MILAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) – The party around Italian ice hockey showed no sign of slowing on Saturday, even after the hosts suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat to Group B leaders Sweden, as over 10,000 fans at Santagiulia Arena roared their support throughout the game.
When Franziska Stocker scored Italy’s only goal, fans jumped off their seats in frenzied celebration, maintaining the momentum generated by Thursday’s historic first Olympic women’s victory over France in the hosts’ opening game.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s wonderful to play in front of Italian fans and, as we all know, Italian fans are Italian fans, so they make themselves heard right until the end,” Stocker said.
“The Santa Giulia crowd was incredible … even in the final minutes of the third period, they continued to cheer us on, shouting ‘Italia, Italia, Italia’ …. and we as a team didn’t give up for a single second until the very end.”
The noise was felt well beyond the ice. George Tutino, who travelled from Montreal, Canada, with a large and colourful group of relatives to support his daughter, Italy forward Kayla Tutino, said the atmosphere was overwhelming.
“They really encouraged the team, they gave them support, and the girls felt it, it was very energising from Italian people,” he said outside the arena, surrounded by relatives wearing white and azzurro Italy jerseys bearing the Tutino name and number.
Fans roared at every Italian attack and continued chanting through difficult spells, before applauding loudly as the team skated around the rink to acknowledge the crowd at the final buzzer.
Italy next face Japan on Monday and Germany on Tuesday, with hopes of advancing to the next round for the first time still alive.
“You learn from everything, and I believe that we have managed to keep up with Sweden. I believe we are on their level, I am convinced of it,” said Italy captain Nadia Mattivi.
“Next game with Japan will definitely be decisive, although a different kind of game. Everything is still up for grabs, I believe in it.”
Sara, a Milan resident who attended the match with her husband, said the occasion had left a lasting impression.
“The mood was great, both inside and outside the arena, we also took pictures with Swedish supporters,” she said. “Hockey is a sport we’ll go back to see again, that’s for sure.”
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
