Mogo Riga crushes Narva, Hockey Punks start strong in Continental Cup opener

The 2025–26 Continental Cup opens in Vilnius with a new format that has drawn plenty of criticism — particularly for the cancellation of the traditional September Round 1 and the limited number of participating clubs. The final stage, with four of the six teams already qualified, also raises questions about competitive fairness.

In Lithuania, the tournament features the Baltic League champions HK Mogo Riga, hosts Hockey Punks Vilnius, Estonia’s Narva PSK, and Iceland’s Skautafélag Akureyrar, who replaced Croatia’s KHL Sisak after their late withdrawal.

Mogo, boasting a high-level roster stacked with former national team players — most notably ex-NHLer Kaspars Daugaviņš — entered the competition as clear favorites. Judging by their performance in the opening game against Narva, it seems highly unlikely that the Latvians will miss out on qualification. Without even needing to push the pace, Mogo completely dominated the game, overpowering opponents who looked both technically and physically outmatched.

To make matters worse for Narva, the Estonian national league only began last week, leaving their players short on game rhythm and match fitness. The contest turned into little more than a one-sided training session for Mogo, who effectively ended the game in the first period with a 5–0 lead. They kept pressing and scoring at will, finishing with a commanding 13–1 victory and a 41–5 shot advantage. Forward Kaspars Ziemiņš led the way with a hat-trick.

In the evening game, hosts Hockey Punks Vilnius claimed their first points in front of their home fans, defeating a determined Skautafélag Akureyrar side who battled hard despite being clearly outmatched.

After taking a two-goal lead in the first period — thanks to a precise shot from Povilas Verenis and a smart deflection by Nolan Regan off a Benas Belicenka effort — the Punks widened the gap four minutes into the second. Laisvydas Kudrevičius converted a penalty shot awarded after a desperate hooking foul by Jóhann Leifsson.

The fourth goal came late in the middle frame when Finnish forward Alex Maunula produced a fine solo effort, deking past a defender before beating goaltender Robert Steingrímsson.

With the outcome already decided, the tempo dropped in the third period. Akureyri finally got on the board through Atli Sveinsson, but six minutes later Luke Kutkevičius restored the four-goal margin. Regan then sealed the 6–1 win in bizarre fashion — tapping in a rebound after a Belicenka shot bounced off the boards, caught the Icelandic netminder off guard, and slipped through his legs.

The Punks survived a late double penalty kill to secure their first group-stage victory

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