Mogo/RSU Open Continental Cup Ice Hockey Campaign With 6-1 Win Over Energija
Latvian ice hockey champion Mogo/RSU beat Lithuania's Energija 6-1 in its first game of the Continental Cup opening round. Kristaps Sotnieks scored twice.
Mogo/RSU, the ice hockey champion of Latvia from Riga, won its opening game of the first round of the IIHF Continental Cup on Friday in Elektrenai, Lithuania. The IIHF is the International Ice Hockey Federation. In Group A, Mogo/RSU defeated the hosts Energija, a team it also meets in the Baltic League, by 6-1 (1-0, 2-1, 3-0). The win is a good start in the race for one of two places in the tournament's second round.
Kristaps Sotnieks scored twice for the Riga side. Richards Grinbergs, Rauls Ozollapa, Rudolfs Polcs and Gints Meija added one goal each. Goaltender Karlis Mezsargs stopped 21 of 22 shots, beaten only by Ilija Baida, while Mogo/RSU fired 46 shots at the opposing goal.
What comes next
On Saturday at 13:00 the Latvian champions face Spain's Jaca, and on Sunday at 13:00 they play Sokil of Kyiv. On Friday Sokil, with Eriks Vitols in goal, beat Jaca 7-0 (1-0, 3-0, 3-0), with shots on goal at 71-5.
About the tournament
The IIHF Continental Cup is the second-strongest club ice hockey competition in Europe and features 14 teams. In the first round, the eight lowest-rated teams compete in two groups for two places in the second round. The Group A winner will join Dragons of Rouen (France), GKS Katowice (Poland) and the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland). In a four-team tournament in Rouen from 13 to 15 November, the top three teams will advance to the final stage, which runs from 14 to 17 January.
A country's champion represents it in the tournament. Latvia's best result is second place, achieved twice by Riga 2000: in 2005/2006 behind Russia's Lada Togliatti, and in 2007/2008 behind Ak Bars Kazan. Last season Britain's Nottingham Panthers won the cup, while Mogo/RSU finished fifth.
