Clubs with Latvian players lose in fifth round of IIHF Champions Hockey League
Bordeaux Boxers and Herning Blue Fox, both featuring Latvian players, lost their fifth-round IIHF Champions Hockey League games. Both teams sit near the bottom of the standings.
Teams represented by Latvian hockey players suffered defeats on Wednesday in the fifth round of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Champions Hockey League.
Bordeaux Boxers, who count Latvian defenseman Niks Feņenko in their lineup, lost 2-5 (2-0, 0-1, 0-4) at home to Czech side Pardubice Dynamo. Feņenko assisted on Bordeaux's second goal. He played 22 minutes and seven seconds, took one shot on goal, blocked one shot and finished with a neutral plus-minus rating. He joined the French club at the end of September.
Herning Blue Fox, with goaltender Jānis Fecers and defenseman Oskars Cibuļskis, lost 0-3 (0-1, 0-2, 0-0) away to Cologne's Haie. Fecers stopped 30 of 33 shots and also saved a penalty shot taken by Marcel Noebels early in the game, but his team's attack failed to score. Cibuļskis spent 17 minutes and 49 seconds on the ice, took two shots on goal, blocked one and ended the game with a rating of -1.
Standings
After five rounds, Plzeň Škoda, which includes defenseman Kristiāns Rubīns, leads with 15 points. Lappeenranta SaiPa, with goaltender Gustavs Dāvis Grigals, is fifth with ten points. Liberec Bili Tygri, represented by defenseman Kristaps Zīle, is 16th with seven points. Boxers are 19th with four points, while Blue Fox are second to last in 23rd place with one point.
In the group stage, 24 teams play six games each, with positions decided in a single overall table. The top 16 advance to the knockout rounds.
Tournament background
Last season, Gothenburg's Frölunda won the title, beating fellow Swedish club Luleå 3-2 in overtime in the final on home ice. The tournament was first held in the 2014/2015 season.
