The IIHF Continental Cup2027 gets underway in October, and the schedules are set for the opening group stage. There’s a clash between familiar Erste Liga rivals in store as Group B gets underway in Estonia.
Estonia’s Viru Sputnik hosts Group B as the club returns to the IIHF Continental Cup after 15 years away. In the 2010-2011 season, the team from Kohtla-Jarve joined at the second group stage and came second behind Poland’s KS Cracowia. In that tournament it got a win over Jaca, who represents Spain in Group A this year.
Viru Sputnik qualified after winning the Estonian Championship for the first time since 2010. After finishing second to defending champion Narva in the regular season, it won the playoff decider 3-1 thanks to two goals from Jegor Romanov and a third from Andrei Pepelyaev.
Romania’s Corona Brasov is likely to enter the group as the favourite to qualify for the next round. It’s Corona’s seventh IIHF Continental Cup campaign, and in 2025 the team got to the penultimate group stage. That year, Brasov hosted a second-round group and defeated Mogo, Elektrenai and Hungary’s Ferencvarosi to advance.
Corona Brasov has some top-level experience in its ranks. Forwards Daniel Koger and Ahos Mihaly have both played Men’s World Championship hockey with Hungary, while Canadian forward Jeremy Walsh made 27 NHL appearances early in his career. The 38-year-old veteran has since played in Germany, Czechia, Poland and Britain before settling in Romania in 2023.
Hungarian champion BJAC could push Corona hard – just as it did in last season’s Erste Liga semi-final, when the Romanians prevailed in Game Seven. There’s international experience here as well, with four players boasting World Championship appearances for Hungary. Of those, Krisztian Nagy had 3 (2+1) points last season as the Magyars secured survival in the elite pool for an unprecedented third successive year.
BJAC played in last year’s IIHF Continental Cup, its first appearance since 2018. But it fell at the first group stage, with only a 9-3 thrashing of Crvena Zvezda to celebrate in Remetea, Romania.
IHC Zagreb completes the line-up. The Croatians have a long tradition in international competition, having featured in the old European Cup three times in the 1990s. They also have six previous IIHF Continental Cup campaigns, dating back to 1999-2000. In 2003 the team won its preliminary round group, but was disqualified from its first group stage tournament in Poland.
Zagreb’s last IIHF Continental Cup appearance was in 2023-24, when it came third in its first round group. Last season the team finished runner-up in Croatia and also competed in the cross-border IntHL.
IIHF Continental Cup 2027 First Round, Group B - Game Schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
IHC Zagreb vs Corona Brasov
BJAC vs Viru Sputnik
Saturday, Oct.17
BJAC vs IHC Zagreb
Corona Brasov vs Viru Sputnik
Sunday, Oct. 18
Corona Brasov vs BJAC
Viru Sputnik vs IHC Zagreb
Face-off times tbc.
Estonia’s Viru Sputnik hosts Group B as the club returns to the IIHF Continental Cup after 15 years away. In the 2010-2011 season, the team from Kohtla-Jarve joined at the second group stage and came second behind Poland’s KS Cracowia. In that tournament it got a win over Jaca, who represents Spain in Group A this year.
Viru Sputnik qualified after winning the Estonian Championship for the first time since 2010. After finishing second to defending champion Narva in the regular season, it won the playoff decider 3-1 thanks to two goals from Jegor Romanov and a third from Andrei Pepelyaev.
Romania’s Corona Brasov is likely to enter the group as the favourite to qualify for the next round. It’s Corona’s seventh IIHF Continental Cup campaign, and in 2025 the team got to the penultimate group stage. That year, Brasov hosted a second-round group and defeated Mogo, Elektrenai and Hungary’s Ferencvarosi to advance.
Corona Brasov has some top-level experience in its ranks. Forwards Daniel Koger and Ahos Mihaly have both played Men’s World Championship hockey with Hungary, while Canadian forward Jeremy Walsh made 27 NHL appearances early in his career. The 38-year-old veteran has since played in Germany, Czechia, Poland and Britain before settling in Romania in 2023.
Hungarian champion BJAC could push Corona hard – just as it did in last season’s Erste Liga semi-final, when the Romanians prevailed in Game Seven. There’s international experience here as well, with four players boasting World Championship appearances for Hungary. Of those, Krisztian Nagy had 3 (2+1) points last season as the Magyars secured survival in the elite pool for an unprecedented third successive year.
BJAC played in last year’s IIHF Continental Cup, its first appearance since 2018. But it fell at the first group stage, with only a 9-3 thrashing of Crvena Zvezda to celebrate in Remetea, Romania.
IHC Zagreb completes the line-up. The Croatians have a long tradition in international competition, having featured in the old European Cup three times in the 1990s. They also have six previous IIHF Continental Cup campaigns, dating back to 1999-2000. In 2003 the team won its preliminary round group, but was disqualified from its first group stage tournament in Poland.
Zagreb’s last IIHF Continental Cup appearance was in 2023-24, when it came third in its first round group. Last season the team finished runner-up in Croatia and also competed in the cross-border IntHL.
IIHF Continental Cup 2027 First Round, Group B - Game Schedule
Friday, Oct. 16
IHC Zagreb vs Corona Brasov
BJAC vs Viru Sputnik
Saturday, Oct.17
BJAC vs IHC Zagreb
Corona Brasov vs Viru Sputnik
Sunday, Oct. 18
Corona Brasov vs BJAC
Viru Sputnik vs IHC Zagreb
Face-off times tbc.