GKS Katowice suffered two tough losses but finished the 2019 IIHF Continental Cup Final on a high. The 5-0 blanking of HK Gomel means third place and bronze medals for the team from southern Poland. Polish national team player Mikolaj Lopuski scored a hat trick very much to the joy of hundreds of GSK Katowice fans on the tribune.

HK Gomel suffered a hard time in this final tournament. Usually among the top teams in Belarus, the team has had a mediocre season in the Belarusian Extraliga so far and couldn’t keep up with the other teams here in Belfast. They will have to travel home with zero points and a 2-18 goal record in three games.

Katowice outshot Gomel 44-17 throughout the game and opened the scoring after just 17 seconds with a goal from Lopuski. The long-time national team player with the experience of ten senior World Championship tournaments continued at 13:19. Gomel took three minor penalties in a row and after passes from his Finnish teammates Jesse Rothla and Jesse Jyrkkio, Lopuski netted the puck.

He completed his hat trick early in the second period. 29 seconds into the frame he converted a pass from the end boards to make it 3-0. Marek Strzyzowski scored Katowice’s fourth marker just 84 seconds later.

The goal galore stopped afterwards although Katowice remained dominant. Jyrkkio set up the final score of 5-0 with his goal 105 seconds before the final buzzer.

With the win GKS Katowice ties the third-place finish Polish rival GKS Tychy achieved in 2016.

The 2019 IIHF Continental Cup Final ends with a winner-takes-it-all game between Kazakh champion Arlan Kokshetau and host Belfast Giants tonight.