🎟️ TICKETS: GB v Italy at Planet Ice Milton Keynes – secure your seats here
đź“ş WEBCAST: Click here to purchase the live stream
Great Britain host Italy at Planet Ice Milton Keynes this evening (19:30 face-off) in the first match of a four-game series.
The two great rivals will also go head-to-head at the Motorpoint Arena on Saturday (2nd May) at 19:00, before matches in Varese, Italy on the 10th and 12th May.
The four games are part of the build-up for the 2026 World Championship in Switzerland next month.
GB will face Austria, USA, Hungary, Switzerland, Finland, Latvia and Germany in the group stages at the 12,000-seater Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
Group B – which is being held at the 9,000-seater BCF Arena in Fribourg, will see Italy face Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway and Slovenia.
Team News
Liam Kirk and Sam Lyne are unavailable with both still being involved in playoff campaigns with their domestic teams.
Forward Bayley Harewood has linked up with the squad for training camp and will be available for selection.
Focus on Italy
Italy have brought a 29-player squad to the UK for the two matches as part their pre-World Championship training camp.
Their full roster is as follows…
Netminders: Davide Fadani (Kloten/Svizzera), Colin Furlong (Rittner Buam), Jacob Smith (Angers Ducs/Francia). Defence: Pietro Olmo Albis (Ambrì Piotta/Svizzera), Carmine Buono (HC Gherdeina), Dylan Di Perna (HC Bolzano), Gregorio Gios (HC Asiago), Gabriel Nitz (HC Bressanone), Phil Pietroniro (Rytiri Kladno/Repubblica Ceca), Filippo Rigoni (HC Asiago), Peter Spornberger (ERC Ingolstadt/Germania), Alex Trivellato (Schwenninger Wild Wings/Germania). Forwards: Matthew Bradley (HC Bolzano), Tommaso De Luca (Ambrì Piotta/Svizzera), Cristiano DiGiacinto (HC Bolzano), Luca Frigo (HC Bolzano), Mikael Frycklund (Val Pusteria), Niccolò Mansueto (HC Sierre/Svizzera), Daniel Mantenuto (HC Bolzano), Matthias Mantinger (Val Pusteria), Bryce Misley (HC Bolzano), Nicholas Porco (HC Asiago), Tommy Purdeller (Val Pusteria), Julius Ramoser (Wolfsburg/Germania), Filippo Rigoni (HC Asiago), Nick Saracino (Val Pusteria), Davide Schiavone (HC Gherdeina), Alessandro Segafredo (ZSC Lions/Svizzera), Marco Zanetti (HC Lugano/Svizzera.
Recent Meeting: 2025 World Championship Division I Group A
The two sides went head-to-head last year at the World Championship Division I Group A in Romania with GB securing an impressive 5-1 victory.
GB went ahead after only 32 seconds as Ben Lake and Brett Perlini combined to set-up Liam Kirk who cut inside off the left-wing and fired low past Davide Fadani (00:32). Kirk fed Nathanel Halbert who scored on his backhand from the slot to give GB a two-goal lead at the first intermission (17:22).
It took GB only 42 seconds of the second period to score their third as Perlini created room down the right and his centering feed found Kirk who drove the net to grab his second goal of the game (20:42). The goal saw a change in the Italy net as Damian Clara replaced Fadani but he was beaten within seven minutes, as super play by Cole Shudra saw him win the puck on the boards and find Sam Duggan who netted from close-range (27:03).
Italy closed the gap through Bryce Misley from the right-circle (30:43) and moments later, Ben Bowns made a top-class save to deny the Italian forward when he cut inside off the left-wing. Ben O’Connor put the seal on the win with a five-on-three powerplay goal from the top of the left-circle (58:45).
Tickets, Webcast and Updates
It’s approaching a sell-out in Milton Keynes so you’re urged to secure your seats asap by clicking here.
The match is also available on our live stream with a single-game option available, as well as a four-match package for the full series. Click here to purchase the webcast.
There’ll also be updates throughout the game on the Great Britain X account which can be followed here.