Angers Ducs, finished top of the standings on home ice with HK Mogo from Latvia taking second place at the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Round 2 Group C in Angers, France.
The duo completes the six-team line-up for the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup Final in Nottingham, Great Britain, alongside Nottingham Panthers (GBR), HC Torpedo (KAZ), GKS Katowice (POL), and Herning Blue Fox (DEN). The games will be played from 14–17 January 2026 at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.
Group C - Results: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/ccc/schedule
Group C - Final Standings: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/ccc/standings/roundrobin
You can find more information about the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup here:
https://www.iihf.com/en/static/69663/2026_iihf_continental_cup
Angers live up to their pre-tournament favourite tag
With Angers, Mogo, and Cortina all tied on six points, Angers finished first on the same goal difference as second-placed Mogo (+1) but scored more goals in the head-to-head matchup. Cortina also had six points but finished third with a –2 goal difference.
"The Continental Cup is unique with three games in three days against teams we´ve never faced," said Angers coach Jonathan Paredes. "The guys on our team enjoy being together, work hard, and we´re focused on constantly strengthening our identity and game philosophy."
Angers boasts a strong Continental Cup pedigree, third in 2015 and second in 2023, with 10 players from the 2023 team still on the roster. Three current players already know what it takes to lift the trophy: blueliner Cody Donaghey (HK Nitra 2023, Cardiff Devils 2025), goalie Matt O’Connor (Nitra 2023), and Romain Gutierrez, who won the Cup with Rouen as a teenager in 2012. Their experience can prove to be invaluable in Nottingham early next year.
Kale Kerbashian of Angers topped the scoring charts in Group C with six points in three games, ahead of his linemate Orrin Centazzo and Cortina´s Oskari Kalajanniska on five each.
Mogo Rebound Strong to Reach First Continental Cup Final
Back-to-back Latvian champions Mogo arrived in Angers in fine form to finish second and advance to the club’s historical first Continental Cup Final. Girts Ankipans´ team had strolled through the previous round, but life at this level was initially tough, as they lost their opener 6–4 to Angers.
Mogo bounced back the next day against Cortina. Late in the second period, they struck twice in quick succession: Gints Meija backhanded the first, celebrating a return to his former home rink where he had been part of Angers’ 2023 Continental Cup silver run. When Cortina’s Renato Talamini lost the puck at center ice, Janis Zeimitis scored one-on-one just 16 seconds before the buzzer. Cortina tried to get back into the game, but Karlis Mezsargs stopped all 26 shots, and Kaspars Daugavins sealed a 3–0 win with an empty-netter at 58:37.
Since its 2014 founding, Mogo has won four Latvian titles with Elviss Zelubovskis a key-figure right from the start. In the Latvian´s final day 6–2 victory over Gyergyo in Angers, the 39-year-old opened and closed the Latvian´s scoring, marking his fourth Continental Cup campaign with Mogo and fifth overall.
Zelubovskis first skated in the 2008 Continental Cup Final with the now-defunct HK Riga 2000. Current Mogo mainstays Meija, Kristaps Sotnieks, and coach Ankipans were also on that team, which finished third.
Cortina’s Young Guns Impress, Romania´s Gyergyo Falls Short
Skating with the youngest team in Group C by some distance, Cortina finished third. The Italian champions shone at both the start and finish of the tournament. They were 3-0 up after just 6:43 into their opener versus Gyergyo. The Romanians fought back level and outshot the Italians 30–19, but Cortina’s goalie Antti Karjalainen stood tall. Cortina´s Luca Barnabo scored on a breakaway, and Oskari Kalajanniska added an empty-netter for a 5–3 win for the Italians. During the closing game, the team from Cortina d'Ampezzo fought back time and again before Kalajanniska´s late winner against Angers sealed their second victory.
Gyergyo´s campaign ended in disappointment, finishing last with zero points despite outshooting all its opponents. Costly individual mistakes, ill-timed penalties, and an uncharacteristic failure to convert chances contributed to their downfall as they allowed eight goals from 32 shots in their opening two games.