Kalev Välk Tartu – Sary Arka Karaganda 0-8 (0-4,0-3,0-1)
0-1 03:21 Albert Vafin (Aleksei Korshkov,Vladimir Ivantsov) PP
0-2 04:16 Sergei Miroshnichenko (Vyacheslav Mushtaev)
0-3 12:12 Vladimir Knyazev (Aleksandr Yegorov, Vyacheslav Mushtaev)
0-4 14:04 Vadim Strelchuk (Aleksandr Berezensky)
0-5 24:11 Rastam Yessirkenov (Eldar Nazhmutdinov)
0-6 33:00 Rastam Yessirkenov (Dmitri Kokorev,Eldar Nazhmutdinov) PP
0-7 38:04 Aleksandr Berezensky (Aleksandr Korobolin) PP
0-8 54:13 Dmitri Shalabanov (Vladimir Knyazev,Aleksandr Yegorov)
PIM: 7x2 – 7x2 SOG: 23-39
MVP: Veikko Suvaoja - Rastam Yessirkenov
Sary-Arka: Ivanov – Filin, Kokorev, Yessirkenov, Sayfullin, Nazhmutdinov – Vafin, Korshkov, Ivantsov, Pikalov, Zotkin – Miroshnichenko, Korobolin, Berezenskiy, Strelchuk, Glotov – Shalabanov, Knyazev, Mushtayev, Duma, Yegorov.
Tartu: Eerme – Svarogin, Narvet, Loginov, Semjonov, Titirenko – Roduskin, Savvov, V. Suvaoja, Sorokin, J. Suvaoja – Pankov, Novikov, Parras, Jastrebov, Kuznetsov – Jakovlev.

Sary Arka Karaganda closed its Continental Cup campaign with an easy victory over Estonian league representative Kalev-Valk Tartu, in a match without drama, due the huge gap in level between the teams. The Kazakh club is probably the best team here in Krakow for the tournament, well organized and skilled, but the wrong mental approach in the first match vs. Cracovia (believing that they could up their level of play at will when needed against the Polish champions, and finding out too late that they couldn't) cost them the qualification to the next round.

Kalev-Valk can be pleased with its tournament performance - a victory over Energija Elektrenai in Day 1 action was unexpected and probably the best result the team could have hoped to achieve. Incidentally, the future of this Estonian team is uncertain - due to budget issues, Kalve-Valk will probably go from a semi-pro club to a strictly amateur team, and so this tournament may have been one last adventure together for this group of players.

Sary Arka quickly closed out the game, taking a 4-0 lead after the first period on only 14 shots (first period SOG: 14-4). The second period was more balanced, with Kalev-Valk trying to score a consolation goal, but Sary Arka goalie Aleksei Ivanov was perfect on the few shots he did face. His colleague Kristjan Eerme did his best in the goal for Kalev-Valk, but was beaten for another three discs in the cage in the second period: two goals by Rastam Yessirkenov and a beautiful one by Aleksandr Berezenskiy. A single goal by Karaganda's Dmitri Shalabanov, finalizing a good series of Sary Arka moves, marked the third period and closed the Continental Cup campaign for both teams. The final score was Sary Arka Karaganda 8, Kalev-Valk Tartu 0.

In the post match press conference, an angry Oleg Bolyakin (Sary Arka's coach), still upset over the Day 1 loss to Cracovia, just commented that: “The best team won today but our opponents weren't bad; they were better then what the final score said.” Kalev's coach Ismo Lekhonen was, as usual, very realistic: “We were without 6 of our main players, and our physical condition wasn't good, and if you aren't 100% you can't survive against a skilled team like Sary Arka. We definitely miss playing in a decent domestic league, that's the problem for our team and for all of Estonian hockey. Our players need to compete with competitive teams, so they can learn.”

Cracovia Krakow - Energija Elektrenai 7-5 (4-0, 2-3, 1-2)
1-0  03:38 Słaboń (Csorich, L. Laszkiewicz)
2-0 04:58 Kłys (Musial)
3-0 14:26 Piotrowski (Musial, Drzewiecki)
4-0 18:30 Radwański
5-0 22:13 Piotrowski (Musial)
5-1 28:10 Zidkovas (Korneiciuk, Nauseda)
5-2 31:01 Bendzius (Zidkovas)
5-3 36:05 Slikas (Vaiciukevicius)
6-3 37:17 L. Laszkiewicz (Słaboń, Biela)
6-4 42:45 Vaiciukevicius (Slikas)
6-5 52:42 Slikas (Ivanuskin, Aliukonis)
7-5 59:49 L. Laszkiewicz (Słaboń, Biela)
PIM: 8x2 - 6x2 SOG: 53-22 Att: 1.400
MVP: Marian Csorich - Rolandas Aliukonis
Cracovia: Rączka – Bondarevs, Csorich, L. Laszkiewicz, Słaboń, Biela – Dudaš, Dulęba, Radwański, Pasiut, Witowski – Noworyta, Kłys, Piotrowski, Musial, Drzewiecki – Wajda, Landowski, Rutkowski.
Energija: Dauksevicius – Aliukonis, Vysniauskas, Ivanuskin, Vaiciukevicius, Slikas – Nauseda, Pikcius, Bendzius, Korneiciuk, Zidkovas – Kubilius, Burakov, Jagelavicius, Visockas, Kazlauskas – Gutauskas, Suchomlinas.
 

The Continental Cup's final night in Krakow, Poland, was simply a celebration of the home team Cracovia Krakow's qualification for the Continental Cup semifinals round. Energija Elektrenai, despite rebuilding with many junior players, and despite having lost their top veterans due to a budget crunch, and despite coming into this game having lost their previous two matches, came to play, and fought hard after a dominant Cracovia first period. Energija showed off their skilled goalie Nerijus Dauksevicius and a speedy Martynas Slikas, who was a thorn in Cracovia's side. The home side was without a sick Daniel Laszkiewicz and Mikołaj Łopuski, and had assistant coach Andrzej Pasiut on the bench, replacing head coach Rudolf Rohaczek, who was hospitalized with cardiac problems.

Due to a concomitant Cracovia football match, the crowd was relatively small, but was just as energetic as the earlier larger crowds. The crowd was delighted by some great hockey moves in the first period, when Cracovia scored 4 unanswered goals. Cracovia's 3rd goal, scored by Michal Piotrowski, was the beautiful finish of a great play by the top line, and the Michal Radwanski breakaway goal to finish the first period also had the crowd cheering loudly.

In the second period, Cracovia quickly scored its fifth goal (Michal Piotrowski), but then its level of play dropped, and Energija's improved. This led to the Lithuanians scoring 3 straight goals (by Zidkovas, Bendzius and Slikas), all of which came after Cracovia defensive breakdowns. Energija almost scored a fourth, but Cracovia's goaltender Raczka made a great save on Zidkovas, and on the counterattack, Leszek Laszkiewicz made a classy move and delivered the home side's sixth goal. The second intermission saw Cracovia holding a 6-3 lead.

The third period saw Energija pressure Cracovia, and Elektrenai scored twice (from Dalius Vaiciukevicius and Martynas Slikas, the club's strongest players), and closed the game with honor, even killing off a double minor penalty in the process. The home fans were undeterred by Cracovia's uneven performance tonight - the arena was jubilant, and the final 10 minutes consisted of songs and celebrations for an historic success (i.e., a Polish club going to the semi-final round). Leszek Laszkiewicz sealed his fantastic tournament with an empty net goal, and Cracovia won the game 7-5, outshooting Energija 53-22 in the process.

Energija coach Rimantas Sidaravicius was pleased despite his club's third consecutive defeat here in Poland, saying “Tonight I'm very happy because our young players played very well. We started slowly, but in the second and third periods we played good hockey.”

Cracovia assistant coach Andrzej Pasiut was not pleased by his club's effort, stating “I'm angry, our players didn't show respect for our opponents. After our fifth goal some of our players gave no further effort, and for this reason I left them on the bench for the rest of the game."

Cracovia, however, is through to the Continental Cup semi-finals.

(table to be added)

Awards:
Best Goalie: Aleksei Ivanov (Sary Arka)
Best Defender: Marian Csorich (Cracovia)
Best Forward: Leszek Laszkiewicz (Cracovia)
Tournament MVP: Leszek Laszkiewicz (Cracovia)
Fair-play trophy: Kalev-Valk Tartu