NHL 13 - Italy World Season - PS3

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

WORLD LEAGUE
Formed in September 2012, to give top NHLers a chance to stay sharp during the impending lockout. Featuring sixteen teams, two divisions of eight. There is no overlap between the two divisions, all teams play within their own respective division. You play each team in your division twice, for a 14 game schedule. Top 4 teams in each division advance to the playoffs.
Top 10 countries in the IIHF World Rankings qualified automatically:
Canada, US, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Germany, Belarus, Switzerland.
20 other countries competed throughout the summer for one of the remaining six spots in the World League. Five other entrants have been decided:
Latvia, Kazakhstan, Austria, France, Poland.
In the final home-and-away qualifier, the Cinderella story Italians would take on heavy favorites Norway...

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The Italians have qualified for the World League. The Team of Destiny, as they were called, captured the hearts of the hockey world in their valiant efforts against both Canada (3-1 loss in Toronto) and the United States (2-0 loss in Boston) during World League qualifying. The Italians went 0-3 in the opening round of qualifying (adding a loss in Milan against lowly Latvia), but managed to knock out both Poland and heavy favorite Norway in the 2nd qualifying round.

The Italians played a home-and-away with Poland in early June in the 2nd Round Semi-Final, with the winner advancing to the 2nd Qualifying Round's final and a chance to sneak into the World League through the backdoor. The Italians started poorly in Poland, losing Game One by a score of 6-3. Poland's Mariusz Czerkawski scored four goals in his team's victory. Upon their return to Milan, the Italians exploded. Bolstered by their 6000-strong crowd, the Italians crushed the Poles 6-0, on the strength of an Alberto Cacciaguerra hat trick and 5 assists from star and captain Carlo Verdino.

The Italians then faced their toughest test of the 2nd round; Norway. The Norwegians featured six players playing in North America, and two NHLers. In Game One, away in Oslo, the Italians put in a valiant defensive effort, only losing 1-0 despite being outshot 39-13. Goalie Luca Poli kept the Italians in it. On the return date in Milan, the Italians held a shock 3-1 lead after 20 minutes, but the Norwegians stormed back to take a 4-3 lead after 40. Only Carlo Verdino's beautiful goal with 10.4 seconds left could spare the Italians from the hangman's noose. Alberto Alberici then became a national hero (at least to Italy's hockey fans) at 7:56 of overtime, when he potted a big rebound to send Italy to the World League.

The Italians have been labeled as a 'Pot 8' team, meaning they (and Austria, the other Pot 8 team) have basically been named the two weakest teams in the World League.

"We know who we are, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and how we're going to approach our games against top teams," assured Italian National team coach P.J. Stock when confronted by the small gathering of Italian sports journalists about being blown out and over their heads in the World League. "No, we will be fine. Verdino plays at the same level as these top Canadian and Russian guys, Alberici plays in the East Coast Hockey League, and Luca Poli is as good a puckstopper as there is on this side of the pond!"

The Division Draw will take place in Vienna, Austria, on August 22nd.

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Who is STOKED to see P.J. Stock and Chicago Blackhawks Calder Trophy-Winning RW Carlo Verdino try to lead the Italians to shock international hockey glory? I SURE AM!

Italia!

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Group A
Canada
Sweden
Russia
Germany
Belarus
Poland
France
Austria

Group B
USA
Finland
Czech Rep
Slovakia
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Switzerland
Italy

When asked about the Italians' draw, national team head coach P.J. Stock gave a typical, cryptic yet positive comment; "Well, I feel we've got the horses to pull this cart, and we've got a good chance of not only holding our own, but holding the others too." Well said, P.J.

In other World League news, it was announced that, since NHL owners and players are no closer to ending the lockout now than they were at the World League's inception, the league schedule has been expanded to 42 games! All teams are excited not only by the prospect of more revenue, but more hockey!

Schedule will be released August 29th.

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Team Italy September 2012 WL Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 2	at Switzerland
Sep 4	vs Latvia
Sep 6	at Kazakhstan
Sep 8	vs Slovakia
Sep 10	at Czech Rep
Sep 12	vs Finland
Sep 14	at USA
Sep 16	vs Switzerland
Sep 19	at Latvia
Sep 21	vs Kazakhstan
Sep 23	vs Slovakia
Sep 24	at Czech Rep
Sep 26	vs Finland
Sep 28	at USA
Sep 31	at Switzerland

Team Italy October 2012 WL Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Oct 2	at Finland
Oct 4	vs USA
Oct 6	at Slovakia
Oct 8	vs Czech Rep
Oct 10	at Latvia
Oct 12	vs Kazakhstan
Oct 14	vs Switzerland
Oct 16	vs Finland
Oct 18	at USA
Oct 20	at Slovakia
Oct 22	vs Czech Rep
Oct 24	at Latvia
Oct 26	vs Kazakhstan
Oct 28	at Switzerland
Oct 30	at Finland

Team Italy November 2012 WL Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 1	at USA
Nov 3	vs Slovakia
Nov 5	at Czech Rep
Nov 7	vs Latvia
Nov 9	at Kazakhstan
Nov 11	vs Switzerland
Nov 13	vs Finland
Nov 15	at USA
Nov 17	at Slovakia
Nov 19	vs Czech Rep
Nov 21	at Latvia
Nov 23	vs Kazakhstan

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Team Italy Depth Chart - 2012
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LW	Sean Bentivoglio (60)	Alberto Cacciaguerra (56)	Alessandro Scarabelli (53)	Pietro Bergamini (53)
C	Alberto Alberici (54)	Agostino Trevisan (55)	Mario Tobia (53)	Luciano Orsoni (48)
RW	Carlo Verdino* (99)	Gabriele Vegetti (54)	Maurizio Di Nicola (53)	Riccardo Tamarra (53)
D #1	Giampaolo Fini (54)	Abdon Pedretti (53)	Cesare Vaccari (51)
D #2	Marco Azzaroni (54)	Luciano Emmer (53)	Umberto Ciroi (51)
G	Luca Poli (57)	Gabriele Ravani (56)

Next Game:
September 2nd @ Switzerland - Davos, SUI

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Feisty Italians Fall Just Short In Switzerland
Verdino in fine form, goaltending shoddy

The Italians deserved at least a tie in this game. They played a great road game in Davos, and most unbiased observers would say they outplayed the 7th-best team in the world, the Swiss. Roman Wick scored the first goal of the game at 6:20 for the hosts, completely against the run of play. The Italians had buzzed around the Swiss goal for the first 6 minutes of the game, and Wick's goal was the Swiss' first shot on net. Wick took a stretch pass from Martin Pluss, came in on goal, and beat Italian netminder Luca Poli shortside with a fluttering wrist shot. It was a very stark reminder for the Italians that they weren't the Swiss. They didn't have Jonas Hiller in goal to deny their opponents, they had an Austrian-league backup. Wick's weak goal stemmed the tide, and the rest of the first period was close. After 20, it was 1-0 for the hosts, despite their having been outshot 12-4 by Italy in the first period. The 2nd period was more Italy, as they continued to hold possession in the Swiss zone without many shots or chances to show for it. Finally, just past the halfway point of the game, Scarabelli broke Hiller's goose egg and tied the game at 1, taking a beautiful saucer pass from Di Nicola and one-timing it past Hiller's outstretched glove. The shots in the period were more even, 7-7, but Italy had drawn level 1-1 at the end of 40. In the 3rd period, Italy's goaltending woes would stab them in the back. Despite continued pressure in the Swiss zone, the Swiss grabbed an unlikely lead just over five minutes into the final frame, as Romy picked up Ivo Ruthemann's juicy rebound and beat Poli to give the Swiss the lead. An unnecessarily big rebound from Poli, and the Swiss made him pay. The score would hold despite two goalposts and many scoring chances for the Italians in the final 3/4 of the period. Goaltending won the game for Switzerland, and lost the game for Italy.

at
Sep 2, 2012 1 2 3 F (0-1-0) 0 1 0 1 (1-0-0) 1 0 1 2 Three Stars Jonas Hiller (SUI) - G .960 , 24/25, 1.00 Kevin Romy (SUI) - LW 1G Roman Wick (SUI) - RW 1G	Team Stats Comparison Shots on Goal 25 18 Hits 21 19 Faceoffs Won-Lost 8 14 Penalty Minutes 6:00 2:00 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 1 3 Time on Attack 4:31 5:00
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD R. Wick (1) (M. Pluss, R. Diaz) - 6:20 SECOND PERIOD A. Scarabelli (1) (M. Di Nicola, M. Tobia) - 10:02 THIRD PERIOD K. Romy (1) (I. Ruthemann) - 5:36

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

ITALIANS SALVAGE POINT
Gritty Latvians outplayed hosts

Latvia came in and shook the Milan Ice Hall's spectators to their very cores. The Latvians played a text boox road game, and probably deserved to come away with a victory last night in Italy. The Latvians limited the Italians to just 13 shots the entire game, while firing off 22, not including the many that were blocked and/or missed the net.

The Latvians outshot the Italians 6-4 in a fairly even first period, with Kaspars Daugavins having the best chance of the period, missing a practically empty net at the 10:34 mark.

The 2nd period was dominated by the Latvians, who backed the Italians into their own end for most of the 20 minutes. Shots were 10-4 in favor of the Latvians, whose fans were boisterous from beginning to end. Luca Poli, the surprise choice to start in goal for the Italians after a weak performance in Switzerland, kept the Italians in the game during the 2nd frame.

Kaspars Daugavins finally opened the scoring at 2:14 of the third period for the Latvians, taking an Oskars Bartulis pass at the Italian blueline, and wiring a snapshot over Poli's glove to give the Latvians a well-deserved lead.

Carlo Verdino, the captain, finally took charge after almost two games. Verdinno picked the puck up behind his own net, and after skating the length of the ice, deked out Latvian netminder Gavrilovs to tie it up with 5 and a half minutes to go.

The rest of the game was spent with the two teams trying to outsmart each other, which led to a total of one shot and no scoring chances.

1-1 final.

GAME SUMMARY

LAT 0 0 1 (1)
ITA 0 0 1 (1)

3rd Period:
LAT - Daugavins (2), Prokop, Masulis
ITA - Verdino (1), Unassisted

Shots :
LAT 22 : 13 ITA

Latvia 1-0-1
Italy 0-1-1

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Captain Verdino Saves Day
Italians even throughtout contest, could've won

Are we seeing double vision? In almost a carbon copy of the home game against Latvia two days ago, Team Italy tied 1-1 against Kazakhstan, this time on the road in Astana.

The Italians outshot the Kazakhs 7-5 in the first frame, but neither team had a clearcut CHANCE to score in a period that was, in the defensive nature of both teams, a chance to put the feelers out and settle into their respective defensive styles.

The 2nd period saw the Italians dominate, outshooting the Kazakhs 6-3 and possessing the puck for long stretches of time without the Kazakhs touching it. The Italians would come to regret their lack of offensive production, as they had chances and couldn't convert.

The third period saw the Kazakhs bring a newfound sense of urgency to their game, outshooting the Italians 6-2 in an overwhelming display of speed up front. Nik Antropov was by far the best player on the ice for the Kazakhs, he twirled around all the Italian defence.

Vladimir Turakov opened the game's scoring 48 seconds into the period with a beautiful one-timer that pinged off the crossbar before crossing the line. Genze and Sundukov picked up the assists.

The Kazakhs pressured the Italians for the rest of the game, until with just 30 seconds left, Italian captain Carlo Verdino picked up the puck behind his own net and, rushing past four Kazakh defenders, with his net empty, bore down upon Goran Zikov, slipped the puck between his legs, picked it up and roofed it on Vitaly Kolesnik with just 25 seconds left, securing a dying-breath tie for Kazakhstan.

THREE STARS
1. Vladimir Turakov (1G)
2. Vitaly Kolesnik (.933, 1.04)
3. Carlo Verdino (1G)

Italy - 0-1-2
Kazakhstan - 0-2-1