Italy stuns Team Sweden in opening minutes of Olympic opener!

Holy mama! Italy wasted no time making their mark on the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey tournament. Just four minutes into the game, Luca Frigo scored to give the hosts a shocking 1-0 lead over Team Sweden.

The play unfolded in dramatic fashion. Sweden’s goalie Filip Gustavsson was caught in between, dropped his stick, and Frigo pounced, finding the five-hole for a clean strike. An unforced error by Sweden and suddenly, Italy was on the board, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

The arena erupted as fans celebrated an early lead against one of the tournament’s favorites. It’s a bold start for the Italian squad, showing they’re not intimidated by hockey powerhouses like Sweden.

Team Sweden, delayed to the ice earlier and already under pressure after a slow start, now faces the task of regrouping and answering back quickly.

While it’s still early, this quick goal sets the tone for a potentially thrilling matchup. Sweden will need to settle their nerves, sharpen their play, and respond fast if they hope to avoid falling further behind in their Olympic opener.

IN GAME COVERAGE

But it looks like the Swedes are gonna be just fine.

On the power-play, minutes later after Italy's stunning goal, Sweden tied the game at 1-1 as captain Gabriel Landeskog scored on the one-timer.

Then, with two minutes to go in the first frame, the Swedes took the lead with Gustav Forsling ripping a blinder home.

Still, Sweden has recorded 27 shots on goal just in the first 20 minutes.

Then, at the very start of the second period, Italy took control again, with Matt Bradley tying the game, and somehow the score became 2-2.

William Nylander scores on Sweden's 40th shot on goal (!) with 3:14 left in the second period to give them a 3-2 lead on the host Italians.

In the third, Mika Zibanejad scored from long range to ruin the fun.

4-2 Sweden with 4:18 to go. Then came the insurance empty-net goal from Victor Hedman, expanding the goal differential.

Shots were 60-22.

And Sweden survives the scare and gets the 5-2 win over Italy.