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Damian Clara surpassed himself. © ANSA / CYRIL ZINGARO
Saint Damian: Clara makes the impossible (almost) possible
Italy is struggling to score goals at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Fribourg. Given this, the Azzurri have no alternative but to focus on a tight defense. Led by an outstanding Damian Clara, this strategy almost paid off on Wednesday against the Czech Republic.
20 May 2026
From: leo
The Czech Republic has won every World Championship match against Italy. This streak was in danger of ending on Wednesday in Fribourg – even though the Eastern Europeans were vastly superior. The shot count of 58:15 paints a clear picture. That the 2024 world champions nevertheless had to sweat it out until the final minute was thanks to Damian Clara, who, as at the Milan Olympics, delivered a heroic performance. Unfortunately for him, the Czech Republic won 3-1.
Coach Jukka Jalonen reinstated Tommy Purdeller after giving him a rest the day before. Bolzano's Cristiano DiGiacinto also returned to the lineup, while Alessandro Segafredo and Nicolò Mansueto were on the bench. The most significant change, however, involved the Azzurri's goaltender. Five days after arriving in Fribourg, Clara made his debut at a top-division World Championship.
Clara holds on, holds on and holds on
The goalkeeper, who had traveled from California, had clearly long since recovered from jet lag. The way he defended against the Czechs, who were shooting from every angle, was superhuman. Whether the opponent appeared alone in front of the Reischach goalkeeper, pulled away from the dense traffic, or dangerously deflected the ball – Clara found the right answer in every situation. The Czech superstars, including veteran Roman Cervenka, looked completely bewildered.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 46th minute. The 1-1 equalizer was preceded by a similar obstruction of goal to the one that had cost Italy their consolation goal in their opening match against Canada. However, the Azzurri coaching staff decided against reviewing the goal.
Shortly after, the game could have swung back in Italy's favor when captain Alex Trivellato hit the crossbar. Instead, the Czechs landed the decisive blow, sealing Italy's fourth defeat in four matches. Clara's incredible performance, however, will be remembered for a long time. Now the 21-year-old and the Azzurri have a day off to recover from the exertions before their next match against Sweden on Friday (8:20 pm).
The highlights
| Clara against all | The Czechs fired 15 shots on goal in the first period, but Clara stopped them all. The highlight: a reflex save with her glove against Kubalik. |
| The duel continues | Flek has a breakaway at the start of the second period, which Clara thwarts with her stick. Against Beranek, however, he is there with his pad. |
| Goal? Goal! | When Saracino attempts a backhand shot, the post rattles. However, after reviewing the footage, the refereeing team sees that the puck had already crossed the line before Pavlat's attempted save. |
| Dubious decision | Clara is obstructed by Vozenilek in the penalty area, leaving Alscher with an open goal. For reasons that remain unclear, Italy does not submit a coaches' challenge. |
| Bitter end | After a brilliant pass from De Luca, Trivellato fires a shot from the slot, Pavlat gets a hand to it and deflects the puck onto the crossbar. Shortly after, Flek scores with a one-timer. Finally, Kubalik puts the puck into the empty net for the Azzurri. |
Italy – Czech Republic 1:3
ITA: Clara (Smith); Zanatta-Pietroniro, Trivellato-DiPerna, Spornberger-Gios, Buono-Nitz; De Luca-Bradley-Mantinger, Saracino-Frycklund-Zanetti; Frigo-Mantenuto-Purdeller, DiGiacinto-Misley-Deluca.Trainer: Noble
CZE: Pavlat (Korenar); Galvas-Hronek, Kemny-Cibulka, Tichacek-Alscher, Hajek-Scotka; Cervenka-Sedlak-Blumel, Vozenilek-Tomasek-Filek, Kubalik-Melovsky-Kaut, Beranek-Cernoch-Chmelar.
Trainer: Rulik
Gates: 1:0 Saracino (29.20), 1:1 Alscher (45.14), 1:2 Flek (51.05), 1:3 Kubalik (59.05)
Viewers: 4517
The table
| Pos | Country | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Czechia | 4 | 10 |
| 2. | Canada | 3 | 9 |
| 3. | Slovakia | 3 | 8 |
| 4. | Norway | 3 | 6 |
| 5. | Sweden | 4 | 6 |
| 6. | Slovenia | 4 | 3 |
| 7. | Denmark | 3 | 0 |
| 8. | Italy | 4 | 0 |
Ice Hockey World Championship, Group B:
Austria – Switzerland 0:9Goals: 0-1 Rochette (5:11), 0-2 Meier (9:20), 0-3 Hischier (11:28), 0-4 Riat (13:21), 0-5 Hischier (29:42), 0-6 Thürkauf (30:03), 0-7 Rochette (32:19), 0-8 Riat (50:29), 0-9 Bertschy (56:02)
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