Canada's Other Olympic Team

Hockey USA was busy today as they were on television with all their representatives for the two Olympic hockey teams that are heading to Milano-Cortina in Feburary. Canada's men's team was announced on Wednesday, so we already know which NHLers will be wearing the maple leaf in Italy. The women have yet to be announced, but there will be a number of familiar faces on the roster once again - Poulin, Fillier, Jenner, Clark, Fast, and Desbiens are nearly locks for the event. What may surprise you is that Canada has a third Olympic team training inside its borders, but they won't be wearing the maple leaf when the Olympic Games open on February 5. Who is this other Olympic team getting ready? CBC went investigating in Montreal!

Since the summer, I have been avoiding most news channels and news shows for the simple reason is that the world is seemingly becoming more and more ridiculous. I'm not here to comment on that because this isn't Dystopia Blog In Canada, but skipping these shows also means I miss a few good stories that I should have been watching. This is one of those stories, and credit goes to Sarah Leavitt and the CBC for producing this story about a team looking to shock the world.

This story ran on December 15's episode of CBC's The National, so I'm late in posting it. However, it seems the hosts have decided to take up residence in Canada to help them get ready for the Olympic Games! Here's Sarah's story on how the Italians have invaded Canada!

You may recognize a few names in that segment as former Canadian defender Laura Fortino earned her dual citizenship, and she'll play for the Italians in Milano-Cortina. GM Danièle Sauvageau, who is not Italian, is responsible for the talent on the ice. They won't be alone, though, as there are a handful of other high-end players who will don the Italian colours as they look to upset the world on home soil.

Former CWHL players Jacquie Pierri, Kayla Tutino and Kristin Della Rovere, current MoDo forward Justine Reyes, former NCAA defender Kristen Guerriero, former NCAA forward Amie Varano, and reigning SDHL Defender of the Year Nadia Mattivi will all play for Italy, and it's very likely the goaltending tandem will be entirely U SPORTS talent as Guelph's Martina Fedel and Calgary's Gabriela Durante will play big minutes. Italy won't be a pushover with this kind of talent.

Yes, they aren't going to be as deep as Canada or the US, but Italy shelled the current RSEQ-leading Concordia Stingers 10-0 on December 13, and they have a date with the basement-dwelling McGill Marlets on January 8 that should see the Azzurri continue to gear up for the Olympics as they look to write a little history.

I'm not suggesting that they'll medal, but the Turin Olympics were a disaster for the Italian women as they found themselves in a pool with Canada, Sweden, and Russia. Canada laid a 16-0 score on them, Sweden dropped an 11-0 result on Italy, and Russia completed the three-game hammering with a 5-1 win. Sabina Florian scored the only goal at the 8:02 mark of the game against Russia to put Italy up 1-0, but that lead would evaporate 3:15 later. In total, Italy was outscored 32-1 in those three games and outshot 158-22, but the excitement of being part of the women's hockey event never died on that team.

That lone goal scored on Tuesday, February 14, 2006, set off a two-minute Italian holiday as the crowd - some with no shirts and a lot of bodypaint - rose to their feet and sang "Volare" while dancing in the aisles. Florian's goal was the first Italian women's hockey goal in Olympic history, and the diminutive #8 would return to her job selling hockey equipment in Bolzano, Italy a week later.

"Against Canada, the people sing the national anthem of Italy and I cry on the bench," Florian told Bill Briggs of The Denver Post, "because it is so nice."

In 2021, 31 year-old defender Valentina Bettarini - who assisted on the power-play goal by Florian - told the IIHF's Martin Merk, "It was a blast from Day 1 until the end. Even now, it doesn’t feel like it was 15 years ago, it feels like it was yesterday. One of the best memories that gives me goosebumps is when almost 9,000 people came to watch our game against Canada and even though we were losing 16-0 they stood up and sang the Italian national anthem during the last minutes of the game. We lost to the best players in the world."

This is the evolution of the game that speaks loudly about how the players and coaches are getting better in nations that are building towards the future. Twenty years will have passed between Italy's first appearance in women's hockey and their second appearance, but the talent level is exponentially better. Italy now has a professional women's league. Players with Italian heritage are choosing to help build this program rather than playing for another country. Their top players are being trained in top leagues across the world.

Again, I'm not betting on seeing Italy on the podium in Milano-Cortina, but Italy being in Group B with Germany, Japan, France, and Sweden could prove interesting if they can pick up an early win against France on February 5. Maybe they surprise one of Germany or Japan. If they win tewo games, there's a good chance they'll advance to the medal round where anything can happen. After all, it was Belarus that shocked the world when they beat Sweden in men's hockey in 2002. No one has ever forgotten that Olympic moment.

Might we see something like that for Team Italy in Milano-Cortina? It could be possible with a solid assist to the teams in Montreal.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!