Mogo/RSU open Continental Cup bid in Rouen against Belfast Giants

Latvian ice hockey club Mogo/RSU begin the second round of the Continental Cup in France on Friday. Over three days in Rouen they will meet the strongest clubs from Britain, Poland and France, starting with Belfast Giants at 16:00 Riga time.

Three games in three days

• Friday, 13 November, 16:00: Belfast Giants v Mogo/RSU.
• Saturday, 14 November, 16:00: GKS Katowice v Mogo/RSU.
• Sunday, 15 November, 19:00: Mogo/RSU v Rouen Dragons.

The hosts, Rouen Dragons, won the Continental Cup in 2012 and 2016, and the top two of the four teams will reach the final, the French league’s website said. Belfast won the British league’s regular season last year, while GKS Katowice are the Polish runners-up. Both teams have won six league games in a row.

Ankipāns: the schedule can even things out

Head coach Ģirts Ankipāns told LSM, the Latvian public broadcaster, that he did not think the British side would have an advantage just because they are used to back-to-back games and a busier schedule at home. “It also depends on the schedule: what time you play, who you play, who you played the day before. At some point that can even everything out,” Ankipāns said.

The Latvian club have two forwards with NHL experience, Kaspars Daugaviņš and Ronalds Ķēniņš. “These are names that are known internationally. They will also be playing for the name on their back,” the coach said.

In the first round in Lithuania in October, Mogo/RSU won all three games, against Energija of Elektrėnai, Spain’s Jaca and Sokil of Kyiv. The Continental Cup is Europe’s second most prestigious club competition after the Champions Hockey League and is mostly contested by champions of countries outside Europe’s top five leagues.

Match centre

• Olympics: fixtures and results