Few teams can match the IIHF Continental Cup experience of Energija Elektrenai. The Lithuanians played in the inaugural tournament back in 1997-1998 and returned every year until 2011. After a pause, the club was back in 2024-2025 and progressed through its first round group for only the second time in its history. That success included a victory over CH Jaca, and Energija will meet the Spaniards again here.
Many of the roster have international experience in Men’s World Championship Division I with Team Lithuania. And forward Tadas Kumeliauskas played three seasons in Finland with TPS Turku. The 35-year-old had two Champions Hockey League campaigns during that time.
Last season, Latvia’s HC Mogo went all the way from the first round to the final in Nottingham and claimed fifth place in the final standings. That roster was heavy on top-level experience with four players having represented Latvia at previous Olympics. Two of them, Krisjanis Redlihs, 45, and Gints Meija, 38, have not signed up for the new season. But defender Kristaps Sotnieks and talismanic forward Kaspars Daugavins are back on the team.
They bring the know-how, but there is young talent on the roster as well. Centre Kristaps Skrastins, 24, made his Men’s World Championship debut last season after four seasons in the NCAA. He returned to his homeland over the summer. Janis Zemitis, 27, was prolific in last year’s IIHF Continental Cup, as was the team’s player/GM Elviss Zelubovskis, whose 18 points in nine games led the tournament in scoring.
Sokil Kyiv is another team with huge IIHF Continental Cup experience. Like Energija, it was part of the inaugural competition back in 1997. The Falcons’ last appearance was in 2024-2025 and ended in a second-round exit.
In recent seasons, Ukrainian ice hockey has climbed the international rankings and will return to the Men’s World Championship next year in Germany. Sokil’s head coach Oleg Shafarenko is part of the coaching staff for the national program. Five of his Sokil players – goalie Oleh Petrov, defender Yevheni Ratushny, plus forwards Denys Borodai, Mykyta Olinyk and Viktor Zakharov – were all on the roster that won promotion from Men’s Division I A last season.
Spain is back in the IIHF Continental Cup after missing last season. CH Jaca flies the flag for the Iberian nation after clinching the 2026 national championship, it’s third in four seasons. It also won the Copa del Rey last term. However, there will be changes for the coming campaign. Head coach Vince Friyia – who previously coached the team in the mid-80s – stepped down.
Jose Antonio Rivero, a Jaca native, replaces him. A former player who captained the club in the early 1990s, he was previously sporting director. Rivero will have to find a replacement for Alejandro Carbonell, Jaca’s all-time assist leader, who retired in the summer after 12 seasons with the club and the Spanish national team.
IIHF Continental Cup 2027 First Round, Group A - Game Schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
Sokil vs Jaca (1500)
Energija vs Mogo (1900)
Saturday, Oct.17
Mogo vs Jaca (1300)
Sokil vs Energija (1700)
Sunday, Oct. 18
Mogo vs Sokil (1300)
Jaca vs Energija (1700)
Many of the roster have international experience in Men’s World Championship Division I with Team Lithuania. And forward Tadas Kumeliauskas played three seasons in Finland with TPS Turku. The 35-year-old had two Champions Hockey League campaigns during that time.
Last season, Latvia’s HC Mogo went all the way from the first round to the final in Nottingham and claimed fifth place in the final standings. That roster was heavy on top-level experience with four players having represented Latvia at previous Olympics. Two of them, Krisjanis Redlihs, 45, and Gints Meija, 38, have not signed up for the new season. But defender Kristaps Sotnieks and talismanic forward Kaspars Daugavins are back on the team.
They bring the know-how, but there is young talent on the roster as well. Centre Kristaps Skrastins, 24, made his Men’s World Championship debut last season after four seasons in the NCAA. He returned to his homeland over the summer. Janis Zemitis, 27, was prolific in last year’s IIHF Continental Cup, as was the team’s player/GM Elviss Zelubovskis, whose 18 points in nine games led the tournament in scoring.
Sokil Kyiv is another team with huge IIHF Continental Cup experience. Like Energija, it was part of the inaugural competition back in 1997. The Falcons’ last appearance was in 2024-2025 and ended in a second-round exit.
In recent seasons, Ukrainian ice hockey has climbed the international rankings and will return to the Men’s World Championship next year in Germany. Sokil’s head coach Oleg Shafarenko is part of the coaching staff for the national program. Five of his Sokil players – goalie Oleh Petrov, defender Yevheni Ratushny, plus forwards Denys Borodai, Mykyta Olinyk and Viktor Zakharov – were all on the roster that won promotion from Men’s Division I A last season.
Spain is back in the IIHF Continental Cup after missing last season. CH Jaca flies the flag for the Iberian nation after clinching the 2026 national championship, it’s third in four seasons. It also won the Copa del Rey last term. However, there will be changes for the coming campaign. Head coach Vince Friyia – who previously coached the team in the mid-80s – stepped down.
Jose Antonio Rivero, a Jaca native, replaces him. A former player who captained the club in the early 1990s, he was previously sporting director. Rivero will have to find a replacement for Alejandro Carbonell, Jaca’s all-time assist leader, who retired in the summer after 12 seasons with the club and the Spanish national team.
IIHF Continental Cup 2027 First Round, Group A - Game Schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
Sokil vs Jaca (1500)
Energija vs Mogo (1900)
Saturday, Oct.17
Mogo vs Jaca (1300)
Sokil vs Energija (1700)
Sunday, Oct. 18
Mogo vs Sokil (1300)
Jaca vs Energija (1700)