Milano Cortina 2026 Group A review: USA top the group, Italy delight fans with win

Defending champions USA delivered a commanding statement ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 semifinals, defeating Beijing 2022 bronze medallists China 7-1 with five power‑play goals to finish atop Group A. China secured second place.

USA will now face Czechia in Friday’s (13 March) opening semifinal, followed by China taking on Group B winner Canada for a place in Sunday’s final at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Assistant captain Declan Farmer led the charge with three goals and two assists – including a moment of pure brilliance to make it 2–0 – bringing his career Paralympic total to 54 points, a new all‑time USA record.

Brody Roybal added two goals and two assists, while captain Josh Pauls and Liam Cullingham also scored. Zhanfu Zhu netted China’s lone goal.

“With a team like China, as well as they skate, nothing’s ever easy. They took some penalties, so that definitely helped us. It took a while for us to get our first goal, but our persistence paid off,” Pauls said.

“We’re such a deep team. When we can roll three forward lines, we’re going to be really hard to beat because we can wear on teams. Over 45 minutes, it’s tough to beat us when we can roll three lines.”

USA will enjoy a rest day on Wednesday. Head Coach David Hoff praised his team’s response to China’s pace, particularly in the opening frame.

“Today we had to do it at a much higher pace. I really liked the challenge that presented,” Hoff said. “Right away, maybe we were a little behind the pace, but over the course of that first period – even though it was only 2-0 – I thought we had taken control. I liked what we did today for sure.”

“I always say: stay in the day. Today was a game day. Tomorrow is a decompress day. Thursday is a practice day. Focus on the day we’re on. Don’t get too far ahead, and don’t drag stuff from behind.”

Photos that hit just right, pt. 1 📸#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/yskRGYjVJR

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) March 10, 2026

China’s defensive structure held USA off the board for 11:46. After failing to convert on two early power plays, the reigning champions finally broke through when Pauls fired a shot into the top‑left corner.

China spent eight of the 15 first‑period minutes shorthanded, and USA capitalised again on the power play as Farmer roofed a backhand over goaltender Yanzhao Ji.

“We had 18 penalty minutes, so it is very difficult to play like that against a very strong team for more than one period,” said Chinese Head Coach Nikolay Sharshukov.

Three of USA’s four second‑period goals also came on the power play, including Liam Cunningham’s first Paralympic goal – a shot from the right faceoff circle with 1:22 left in the frame.

Farmer completed his hat trick just 59 seconds into the third period. Zhu scored China’s consolation goal at 4:28, sending a point shot through traffic and into the net.

Ji made 18 saves and Wang Wei added six for China. Jen Lee recorded eight saves for USA.

Italy 2-1 Germany

Italy rewarded their home crowd with their first win of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on Tuesday (10 March), rallying to defeat Germany 2-1 and secure third place in Group A.

Both teams will return to the ice on Thursday for the 5th–8th placement games. Until then, the Azzurri can savour a memorable morning at the Milano SantaGiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing to play here in front of our crowd,” said forward Nils Larch, who scored Italy’s opening goal.

The moment was even more meaningful with his family in the stands.

“Just amazing to have them here. My father is always positive, gives me advice and support. Before this game, he told me to be calm, to play the way I am used to, and he was confident it would go well.”

Larch hopes Italy’s performances can inspire more young people with disabilities to discover Para ice hockey.

“The first game [against USA] was sold out and that was fantastic. It means a lot to us to play here and help make Para ice hockey even bigger in Italy. Hopefully more people see us and maybe we find new guys to join the sport.”

Assistant captain Andrea Macri believes the win will help the team settle into the tournament after the pressure of performing at home.

“This was what we were waiting for and what we prepared for. But we can’t be satisfied with our performances. There was nothing to lose today, but still we were feeling afraid.

Hopefully we will be more confident playing in this arena with this crowd. I’m sure we will be better day after day.”

Germany head coach Peter Willmann was pleased with his team’s effort and said they will push for a win in Thursday’s game.

“Today, we played hockey. We didn’t only stay at the back. We got our first goal and the youngest kid scored, and that makes me happy too.

The next game is our big game, it will be like a final. We want to step up and perhaps play for fifth place. This is our target, this is what we are here for.”

Imagen

Nils Larch scored the first Italian goal in front of fans and family at the Milano Santagiulia Arena

ⒸJames Fearn/Getty Images for IPC

Germany opened the scoring just 2:40 into the game when Jano Bussmann finished a counterattack, his shot deflecting off goaltender Julian Kasslatter and into the top-right corner.

The Germans managed only two more shots in the period as Italy increased their pressure, with Christoph Depaoli ringing a shot off the post.

Italy finally equalised on the power play with 3:05 left in the frame. After goaltender Simon Kunst stopped a Gianluigi Rosa attempt, Larch pounced on the rebound to make it 1-1.

Italy had struggled in second periods earlier in the tournament, but not this time. Despite Germany leading 7-5 in shots, it was the Azzurri who struck with 3:31 remaining.

Nikko Landeros broke through the German defence on a feed from Sandro Kalegaris, sliding a low shot under Kunst and slowly across the line.

Italy nearly added another power‑play goal when Kunst stopped a Kalegaris shot, but the rebound fell back to the Italian forward, who fed Landeros in the slot. German assistant captain Ingo Kuhl-Lauenstein made a crucial block with his leg to prevent the puck from crossing the line.

Both teams failed to convert on power plays in a tense third period, but Italy held firm to send the home crowd into celebration at the final buzzer.

Kunst finished with 22 saves on 24 shots, while Kasslatter stopped 11 for Italy.

Complete stats, schedule and results can be found here.