Last Saturday, the Belgian Cup Final once again brought together the Liège Bulldogs and HYC Herentals at the Liège Ice Rink (Médiacité). As in previous editions, the event sold out quickly, creating an outstanding atmosphere and a fully packed arena for both teams to perform on one of the biggest domestic stages of the season.
Liège opened the scoring early through Anthony Gagnon (6:18) to take a 1–0 lead into the first intermission, before Herentals replied on the powerplay early in the second (Morgan Mitch, 21:13) to make it 1–1. The Bulldogs then pulled away with three quick even-strength goals - Gagnon (22:46), Levi Smeets (23:39) and Bryan Henry (38:20) - to close the second period up 4–1 and in full control.
In the third period Liège continued to press, adding two more goals to seal a 6–1 victory: Oscar Delbrassine made it 5–1 at 41:20 and Olaf-Jan Schoningh converted on the powerplay at 54:30 for the final score. The match featured a physical finish with several penalties in the closing minutes, overseen by officials Chris Van Grinsven and Nick Van Grinsven (referees), supported by Maarten Van Den Acker and Marine Dinant (linesmen).
(Foto : Kurt Tops)