The derby delivered everything it promised. In front of a sell-out crowd at the Fiera Ice Arena, Milano and Bolzano served up a thriller that went all the way to overtime, where the Foxes prevailed over a hugely committed Milano side hit by significant absences. The game ended to applause from the stands, a contest worthy of the great derbies of the past.
FIRST PERIOD: Milano took to the ice with a further absence: in addition to Houde, Allison, Finoro and Saracino, Dal Colle was also missing. Coach Shedden therefore opened with a first line of Pietroniro, Cuglietta and Madaschi, while the fourth line featured McKegg and Kostner, with another forward rotating in to complete the unit. The game came alive immediately, played at high intensity. Madaschi made a promising foray, but the Rossoblù forward’s pass was lost in front of the Bolzano slot. The pace was frantic, with play swinging from end to end. Bolzano made good use of the neutral zone and were not shy about forechecking either. Mantenuto worked his way towards Smith, who had to deny a backhand from the Italian-heritage forward. The game flowed quickly. Milano looked to counter-attack at speed and managed slightly more shots than their opponents, but Domingue was always alert, even if the home side’s efforts were not especially dangerous. From the 8th minute the Foxes applied heavy pressure. Former Bolzano goaltender Smith became a genuine bulwark, turning aside three Bolzano attacks, most notably a shot from defenceman Kivihalme at the end of a quick break and a backhand from McClure, who had been sent clear on goal. At 10:24 came the first significant moment: Larcher appeared to give the visitors the lead with a touch in the slot after Ratcliffe had fed the puck while crashing into Smith. Following a lengthy video review lasting several minutes, the officials disallowed the goal. Moments after play resumed, the hosts opened the scoring. Caamano collected the puck along the boards, created space for himself with veteran savvy and beat Domingue. With the lead in hand, Milano spent more time in the offensive zone and generated a good volume of play. Caamano went close again, but Domingue got his stick to it. The Rossoblù kept pushing on a wave of enthusiasm but could not capitalise on the momentum. In a largely clean, penalty-free period, Milano went into the first intermission leading by one.
SECOND PERIOD: Milano came out flying and kept putting pucks on Domingue, who was called into action more than once. Ratcliffe tried a long-range shot with Smith out of position, but to no avail. Milano continued to fire dangerous pucks towards goal, but out of nowhere Elson levelled for the Foxes. The North American forward caught the Milano defence flat-footed, broke into the slot and beat Smith through the pads. Milano did not flinch and restored their lead a few minutes later when Chiodo tipped in a point shot from Gios at close range. The Fiera Ice Arena erupted. The game also heated up physically, with Grant and Digiacinto squaring off in a scuffle. There followed a long stoppage while the officials reviewed a stick infraction by Valentine. The captain’s two-minute minor overlapped with the remaining minute of a penalty to Albis. Bolzano were unable to convert the resulting five-on-three, thanks to the flawless defensive discipline of the three Milano skaters entrenched in front of Smith. The wall held until the relief of the second buzzer. Milano led 2-1 at the second intermission.
THIRD PERIOD: The equaliser was not long in coming. Chiodo was penalised in the neutral zone while trying to win back the puck, and Bolzano made it count with a perfect one-timer from Ratcliffe at the faceoff circle. At 2-2, it was Milano who seized the initiative, driven on by the relentless support of the crowd. First Hannoun from the slot, then Chiodo from close range tested Domingue. The go-ahead goal came in the ninth minute and was “made in Sweden”: a perfect combination between Frycklund and Lindquist, with the club’s newest arrival finishing off the give-and-go. Just as Milano seemed set to close out the game, Bolzano drew level once more through a shot through traffic from van de Leest. The game went to the final buzzer at 3-3, a scoreline recalling the historic draw of 1991. But there was still overtime to play, and Bolzano had more left in the tank. Schneider’s solo dash settled the contest. The league leaders remain unbeaten; the Rossoblù take home a point.
