Italy thrill home crowd in fifth-place win against Germany, Slovakia secure seventh

Italy delighted the home crowd with a 5-2 win over Germany after twice trailing, securing fifth place at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on Saturday at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Germany finished sixth, while Slovakia – 1-0 winners over Japan earlier in the day – took seventh place, leaving Japan eighth.

It was Italy’s second straight fifth-place finish and their third consecutive Paralympic Games inside the top five, following fourth place at PyeongChang 2018. This time, however, the achievement came in front of the Italian tifosi in Milan.

“The most important thing was to finish in fifth place. We deserve it,” captain Gianluigi Rosa said. “I have to dedicate it to all the guys who are with us in the team. Some maybe are not here playing in the national team, but they are cheering for us. They are training with us during the season and when we were preparing for the Paralympic Games.”

Rosa was also pleased to deliver on a promise to his children:

“It's good that today I finally scored. I finally did what my kids asked me a couple of days ago – to score. Two goals, so one for each. They can be quite happy.”

Head coach Mirko Bianchi echoed the sense of accomplishment.

“We finished fifth; we deserved to be here. I’m so happy about that,” he said. “It was completely different from Beijing 2022, when we finished in the same position. We worked really well here.”

German captain Martin Brelage said his team leaves Milano Cortina proud of their top‑six finish.

“It's incredible. We are all so happy that we're here and also played a very good game and a good tournament. It's important that we are looking into the future at what we can improve in our game. Overall, I'm very proud of the guys. We know what we have to work on, but it was amazing to be in the top six.”

Italy repeats its result from four years ago in Beijing, finishing the Paralympic Games at home in 5th place. 🇮🇹🏒

Paralympics History:
2026 — 5th place
2022 — 5th place
2018 — 4th place
2014 — 6th place
2010 — 7th place
2006 — 8th place@milanocortina26 @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/CAWx7odftQ

— Para Ice Hockey (@paraicehockey) March 14, 2026

Italy struck iron three times in the opening period – Rosa, Nils Larch, and Nikko Landeros each hitting the crossbar or post – but could not convert on a five‑on‑three power play. Germany, meanwhile, capitalised on their opportunity and scored their first power‑play goal of the tournament at 09:09. Bernhard Hering, who had hit the post seconds earlier, fired a low shot that slipped under goaltender Santiano Stillitano after a well‑executed setup by Felix Schrader.

Italy equalised 2:54 into the second period when Landeros finished an Alex Enderle pass, but Germany regained the lead just over three minutes later on an unfortunate Italian own goal. With a delayed penalty coming and Stillitano heading to the bench for an extra attacker, a back pass from Eusebiu Antochi rolled into the empty net. Hering was credited with the goal as the last German player to touch the puck.

Italy finally converted on their fourth power play, tying the game when Christoph Depaoli buried a rebound from a Rosa shot with 3:04 left in the period.

The Azzurri controlled the third period, taking their first lead at 37:05 when Landeros scored after a Rosa–Depaoli combination. Rosa made it 4-2 at 38:05, finishing a rebound from an Adrea Macri shot, and completed the scoring at 42:53 for his second of the game and Italy’s fifth.

Simon Kunst made 20 saves for Germany, finishing the tournament with a 77.65 save percentage. Stillitano stopped nine shots for Italy, ending with an 80.49%.

Rosa led Italy in scoring with nine points, while Schrader finished as Germany’s top scorer with five.

Slovakia 1-0 Japan

In the opening game of the day, Slovakia beat Japan 1-0, with Martin Joppa scoring with 1:31 left in regulation to secure seventh place. Japan finished eighth.

This was Slovakia’s second appearance at the Paralympic Winter Games, matching their position from Beijing 2022 – with the difference that four years ago they finished last in a seven‑team field. At Milano Cortina 2026, they earned their first two Paralympic victories, both against Japan.

“We are at the Paralympic Games and finished seventh. We played much better than in the last Paralympics. We are so happy that we are here and that we played really good games. I'm really proud of everyone in the team,” said captain Joppa.

Slovakia’s coach, Ivan Hricko, shared that pride.

“It was stressful until the very end. I’m glad we managed to break through, especially for the guys in the team. They really deserve it. I’m very happy for them and proud of them.”

Slovakia wraps up its @milanocortina26 campaign in 7th place, with two wins from five games. 🏒@Paralympics History 🇸🇰
2026: 7th place
2022: 7th place pic.twitter.com/GixPNZ253G

— Para Ice Hockey (@paraicehockey) March 14, 2026

Japan’s coach, Kojin Nakakita, praised his team’s effort and highlighted the promise of his young squad.

“It's been quite a tough time we had after Vancouver [2010]. We lost a lot of players after those Games and couldn't make it to Sochi 2014. We made it to PyeongChang [2018], then eight years passed, and we came back.

“I was glad to be back, of course. The good thing was, we have 12 new players, so the young kids are here and it was a great experience throughout the whole tournament.”

Joppa scored his fourth goal of the tournament to finish as Slovakia’s points leader with eight. He took advantage of a Japanese clearance that bounced off the back of Kazuyoshi Niitsu, waited for the right moment, and saw his shot deflect off Yudai Ishikawa and into the net at the end of the third period.

Japanese goaltender Wataru Horie stopped 18 of 19 shots, while Slovakia’s Eduard Lepacek made eight saves.

Itsuki Ito finished as Japan’s top scorer at Milano Cortina 2026 with three points from two goals and one assist.

Complete stats from Milano Cortina 2026 can be found here.