Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena — The Nottingham Panthers will play for the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup on home ice.
Danny Stewart’s side overcame early jitters to put GKS Katowice to the sword in their decisive Group A showdown, fired to victory by Nolan Volcan, Didrik Henbrant, and double scorer Tim Doherty.
“From a coach’s standpoint, I think that’s as good as it gets,” the Canadian said of his side’s second successive 4-0 win.
“We played good, smart hockey. In the first period, there weren’t a lot of whistles, the game was played at a good pace, and both teams defended well. In the second period, we did a great job possessing pucks and putting them under pressure.
“From start to finish and up and down the line-up, we had great performances. To a man, everyone showed up and played the right way.”
The Panthers will host Kazakh side Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk in the 2026 IIHF Continental Cup final at 7pm on Saturday [17 January].
Takeaway 1: Panthers netminder Jason Grande getting back to his best
Jason Grande entered the Elite League last January and immediately staked his claim as one of the division’s best puck-stoppers.
Backstopping the Panthers to playoff glory on home ice, the American put up a steamy .949 save percentage last regular-season, but holds an unwanted .892 record this term and has lost his status as Nottingham’s undisputed number one.
Jason Grande, Nottingham Panthers (Image: Panthers Images)
However, Grande is back on the up and stymied Mateusz Michalski early to calm any home side nerves and set him en route to a 24-save shutout.
With Kevin Carr also keeping a clean sheet in his Continental Cup appearance, Stewart has the luxury of picking between two in-form stoppers for tomorrow’s final.
Takeaway 2: Panthers’ strength-in-depth the difference versus GKS Katowice
Katowice more than matched Nottingham in the opening exchanges, forcing Grande into a handful of important, early stops.
But the Panthers’ ability to roll four dangerous lines tolled in the second period.
The Polish squad found themselves hemmed in their zone, struggling on the long change, and came undone two minutes into the frame when Didrik Henbrant found Nolan Volcan alone in the slot.
The Canadian’s one-timer was never going to be stopped and set the Panthers well on their way to the final.
It wasn’t the last time that Nottingham’s third-line turned the screw, winning their middle-six match-up and tilting the ice firmly against Poland’s vice-champions.
Takeaway 3: Panthers finding success against contrasting systems
The Panthers have been forced to overcome contrasting play-styles on their journey to the final.
HK Mogo, their Latvian opponents on the opening night, utilised a neutral zone trap system, limiting space through centre ice and clogging pathways through the zones.
After a difficult first period, the Panthers pulled through to win 4-0.
Nottingham’s win over Katowice followed a similar path.
In the first period, the Panthers struggled to counteract their Polish rivals’ North American-style game.
Katowice retained puck possession in the offensive zone, forechecking at every opportunity, and Nottingham struggled initially.
But, once again, they found a way to break down their opponents in the middle frame. And, again, skated away as 4-0 winners.
Tim Doherty, Nottingham Panthers (Image: Panthers Images)Torpedo’s approach is closer to Mogo’s than Katowice.
The Kazakh side set-up 1-3-1 through the neutral zone, suffocating space on the transition to prevent their opponents gaining speed through centre ice.
And the Panthers won’t take them lightly.
“They’ve got a lot of skill,” Stewart said of the visiting Torpedo squad.
“Watching the game against Herning [Blue Fox], they scored some beautiful goals and we know that they’re going to trap it up.
“We have to replicate how we managed the puck tonight, play physical, and force them to defend as much as possible.”
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