Clara closes, Brunner hits the front: Azzurri win

At the start of the Tamás Sárközy tournament in Budapest, Italy's national ice hockey team put in a lackluster performance. But this was enough to put weakened Slovenians in their place.

09 November 2023

From:
Leo Holzknecht

In the first game of the tournament, the Blue Team was the favorite. That was because Slovenia traveled to Budapest with its second suit. Players like Jan Drozg, Ziga Jeglic and Jan Urbas, who earn their living in Russia and Germany respectively, were not in the lineup. Neo-coach Edo Terglav gave many young players the chance to prove themselves. Italy took advantage of this and won somewhat happily 1-0.

While the field players missed out on a lot that day, one man offered an outstanding performance: Damian Clara. The 18-year-old, who is active in the Swedish second division and is second in the table with Brynäs, showed once again why he was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks with the 2th pick in the NHL draft. The 2-meter giant brought the Slovenians, who dominated the game for long stretches, to the brink of desperation with his reflexes. The Pusterer was still able to thwart seemingly safe hits.

On offense, the Azzurri's hopes rested on Anthony Salinitri, who was a constant source of trouble. The only goal came from a co-production between HC Bozen and HC Pustertal. Alex Petan replaced Pascal Brunner, who caught Slovenia goalie Zan Us between the pads. The Slovenians' attempts to make it 1-1 bounced off the outstanding Clara. The next game of the tournament will take place on Friday, when the duel against the hosts Hungary takes place at 18.30:XNUMX p.m.

The highlights

There is more	Italy hardly had any offense in the first third, the Ljubljana cracks Rok Kapel and Aljosa Crnovic failed on the other side against Clara.
Brunner to the first	Brunner has the first chance for Italy in the second third: goalkeeper Us is wide awake in a 2-on-1 situation with Frank. Shortly afterwards, Michele Marchetti misses a solo attempt.
Brunner for second	Slovenia presses, Italy counters: Alex Petan sees Brunner who is running with him, serves him with a flip pass and sees how the HCB striker catches Us between the pads.
Always Clara	Time and again, large spaces are created in Italy's defensive zone, which lead to great opportunities. Clara saves several times at the last second and holds on to victory.

Slovenia – Italy 0:1

Slovenia: Us (Kolin); Crnovic-Cepon, Masic-Urukalo, Stojan-Cosic, Sirovnik-Povse; Mahkovec-Simsic-Maver, Sodja-Macuh-Kapel, Jezovsek-Tomazevic-Torok, Sturm-Bohinc-Zajc.
coach: Terglav

Italy: Clara (Bernard); Trivellato-Pietroniro, Spornberger-Gazzola, Miglioranzi-Seed, Glira-Gios; Frigo-Finoro-Petan, Marchetti-Misley-Salinitri, Deluca-Morini-Zanetti, Frank-Sanna-Brunner.
coach: Keenan

Gates: 0:1 Brunner (43.19)

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