Continental Cup 'means everything' to Panthers

Nottingham Panthers' milestone European triumph on Saturday is just the beginning of what head coach Danny Stewart wants to be a historic season.

A trophy quadruple is what Panthers have in their sights now that the Continental Cup is in their possession.

With the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) Play-Off Final title-holders in the last four of the Challenge Cup and well placed in pursuit of the league crown, the Continental Cup is seen as a platform for an unprecedented four-trophy raid.

The East Midlands club beat Kazakhstani side Torpedo 4-2 in the gold-medal game of the four-day tournament hosted at Panthers' Motorpoint Arena home.

It is the second time they have won the second biggest prize in European club ice hockey, with this latest win making them the first British club to win the trophy multiple times.

"It means everything," Stewart told BBC East Midlands Today on the ice immediately after the win in front of a packed crowd of more than 6,500.

"This is why we do it, this is why we play the game - to win trophies.

"A lot has to go right to be able to do it, but to do it in front of this crowd makes it even more special."

Throughout the week, Nottingham lived up to their billing as favourites to win the trophy they first got their hands on in 2017.

They beat Latvia's HK Mogo 4-0 in their opening game and were equally as decisive in seeing off Polish side GKS Katowice on Friday to set up their shot at glory over the weekend.

Matt Spencer opened the scoring in the decider and two goals in 69 seconds from Bryan Lemos and Cooper Zech had the hosts seemingly cruising.

However, two quickfire goals from Stanislav Borovikov and Mikhail Rakhmanov late on set up a tense ending - but Zsombor Garat sealed the victory with his finish into an empty net.

Stewart said he is "proud" of his team's achievement, describing the week as "phenomenal" and was quick to add that Panthers are aiming to make it a trophy-laden campaign.

"We will obviously celebrate this one and give the guys a couple of days off before getting back to work," he said.

"They fully deserved what they got. They bought into the way we needed to play to get through this, and I couldn't be happier."