Team Preview: Italy

Team preview for Italy's Para ice hockey team that's competing in the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships, A-Pool in Gangneung, South Korea. Competition starts 12th April and concludes 20th April. South Korea have the biggest incentive of all the teams competing at the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool in Gangneung between 11-20 April. All eyes will be on them as they compete on home ice less than one year ahead of their home PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. The competition is crucial for South Korea. They have a guaranteed slot for PyeongChang 2018, but they will aim to show their strength by reaching a top five finish. If they fail to reach the top five, their ranking for the Paralympic Winter Games will be determined from their performance at the Qualification Tournament scheduled for later in 2017. South Korea returned to the top flight of Para ice hockey in 2015 when they were promoted from the B-Pool following a winning performance at those World Championships. They beat Sweden 4-2 to finish the tournament with a perfect record of 5-0. Sweden were also promoted to the A-Pool, meaning that the two teams will face each other once again in Gangneung. Seung-Hwan Jung was named Best Forward of the tournament, leading all players with 13 goals, nine assists and 22 points. He will once again be a key asset. Roster Forwards No. 27 - Byeongseok Cho No. 38 - Siwoo Choi No. 55 - Jongho Jang No. 14 - Suenghwan Jung No. 28 – Jongkyun Lee No. 21 - Juseung Lee No. 19 - Daeseok Na Defenders No. 10 - Youngjae Cho No. 7 - Kwanghyouk Choi No. 68 - Minsu Han No. 20 - Dongshin Jang No. 12 Youngsung Kim No. 90 - Woochul Park No. 6 - Jeehyun Ryu Goaltenders No. 39 - Ohsong Kwon No. 2 - Jaewoong Lee No. 31 - Man-Gyun Yu Live coverage and the game schedule of the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships is available at Gangneung2017.com. Gangneung 2017 also doubles as the Test Event for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. All games will be played at the Gangneung Hockey Centre. Thirteen players from the Italian side that reached their best ever finish of fifth at a World Para Ice Hockey Championships in 2015 return to the ice for the 2017 edition in Gangneung, South Korea. Coach Massimo Da Rin is clearly relying on a tested formula that he hopes will allow his team to move up the order once again between 11-20 April. Their defence remains almost untouched with only one addition – Gianluca Cavaliere – who could not compete in 2015 due to a last minute injury. Andrea Macri, Roberto Radice, Gianluigi Radice and Bruno Balossetti all return to the back line. On the attack Florian Planker and Nils Larch have been amongst those in good form this season. In a home tournament against Canada, Norway and South Korea, Italy finished third with goals from Larch, Planker, Gianluigi Rosa and Cavaliere across their five games. Italy also played Norway at a pair of friendly games in November, leaving with two wins each both on penalties. They are the 2016 European silver medallists. Roster Forwards No. 27 – Alessandro Andreoni No. 26 – Eusebiu Antochi No. 68 – Valerio Corvino No. 62 – Christoph Depaoli No. 33 – Stephan Kafmann No. 9 – Sandro Kalegaris No. 11 - Nils Larch No. 73 – Gregory Leperdi No. 5 – Florian Planker No. 7 – Werner Winkler Defenders No.14 – Bruno Balossetti No. 6 – Gianluca Cavaliere No. 18 – Andrea Macri No. 8 – Roberto Radice No. 3 – Gianluigi Rosa Goaltenders No.15 - Gabriele Araudo No.1 – Santino Stillitano Live coverage and the game schedule of the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships is available at Gangneung2017.com. Gangneung 2017 also doubles as the Test Event for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. All games will be played at the Gangneung Hockey Centre. Follow us on Facebook: World Para Ice Hockey; Twitter and Instagram: @Paraicehockey