Festa della Repubblica

Today is Republic Day, or "Festa della Republica" in Italy which commemorates the nationwide vote in 1946 when the Italian population decided which form of government the country would adopt going forward after the fall of Benito Mussolini's Fascist government at the end of World War II.

Given the choice between continuing the monarchy, which had ruled Italy for 85 years and supported Mussolini, which in turn led to Italy's participation in World War II along side the Nazis of Germany, or becoming a republic, a vote was held on this day in 1946 and the Italian people voted 12.7 million (54%) to 10.7 million (46%) in favor of becoming a republic. As a result, the male members of the royal family, the House of Savoy, were exiled from the country, a ban which remained in effect until 2002.

In celebration of the birth of the Italian Republic, each June 2 a military parade along the via dei Fori Imperiali, consisting of the various branches of the Italian armed forces, police and fire departments as well as the Italian Red Cross, is held in Rome and is presided over by the President, with the Prime Minister and other officials also in attendance.

The Italian President's guards, The Corazzieri,

perparing for a Republic Day parade

Prior to the parade, a laurel wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Rome's Piazza Venezia while jets fly overhead, leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the Italian flag.

The parade then proceeds past the presidential viewing box and down the boulevard, which is lined with flag-waving spectators, towards the Colosseum as additional jets fly overhead throughout.

The Italy National Hockey Team made it's international debut in 1924 and first appeared in the World Championships in 1930, with a best result of 4th in 1953. From the 1950's through the early 1990's, Italy generally competed in the "B" Pool if the IIHF ladder system, with occasional drops down to the "C" Pool in the 1970's only to immediately return to the "B" Pool.

In 1991, they earned a promotion back to the Top Division, where they were able to remain for 11 consecutive years, including an excellent 6th place in 1994. It took three years to regain Top Division status in 2005, where they stayed for three years, until beginning their current down, up, down cycle between the Top Division and Division I were they currently find themselves in caught in the struggle to remain in the Top Division but a favorite for promotion while playing in Division I, Group A.

Italy's Olympic hockey participation began in 1936 and they have managed to qualify on nine occasions, including a best three in a row in 1992, 1994 and 1998, a particularly strong era of Italian hockey. Historically, the Italian National Team is sprinkled with Canadians of Italian heritage, including former Hartford Whalers goaltender Jason Muzzatti. Of the 23 players on the squad for their most recent Olympics in 2006, six were Canadians and two were Americans.

One of the better known Italian hockey players was Gaetano "Gates" Orlando, who was born in Canada and eventually made it to the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres for parts of three seasons prior to continuing his career in the top level of Italian hockey, the Serie A, where he won four championships prior to moving to the Swiss National League A, where he won another pair of titles. Orlando also competed for Italy in 10 World Championships and two Olympic Games.

The Italian Elite A is the top national hockey league of Italy and was founded in 1924 and currently consists of ten teams, concentrated in the far northeast corner of the country with no teams surprisingly in the capital of Rome or other major cities such as Turin, Palermo, Genoa or Naples.

Today's featured jersey is a 2000 Italy National Team Manuel de Toni jersey which was worn in both the 2000 and 2001 World Championships where Italy competed in the Top Division and finished in 12th place both times.

De Toni, a center, has had a long career in Italian hockey, beginning back in 1994 with HC Alleghe where he still competes today.

Additionally, he has skated for Italy on 19 different occasions, including the European Junior U18 Championships, the World Junior U20 Championships, the World Championships and the Olympics hosted by Italy in 2006 and was named captain of the national team in 2011.

This jersey is in the familiar blue color as worn by the more familiar "Azzurri" of the Italian National Soccer Team, as blue was the color of the royal House of Savoy, a well established tradition which remains in use today despite the end of the monarchy over 60 years ago.

Today's video segment begins with a look at the military parade that highlights Republic Day in Italy.

Next, some action from Serie A, with HC Alleghe taking on HC Val Pellice followed by a series of player interviews, beginning with De Toni and concluding with goaltender Juliano Pagliero, a Canadian who apparently didn't learn much Italian while growing up in Alberta.

Here's a good one. From the Sabres final game at the Memorial Auditorium, Muzzatti loses his mind and takes on Gary Galley as called by Third String Goalie favorite Rick Jeanneret. 

We conclude today with some exciting highlights of the Italy National Team in action.

Festa della Repubblica

Today is Republic Day, or "Festa della Republica" in Italy which commemorates the nationwide vote in 1946 when the Italian population decided which form of government the country would adopt going forward after the fall of Benito Mussolini's Fascist government at the end of World War II.

Given the choice between continuing the monarchy, which had ruled Italy for 85 years and supported Mussolini, which in turn led to Italy's participation in World War II along side the Nazis of Germany, or becoming a republic, a vote was held on this day in 1946 and the Italian people voted 12.7 million (54%) to 10.7 million (46%) in favor of becoming a republic. As a result, the male members of the royal family, the House of Savoy, were exiled from the country, a ban which remained in effect until 2002.

In celebration of the birth of the Italian Republic, each June 2 a military parade along the via dei Fori Imperiali, consisting of the various branches of the Italian armed forces, police and fire departments as well as the Italian Red Cross, is held in Rome and is presided over by the President, with the Prime Minister and other officials also in attendance.

The Italian President's guards, The Corazzieri,

perparing for a Republic Day parade

Prior to the parade, a laurel wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Rome's Piazza Venezia while jets fly overhead, leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the Italian flag.

The parade then proceeds past the presidential viewing box and down the boulevard, which is lined with flag-waving spectators, towards the Colosseum as additional jets fly overhead throughout.

The Italy National Hockey Team made it's international debut in 1924 and first appeared in the World Championships in 1930, with a best result of 4th in 1953. From the 1950's through the early 1990's, Italy generally competed in the "B" Pool if the IIHF ladder system, with occasional drops down to the "C" Pool in the 1970's only to immediately return to the "B" Pool.

In 1991, they earned a promotion back to the Top Division, where they were able to remain for 11 consecutive years, including an excellent 6th place in 1994. It took three years to regain Top Division status in 2005, where they stayed for three years, until beginning their current down, up, down cycle between the Top Division and Division I were they currently find themselves in caught in the struggle to remain in the Top Division but a favorite for promotion while playing in Division I, Group A.

Italy's Olympic hockey participation began in 1936 and they have managed to qualify on nine occasions, including a best three in a row in 1992, 1994 and 1998, a particularly strong era of Italian hockey. Historically, the Italian National Team is sprinkled with Canadians of Italian heritage, including former Hartford Whalers goaltender Jason Muzzatti. Of the 23 players on the squad for their most recent Olympics in 2006, six were Canadians and two were Americans.

One of the better known Italian hockey players was Gaetano "Gates" Orlando, who was born in Canada and eventually made it to the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres for parts of three seasons prior to continuing his career in the top level of Italian hockey, the Serie A, where he won four championships prior to moving to the Swiss National League A, where he won another pair of titles. Orlando also competed for Italy in 10 World Championships and two Olympic Games.

The Italian Elite A is the top national hockey league of Italy and was founded in 1924 and currently consists of ten teams, concentrated in the far northeast corner of the country with no teams surprisingly in the capital of Rome or other major cities such as Turin, Palermo, Genoa or Naples.

Today's featured jersey is a 2000 Italy National Team Manuel de Toni jersey which was worn in both the 2000 and 2001 World Championships where Italy competed in the Top Division and finished in 12th place both times.

De Toni, a center, has had a long career in Italian hockey, beginning back in 1994 with HC Alleghe where he still competes today.

Additionally, he has skated for Italy on 19 different occasions, including the European Junior U18 Championships, the World Junior U20 Championships, the World Championships and the Olympics hosted by Italy in 2006 and was named captain of the national team in 2011.

This jersey is in the familiar blue color as worn by the more familiar "Azzurri" of the Italian National Soccer Team, as blue was the color of the royal House of Savoy, a well established tradition which remains in use today despite the end of the monarchy over 60 years ago.

Today's video segment begins with a look at the military parade that highlights Republic Day in Italy.

Next, some action from Serie A, with HC Alleghe taking on HC Val Pellice followed by a series of player interviews, beginning with De Toni and concluding with goaltender Juliano Pagliero, a Canadian who apparently didn't learn much Italian while growing up in Alberta.

Here's a good one. From the Sabres final game at the Memorial Auditorium, Muzzatti loses his mind and takes on Gary Galley as called by Third String Goalie favorite Rick Jeanneret. 

We conclude today with some exciting highlights of the Italy National Team in action.

1990-91 Italy National Team Bob Manno Jersey

July by the Numbers crosses the Atlantic Ocean and heads to Italy for jersey #7.

Bob Manno, a defenseman, began his NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks in 1976-77. He played with the Canucks for five seasons, splitting time between the NHL and CHL with a high of 52 games in 1978-79.

Bob Manno while with the Canucks

He signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1981-82 and played in 72 games that season, scoring an NHL career high 50 points. He was rewarded by playing in the NHL All-Star Game appearance that season. Following the regular season, Manno made his debut for the Italy National Team at the 1982 World Championships.

This led to him playing a year with HC Merano in the Italian Serie A followed by another World Championship experience with Italy in 1983.

He returned to North America and the NHL for the next two seasons, splitting time between the Red Wings (62 games) and the AHL (12), followed by a full season with Detroit in 1984-85, his last in the NHL.

He returned to Italy and HC Merano for the 1985-86 season, racking up 106 points in 36 games for the high powered Eagles, who were led by one time New York Ranger Mark Morrison's 147 points and former Maple Leaf Frank Nigro's 132 as Merano won the championship for the first time in it's history.

With Italy now down in the B Pool, Manno returned to action in the World Championships for the third time. One more season with Merano followed with another appearance for Italy in the World Championships in 1987 before he moved to HC Fassa for 1987-88 and 1988-89. After missing the 1988 Worlds, he contributed 5 assists in 7 games for Italy in 1989, his best showing in the World Championships to date, recognized by being named Best Defenseman in the tournament.

1989-90 had Manno on the move to HC Milano Saim for three seasons, including a championship in 1991, his second in Serie A. He was also named Best Defenseman in Serie A that year. He also made his final two World Championship appearances in 1990 and 1991, when he raised his personal best to 7 points in 7 games in 1991.

Manno closed out his international career in style, competing in his first Olympics in Albertville, France in 1992, where he scored a goal and 2 assists in 7 games.

He wound up his professional career with two seasons playing for the HC Bolzano Foxes, which included another Serie A Best Defenseman award in 1992.

Following his playing career, he moved into coaching, first in Italy and later in the German DEL.

Today's featured jersey is a 1990-91 Italy National Team Bob Manno jersey, one of the craziest national team jerseys ever produced.

The traditional approach begins at the shoulders with the white yoke and traditional Tackla diamond logos and the classic blue color of Italian National Team jerseys, but once one moves down to the ITALIA crest, tradition gets thrown out the window and the insanity begins with no less than 40 vertical stripes of varying widths and lengths on the body alone, interrupted on the front by five horizontal striping sections which create even more visual noise, bearing in mind that the Italian flag is comprised of vertical stripes!

If that weren't enough, the vertical striping frenzy continues on the sleeves, with 13 more stripes on each arm.

With just one jersey looking so incredibly busy sitting still, one can only imagine what five of them looked like on the ice, all in motion at the same time!

Truly one of the most visually jarring hockey jerseys in the history of the sport, and worn by someone who also had to wear the Canucks controversial "Flying V"!

Here is ERC Ingolstadt coach Bob Manno speaking in front of the press following a win after a game in Germany in early 2009. Fortunately for all involved he's dressed better than his old Italian National Team jersey.

2001 Italy National Team Marco De Toni Jersey

While the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia doesn't begin until Friday, April 29th, there is plenty of international hockey action taking place this weekend.

First is the conclusion of the 2011 IIHF World Women's Championship in Switzerland. Canada and the United States both went undefeated in the Preliminary Round and received a bye into the Semifinals. Friday's games saw Finland easily defeat their Nordic rivals Sweden 5-1 to advance to face Canada, and Russia came from behind 3-0 in the third period to defeat Switzerland 5-4 in overtime for the right to face the Americans today.

After a day off on Sunday, the losing teams in today's games will meet for the bronze medal in Monday's early game with the winners meeting to determine the champion in Monday's late game. Anything other than the defending champion United States versus Canada would be a surprise considering the two countries dominate the women's game, having divided all 12 previous titles, nine for Canada and three for the US, including the last two.

On the men's side, the 2011 World Championship Division 1 Groups A and B tournaments also come to a conclusion this weekend. Division 1 is held in a single round robin format, with all teams playing each other once, with the champions simply being the teams that finish with the most points atop their group standings, while the club finishing last in each group is relegated to Division 2 for 2012.

Division 1 Group A is being held in Budapest, Hungary and features hosts Hungary along with Spain, Italy, South Korea and the Netherlands.

Heading into the final two games today, Hungary and Italy are tied at 9 points each and are scheduled to play each other today to determine which team will not only with this year's gold medal, but be awarded promotion to the Top Division to play with the big dogs at next year's World Championships in Stockholm and Helsinki.

Korea and the Netherlands both have 3 points. While the Netherlands have completed their schedule of games, Spain, with no points, has one final chance to avoid relegation when they take on Korea in today's first game.

Sadly, Japan was forced to withdraw from this year's competition due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that mainly affected the northern part of Japan where the hockey community is mainly located. The IIHF revised the schedule to accommodate five teams, rather than the anticipated six. Additionally, Japan will retain their place in Division 1 for next season, with the club finishing last among those competing being the one relegated.

Also wrapping up their tournament is Division 1 Group B, which is taking place in Kiev where hosts Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Great Britain, Lithuania and Estonia are competing.

Heading into the final day, Kazakhstan leads with a perfect 4-0 record for 12 points. They will face hosts Ukraine, who are tied for second with Great Britain with 9 points. The British are scheduled to face Poland, who enters the final day with a 2-2 record and 6 points.

If Ukraine wins in regulation in front of their home fans and Great Britain wins as anticipated, there will be three way tie at the top of the table with all games completed, bringing the tie breaker of goal differential from games between the three tied teams into effect to determine the champion, with Ukraine needing to win by 3 goals to have a chance. Kazakhstan simply needs to reach overtime, win or lose, to claim the title and return to the Top Division.

Also currently taking place are the 2011 World Under-18 Championships in Germany. This tournament is one of the most important in the eyes of NHL teams, as these are the players they will be drafting this June in the 2011 NHL Amateur Draft. As much as the Under 20 Championships between Christmas and New Year's each year gets all the media attention, nearly every one of those players has already been drafted by NHL clubs, making the U18 tournament a vital one in the eyes of the scouts.

The Preliminary Round was completed on April 19th with the United States winning Group A over Russia and Germany. Sweden won Group B over Canada and Finland while Switzerland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Norway were sent to the Relegation Round.

Russia defeated Finland 5-2 in their Quarterfinal to advance to face Sweden today in the first game, while Canada set up a meeting with the United States with their 4-3 win over the Germans.

Following today's games, the losers will meet for the bronze medal on Sunday with the winners advancing to the gold medal game later the same day in front of a large group of scouts from each and every NHL organization looking for the next group of future professionals.

For more information and to follow the action today, please visit IIHF.com.

Today's featured jersey is a 2001 Italy National Team Marco De Toni jersey. Italy plays today for the gold medal in Division 1 Group A and promotion to the Top Division for next year.

This jersey was worn during the 2001 World Championships where Italy finished in 12th place, protecting their spot in the Top Division. They would finish 15th the following season which resulted in relegation to Division 1 after an 11 year stay in the top flight.

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Today's video is an advance look at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division 1 Group A in Budapest, Hungary, and is a remarkably well done and funny video.

1990-91 Italy National Team Bob Manno Jersey

July by the Numbers crosses the Atlantic Ocean and heads to Italy for jersey #7.

Bob Manno, a defenseman, began his NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks in 1976-77. He played with the Canucks for five seasons, splitting time between the NHL and CHL with a high of 52 games in 1978-79.

Bob Manno while with the Canucks

He signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1981-82 and played in 72 games that season, scoring an NHL career high 50 points. He was rewarded by playing in the NHL All-Star Game appearance that season. Following the regular season, Manno made his debut for the Italy National Team at the 1982 World Championships.

This led to him playing a year with HC Merano in the Italian Serie A followed by another World Championship experience with Italy in 1983.

He returned to North America and the NHL for the next two seasons, splitting time between the Red Wings (62 games) and the AHL (12), followed by a full season with Detroit in 1984-85, his last in the NHL.

He returned to Italy and HC Merano for the 1985-86 season, racking up 106 points in 36 games for the high powered Eagles, who were led by one time New York Ranger Mark Morrison's 147 points and former Maple Leaf Frank Nigro's 132 as Merano won the championship for the first time in it's history.

With Italy now down in the B Pool, Manno returned to action in the World Championships for the third time. One more season with Merano followed with another appearance for Italy in the World Championships in 1987 before he moved to HC Fassa for 1987-88 and 1988-89. After missing the 1988 Worlds, he contributed 5 assists in 7 games for Italy in 1989, his best showing in the World Championships to date, recognized by being named Best Defenseman in the tournament.

1989-90 had Manno on the move to HC Milano Saim for three seasons, including a championship in 1991, his second in Serie A. He was also named Best Defenseman in Serie A that year. He also made his final two World Championship appearances in 1990 and 1991, when he raised his personal best to 7 points in 7 games in 1991.

Manno closed out his international career in style, competing in his first Olympics in Albertville, France in 1992, where he scored a goal and 2 assists in 7 games.

He wound up his professional career with two seasons playing for the HC Bolzano Foxes, which included another Serie A Best Defenseman award in 1992.

Following his playing career, he moved into coaching, first in Italy and later in the German DEL.

Today's featured jersey is a 1990-91 Italy National Team Bob Manno jersey, one of the craziest national team jerseys ever produced.

The traditional approach begins at the shoulders with the white yoke and traditional Tackla diamond logos and the classic blue color of Italian National Team jerseys, but once one moves down to the ITALIA crest, tradition gets thrown out the window and the insanity begins with no less than 40 vertical stripes of varying widths and lengths on the body alone, interrupted on the front by five horizontal striping sections which create even more visual noise, bearing in mind that the Italian flag is comprised of vertical stripes!

If that weren't enough, the vertical striping frenzy continues on the sleeves, with 13 more stripes on each arm.

With just one jersey looking so incredibly busy sitting still, one can only imagine what five of them looked like on the ice, all in motion at the same time!

Truly one of the most visually jarring hockey jerseys in the history of the sport, and worn by someone who also had to wear the Canucks controversial "Flying V"!

Here is ERC Ingolstadt coach Bob Manno speaking in front of the press following a win after a game in Germany in early 2009. Fortunately for all involved he's dressed better than his old Italian National Team jersey.

Festa della Repubblica

Today is Republic Day, or "Festa della Republica" in Italy which commemorates the nationwide vote in 1946 when the Italian population decided which form of government the country would adopt going forward after the fall of Benito Mussolini's Fascist government at the end of World War II.

Given the choice between continuing the monarchy, which had ruled Italy for 85 years and supported Mussolini, which in turn led to Italy's participation in World War II along side the Nazis of Germany, or becoming a republic, a vote was held on this day in 1946 and the Italian people voted 12.7 million (54%) to 10.7 million (46%) in favor of becoming a republic. As a result, the male members of the royal family, the House of Savoy, were exiled from the country, a ban which remained in effect until 2002.

In celebration of the birth of the Italian Republic, each June 2 a military parade along the via dei Fori Imperiali, consisting of the various branches of the Italian armed forces, police and fire departments as well as the Italian Red Cross, is held in Rome and is presided over by the President, with the Prime Minister and other officials also in attendance.

The Italian President's guards, The Corazzieri,

perparing for a Republic Day parade

Prior to the parade, a laurel wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Rome's Piazza Venezia while jets fly overhead, leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the Italian flag.

The parade then proceeds past the presidential viewing box and down the boulevard, which is lined with flag-waving spectators, towards the Colosseum as additional jets fly overhead throughout.

The Italy National Hockey Team made it's international debut in 1924 and first appeared in the World Championships in 1930, with a best result of 4th in 1953. From the 1950's through the early 1990's, Italy generally competed in the "B" Pool if the IIHF ladder system, with occasional drops down to the "C" Pool in the 1970's only to immediately return to the "B" Pool.

In 1991, they earned a promotion back to the Top Division, where they were able to remain for 11 consecutive years, including an excellent 6th place in 1994. It took three years to regain Top Division status in 2005, where they stayed for three years, until beginning their current down, up, down cycle between the Top Division and Division I were they currently find themselves in caught in the struggle to remain in the Top Division but a favorite for promotion while playing in Division I.

Italy's Olympic hockey participation began in 1936 and they have managed to qualify on nine occasions, including a best three in a row in 1992, 1994 and 1998, a particularly strong era of Italian hockey. Historically, the Italian National Team is sprinkled with Canadians of Italian heritage, including former Hartford Whalers goaltender Jason Muzzatti. Of the 23 players on the squad for the 206 Olympics, six were Canadians and two were Americans.

One of the better known Italian hockey players was Gaetano "Gates" Orlando, who was born in Canada and eventually made it to the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres for parts of three seasons prior to continuing his career in the top level of Italian hockey, the Serie A, where he won four championships prior to moving to the Swiss National League A, where he won another pair of titles. Orlando also competed for Italy in 10 World Championships and two Olympic Games.

The Italian Serie A is the top national hockey league of Italy and was founded in 1924 and currently consists of nine teams, concentrated in the far north-east corner of the country with no teams surprisingly in the capital of Rome or other major cities such as Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Milan or Naples.

Today's featured jersey is a 2000 Italy National Team Manuel de Toni jersey which was worn in both the 2000 and 2001 World Championships where Italy competed in the Top Division and finished in 12th place both times.

De Toni, a center, has had a long career in Italian hockey, beginning back in 1994 with HC Alleghe where he still competes today.

Additionally, he has skated for Italy on 16 different occasions, including the European Junior U18 Championships, the World Junior U20 Championships, the World Championships and the Olympics hosted by Italy in 2006.

This jersey is in the familiar blue color as worn by the more familiar "Azzurri" of the Italian National Soccer Team, as blue was the color of the royal House of Savoy, a well established tradition which remains in use today despite the end of the monarchy over 60 years ago.

Today's video segment begins with a look at the military parade that highlights Republic Day in Italy.

Next, some action from Serie A, with HC Alleghe taking on HC Val Pellice followed by a series of player interviews, beginning with De Toni and concluding with goaltender Juliano Pagliero, a Canadian who apparently didn't learn much Italian while growing up in Alberta.

Here's pair of good ones. From the Sabres final game at the Memorial Auditorium, Muzzatti loses his mind and takes on Gary Galley as called by Third String Goalie favorite Rick Jeanneret. Then Muzzatti, then with the Saint John Flames, has a go with the Cornwall Aces Garth Snow while both were in the AHL in the 1994-95 season.

We conclude today with some exciting highlights of the Italy National Team in action.