Sat 17 Jan 2026 - 10:30PM
CHAMPIONS! PANTHERS WIN THE CONTINENTAL CUP
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Nottingham Panthers beat Torpedo from Kazakhstan 4-2 in the Gold Medal Game to secure the Continental Cup in front of a passionate crowd of over 6,500 at the Motorpoint Arena.
On another famous hockey night in Nottingham, Panthers created history by becoming the first UK side to win the trophy following success back in 2017.
Kevin Carr started between the pipes with Luca Sheldon as back-up.
Johnny Curran came into the line-up to replace Matt Marcinew who was injured in Friday night's 4-0 victory over Katowice.
Panthers lead after tight first period
Clear-cut chances were limited in a tense opening session with Panthers going close through David Noël and Matt Alfaro while at the other end, Carr made a good save to turn away Erik Aldabergenov's shot from the slot.
Panthers went ahead on a delayed penalty as Tim Doherty and Nolan Volcan combined to set-up Matt Spencer who jumped into the play to score from the right-circle (19:17).
Two goals in 69 seconds put Panthers in command
Didrik Henbrant was denied in the slot thanks to a great save by Vladislav Pestov and Volcan drove the net but just couldn't get a clean shot away.
Torpedo forward Stepan Rifel cut off the left and his wrist-shot forced a good save out of Carr, before Panthers scored twice in 69 seconds to take a three-goal lead to the second intermission.
Henbrant and Volcan combined down the left to set-up Bryan Lemos in the slot (34:25) and Cooper Zech scored a penalty-shot on his backhand after a Torpedo defenceman had frozen the puck with his hand in the crease (35:34).
Garát seals victory with empty-net goal
Spencer and Lemos came close to adding to the tally, while Carr saved from Maxim Musorov as Torpedo tried in vain to find a way back into the game.
Stanislav Borovikov broke the shutout as he scored through traffic (58:29) and a deflected shot by Mikhail Rakhmanov on a six-on-five on play with the netminder lifted for the extra skater (59:04) set-up a tense finish.
But Zsombor Garát calmed any nerves with an empty-net goal from his zone (59:48) as the passionate #PanthersNation roared the clock down to enable the celebrations to begin for another very special trophy success.
IIHF 2026 Continental Cup Results
Wednesday 14th January
Red Group: Angers 1-4 Herning Blue Fox
​Blue Group: HK Mogo 0-4 Panthers
Thursday 15th January
Red Group: Herning Blue Fox 2-6 HC Torpedo
Blue Group: GKS Katowice 3-2 HK Mogo (shootout)
Friday 16th January
Red Group: HC Torpedo 2-3 Angers (overtime)
Blue Group: Panthers 4-0 GKS Katowice
Saturday 17th January
Placement Game: Angers 3-4 Mogo
Bronze Medal Game: Herning 3-2 Katowice (shootout)
Gold Medal Game: Panthers 4-2 Torpedo