The 2013–14 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup was the tenth holding of the IIHF European Women Champions Cup (EWCC). Russian team Tornado Moscow Region (HC Tornado) of the Russian Women's Hockey League won the tournament for the third consecutive time and the fourth time in five years. With their victory, HK Tornado tied AIK Hockey for most EWCC titles won by a single club.
The tournament was played in three stages: Round 1, Round 2, and the Finals. Round 1 comprised sixteen national champions, sorted into four groups of four teams each; only the winner of each group progressed. Round 2 comprised eight teams in two groups of four teams each. Each group included two group winners from Round 1 and the national champions from two of the four countries represented in the Finals of the 2012–13 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup, which had received a bye for Round 1. The teams finishing in the top two positions of each group in Round 2 moved on to the Finals.
It is likely that “Best Players Selected by the Directorate” were named for each group in all three rounds, based on documents available from other EWCC tournaments, but information about the selections for 2013–14 Groups A–E is apparently lost.
Round 1 Sixteen national champions played in the first round, in four groups of four teams each. All of the first round groups played during 18–20 October 2013. The winner of each group progressed to Round 2.
Group A Group A was hosted in Neuilly-sur-Marne, France, and all games were played at the Patinoire municipale de Neuilly-sur-Marne (Municipal Ice Rink of Neuilly-sur-Marne). The group featured the reigning German Champions, ESC Planegg of the Deutsche Fraueneishockey-Liga (DEBL); French Champions, HC Neuilly-sur-Marne of the Championnat de France Féminin Élite (FFHG Féminin Élite); English Champions, the Bracknell Queen Bees of the Women's National Ice Hockey League Elite (WNIHL Elite), and Spanish Champions, SAD Majadahonda of the Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo Femenino.
ESC Planegg won the round handily and progressed to the second round. American forward Brooke Reimer (née Ammerman) of ESC Planegg was the group’s leading scorer, with 14 points (7 goals + 7 assists), and her teammate, German goaltender Nadja Gruber, was the top goaltender, posting an 88.89 save percentage and 1.00 goals against average.
Standings
Top scorers
Listed by highest total points (goals + assists), then most goals scored.
Brooke Ammerman Reimer (USA), ESC Planegg, 14 points (7+7) Julia Zorn (GER), ESC Planegg, 13 points (7+6)Jillian Dempsey (USA), HC Neuilly-sur-Marne, 13 points (7+6) Kerstin Spielberger (GER), ESC Planegg, 9 points (6+3) Kelsey Ketcher (USA), ESC Planegg, 8 points (4+4) Source(s): Hockey Archives
Top Goaltenders
Listed by highest save percentage (SVS%), then lowest goals against average (GAA). Goaltenders with less than 40% of their team’s total minutes not included.
Nadja Gruber (GER), ESC Planegg, 88.89 SVS%, 1.00 GAA Manon Sellem (FRA), HC Neuilly-sur-Marne, 86.27 SVS%, 3.39 GAA Bethany Gemson (GBR), Bracknell Queen Bees, 85.40 SVS%, 6.95 GAA Ester Garcia Leon (SPA), SAD Majadahonda, 82.24 SVS%, 9.40 GAA
Source(s): IIHF
Group B Group B was hosted in Liepāja, Latvia, and all games were played at the Liepājas Olimpiskā Centra (LOC; “Liepāja Olympic Center“). The group featured reigning Kazakh Champions, Aisulu Almaty; Latvian Champions, SHK Laima Rīga of the Latvian Women's Ice Hockey League; Romanian Champions, HSC Csíkszereda; and Belarusian Champions, HK Pantera Minsk.
SHK Laima Rīga was a goal producing powerhouse in the tournament, posting the highest goal differential of the sixteen teams in round one, at plus 40. Laima boasted the top three scorers of Group B, Inese Geca-Miljone (20 points), Lelde Hartmane (16 points), and Agnese Apsīte (12 points), who between them scored 25 goals across three games, and an excellent performance by goaltender Evija Tētiņa, who allowed just three goals across three games.
Ultimately, SHK Laima was defeated by Aisulu Almaty, on the backs of their stellar goaltending tandem, Tatyana Mozhayeva and Canadian Jillian Marie MacIsaac, who together shutout every opponent and finished the round with perfect 1.00 save percentages and 0.00 goals against average.
Standings
Top scorers
Listed by highest total points (goals + assists), then most goals scored.
Inese Geca-Miljone (LAT), SHK Laima Rīga, 20 points (12+8) Lelde Hartmane (LAT), SHK Laima Rīga, 16 points (7+9) Agnese Apsīte (LAT), SHK Laima Rīga, 12 points (6+6) Kirsten Marie Mihalcheon (CAN), Aisulu Almaty, 9 points (5+4) Christina Marie Sharun (CAN), Aisulu Almaty, 9 points (4+5) Source(s): Hockey Archives
Top Goaltenders
Listed by highest save percentage (SVS%), then lowest goals against average (GAA). Goaltenders with less than 40% of their team’s total minutes not included.
Jillian Marie MacIsaac (CAN), Aisulu Almaty, 100.00 SVS%, 0.00 GAA Evija Tētiņa (LAT), SHK Laima Rīga, 94.55 SVS%, 1.00 GAA Anett-Andrea Kurko (ROM), HSC Csíkszereda, 78.91 SVS%, 10.33 GAA Nina Vabishchevich (BLR), HK Pantera Minsk, 65.35 SVS%, 17.50 GAA Source(s): IIHF
Group C Group C was hosted in Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia, and all games were played at the Spiš Aréna. The group featured reigning Danish Champions Hvidovre IK, Slovak Champions HC Spišská Nová Ves of the 1. liga žien, Czech Champions SK Karviná of the 1. liga ženského hockey, and Polish Champions TMH Polonia Bytom of the Polska Liga Hokeja Kobiet (PLHK).
With no double-digit point scorers, middling goaltending, and a goal differential span from best to worst of just 21, the teams of Group C arguably had the greatest parity of any group in Round 1. Hvidovre IK won the round and progressed to the second, despite being marginally out scored by both HC Spišská Nová Ves and SK Karviná. Hvidovre’s Amalie Joa, posted the best goaltender statistics of the round, a passable 89.23 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average. Slovak Olympian Martina Veličková of HC Spišská Nová Ves was the group’s top scorer, with 8 points (5 goals + 3 assists).
Standings
Top scorers
Listed by highest total points (goals + assists), then most goals scored.
Martina Veličková (SVK), HK Spišská Nová Ves, 8 points (5+3) Vendula Přibylová (CZE), SK Karviná, 6 points (5+1) Petra Pravlíková (SVK), HK Spišská Nová Ves, 6 points (1+5) Karolina Późniewska (POL), TMH Polonia Bytom, 5 points (3+2) Josefine Persson (DEN), Hvidovre IK, 5 points (2+3)Petra Jurčová (SVK), HK Spišská Nová Ves, 5 points (2+3) Source(s): Hockey Archives
Top Goaltenders
Listed by highest save percentage (SVS%), then lowest goals against average (GAA). Goaltenders with less than 40% of their team’s total minutes not included.
Amalie Joa (DEN), Hvidovre IK, 89.23 SVS%, 2.33 GAA Daniela Zuziakova (SVK), HK Spišská Nová Ves, 87.50 SVS%, 3.40 GAA Klára Peslarová (CZE), SK Karviná, 86.79 SVS%, 3.53 GAA Karolina Siemicka (POL), TMH Polonia Bytom, 81.82 SVS%, 7.45 GAA Source(s): IIHF Group D Group D was hosted in Maribor, Slovenia, and all games were held at the Ledna Dvorana Tabor (“Tabor Ice Rink”). The group featured the reigning Austrian Champions, EHV Sabres Vienna of the Dameneishockey-Bundesliga (DEBL); Italian Champions, the EV Bozen Eagles of the Italian Hockey League Women (IHLW); Hungarian Champions, Vasas SC Budapest; and Slovenian Champions, HDK Maribor.
The EHV Sabres Vienna won the round and progressed to Group F of Round 2. Austrian forward Anna Meixner of the Sabres was the leading point scorer, with 12 points (7 goals + 5 assists). Three of Meixner’s teammates also slotted into positions as top five point-earners of the round: Canadian defender Regan Boulton, with 11 points (3 goals + 8 assists); American defender Kiira Dosdall, with 9 points (5 goals + 4 assists); and fellow Austrian forward Esther Väärälä (née Kantor), with 7 points (2 goals + 5 assists). Not to be outshone by the skaters, Sabres’ goaltender Victoria Vigilanti topped the goaltending statistics table, posting an excellent 93.10 save percentage and 0.82 goals against average.
Standings
Top scorers
Listed by highest total points (goals + assists), then most goals scored.
Anna Meixner (AUT), EHV Sabres Vienna, 12 points (7+5) Regan Boulton (CAN), EHV Sabres Vienna, 11 points (3+8) Kiira Dosdall (USA), EHV Sabres Vienna, 9 points (5+4) Eleonora Dalprà (ITA), EV Bozen Eagles, 7 points (4+3) Esther Kantor Väärälä (AUT), EHV Sabres Vienna, 7 points (2+5)Chelsea Furlani (ITA/USA), EV Bozen Eagles, 5 points (2+5) Source(s): Hockey Archives
Top Goaltenders
Listed by highest save percentage (SVS%), then lowest goals against average (GAA). Goaltenders with less than 40% of their team’s total minutes not included.
Victoria Vigilanti (CAN), EHV Sabres Wien, 93.10 SVS%, 0.82 GAA Ines Confidenti (SLO), HDK Maribor, 88.29 SVS%, 5.74 GAA Anikó Németh (HUN), Vasas Budapest, 87.50 SVS%, 5.94 GAA Renata Poltzer (HUN), Vasas Budapest, 85.71 SVS%, 5.79 GAA Daniela Klotz (ITA), EV Bozen Eagles, 81.58 SVS%, 2.94 GAA
Source(s): IIHF
Round 2 The second round was played during 6–8 December 2013 in two groups in two host cities. The national champion teams from the countries represented in the final of the 2012–13 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup received a bye for the first round and entered the tournament in the second round. Each group included two group winners from Round 1 and two national champions from the leagues represented in the previous year’s final. The teams finishing in the top two positions of each group moved on to the final.
Group E Group E was hosted in Bad Tölz, Germany, and all games were played at Hacker Pischorr Arena (since renamed weeArena). The group introduced the reigning Swiss Champions, ZSC Lions Zurich of the Swiss Women's Hockey League A (SWHL A), and the reigning Russian and 2012–13 EWCC Champions, Tornado Moscow Region (HC Tornado) of the Women's Hockey League (ZhHL). The teams joined the Round 1 winners of Group A, ESC Planegg, and Group C, Hvidovre IK.
With the four best point scorers and the top goaltender of the group, Tornado Moscow Region easily dominated the round. Russian forward Iya Gavrilova of Tornado earned 13 points (6 goals + 7 assists) across the three games, averaging a blazing 4.33 points per game and soundly claiming position as top scorer. Slovak goaltender Zuzana Tomčíková, the Best Goaltender Selected by the Directorate in the 2013–14 EWCC final round, continued her high calibre of play, achieving a 94.58 save percentage and 1.09 goal against average.
The second place team, ESC Planegg, also progressed to the final round. American Brooke Ammerman Reimer was again the top point-getter for ESC Planegg, with 5 goals and 1 assist (6 points), and ranked fifth on the list of top scorers of the group. Planegg’s net-minder, Julia Graunke, also had a solid performance, with a 93.88 save percentage and 1.99 goals against average, placing second on the list of the group’s top goaltenders.
Hvidovre IK goaltender Amalie Joa faced a higher number of shots on goal than any other netminder of Group E, recording 132 saves across three games.
Standings
Top scorers
Listed by highest total points (goals + assists), then most goals scored. Iya Gavrilova (RUS), Tornado Moscow Region, 13 points (6+7) Yekaterina Smolentseva (RUS), Tornado Moscow Region, 9 points (3+6) Galina Skiba (RUS), Tornado Moscow Region, 8 points (5+3) Olga Permyakova (RUS), Tornado Moscow Region, 7 points (2+5) Brooke Ammerman Reimer (USA), ESC Planegg, 6 points (5+1) Source(s): IIHF
Top Goaltenders
Listed by highest save percentage (SVS%), then lowest goals against average (GAA). Goaltenders with less than 40% of their team’s total minutes excluded.
Zuzana Tomčíková (SVK), Tornado Moscow Region, 94.58 SVS%, 1.09 GAA Julia Graunke (GER), ESC Planegg, 93.88 SVS%, 1.99 GAA Kaitlyn Greenway (CAN), ZSC Lions Zurich, 85.07 SVS%, 3.93 GAA