The Rouen Dragons have captured the IIHF Continental Cup for the second time since 2012 and with it, an invitation to participate in the 2016–17 Champions Hockey League season.
by Martin Merk, IIHF.com
ROUEN – The Rouen Dragons made their weekend perfect and also beat Denmark’s Herning Blue Fox 4–0 to claim the Continental Cup for the second time.
As the Continental Cup winner the Dragons will also receive a wild card for next season’s Champions Hockey League, pending formal approval by the CHL Board.
Rouen was a venue for the firsts at the IIHF Continental Cup. In 2012 the Dragons became the first French team to win the competition – one of the biggest success stories for French hockey. In 2014 it was the first time for another nation when Norway’s Stavanger Oilers lifted the winners’ plate. This time, the plate won by Neman Grodno from Belarus last year goes back to Rouen and the enthusiastic crowd at the Ile Lacroix Ice Rink couldn’t have been happier.
“For France, Rouen and the fans... win! (Pour la France, Rouen et les fans... gagnez!)” was written on a banner behind the net and the players followed the request.
Rouen stays in the race for winning up to four prizes this year. Just one week ago the Dragons won the French Cup, beating Grenoble in the final in Paris in front of over 10,000 fans. Now the team from Normandy has claimed the Continental Cup on home ice. It will later play in the League Cup final against the Gap Rapaces and in spring it aims high in the playoffs of the Ligue Magnus where it was in third place before this weekend.
Rouen with strong imports and a couple of French national team players proved a tough nut to crack for the Herning Blue Fox, which finish the event in second place ahead of bronze medallist GKS Tychy (Poland) and Asiago Hockey (Italy). As in domestic play, the Danes had a strong defence here in Rouen but lacked in scoring capabilities.
Dany Sabourin had a flawless night in Rouen’s net but the Danes didn’t challenge him too much with quality chances either.
Rouen had the better start into the game and outshot Herning 10–8 in the first period, scoring two goals within a span of 57 seconds.
After a blocked shot the Danes didn’t bring the puck under control and Damien Raux netted it for the opening marker at 9:32 before Jason Krog made it 2–0 just one minute later. Both for the French national team forward Raux and for the former Stanley Cup finalist Krog it was the first markers of the tournament.
In the middle frame the Blue Fox had the first scoring chances but the Dragons scored their third unanswered marker on an early power play. After a shot blocked by Simon Nielsen, Marc-Andre Thinel scored on the second attempt at 5:25.
At 6:44 the puck was in Herning’s net again. A weak shot from Olivier Labelle found its way in via Loic Lamperier’s skate but the officials noticed a kicking movement and the game continued with a 3–0 lead for the Dragons.
The Blue Fox continued their fortuneless comeback attempt and gained some hope when Lamperier was assessed a five-minute penalty plus a game misconduct for checking to the head and neck area. Later, Olivier Dame-Malka got a minor penalty for delaying the game, offering the Danes a chance to pull the goalie and play six-on-three.
With 3:36 left, the Herning players started a goal celebration; however, the cage was dislocated and the nervous final stage of the game continued with Rouen’s three-goal cushion until a shorthanded empty-net goal from Patrick Coulombe with 56.7 seconds left released the team and the players and kicked off long celebrations.