Italy’s Cristiano Digiacinto suspended for game against Finland
Cristiano Digiacinto has been one of Italy’s better energetic forwards at the Olympics, but they’ll be without him in the team’s final round-robin game.
Italy is set to take on Finland at 10:40 AM ET, with the team running 12 forwards and eight defensemen in DiGiacinto’s absence.
The IIHF’s disciplinary panel has issued a one-game suspension for Digiacinto for one game after hitting Slovakia’s Martin Fehervary in the head on Friday. The play was reviewed and Digiacinto was only given two minutes for the play.
But the IIHF reserves the right to review penalties, especially those involving head contact. And that’s why Digiacinto will be out on Saturday evening.
“While the Panel acknowledges that Digiacinto did not intentionally target the head of his opponent, he nonetheless took a poor angle of approach to deliver a hit which resulted in direct contact to the head of Fehervary,” a tournament statement read. “Thus, Digiacinto endangered his opponent and, as such, violated Official Playing Rule 48 (Illegal Check to the Head and Neck).”
DiGiacinto has yet to register a point through two games in the tournament. He has been one of Italy’s better players, though, and still managed to see 20:14 in ice time against the Slovaks. Italy enters Saturday with a 0-2 record and will await its qualification round opponent on Tuesday.
A sixth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014, DiGiacinto never signed with the club following his OHL career. He would play three years with Acadia University in the Canadian USports college circuit before playing three seasons with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. DiGiacinto signed with HC Bolzano in Italy in 2024 and has remained there ever since. He is currently in the midst of a 20-point campaign and has four games of national team experience with Italy this season, as well.
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