Ak Bars Wins in Riga
AK BARS KAZAN WINS CONTINENTIAL CUP - IIHF WEBSITE
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Ak Bars Kazan won the IIHF Continental Cup in Riga with 6-2 win over HK Riga 2000 in Riga on Sunday. Ak Bars, favored to win the tournament, met expectations by sweeping all the teams that reached the final round; edging Kazakhastan’s Kazzinc-Torpedo 2-1 and handily defeating AaB Aalborg of Denmark 4-1.
Ak Bars also picked up two individual awards: American netminder Robert Esche was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper, and Ilya Nikulin best defenseman.
The IIHF Continental Cup is a four-stage competition founded in 1997 after the International Ice Hockey Federation discontinued the European Cup.