Romania´s Gyergyoi HK from Gheorgheni proved unstoppable on home ice finishing top of Group B in the First Round of the IIHF 2026 Continental Cup. 

Gyergyo overpowered Ukraine’s HK Kremenchuk 11-0 on home ice in Remetea, Romania, during the final day of action.

With perfect records in the opening round,  Gyergyo now propels to the penultimate stage of the IIHF Continental Cup. In Round 2, they will join Group A winner Latvia´s HK Mogo, France’s Angers Ducs and Italy’s SG Cortina in Group C, contested at Angers IceParc from 14-16 November 2025.

The top two teams from next month’s round-robin tournament in France will advance to the Final Round, scheduled to take place in Nottingham, Great Britain, from 14-17 January 2026. Awaiting them are the pre-qualified teams: Great Britain´s Nottingham Panthers, HC Torpedo from Kazakhstan, Poland’s GKS Katowice, and Herning Blue Fox from Denmark.
 

• Group B – Results: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/ccb/schedule
•  Group B – Final standings: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/ccb/standings/final

You will find more information about the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup here on IIHF.com.

Romanian champions roar into the next round

Special teams proved decisive in setting Gyergyoi HK on course for a crushing 11–0 final-day victory over Ukraine’s HK Kremenchuk. Dallas Gerads broke the deadlock at 5:32, capitalizing on a powerplay with Bogdan Pankov sitting out a hooking minor. Peter Vincze doubled the lead with a shorthanded goal, and with just 24 seconds left in the first period, Matias Haaranen extended the advantage to 3–0 on a 5-on-3.

The Transylvanians then added four goals in each of the final two periods, completing a dominant performance. With the emphatic win, the team from Gheorgheni now advances to the next round full of confidence.

"The goal is to progress as far as possible. When the puck drops, our goal is always to win. That is our aim for all games and we´ll see how far it will take us," said Gyergyo coach Markus Juurikkala.

The Group A hosts began their Continental Cup campaign in style at the newly opened, 2,200 seater Remetea Ice Arena, running riot with a 13–0 win over Serbia´s Crvena Zvezda from Belgrade. In their second game, three middle frame goals from their influential top line powered the team in red and white to a 4–1 victory over Hungarian champions Budapest JAHC.

Scoring 28 goals and conceding only once, the Romanian champions totally dominated the scoring charts. Dallas Gerads led the way with 10 points, continuing his strong form in his second season with the club, which was founded in 2018.

Arriving as dark horses, HC Kremenchuk finished in second place. Coached by Andri Sryubko, the team secured its first Continental Cup win by edging Budapest 3–2 in their opener. After falling behind and struggling in the first period, Kremenchuk clicked into gear with three unanswered goals. Vladyslav Braha equalized before Viacheslav Andrushchenko broke the tie, followed by Mykhaylo Gevorkian’s decisive goal. Eduard Zahkarchenko had an inspiring afternoon in goal, blocking 38 shots. The Ukrainians then dominated their second game, scoring a dozen goals against Crvena Zvezda.

After a recent barren run of form, Budapest got back to winning ways on the final day of Round 1, dispatching Crvena Zvezda 9–3 to finish a disappointing third.


"There has been a major change with eleven players leaving us since last season. We’re trying to build our team around the domestic players and encourage our own players to step ahead. This is a longer process season, which hasn´t been helped by us constantly being held back by injuries," said Budapest´s assistant coach Tibor Marton.

Crvena Zvezda finished fourth, arriving with only 15 skaters and fielding the youngest team of Round 1, including seven teenagers. The goalkeeping duo of Filip Korenic and Elias Kyrola faced a barrage of 222 shots across three games. After 139 minutes and 59 seconds of play at Remetea Ice Arena, Andrija Spanjevic scored the team’s first goal against Budapest.