On Thursday, Daniel Frank & Co. will cross bats with the Slovenians.

The most interesting opponent right at the start

Italy's national ice hockey team will start the four-nation tournament in Budapest on Thursday. A duel awaits the Azzurri that is of particular importance.

08 November 2023

From: sportsnews

The Blue Team arrived in the Hungarian capital this Wednesday and will open the Sárközy-Tamás tournament on Thursday at 15 p.m. Damian Clara & Co. will face Slovenia as their opponents.

The selection from the neighboring country were relegated from the world group at the World Cup this year and are therefore extremely dangerous opponents. At the same time, it is a real endurance test for Italy, as Slovenia will also be appearing at the B World Championships in Bolzano next spring. Last year, the Keenan team was able to beat the Slovenians 4-2 at the tournament in Budepast, but this was followed by three test match defeats in the months that followed.

A premiere awaits the Italian opponents: 43-year-old Edo Terglav, who has only worked as a head coach in France, will make his debut as head coach in Slovenia.

Italy's schedule:

Thursday, 15 p.m.: Slovenia-Italy
Friday, 18.30:XNUMX p.m.: Italy-Hungary
Saturday, 13.30:XNUMX p.m.: Ukraine Italy

The squad:

Gate: Andreas Bernard (HC Pustertal), Marco De Filippo (Asiago), Damian Clara (Brynäs/Sweden)

Defense: Lorenzo Casetti, Randy Gazzola, Gregorio Gios (all Asiago), Peter Spornberger, Alex Trivellato (both Schwenningen/Germany), Cameron Ginnetti (Ritten), Daniel Glira (HC Pustertal), Enrico Miglioranzi (HC Bozen), Phil Pietroniro (Trencin/ Slovakia), Jason Seed (Cortina)

Attack: Pascal Brunner, Leonardo Felicetti, Daniel Frank, Luca Frigo (all HC Bozen), Ivan Deluca, Matthias Mantinger, Alex Petan (all HC Pustertal), Giordano Finoro, Michele Marchetti, Bryce Misley (all Asiago), Giovanni Morini, Marco Zanetti ( both Lugano/Switzerland), Anthony Salinitri (Graz/Austria), Marco Sanna (Cortina)

Coaching staff: Mike Keenan (head coach), Mike Pelino (assistant coach), Fabio Armani, Diego Scandella (assistant coach), David Jamieson (goalie coach)