The “Azzurri” have set themselves the goal of promotion

Two years ago, on Saturday, April 23, 2011, the Italian national team achieved promotion to the international ice hockey upper house. Armin Helfer scored the gold goal in extra time in the decisive match against Hungary. However, the dream of the World Group only lasted a year. Now the “Azzurri” want to return to the top league. When qualifying for the 2014 Olympic Games, Tom Pokel, Alleghe's coach and new national coach, almost achieved the big sensation. Now, after the long and hard preparation in Neumarkt, during which the Italians played, among other things, four test matches (three defeats and a win in the penalty shootout against Slovenia), they clearly have their sights set on victory in Hungary.

The motto is: pure concentration “We have a great, diverse group,” explains Alexander Egger. “Perhaps we have less talent compared to previous years, but with the new additions like Borelli, we have a lot of strong players in our ranks. We trained hard in Neumarkt and compared to before we play more offensively. To win we need the right team spirit and, above all, we need to be focused right from the start. We have to get going in the first game against South Korea. We shouldn’t underestimate anyone,” concluded the Bolzano defender. Andreas Bernard from Kalter, who will play for Saipa in the SM-Liiga next season, is confident: “We play courageously forward and do aggressive forechecking. Compared to previous years, I like the national team better. Back then we played more passively. It will be a great adventure and we will look forward from game to game. We have good chances. I'm happy to be going to Budapest and have had a great season. Let's hope that I can have another success experience."

Pokel: “Hope we can expand the roster of players”

Tom Pokel is also satisfied with his work as a national coach so far. “We did well. In the future, I hope we can expand the roster of players from 25-27 to 35-40 guys. I think it's positive that I had to make a difficult decision when making the selection, because that means I have many alternatives in the future," says Pokel.

The opponents Italy will face five teams in their circle. Two of them will advance to the World Group. The “Azzurri” have to be particularly careful of the Hungarians, who want to take revenge for the defeat in 2011, and the Kazakhs. Three points are planned against each of the remaining three teams. At the start, the Blue Team meets South Korea (Sunday, 16 p.m.). It will face Japan on Monday and the British on Wednesday. The decisive games against Hungary and Kazakhstan are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Facts and Figures 23 athletes set off for Budapest this morning. There are a total of ten South Tyroleans in the Italian national team's squad. HC Bozen provides six of them. Seven is the number of World Cup debutants, and five U23 players were also called up. The youngest is 20-year-old Diego Kostner from Val Gardena, who plays for Lugano. The oldest player in the round, however, is the 34-year-old Valpe striker Nate Di Casmirro. The average age of the team is 27,5 years. The average height of Italian national players, however, is 180,6 m.

The list of the “Azzurri” called up for the 1st Division World Cup in Budapest: goalkeeper : Adam Dennis (Dornbirn-AUT), Thomas Tragust (Innsbruck Haie-AUT), Andreas Bernard (Saipa-FIN)

Verteidiger : Alexander Egger, Christian Borgatello, Andrea Ambrosi (HC Bozen), Armin Helfer, Armin Hofer (Fiat Professional Wölfe), Dan Sullivan, Stefano Marchetti (Asiago), Trevor Johnson (Valpellice)

striker : Anton Bernard, Marcon Insam, Markus Gander (HC Bozen), Rob Sirianni, Nate Di Casmirro (Valpellice), Giulio Scandella, Pat Iannone (Fiat Professional Wölfe), Dave Borrelli (Asiago), Nicola Fontanive; Vince Rocco (Alleghe), Luca Felicetti (Cortina), Diego Kostner (Lugano-SUI):

Head coach: Tom Pokel Assistant coach: Alexander Gschliesser, Fabio Polloni

The program at the 1st Division World Cup in Budapest (Hungary). rn):

Sunday, April 14, 2013, 16 p.m.: South Korea – Italy Monday, April 15, 2013, 12.30:XNUMX p.m.: Italy – Japan Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 16 p.m.: Italy – Great Britain Friday, April 19, 2013, 19.30:XNUMX p.m.: Hungary - Italy Saturday, April 20, 2013, 16 p.m.: Italy – Kazakhstan

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The “Azzurri” have set themselves the goal of promotion

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