relief was obvious, and it’s likely there were a few cheers among the Danish camp as well.
Then came an empty net goal from Erik Aldabergenov to draw Torpedo level on 56:30 – and prompt an emotional finish.
Panchenko cupped his ear at the French players while celebrating the tying goal, provoking an angry response from Jordan Herve, who was ejected from the game for a cross check on the forward. At the restart, Les Ducs were reduced to three skaters when Neil Manning hooked Torpedo’s Maxim Musorov between the legs when they tangled after the face-off.
Angers finished the game on the penalty kill and the Torpedo power play continued into overtime. However, the winning goal went to Les Ducs when Jonathan Charbonneau’s stretch pass sent Archambault clean through to beat Pestov and give Angers the win.
“Charbs gave me a good pass and I tried my best to score,” said goalscorer Archambault. “We won, but we should have won by a little bit more.”
Tim Doherty celebrates his goal for Nottingham Panthers against GKS Katowice at the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final in Nottingham.
photo: Joshua Day / Panthers Images
Doherty at the double
Nottingham Panthers 4 GKS Katowice 0 (0-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Tournament host Nottingham Panthers secured top spot in Group A with a composed display against GKS Katowice.
Two goals from Tim Doherty led the scoring, while goalie Jason Grande recorded a second successive shut-out for the Panthers with 24 saves. Nolan Volcan and Didrik Henbrant were also on target, with two assists from Ross Armour.
“It was a great game from us,” said Doherty. “We’re playing some good hockey right now, we have two 4-0 scores. We’re a good enough offensive team so if we play good enough D we’re going to score.”
The atmosphere was fervent from the start as both sets of fans turned up the volume at the Motorpoint Arena. The travelling Polish contingent made their heroes feel at home and GKS settled quicker in the early exchanges.
The best early opportunity fell to Mateusz Michalski, who tested Panthers’ goalie Jason Grande from close range off a feed from Juho Koivusaari. Much of the goalmouth action was as frenzied as the atmosphere around the arena, with plenty of nerve-jangling scrambles but few clear-cut opportunities.
As the game progressed, the Panthers settled to their task and began to move play down the ice. The best chance for the home team came from the Brendan Harris / Chase Pearson partnership, with the latter forcing a save from Jesper Eliasson up close as the momentum began to shift.
From goalie Grande’s standpoint, that momentum swing was tribute to every player’s contribution. “Forwards included, it’s a whole team effort,” he said. “We’re defending really well, making transitions up the ice to the forwards and they’re doing their job.
“It makes our life a lot easier back there, it’s all you can really ask for.”
Nottingham carried that into the second period to grab a lead in the 23rd minute. Nolan Volcan triggered an eruption of noise in the arena when his shot from the top of the left-hand circle evaded Blazej Chodor’s attempted block and found its way past Eliasson. Bryan Lemos provided a distracting presence in front of the Swedish goaltender.
GKS was still in the game, and a three-on-one rush produced a good chance for Jonasz Hofman to tie it up.
However, the next goal went to the home team in the 34th minute. Strong work from Ross Armour behind the Katowice net set up Tim Doherty at the top of the crease and he showed great composure to get it on the back hand before beating Eliasson to give the Panthers some breathing space.
Both teams played with impressive discipline, especially in such a high stakes game. The first penalty came as late as the 47th minute when Nottingham’s Henbrant was assessed a hooking minor. But GKS could not convert the power play and when the Swedish forward returned to the game he leapt straight into a two-on-one rush, waiting for defender Aleksi Varttinen to commit himself before adding the third.
That felt like the knock-out blow, leaving Katowice just 11 minutes to salvage the game. Even the boisterous Polish support was briefly muted before trying to rouse the team to one last effort. However, the final word went to the Panthers, with Doherty putting his second of the night into an empty net with five to play.
That took the party up another level for the home fans - to the delight of the players. “The atmosphere was pretty incredible tonight,” said Doherty. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it that loud before. I hope it’s the same tomorrow.”
Nottingham Panthers 4 GKS Katowice 0 (0-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Tournament host Nottingham Panthers secured top spot in Group A with a composed display against GKS Katowice.
Two goals from Tim Doherty led the scoring, while goalie Jason Grande recorded a second successive shut-out for the Panthers with 24 saves. Nolan Volcan and Didrik Henbrant were also on target, with two assists from Ross Armour.
“It was a great game from us,” said Doherty. “We’re playing some good hockey right now, we have two 4-0 scores. We’re a good enough offensive team so if we play good enough D we’re going to score.”
The atmosphere was fervent from the start as both sets of fans turned up the volume at the Motorpoint Arena. The travelling Polish contingent made their heroes feel at home and GKS settled quicker in the early exchanges.
The best early opportunity fell to Mateusz Michalski, who tested Panthers’ goalie Jason Grande from close range off a feed from Juho Koivusaari. Much of the goalmouth action was as frenzied as the atmosphere around the arena, with plenty of nerve-jangling scrambles but few clear-cut opportunities.
As the game progressed, the Panthers settled to their task and began to move play down the ice. The best chance for the home team came from the Brendan Harris / Chase Pearson partnership, with the latter forcing a save from Jesper Eliasson up close as the momentum began to shift.
From goalie Grande’s standpoint, that momentum swing was tribute to every player’s contribution. “Forwards included, it’s a whole team effort,” he said. “We’re defending really well, making transitions up the ice to the forwards and they’re doing their job.
“It makes our life a lot easier back there, it’s all you can really ask for.”
Nottingham carried that into the second period to grab a lead in the 23rd minute. Nolan Volcan triggered an eruption of noise in the arena when his shot from the top of the left-hand circle evaded Blazej Chodor’s attempted block and found its way past Eliasson. Bryan Lemos provided a distracting presence in front of the Swedish goaltender.
GKS was still in the game, and a three-on-one rush produced a good chance for Jonasz Hofman to tie it up.
However, the next goal went to the home team in the 34th minute. Strong work from Ross Armour behind the Katowice net set up Tim Doherty at the top of the crease and he showed great composure to get it on the back hand before beating Eliasson to give the Panthers some breathing space.
Both teams played with impressive discipline, especially in such a high stakes game. The first penalty came as late as the 47th minute when Nottingham’s Henbrant was assessed a hooking minor. But GKS could not convert the power play and when the Swedish forward returned to the game he leapt straight into a two-on-one rush, waiting for defender Aleksi Varttinen to commit himself before adding the third.
That felt like the knock-out blow, leaving Katowice just 11 minutes to salvage the game. Even the boisterous Polish support was briefly muted before trying to rouse the team to one last effort. However, the final word went to the Panthers, with Doherty putting his second of the night into an empty net with five to play.
That took the party up another level for the home fans - to the delight of the players. “The atmosphere was pretty incredible tonight,” said Doherty. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it that loud before. I hope it’s the same tomorrow.”