Rouen here we come!

The Stavanger Oilers are the fourth team that will skate on the ice at Ile La Croix arena in Rouen in January battling for the Continental Cup against Rouen, Asiago and the champion Donbas Donets'k.The semifinal round played in the small Danish town of Vojens promotes the Norway champions, redeeming, with a year's delay, the atrocious hoax suffered last season, when in the semi-final group, played on home ice, they had lost the last game on penalties against Metallurg Zhlobin .Once more a Belarusian teams, Neman Grodno, is on the road of the team coached by Petter Thoresen, while the hosts of SonderjyskE and Hungarians DAB Docler Dunaujvaros complete the quartet of challengers. Once again, the Belarusians are the favorites, also because of a roster, in itself strong, enhanced by five loans came from Dinamo Minsk, Neman heading team. But this time the wheel of fortune stops at the box of Oilers: in the first game, the decisive against the Neman, the Norwegians firstly come back from 1-3, then win on penalties with decisive goal by their best player, forward Christian Dahl Andersen. In the other match, a small surprise with the DAB.Docler beating the hosts 2-1, reversing a trend of negative results that gripped them last month in MOL Liga and which not coincidentally coincided with the injury of top player Nikandrosz Galasnisz, recovered in time for to the continental tournament.

Second day was decisive : while the Oilers hammered the DAB.Docler winning 9-1, with Dahl-Andersen again in a big role  (one goal and three assists ) along with Canadian Jean-Michel Daoust, Neman gains two hard-earned points against SonderjyskE , beaten only 1-0 at extra time with goals of the Estonian sniper Andrei Makrov, recently returned to Grodno after a fair experience in the Buran Voronezh, but who finds his potential back as soon as he skates on Belarusian ice. The last day has no surprises : the Neman beat the Hungarians 3-1 with two goals from defender Ivan Myadel, while at night the Oilers can not miss the historic achievement of bringing for the first time a Norwegian team in a European final: concentrated and definitely stronger, they got no chances to SonderjyskE, beaten 3-1 with goals by  Petter Roste Fossen , Dan Kissel and of course - Christian Dahl Andersen. Rouen her komme me! ( Rouen we come! ) headlines the site of the Oilers , celebrating the historic night of Vojens, confident that the team will not only award a trip to France. A curiosity: while Norway is a premiere, for the first time since 2008 there won't be a Belarus team in the superfinals .

 

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