The eight-time Finnish champion Karpat Oulu completes the field of participants of the 96th edition of the Spengler Cup in 2024. For the “Stoats”, who will traveling from Oulu 3,000 kilometres away, it will be the first participation at Davos’ traditional tournament.

The hockey club founded in 1947 celebrated its first championship title in 1981. In the meantime, the club holds eight title trophies. Karpat won its last in 2018. In 2016 the club made it to the final of the Champions Hockey League only to take a narrow 2-1 loos to Frolunda Gothenburg.

Karpat Oulu finished the past championship in the Finnish “Liiga” in third place. After the team from Finland’s northernmost city lost the playoff semi-final against the Lahti Pelicans, the team of head coach Ville Mantymaa won the bronze medal game against last year’s Spengler Cup participant KalPa 3-2 in overtime.
Earlier the fourth-placed team in the regular season had advanced with a 4-2 series win over Mikkelin Jukurit.
Karpat’s match winner in the bronze medal game was Teemu Turunen, who knows the Spengler Cup well. The Finn played the 2020-21 season for HV Davos, however, in the season, in which the Spengler Cup was canceled. But he had participated in the 2017 Spengler Cup with HPK. Turunen not only scored the golden overtime goal in the 72nd minute of the game for third place, but also finished atop the Liiga in scoring (37 goals, 34 assists) in the past season.

With Karpat Oulu, HC Fribourg-Gotteron, Team Canada, the Straubing Tigers, Dynamo Pardubice, and defending champion HC Davos all six participants at the 96th Spengler Cup are now confirmed. Online ticket sales for the tournament begin on June 18, 2024, at 10am local time o spenglercup.ch. By then the official schedule for this year’s Spengler Cup will be set as well.

Quelle: Spengler Cup-Media release  Foto: Kärpät