Tommaso De Luca and his teammates stood no chance against Finland. © APA/afp / JULIEN DE ROSA

Double-digit thrashing: Italy is humiliated by Finland

Italy's men's national ice hockey team had delivered unexpected performances at the Milan and Cortina Olympics. On Saturday, however, the team, led by captain Thomas Larkin, was brought back down to earth, suffering a heavy defeat against medal contenders Finland.

February 14, 2026

From: leo

No matter the matchups at these Winter Games, for Italy every game is a David versus Goliath duel. So far, Daniel Glira and his teammates have played this role admirably, putting on a very good showing against both Sweden (2-5) and Slovakia (2-3). However, the Azzurri paid the price for these two grueling matches on Saturday. Finland exposed the hosts' limitations, never letting up and humiliating Italy in front of their own fans – the final score was a bitter 0-11.

Unlike the aforementioned matches, Italy was never in the game against the Finns, whose roster boasted 24 NHL players. Fueled by a large and vocal Finnish contingent, Mikko Rantanen and his teammates made it clear from the opening buzzer who was in charge. Italy barely got out of their own zone, were always a step behind, and lost virtually every battle for the puck. Finland gratefully accepted these gifts, moved the puck superbly, and further exhausted the already fatigued Azzurri.

Italy is falling behind.

The quick 0-3 deficit after eleven minutes was the logical consequence. Goalkeeper Damian Clara in the Blue Team's net fought valiantly, making several impressive saves, but even he couldn't perform miracles. After the end of the second period, with the score already 0-6, he was replaced by Davide Fadani. Fadani, like Clara before him, was not to be envied, as Italy practically abandoned their defense. It was therefore no surprise that the world-class Finnish players extended their lead to 11-0.

Despite this thrashing, Italy is still in the tournament. Jukka Jalonen's team will play their round of 16 match on Tuesday. It's uncertain who Clara and her teammates will face. They will use the three-day break to recharge and go into the game with full mental and physical freshness.

Italy – Finland 0:11

ITA: Clara (Fadani); Larkin-Trivellato, Pietroniro-Zanatta, Di Tomaso-Glira, Seed-Di Perna; Gazley-Bradley-Zanetti, De Luca-Frycklund-Saracino, Petan-Mantenuto-Frigo, Purdeller-Kostner-Morini.
coach: Noble

FIN: Saros (Korpisalo); Lindell-Heiskanen, Mikkola-Ristolainen, Maatta-Mantinpalo, Lehtonen-Jokiharju; Tolvanen-Hintz-Rantanen, Lehkonen-Aho-Teravainen, Luostarinen-Granlund-Kakko, Armia-Haula, Kiviranta.
coach: Pennanen

Gates: 0:1 Aho (6.49), 0:2 Granlund (9.31), 0:3 Kakko (10.18), 0:4 Kiviranta (24.04), 0:5 Kakko (27.39), 0:6 Granlund (37.36), 0:7 Heiskanen (41.01), 0:8 Lehkonen (41.34), 0:9 Aho (43.43), 0:10 Armia (53.26), 0:11 Kiviranta (57.13)

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Olympic Games, Group B:

Sweden – Slovakia 5:3
Goals: 1:0 Eriksson Ek (7.17), 1:1 Slafkovsky (8.59), 2:1 Kempe (27.06), 2:2 Gernat (29.48), 3:2 Pettersson (34.29), 4:2 Pettersson (47.57), 5:2 Raymond (51.38), 5:3 Dvorsky (59.21)