As Slovak national icons entered the rink, their fans’ roar overwhelmed the Italian jeers from moments earlier. With the raucous Slovak chants ‘we’re at home here’ echoing around the arena, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were watching the match in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital. Yet, it was the Italians with the home advantage, with the two nations duelling it out at the Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
The group stage tie on Friday, 13th February, between Italy and Slovakia represents two vastly contrasting ice hockey cultures and histories. Italy, a country in which any sport struggles with football for oxygen, has a localised ice hockey system in the northern regions of Trentino, Lombardy, and Veneto. Meanwhile, ice hockey is a source of Slovakian national pride, with a fertile ecosystem that regularly raises players for the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America, the pinnacle of the sport.
Draped in a Slovak flag, Jozef, who travelled from the eastern Slovakian town of Košice, explains that “hockey is so popular in Slovakia, and we want to show that we have what it takes in the world, because it’s such an opportunity for us as a country to show ourselves to the world.” In the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Slovakia won bronze in the men’s ice hockey, one of the two medals won by Slovakia, with Petra Vlhová winning the gold medal in the women’s slalom event. Jozef adds that “hockey can unite us because nowadays I perceive that society is very polarised, especially in Slovakia”.
Meanwhile, Italian ice hockey fans are confronted by a different challenge. “It is a bit of a niche”, acknowledged Alessandro, a Milan native watching his first hockey match and struck by the sport’s distinct culture, comparing it favourably to football. “There is an atmosphere of respect even for the opposing fans,” Alessandro continued, “it’s cleaner than football, which has gotten a bit dirty in recent years.”
Despite its niche status, Italian hockey maintains an infrastructure that nurtures talent. Italy has a national Serie A ice hockey league with seven teams, while HC Bolzano and HC Pustertal play in the higher-tier ICE Hockey League (ICEHL), a central European league with teams from Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia. The Italian-born Canadian John Franco came to watch his nephew Dylan Deperna, who plays for the Italian national team and HC Bolzano. “It’s very, very popular in the North,” Franco said, drawing comparisons to hockey’s place in Canadian culture.
In a nail-biting match that went down to the wire, Italy ultimately fell 3-2 to the Slovaks. But for the home fans, the competitive performance against a hockey powerhouse suggested the sport’s potential on Italian soil. For one night in Milan, the arena proved that Italian hockey has its believers.
