Nottingham Panthers will travel to Italy in January for the Super Final of the Continental Cup which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The finals will be hosted from January 13 to 15 2017 in Ritten, a town in the northern region of South Tyrol.
Nottingham will play hosts Ritten, Kazakh champions Beibarys Atyrau and the Odense Bulldogs from Denmark in the round-robin group final.
The winners will also earn a spot in next season’s Champions Hockey League, subject to formal approval from their board.
The Panthers had hoped to host the final, played from January 13 to 15 2017, at the Motorpoint Arena but the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIFH) chose Italy.
Speaking about their decision, IIFH said: “We reviewed the hosting applications and considered the ranking of all qualified teams after the semi-final tournaments, the standard of previous organisations, arenas and accommodation situation.
“Ritten Sport is a second-time participant in the Continental Cup but already successfully hosted two semi-final events in 2014 and 2016 and qualified for the final tournament for the first time.
“It will be the second time that the Continental Cup Final will take place in Italy after 2003 when Milan co-hosted the event with Lugano, Switzerland.”
