The Champions Hockey League congratulates Neman Grodno for their IIHF Continental Cup victory this past weekend. The Belarusian club were the class of the tournament, winning three straight games.
by Derek O'Brien, with files from IIHF.com
BREMERHAVEN, Germany – Belarusian club Neman Grodno won three straight games against French, German and Kazakh opponents to claim the 2014–15 IIHF Continental Cup. They opened the tournament with a 5–0 win over the Angers Ducs on Friday and then thumped host Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven 6–2 on Saturday. At that point, they were guaranteed first place regardless of what happened Sunday, but won their final game anyway, 4–3 in a shootout over Yertis Pavlodar.
“We were skating well, we outskated our opponents,” Neman forward Jaroslav Kristek said after scoring two goals in the win over hosts Bremerhaven, which assured them first place. “When we knew we can win the Continental Cup with this game everybody believed we can do it. Our goalie was also playing very well.”
The well-travelled 34-year-old Czech forward, whose career includes a World Junior Championship gold medal in 2000 and a six-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres in 2002–03, is now in his third year in Grodno. He started the season in the Slovak Extraliga with MsHK Zilina while his wife was pregnant, then returned to Grodno only last month.
“I enjoy playing in Belarus,” he said. “It’s a good country, I have nice teammates here and as a Czech the language barrier is not so big for me.”
The only point Neman lost in the three games was in their last game, when they needed a shootout to defeat winless Yertis.
“I think it was the toughest game of the tournament. It’s a bit hard to play hockey after winning the tournament,” said Alexejs Sirokovs, who scored once in regulation time and once in the shootout. The Latvian forward had three goals in the tournament.
Neman were led offensively by team captain Andrei Korshunov, who recorded three goals and five assists overall. The 31-year-old offensive defenceman, who has played his entire career in Belarus, is also the team captain. Sirokovs gave him credit for leading the team.
“We have a good team spirit. Our captain can make an army out of the players. Nobody is selfish and everybody plays for the team.”
Korshunov was named the tournament's Best Defenceman, while Maxim Samankov was named Best Goaltender for stopping 34 of 36 shots in the two games he played. American Timothy Miller of the Fischtown Penguins was the Best Forward.
“From our view, Neman Grodno was the best team and deserved to win here,” said Fischtown Pinguins team manager Alfred Prey.
“I’m very, very happy with the win and the entire tournament. It was the second time I reached the final as a coach and winning here with Neman is a beautiful debut for me with the club,” said Neman head coach Vasili Spiridonov. “Big thanks to the organizers who did a great job. It was a great atmosphere in the arena and it was touching to receive the warm applause of the German fans after our win.”
Founded in 1988, HK Neman Grodno won the Eastern European Hockey League title in 1996 and have won the Belarusian Extraliga in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2013 and 2014. This is their first Continental Cup win.
The Champions Hockey League has sent congratulations to Neman Grodno on their accomplishment, and at the same time is requesting logistical information about the club, such as arena availability and capacity and transportation. As per CHL regulations, the final decision regarding Neman’s 2015-16 CHL participation is subject to CHL Board decision, which will take place on 2 February.