Let’s catch up on the women’s hockey results from earlier today.
Italy won the first game at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena 4-1 over France in Group B. Given all the issues with the ice and construction chaos leading up to the Milan Cortina Games, things went smoothly today.
With regards to the ice, there were no stoppages other than for normal snow shovels that occur during periods. It was a lively atmosphere as Italian fans waved Italy flags and clapped “Italia!” A lot more people than I expected for the first game.
In the concourse, it definitely felt like an arena put together quickly. The ground surface is like a construction site, with visible sand on the floor. There were merchandise stores that weren’t open.
It will be interesting to see how this venue does hosting the men’s and women’s Olympic ice hockey gold medal games in two weeks.
In today’s first game, Sweden swept aside Germany by a scoreline of 4-1.