KPH Rača from Slovakia and Hungary’s Épitök are celebrating after they earned promotion from the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I in Ferrara after three days of intense competition.
For Rača, they won overall gold with five wins from five played over the weekend, completing the sequence with a dominant 8-1 win over HK Triglav Predanovci.
Needing a draw or better in the final game of the tournament, they did not show any nerved as first quarter goals from Adrian Augustinič, Matúš Parajka and a Juraj Bogár double put them four goals clear.
Nejc Potokar got one back but Triglav could not get any closer than that and Rača finished the game with a late flourish to confirm their title.
It means there will be Slovakian representation in the second tier in 2025, ending a 30-year wait for such an appearance when Lokomotive Raca played in Edinburgh in 1995.
Épitök and Hungary’s wait to be in the indoor trophy is not quite as long but still significant, a gap of 19-year back to 2006.
Their success was formalised in a winner-takes-all battle with host club HC Bondeno and it was a true cracker of a contest.
The first quarter ended 2-2 and the Hungarian side nudged into a 4-3 lead by the 13th minute courtesy of Samuel Bosch’s second goal.
They missed a stroke in Q3 which left little between the sides but Hannes Hessler eventually gave Épitök some breathing room with two goals in the last eight minutes for a 6-3 win.
Cardiff & Met won Pool C as they defeated Bulgaria’s FHC Slavia 1921 4-1, earning fifth position. After a right first half, David Aspray and Josh Mill secured the win for the Welshs side.
Pool C closed with Vilnius Žuvedra recording a healthy 6-0 win over HT85 from Finland to secure sixth place overall, Rafal Stankevič scoring a trio of goals.
EuroHockey Club Indoor Challenge I (Ferrara, Italy) – final rankings
- KPH Rača (Slovakia)
- Épitök (Hungary)
- HC Bondeno (Italy)
- HK Triglav Predanovci (Slovenia)
- Cardiff & Met (Wales)
- Vilnius Žuvedra (Lithuania)
- FHC Slavia 1921 (Bulgaria)
- Hockey Team 85 (Finland)
