NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
The Finnish team made Olympic history in a dominant 11-0 victory over the Italian team at the Santagiulia Arena in Milan on Saturday.
Finland’s 11 goals and 62 shots set Olympic records during NHL players’ participation in the men’s hockey tournament for goals in a single game.
His 11-goal margin of victory is also an Olympic record.
In Finland, 14 different players recorded a point, while four different players each scored two goals. Kaapo Kakko, Mikael Granlund, Sebastian Aho and Joel Kiviranta all found the net twice in the team’s drubbing of the host nation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Finland’s Sebastian Aho, left, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his team’s first goal in a men’s ice hockey preliminary match against Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
It was Finland’s second straight match after beating Sweden 4-1 on Friday. Goalkeeper Juuse Saros played in both back-to-back games and made 15 saves in Saturday’s win.
Italian goalkeeper Damian Clara made 34 saves in the first two periods, while Davide Fadani made 21 saves in relief of Clara in the third period.
U.S. WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM CRUSHES ITALY IN DOMINANT QUARTER-FINAL, ADVANCES TO OLYMPIC SEMI-FINALS
Italian goalie Damian Clara adjusts his helmet during a men’s ice hockey preliminary match against Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
Finland’s victory means the Slovak team wins Group B and will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals. Slovakia, Finland and Sweden all had the same record, but Slovakia won the group thanks to their superior goal differential.
Finland, helped by its 11 goals on Saturday since the goal differential is a tiebreaker, can win the lone wild card and advance to the quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed. The outcome depends on Sunday’s results.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Finland’s Sebastian Aho (20) scores his team’s first goal during a men’s ice hockey preliminary match against Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 14, 2026. (Julien De Rosa/Pool photo via AP)
With Finland’s historic victory over Italy, it also dealt a heavy blow to Sweden. Sweden, which already lost 5-3 to Slovakia on Saturday, cannot rank higher than seventh after Finland’s victory, which guarantees that Sweden will participate in the qualifying round on Tuesday.
