Adieu

0-6 against Asiago, 2-6 against Stavanger: this Continental Cup Superfinals will remain on Rouen fans as the most disappointing. Host need to win to keep thier hopes alive, but, as in the game against Asiago, an horrible first period undermines the chances of Dragons. Stavanger Oilers, with morale hitting the roof after brilliant debut against Donbas, don't overlook the indecision of French defense and score 1-0 with Stian Høygård after a misunderstanding between defenders, 2-0 thanks to a mistake by Miloslav Guren and 3-0 taking advantage of an ankward pass of Juraj Stefanka to Jonathan Janil. Goalie Fabrice Lhenry, in the cage after the shaky performance of Gabriel Girard against Asiago, made some difficult saves, always praised by fans, but it's not enough to keep Rouen alive in the game. In the second period the bad momentum continues: defender Kurtis Davis scores 4-0 on power play and just at 25:08 host score the first goal in the competition, when captain Marc-Andre Thinel capitalizes a counter-attack served by Guenette. The goal heats up fans, Yannick Riendeau has a chance to score and then Ruben Smith is fantastic in saving on Romain Gutierrez and Juraj Stefanka's rebound, but Thinel again bags the third tentative, restoring the hope. Period closes with two good saves: Smith on Stefanka and Lhenry on Kissel. In the third,again a naive mistake by Rouen: Jonathan Janil takes two minutes for delaying the game and Oilers don't waste the chance: Juha-Pekka Loikas from behind the net serves Tommy Kristiansen with no chances for Lhenry. Coach Rodolphe Garnier mix the lines but game virtually ended with Stavanger sixth goal, scored by Petter Roste Fossen with a shot from left circle. Ruben Smith, awarded as MVP, delights fans with somersaults and imitating the gesture of paddling, in reference to the Norwegian viking spirit.

As said Rouen ruefully closes its worst Superfinals campaign, with the real possibility to stay at "zero" victories, considering the last "impossible" match against Donbas. Norwegian team again showed a well balanced roster with four strong lines and will try to beat Asiago tomorrow to have some hopes of final victory.

Disconsolate the analysis of captain Marc-André Thinel: "We lacked speed, lacked a bit of everything, they won their battles, recovering pucks all the time, we always arrived after them. Normally we make our opponents dance, tonight we dance all the time. We should raise our level. Fortunately, there is a game tomorrow to save our dignity. We should take the opportunity to play against a team from the second best league in the world."

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