Victoria Cup
The Victoria Cup is an ice hockey competition that was held for the first time in 2008 . The competition was originally supposed to be played annually between the winner of the European Champions Hockey League and a representative of the North American National Hockey League . The competition was launched by the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF on its 100th birthday.
The trophy is named after the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada . The stadium is considered to be the birthplace of ice hockey, as an indoor ice hockey game was held there for the first time in 1875.
After the failure of the 2009/10 CHL season , the 2010 Victoria Cup was originally intended to be held as a comparison between an NHL club and one of the champions of a top European league. However, it did not take place and the future of the competition is unclear.
Winners list
| year | winner | Erg. | Final opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |
 New York Rangers
|
4: 3 |
 HK Metallurg Magnitogorsk
|
Bern , Switzerland |
| 2009 |
 ZSC Lions Zurich
|
2: 1 |
Chicago Blackhawks
|
Zurich , Switzerland |
Held in 2008
The first edition of the Victoria Cup took place on October 1, 2008 in the PostFinance Arena in Bern . The winner of the IIHF European Champions Cup 2008 , HK Metallurg Magnitogorsk , took part as European representative ; the National Hockey League was represented by the New York Rangers . The winner received prize money of one million Swiss francs (approx. 0.6 million euros). It was the first meeting between a club from the former Soviet Union and North America since the 1991 Super Series . Thanks to an outstanding final third, the New York Rangers won the game 4-3 after losing 3-0 halfway through the game. With a goal just before the end of the second period and three hits in the final section, they were able to win the Victoria Cup for the first time. A total of 13,794 spectators attended the game.
The game was accompanied by a game between the traditional teams of Switzerland and Russia on the day of the cup game and a friendly between the hosts SC Bern and the New York Rangers on September 30, 2008. The latter was the first game a Swiss team played against an NHL team. The Rangers also won this game 8-1 in front of 16,022 spectators. There, too, the decision was only made in the final third when the Rangers scored six goals.
|
Friendly game September 30, 2008 7:30 p.m. |
SC Bern T. Roche (41:02) |
1: 8 (0: 2, 0: 0, 1: 6) game report |
New York Rangers D. Girardi (4:30) W. Redden (18:28) C. Drury (43:55) B. Dubinsky (44:22) P. Průcha (51:35) L. Korpikoski (52:35 ) C. Potter (55:31) B. Dubinsky (58:47) |
PostFinance-Arena , Bern spectators: 16,022 |
|
Victoria Cup game October 1, 2008 7:30 p.m. |
New York Rangers C. Drury (39:37) D. Fritsche (45:45) C. Drury (50:13) R. Callahan (59:40) |
4: 3 (0: 2, 1: 1, 3: 0) game report |
HK Metallurg Magnitogorsk D. Platonow (1:28) W. Malenkich (18:07) N. Sawaruchin (30:20) |
PostFinance-Arena, Bern spectators: 13,794 |
Winning team
Head coach Tom Renney's New York Rangers , who were preparing for the season opener of the National Hockey League in Europe with the Victoria Cup , nominated a total of 26 players for the two games. These included three goalkeepers, eight defenders and 15 strikers.
Team captain Chris Drury , who scored three of the twelve goals in New York, scored the most points in the Rangers' dress .
Victoria Cup winner New York Rangers |
Goalkeepers: Henrik Lundqvist , Stephen Valiquette , Miika Wiikman Defenders: Brian Fahey , Daniel Girardi , Dmitri Kalinin , Paul Mara , Corey Potter , Wade Redden , Michal Rozsíval , Marc Staal Attackers: Blair Betts , Ryan Callahan , Nigel Dawes , Chris Drury , Brandon Dubinsky , Dan Fritsche , Scott Gomez , Lauri Korpikoski , Markus Näslund , Colton Orr , Petr Průcha , Patrick Rissmiller , Nikolai Scherdew , Fredrik Sjöström , Aaron Voros Head Coach: Tom Renney |
Held in 2009
The second edition of the Victoria Cup took place on September 29, 2009 in the Hallenstadion in Zurich . The winner of the Champions Hockey League 2008/09 , the ZSC Lions Zurich , took part as European representative , the National Hockey League was represented by the Chicago Blackhawks .
After a Swiss team met one of the NHL for the first time in the previous year in the form of SC Bern in the run-up to the actual Victoria Cup, there were two such clashes again in 2009, as the reigning Swiss champions HC Davos played against Chicago the day before . The Blackhawks won this game with a clear 9-2.
The Victoria Cup game started with an early goal for the guests from Chicago, who took the lead through defender Cam Barker . Only a short time later, Patrik Bärtschi equalized the encounter. Although the Blackhawks had a clear playful overweight in the first and second third, the Lions went 2-1 in the front after 35 minutes through Lukas Grauwiler , who used a rebound. A post hit had already denied the lead. Chicago pressed again in the final third, but weakened itself with unnecessary penalties. Shortly before the end, Lions player Bärtschi missed a penalty shot . A total of 9,744 spectators attended the game.
|
Friendly game September 28, 2009 at 8:15 p.m. |
Chicago Blackhawks T. Brouwer (9:23) B. Campbell (13:20) P. Kane (17:14) E. Brophey (28:50) P. Sharp (35:10) R. Smoleňák (40:58) D. Keith (43:23) P. Kane (46:43) R. Smoleňák (51:09) |
9: 2 (3: 0, 2: 1, 4: 1) game report |
HC Davos D. Widing (26:01) P. Guggisberg (54:39) |
Hallenstadion , Zurich Spectators: 7,252 |
|
Victoria Cup September 29, 2009 8:15 pm |
ZSC Lions Zurich P. Bärtschi (12:25) L. Grauwiler (34:44) |
2: 1 (1: 1, 1: 0, 0: 0) game report |
Chicago Blackhawks C. Barker (6:13) |
Hallenstadion, Zurich spectators: 9,744 |
Winning team
The ZSC Lions Zurich and head coach Sean Simpson nominated a total of 28 players for the game. These included two goalkeepers, ten defenders and 16 strikers.
With Patrik Bärtschi , who had equalized in the meantime, the Lions also provided the most valuable player of the match.
Victoria Cup winner ZSC Lions Zurich |
Goalkeepers: Lukas Flüeler , Ari Sulander Defenders: Claudio Cadonau , Patrick Geering , Pascal Müller , Alain Reist , Philippe Schelling , Daniel Schnyder , Mathias Seger , André Signoretti , Andri Stoffel , Radoslav Suchý Attackers: Jan Alston , Mark Bastl , Patrik Bärtschi , Cyrill Bühler , Blaine Down , Ryan Gardner , Lukas Grauwiler , Oliver Kamber , Alexei Krutow , Thibaut Monnet , Domenico Pittis , Patrick Schommer , Peter Sejna , Jean-Guy Trudel , Adrian Wichser , Mike wolf Head Coach: Sean Simpson |