Men’s EuroHockey Club Challenge III (Oslo, Norway) – day three round-up
The promotion battles are set with Vilnius Žuvedra HC set to play Warriors while Qormi Daikin will play HK Lipovci on Monday with the winners of each earning their nation a spot in Challenge II for 2026.
It follows a day of high drama at Mortensrud with the final pairings only decided in the closing minutes of action.
Pool A
HT85 (FIN) – Vilnius Žuvedra HC (LTU) 4-6
Doubles from Robert Milevič and Edvin Stankevic in the third quarter saw Vlinius Žuvedera win a remarkable second half goal-fest to take top spot from Pool A.
The first half was tight with only Andrii Yermolenko’s 21st minute goal troubling the match sheet, handing the Lithuanians a 1-0 lead. HT85 levelled via Rasmus Karjalainen at 1-1 and Santeri Määtänen made it 2-2 in the 35th minute after Milevič’s first of the day.
But the tie was ultimately won by four Vilnius goals in the space of nine minutes to race into a 6-2 advantage. HT85 pulled two back in the final quarter but had left themselves too much to do.
| Rank | Team | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vilnius Žuvedra HC (LTU) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 10 |
| 2 | Qormi Daikin HC (MLT) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Hockey Team 85 (FIN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Pool B
HK Lipovci (SLO) – Warriors (FIN) 3-1
Two early goals from Marcel Stanko set HK Lipovci up for a victory which put them through to Monday’s final with a perfect record. He struck in the eighth and 13th minutes for an imposing lead, one which was cut in half before the big break by Paramprit Gill for Warriors.
And it remained 2-1 until 12 minutes from the end when captain Luka Vegič found the all-important third goal.
Valhalla (SWE) – MASK (NOR) 4-3
Felix Hörnschemeyer’s 56th minute goal saw Valhalla snatch a late win over host club MASK in Oslo to get the Swedish outfit’s first points of the weekend. The result denied MASK a place in one of Monday’s finals with Finland’s Warriors the beneficiaries.
The Norwegian side did get the only goal of the first half through Abhishek Singh in the 17th minute and he also made it 2-1 after Jan-Olof Rydin’s leveller in the third quarter.
Hörnschemeyer made it level for a second time in the closing quarter before Rydin gave Valhalla the lead for the first time with six minutes left. Talha Asif Sheikh equalised for a third time before the Swedes got their winner.
The result was not enough to get Valhalla out of fourth spot while MASK were in third, one goal behind Warriors on goal difference.
| Rank | Team | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HK Lipovci (SLO) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 15 |
| 2 | Warriors HC (FIN) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | Mortensrud-Aker SK (NOR) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| 4 | Valhalla Landhockey Club (SWE) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 5 |
Monday schedule
| Time | Teams | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | HT85 – VALHALLA | 5th/7th Place |
| 11:45 | LIPOVCI – QORMI | 1st/3rd Place |
| 14:00 | ZUVEDRA – WARRIORS | 1st/3rd Place |
