The Opening Cup (Russian: Кубок Открытия, Kubok Otkrytiya), is the trophy awarded to the winner of the first game of every regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). This match is played between the previous season's playoff champion (Gagarin Cup Winner) and the previous season's Continental Cup winner. The game is played on the home ice of the previous season's playoff champion.
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Team winning the first game of the regular season of the Kontinental Hockey League |
| History | |
| First award | 2008 |
| Most recent |  CSKA Moscow |
History
editDuring the first season of the KHL, the match was played between the winner and runner-up of the 2007–08 playoffs of the Russian Superleague.
The Western Conference in the 2010 Opening Cup game was represented by UHC Dynamo because the 2009–10 Western Conference champion, HC MVD, merged with Dynamo Moscow to form the new team after the 2009–10 season.[1] On September 10, 2011, three days after the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash disaster, the KHL head office decided to honor the deceased in the 2011 Opening Cup.[2]
Winners
edit| W | Western Conference member |
| E | Eastern Conference member |
| N/A | N/A, KHL conferences established during the second season of competition |
Appearances
edit| Apps | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | CSKA Moscow | 2 | 6 | .250 |
| 5 | Ak Bars Kazan | 3 | 2 | .600 |
| 4 | Dynamo Moscow | 3 | 1 | .750 |
| 3 | SKA Saint Petersburg | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| 3 | Avangard Omsk | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| 3 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 2 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Notes and references
edit- ^ a b "Calendar 2010/2011". khl.ru.
Third season of the Kontinental Hockey League starts September 8th with Gagarin Cup holders Ak Bars entertaining UHC Dynamo Moscow in Kazan in a clash for Opening Cup.
- ^ "Официальное заявление КХЛ". khl.ru (in Russian). KHL.
- ^ Since 2015
- ^ 2009–10 season's finalist HC MVD united with HC Dynamo after the 2009–10 season, thus Dynamo Moscow participated in the 2010 Opening Cup.
- ^ Game originally was scheduled for 7 September 2011; because of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash during the playing of the Opening Cup, the game was abandoned and rescheduled for 12 September 2011.
- ^ 2014 playoff runner-up HC Lev Praha ceased operations for the 2014–15 season. Dynamo Moscow took their place as Continental Cup holders.
- ^ "KHL 2015-16 Schedule Announced". 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
- ^ "KHL Schedule 2017-18 – Fewer days without hockey". 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
- ^ As CSKA Moscow won both trophies, Avangard Omsk took the other place as Gagarin Cup runner-up
- ^ As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gagarin Cup was not awarded in 2019-20. CSKA Moscow were, however, the Continental Cup winners
- ^ "Game summary: CSKA - Ak Bars : Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)". 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
External links
edit- Official September 2013 Opening Cup match gallery (photo contains the trophy)
- Official September 2013 Opening Cup match gallery (photo contains the trophy)