Italy's start to the World Cup: a defeat that gives courage

The start has been made and the Azzurri can take a deep breath. The blatant underdog and number one candidate for relegation clearly lost to Switzerland 2:5, but received a lot of applause not only from the neutral spectators in the “Ice Hall” in Helsinki.

Already during the game, the fans in the arena flexed their vocal chords to last year's summer hit “Notti magiche”. There were just two dozen Italy supporters among the 3641 spectators. The audience – including those from Switzerland – paid their respects to the Azzurri with the singing performance. They pushed themselves to their limits for 60 minutes, throwing themselves into every shot and panting self-sacrificingly after the Swiss, who were technically worlds superior.

In the end, the Swiss class, which had at least seven players from the NHL, prevailed. The Italians had to give up one of their best players in the ailing defender Alex Trivellato, but there were definitely positive aspects to note, such as the goals from Daniel Glira and Dante Hannoun or Andy Bernard's 42 saved shots.

Short & sweet: The highlights of the game Ready, set, goal! The game is only 49 seconds old and Switzerland is already leading 1-0. ZSC striker Denis Malgin, who at the age of 25 has already played almost 200 NHL games, puts a hard shot under Andy Bernard's catching hand. Azzurri in aluminum bad luck In the middle of the starting third, Italy had a very strong phase that almost resulted in a 1-1 draw. Phil Pietroniro's shot hits the crossbar. Switzerland is pulling away Shortly before the first break, the Swiss strike twice: First, Simon Kostner skates the puck into his own goal after a Thürkauf finish, then Andres Ambühl deflects it unstoppably to make it 3-0. Thürkauf for the second time In the 27th minute of the game, NHL rookie Philipp Kurashev pulls away from the blue line and sees Lugano striker Thürkauf, who is lurking in the slot, give the puck the decisive change in direction - 4-0. Glira's shout of joy In the 49th minute, Dante Hannoun passed to Daniel Glira, who surprised Reto Berra in the Swiss goal with a shot that wasn't perfectly caught (49th). The first sense of success at this World Cup causes great celebration in the Blue Team. Hannoun defeats Berra After the interim 5:1 by New Jersey superstar Nico Hischier, there is renewed celebration on Italy's bench: Dante Hannoun scores with a direct pass to make the final score 5:2. The complete gameplay can be read here.

In the second Saturday game in Group A, Kazakhstan, Italy's possible rival in the fight to stay in the league, suffered a bitter 1:9 defeat against Denmark ( SportNews berichtete ). Now Canada's superstars are waiting The Azzurri and the Kazakhs meet on the final day of the match, but initially the focus is on the Canadian team, which is made up exclusively of NHL players. The selection from the ice hockey motherland is waiting as its next opponent on Sunday at 11.20 a.m. (CEST). Switzerland – Italy 5:2 (3:0, 1:0, 1:2) Switzerland: Berra (Genoni); Siegenthaler-Kukan, Moser-Fora, Geisser-Glauser, Marti-Egli; Meier-Hischier-Bertschy, Suter-Malgin-Simion, Herzog-Corvi-Ambühl, Scherwey-Kurashev-Thürkauf Coach: Fischer

Italy: Bernard (Fazio); Spornberger-Di Perna, Miglioranzi-Pietroniro, Glira-Gios, Casetti; Sanna-Simon Kostner-Petan, Frank-Mantenuto-Insam, McNally-Hannoun-Frigo, Deluca-Diego Kostner-Traversa, Mantinger Coach: Ireland

Gates: 1:0 Denis Malgin (0.49), 2:0 Calvin Thürkauf (17.05), 3:0 Andres Ambühl (19.42), 4:0 Calvin Thürkauf (26.20), 4:1 Daniel Glira (48.40), 5:1 Nico Hischier (58.20), 5:2 Dante Hannoun (58.52)

Viewers: 3641 The Group A table: Pos Team Games Points 1. Denmark 1 3 2. Switzerland 1 3 3. Canada 1 3 4. Slovakia 1 3 5. Germany 1 0 6. France 1 0 7. Italy 1 0 8. Kazakhstan 1 0

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Italy's start to the World Cup: a defeat that gives courage

Italy's national team suffered a defeat at the start of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland. However, the knockout against Switzerland, which was full of NHL stars, did not cause the Blue Team to lose their heads.

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