Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia have won the first round of the 2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup. They are now one of 14 teams still in contention for the title, with the winner of the Super Final receiving an invitation to compete in next year's Champions Hockey League as a wild-card entry.
by Henrik Manninen of IIHF.com – read the full story HERE
BELGRADE – Offensive prowess was key in CSKA Sofia’s win of Group A of the Continental Cup to seal a place in the next round for the second year running.
Turning up the heat with an emphatic 5–0 final frame goal explosion in their decider against Turkey's Zeytinburnu Istanbul, the reigning Bulgarian champions deservedly ousted their neighbours 9–5 in the end. The final day victory means CSKA Sofia goes undefeated through the first round having earlier recorded wins against Serbian host Partizan Belgrade (12–4) and Israeli champion Rishon Devils (7–1).
National team players Stanislav Muhachev (4+8) and Alexei Yotov (5+4) led the way for CSKA, who now take a step up to the Continental Cup. They will soon play in the second round in Tychy, Poland, 23–25 October.
"Our ambition was to try and finish in first place, but also to try and develop our young players which we have tried to help by surrounding them with more experienced players and to help their future development," said a pleased Hodulov in the aftermath of having toppled Zeytinburnu.
With CSKA Sofia having already got a taste last year of what progress in the Continental Cup means in terms of step-up in quality, Hodulov will be well aware of what lies in store when the reigning Bulgarian champions will step out on the ice for the second round in Group C to take on Polish host GKS Tychy, the Coventry Blaze (Great Britain) and Dunarea Galati (Romania).
"It is going to be very tough there. All the teams we will be facing are really professional," said Hodulov. "But for us we first of all have to go there to try and play good games, with the outcome of the matches not really mattering too much. For us it is about the development, to see at what stage we are now and also about giving the young guys a chance to play and give them more experience," said Hodulov.
In addition to the second round, Group C tournament in Tychy, four more teams will compete at the same time in Group B in Miskolc, Hungary: Mogo Riga (Latvia), Acroni Jesenice (Slovenia), CH Jaca (Spain) and hosts Miskolci Jegesmedvek. The winners of Groups B and C will advance to the third round 20–22 November, where six more teams await, and the top two teams from each of Groups D and E will play in the Continental Cup Super Final 8–10 January. The winner of the Continental Cup will receive an invitation to compete in the 2016–17 Champions Hockey League as a wild-card entry.