Nottingham Panthers have qualified for the Continental Cup final after winning two of their three matches in the third round of the competition.
The Panthers travelled to Odense in Denmark over the weekend to seek advancement in the tournament, beating home team Odense Bulldogs and French side Angers before losing their final game to Ukrainian side HC Donbass.
Massive Congratulations @PanthersIHC & our @WarriorHockey ambassador @RLachowicz for making the 2017 Continental Cup Final.
Well done guys. pic.twitter.com/gWPWGa9wvX— Warrior Hockey UK (@WarriorHockeyUK) November 21, 2016
Head coach Corey Neilson spoke to Panthers radio after their second win, which saw them qualify for the final, saying: “We battled, we saw some adversity but we managed to limp through it and get the result we wanted.”
Corey Neilson’s side will be the first British team to reach the cup final in five years.
The Continental Cup Final Four tournament will be taking place from January 13 to 15 with the venue still to be decided.
When asked about the possibility of playing the final in Nottingham, Nielson said: “It would be really nice to stay home and play in front of our home fans.”
Panthers will be facing familiar faces in Odense Bulldogs, who they beat in the semi-finals and will also be playing Kazakhs Beibarys Atyrau and Italian side Ritten Sport.
Congrats for making the 🏒 Continental Cup final! 13-15 Jan.@RittnerBuam🇮🇹
Nottingham @PanthersIHC🇬🇧@HCBeibarys🇰🇿@OdenseBulldogs🇩🇰— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) November 21, 2016
