Bruleurs de Loups' players rush to congratulate goaltender Matija Pintaric after he backstopped the team to a shoot-out win over GKS Katowice at the 2025 IIHF Continental Cup Final in Cardiff.
photo: Aled Hopkins
Bruleurs de Loups battled to a shoot-out victory over GKS Katowice on day two of the 2025 IIHF Continental Cup Final. Aurelian Dair’s decisive attempt on John Murray snapped a 2-2 tie and sets up a trophy showdown on Sunday.
Dair settled the shoot-out in the second round of sudden death. After his successful attempt, Benjamin Sokay had a chance to keep GSK in the game but fired wide of Matija Pintaric’s net.
"It was really close until the end," said Bruleurs captain Sacha Treille. "We found a way to score a PP goal that got us back into the game and in the end it was penalty shots. It could go either way. But we managed to win it and that’s really good for tomorrow’s game."
Now the equation is simple. When Bruleurs de Loups faces Cardiff on Sunday, any kind of win for either team will secure the Continental Cup. For both clubs, it would be the first time lifting this trophy.
After losing its opening game, GKS knew that it needed to win in regulation – and by a good margin. The Poles’ only hope of staying in contention for the trophy lay in a possible three-way tie should they defeat Bruleurs de Loups before a French victory over Cardiff in Sunday’s final game. Even then, Katowice also had to claw back a three-goal deficit from its opening night loss.
That inspired GKS to a lively start, but Grenoble’s Slovenian international goalie Pintaric prevented any early goals. Instead, it was Bruleurs de Loups who took the lead in the eighth minute. Guillaume Leclerc saw his initial effort padded away, but the Polish defence failed to track Adel Koudri as he got the paintwork and prodded the loose puck past Murray.
Late in the first the teams exchanged scoring changes. Patryk Wronka drew a double save from Pintaric at one end, before Damien Fleury tested Murray in a one-on-one. Moments later, Dair thought he had a second goal for BDL after a turnover in GKS territory. Although two players ended up in the net, the video review ruled that Murray got enough behind the puck to keep it from crossing the line.
Buoyed by that reprieve, Katowice came out in the second period and produced its best 20 minutes of hockey in Cardiff. Pressing and harrying Grenoble at every opportunity, the Poles had Brouleurs de Loups at full stretch and got their reward. Santeri Koponen, a Finnish defender who was on the GKS team in last year’s final, tied the game after 26 minutes with a point shot. Moments later, Wronka broke clear of the defence and with Pierre Crinon out of position, the only option was a foul. Crinon saved a likely goal but plunged his team into penalty trouble.
Two penalties in a row had Bruleurs trapped in their zone and that pressure saw Grzegorz Pasiut put GKS ahead midway through the session. Per Hanberg called a time-out to try and calm a rattled French team but the Polish pressure continued until Aleksi Vartinnen was assessed a holding minor and offered some relief to Grenoble.
However, the relief was short-lived. Jordon Southorn took an unnecessary O-zone penalty late in the second period to hand the initiative back to GKS and the momentum carried on the third frame.
That penalty trouble was a source of frustration for captain Treille. “We said before the game in IIHF competitions the referees are more strict on those stick penalties,” he said. “This is what we have to improve tomorrow. It starts from our discipline and especially in the offensive zone. We can’t take penalties there, we have to do it the right way.”
The Poles needed goals to claw back the three-goal margin against Cardiff and give themselves a chance in any three-way tie for the trophy.
Despite more pressure, further scoring stubbornly refused to arrive. A four-minute power play came to nothing, then Bartosz Fraszko chipped the puck over the bar from close range with the defence scrambling to recover its position.
And then came the sucker punch. A BDL power play took just 16 seconds to deliver a tying goal. Alexis Binner fired in a point shot and, amid a mighty scramble on the crease, Matais Bachelet stuffed the puck home to tie the game with five minutes to play. That complicated the outcome of Saturday’s game but simplified the overall tournament equation by removing any prospect of a three-way tie.
Both teams had chances to win it in the extras. Nicolas Deschamps dinged the piping for Grenoble, then GKS got a power play after Fleury took a hooking call with 2:37 left on the clock. However, neither side could force the break-through and the game went to a shoot-out.
Dair settled the shoot-out in the second round of sudden death. After his successful attempt, Benjamin Sokay had a chance to keep GSK in the game but fired wide of Matija Pintaric’s net.
"It was really close until the end," said Bruleurs captain Sacha Treille. "We found a way to score a PP goal that got us back into the game and in the end it was penalty shots. It could go either way. But we managed to win it and that’s really good for tomorrow’s game."
Now the equation is simple. When Bruleurs de Loups faces Cardiff on Sunday, any kind of win for either team will secure the Continental Cup. For both clubs, it would be the first time lifting this trophy.
After losing its opening game, GKS knew that it needed to win in regulation – and by a good margin. The Poles’ only hope of staying in contention for the trophy lay in a possible three-way tie should they defeat Bruleurs de Loups before a French victory over Cardiff in Sunday’s final game. Even then, Katowice also had to claw back a three-goal deficit from its opening night loss.
That inspired GKS to a lively start, but Grenoble’s Slovenian international goalie Pintaric prevented any early goals. Instead, it was Bruleurs de Loups who took the lead in the eighth minute. Guillaume Leclerc saw his initial effort padded away, but the Polish defence failed to track Adel Koudri as he got the paintwork and prodded the loose puck past Murray.
Late in the first the teams exchanged scoring changes. Patryk Wronka drew a double save from Pintaric at one end, before Damien Fleury tested Murray in a one-on-one. Moments later, Dair thought he had a second goal for BDL after a turnover in GKS territory. Although two players ended up in the net, the video review ruled that Murray got enough behind the puck to keep it from crossing the line.
Buoyed by that reprieve, Katowice came out in the second period and produced its best 20 minutes of hockey in Cardiff. Pressing and harrying Grenoble at every opportunity, the Poles had Brouleurs de Loups at full stretch and got their reward. Santeri Koponen, a Finnish defender who was on the GKS team in last year’s final, tied the game after 26 minutes with a point shot. Moments later, Wronka broke clear of the defence and with Pierre Crinon out of position, the only option was a foul. Crinon saved a likely goal but plunged his team into penalty trouble.
Two penalties in a row had Bruleurs trapped in their zone and that pressure saw Grzegorz Pasiut put GKS ahead midway through the session. Per Hanberg called a time-out to try and calm a rattled French team but the Polish pressure continued until Aleksi Vartinnen was assessed a holding minor and offered some relief to Grenoble.
However, the relief was short-lived. Jordon Southorn took an unnecessary O-zone penalty late in the second period to hand the initiative back to GKS and the momentum carried on the third frame.
That penalty trouble was a source of frustration for captain Treille. “We said before the game in IIHF competitions the referees are more strict on those stick penalties,” he said. “This is what we have to improve tomorrow. It starts from our discipline and especially in the offensive zone. We can’t take penalties there, we have to do it the right way.”
The Poles needed goals to claw back the three-goal margin against Cardiff and give themselves a chance in any three-way tie for the trophy.
Despite more pressure, further scoring stubbornly refused to arrive. A four-minute power play came to nothing, then Bartosz Fraszko chipped the puck over the bar from close range with the defence scrambling to recover its position.
And then came the sucker punch. A BDL power play took just 16 seconds to deliver a tying goal. Alexis Binner fired in a point shot and, amid a mighty scramble on the crease, Matais Bachelet stuffed the puck home to tie the game with five minutes to play. That complicated the outcome of Saturday’s game but simplified the overall tournament equation by removing any prospect of a three-way tie.
Both teams had chances to win it in the extras. Nicolas Deschamps dinged the piping for Grenoble, then GKS got a power play after Fleury took a hooking call with 2:37 left on the clock. However, neither side could force the break-through and the game went to a shoot-out.