Belfast to host Continental Cup semi-finals
Belfast is set to host the Group E semi-finals of the International Ice Hockey Federation Continental Cup, in which the Belfast Giants will compete.
Adam Keefe’s side will have a home advantage when the action comes to the SSE Arena Belfast in November.
The Giants will be pitted against Croatian side Medvescak Zagreb and Poland’s GKS Katowice.
They will also be joined in Group E by the winner of Group B, which will be decided in October – either Ritten Sport, MAC Budapest, Acroni Jesenice, or Crvena Zvezda Belgrade.
A top two finish in Group E would be enough to see the Giants advance to the final stage in January, with that location yet to be decided.
The Belfast team sealed their Continental Cup place by winning the Elite League’s Challenge Cup with a well-earned 6-3 win over the Cardiff Devils in Wales in March.
The Giants have competed in the Continental Cup three times previously –first in 2002/03 when they hosted and won the third round, before advancing to the Super Final in Milan, Italy and Lugano, Switzerland.
They then featured in the second round in Landshut in Germany in 2012/13, and again in Bremerhaven in Germany in 2014/15 – when they advanced to the third round in Angers in France.
Bringing European hockey to Belfast marks yet another coup for the Giants organisation.
The city has already hosted a diverse selection of tournaments and special events, to the delight of local fans – from the IIHF World Division 1B championships, when Team GB won gold, to NCAA games in the now annual Friendship Four, and even an NHL side in the Boston Bruins.