IIHF Continental Cup

The Continental Cup is an ice hockey tournament for European clubs, begun in 1997 after the discontinuing of the European Cup. It was intended for teams from countries without representatives in the European Hockey League, with participating teams chosen by the countries' respective ice hockey associations.
==Format==
The competition began in 1997-98 with 42 clubs from 26 countries, which expanded to 48 teams for the next two years. The tournament was played in seeded rounds of qualifying groups. There were three rounds of qualifying groups, with winners of qualifying groups progressing to the next round. The three winners of the third round groups entered the semifinals, along with the host club. The first round was held in September, the second in October, the third in November and the finals in December.
In the 2000-01 season, with the European Hockey League on hiatus, the Continental Cup became the de facto European club championship. The format remained the same, with 36 teams from 27 countries.
With the beginning of the IIHF European Champions Cup from 2004–05, participants included national champions of countries not in the Super Six (the top six European nations according to the IIHF World Ranking) as well as teams from Super Six leagues, which included HC Dynamo Moscow and HKm Zvolen.
==Winners==
Season	Winner 	Runner-up 	Third 	Venue
1998 	TJ VSŽ Košice 	Eisbären Berlin 	Ilves 	Tampere, Finland
1999 	HC Ambrì-Piotta 	HC Košice 	Avangard Omsk 	Košice, Slovakia
2000 	HC Ambrì-Piotta 	Eisbären Berlin 	Ak Bars Kazan 	Berlin, Germany
2001 	ZSC Lions 	London Knights 	HC Slovan Bratislava 	Zurich, Switzerland
2002 	ZSC Lions 	HC Milano Vipers 	HKm Zvolen 	Zurich, Switzerland
2003 	Jokerit 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	HC Lugano 	Lugano, SwitzerlandMilan, Italy
2004 	HC Slovan Bratislava 	HK Gomel 	HC Lugano 	Gomel, Belarus
2005 	HKm Zvolen 	Dynamo Moscow 	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár 	Székesfehérvár, Hungary
2006 	Lada Togliatti 	HK Riga 2000 	ZSC Lions 	Székesfehérvár, Hungary
2007 	Yunost Minsk 	Avangard Omsk 	Ilves 	Székesfehérvár, Hungary
2008 	Ak Bars Kazan 	HK Riga 2000 	Kazzinc-Torpedo 	Riga, Latvia
2009 	MHC Martin 	Dragons de Rouen 	HC Bolzano 	Rouen, France
2010 	Red Bull Salzburg 	Yunost Minsk 	Sheffield Steelers 	Grenoble, France
2011 	Yunost Minsk 	Red Bull Salzburg 	SønderjyskE Ishockey 	Minsk, Belarus
2012 	Dragons de Rouen 	Yunost Minsk 	HC Donbass 	Rouen, France
2013 	HC Donbass 	Metallurg Zhlobin 	Dragons de Rouen 	Donetsk, Ukraine
2014 	Stavanger Oilers 	HC Donbass 	HC Asiago 	Rouen, France
2015 	Neman Grodno 	Fischtown Pinguins 	Ducs d'Angers 	Bremerhaven, Germany
2016 	Dragons de Rouen 	Herning Blue Fox 	GKS Tychy 	Rouen, France
2017 	Nottingham Panthers 	Beibarys Atyrau 	Odense Bulldogs 	Ritten, Italy
2018 	Yunost Minsk 	Nomad Astana 	Sheffield Steelers 	Minsk, Belarus
2019 	Arlan Kokshetau 	Belfast Giants 	GKS Katowice 	Belfast, United Kingdom
2020 	SønderjyskE Ishockey 	Nottingham Panthers 	Neman Grodno 	Vojens
2021 	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 	Cracovia 	Saryarka Karagandy 	Aalborg Pirates 	Aalborg
2023 	HK Nitra 	Ducs d'Angers 	Cardiff Devils 	Angers
2024 	Nomad Astana 	Herning Blue Fox 	Cardiff Devils 	Cardiff
==IIHF Federation Cup==
The Federation Cup was an official European ice hockey club competition created in 1995. It was the second European competition for club teams, intended for those teams who couldn't qualified for the IIHF European Cup, especially for those from eastern European countries. It was the direct predecessor of the Continental Cup, which was played two seasons later.
===Format===
In the first year of competition, 13 Eastern European teams from twelve countries participated in the tournament. In a KO-system with three qualifying groups, which qualifies the four participants in the finals.
The following year was played in the same mode. Due to the increased number of participants (some Western European clubs had registered for the competition), an additional qualifying round was introduced.
====Federation Cup Winners====
Season	Winner 	Score	Runner-up 	Venue
1995 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa	4–1 	HC Pardubice 	Ljubljana, Slovenia
1996 	AS Mastini Varese 	4–3 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	Trenčín, Slovakia
==See also==
*Champions Hockey League
*IIHF Super Cup
*European Cup
==References==
==External links==
* Continental Cup at Eurohockey.com
Category:International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments
Category:Tournaments