Daniella Matar · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 08, 2026 1:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The opening Para ice hockey match at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games set a new record attendance for the sport at a major tournament.

The preliminary round match between four-time defending champion United States and host nation Italy drew 8,992 spectators for a high-octane atmosphere on Saturday night.

That not only broke the previous Paralympic record of 8,462 fans for the gold-medal match at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, but also surpassed the attendance record of 8,600 spectators at the 2019 World Para Ice Hockey championship in Czechia.

"This attendance record is a great source of pride for Milano-Cortina 2026 and for the entire Paralympic movement," local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said on Sunday. "The energy and engagement we are experiencing across our venues demonstrate just how powerful and inspiring Paralympic sports can be.

"Seeing nearly nine thousand people in the stands for a Para ice hockey game is a tangible sign of the Games' lasting legacy, while celebrating talent, determination and team spirit."

The home crowd roared in delight — and surprise — when Italy took a shock lead just 25 seconds after the puck dropped.

The U.S., which has won the Para ice hockey tournament at five of the past six Winter Paralympics, roared back to win 14-1.

"Seeing that that was the first one that was scheduled, I thought it was really cool just because coming out of the COVID Paralympics in Beijing and not a lot of people, I figured it was going to be a lot fun in Italy," U.S. coach David Hoff said. "It certainly was a great environment today, really a fun start for us today in an atmosphere like this.

"In sled hockey you don't get this, with a packed house like this tonight and people out there, you know, the crowd, the cheering and everything like that. That's cool for these guys too to play in that environment."