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Daniel Tedesco (right) scored the 4-1. © Vanna Antonello / FISG
Dream goals give Italy the lead in the table
Italy played its third game of the Division 1 (Group A) Ice Hockey World Championship in Romania on Wednesday afternoon. Jakko Jalonen's team distinguished itself with a courageous performance.
30 April 2025
From: do
Italy found themselves at a crossroads before the match. After the bitter defeat to Ukraine, a win against Poland was needed to keep their promotion mission alive. Another disappointment would have meant the Blue Team had to throw in the towel. In Poland, the Azzurri faced their toughest opponent of the tournament so far. This was an opportunity for Italy to prove their strength, which Tommy Purdeller and co. – with a few exceptions – did well. The Azzurri won 4-1 and are now top of the table.
Before the game, coach Jukka Jalonen and his team were primarily concerned about team organization. Due to Mikael Frycklund's injury, the Finn had to find a way to play against the Eastern Europeans in a lineup that was now thin with eleven attackers. There was a small surprise right from the first face-off: Tommy Purdeller played center between Daniel Tedesco and Dustin Gazley. Damian Clara once again had to give way to the previous number one, Davide Fadani.
From the shadow into the light
The Azzurri's nervousness and lack of confidence were evident at the start of the match. Few chances, no real flow, and simply frustrating inaccuracies caused Italy fans to frown. In the first period, the Blue Team's attack resembled a desert—absolutely nothing grew. Thoughts of the poor performance against Ukraine caused serious concerns. Although Poland went into the break with a lead, they also didn't put in a breathtaking performance.But world champion and Olympic gold medalist Jalonen clearly knew how to properly prepare and motivate his players in the locker room, as Italy took control in the second period, created several great chances, and deservedly took a 2-1 lead. Now the momentum was there, and the Azzurri showed their class.
Poland subsequently pressed on, trying everything to beat Fadani, who was in superb form today, in the Azzurri goal, but it was Italy who struck the decisive blow with a beautiful move by Alex Trivellato to make it 3-1 and Daniel Tedesco's penalty. After 60 minutes and four impressive goals, the Italians had three points and the lead in the table.
The highlights of the game
| Poland begins | Zygmunt draws two Azzurri in front of Fadani, controls a shot from the blue line and plays a beautiful pass to the left to Pas, who scores completely alone into the empty net to make it 1-0 – 14.15. |
| Seeds stroke of genius | The score is now 1-1. Seed's key player is Seed, who takes a shot from an excellent position but passes it to Mantenuto on the left. He then thwarts the entire Polish defense, and Mantenuto completes the feat with a beautiful finish – 22.37:XNUMX. |
| In the power play | After Sadlocha made Saracino bleed with a high stick, the Azzurri enjoyed a four-minute power play. Italy played excellently, pinning the opponents in front of their own goal with the best handball technique – and took a 2-1 lead thanks to a powerful slap shot from Pietroniro – 34.59:XNUMX. |
| Trivellato's Assault | Now the plays are working. Trivellato takes the puck in his own zone and flies across the ice toward the Polish goal. A beautiful cross pass to Zanetti allows him to score the 3-1 goal – 48.09. |
| Clean penalty shot | Tedesco confidently converts a penalty shot and guarantees the Azzurri victory – 59.19. |
Italy's next match is on Thursday at 11.30:5 a.m. against Great Britain, which beat Japan 4-XNUMX in extra time earlier on Wednesday.
Italy – Poland 4:1
ITA: Fadani (Clara); Glira-Larkin, Trivellato-Di Tomaso, Zanatta-Pietroniro, Di Perna-Seed; Ierullo-Misley-Saracino, Mantinger-Kostner-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-Zanetti, Tedesco-PurdellerPOLE: Murray (Fucik); Ciura-Bizacki, Bilas-Bryk, Gorny-Narog, Wanacki- Zielinski; Zygmunt-Pas-Krezolek, Lyszczarczyk-Komorski-Jeziorski, Sadlocha-Tyczynski-Dziubinski, Goscinski-Syty-Macias
Gates: 0:1 Pas (14.51), 1:1 Mantenuto (22.37), 2:1 Pietroniro (34.59), 3:1 Zanetti (48.09), 4:1 Tedesco (59.19)
The other games on Wednesday
Great Britain – Japan 5:4 aetGoals: 1-0 Dowd (17.52), 2-0 Kirk (24.07), 2-1 Isogai (25.58), 2-2 Okubo (29.01), 2-3 Hirano (34.16), 3-3 Batch (48.41), 3-4 Takagi (50.39), 4-4 O'Connor (58.11), 5-4 Dowd (60.41)
Ukraine – Romania 4:0
Goals: 1:0 Zakharov (4.10), 2:0 Lyalka (5.44), 3:0 Deniskin (8.58), 4:0 Deniskin (37.14)
The table
| Pos | Team | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Italy | 3 | 7 |
| 2. | Ukraine | 3 | 6 |
| 3. | Great Britain | 3 | 6 |
| 4. | Poland | 3 | 6 |
| 5. | Romania | 2 | 1 |
| 6. | Japan | 3 | 1 |
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