Nardella set for 2006 Winter Olympic Games
February 7, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
Rockford, Ill.- The 2006 Winter Olympic Games are set to get underway this weekend in Torino, Italy and Rockford IceHogs defenseman Bob Nardella is ready to represent Team Italy. The Olympic Games are Nardella's second as he participated in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
The world's best will be featured once again at the 2006 games as the National Hockey League will take a two-week hiatus from their regular season to allow hockey's top players to represent their home countries.
Nardella's Team Italy squad will begin play on Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Joe Sakic, Martin Brodeur, Todd Bertuzzi, Dany Heatley and Team Canada at 6 a.m. CST. Overall, each team will play five games in the preliminary round. Team Italy will compete in Group A with Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic and Canada. After playing in the 1998 games, Nardella is hoping to use that experience to his advantage against the elite.
"I can't wait to get things going," said Nardella. "I kind of know how the scenario is in the village and the way the international game is played, the experience from Nagano is going to be one to fall back on. Plus it's in Italy where I feel very comfortable with the surroundings."
Nardella has spent seven professional seasons playing in Italy, including three previous appearances on Team Italy. This season marks Nardella's second with Rockford. In 26 games with the IceHogs "Ë05-06, the veteran defenseman has 3g-18a-21pts. Overall, Nardella ranks second in Hogs history with 66 career points for a defenseman and 56 assists from the blue line.
Also, former IceHogs center Maris Ziedins will skate in this winter's Olympics. Ziedins will represent his native country Latvia in Torino. For Ziedins, the honor is the first in his young career. Team Latvia will open play on Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Team USA at 2 p.m.
Latvia will skate in Group B with Sweden, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovakia and USA. Ziedins suited up for the IceHogs during the 2003-04 season and was named the IceHogs Rookie of the Year after netting 13g-22a-35pts for Rockford.
The following is the schedule for both Nardella and Ziedins for the preliminary round. All times listed are Central Standard Time. All games can be viewed on MSNBC which is Insight Cable Channel 9 in the Rockford area. Latvia's opening game against Team USA can be viewed on the USA Network (Insight Cable Channel 29).
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Italy vs. Canada 6 a.m.
Latvia vs. USA 2 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Italy vs. Finland 5 a.m.
Latvia vs. Slovakia 11 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
Italy vs. Germany 6 a.m.
Latvia vs. Sweden 11 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19
Italy vs. Czech Republic 1 p.m.
Latvia vs. Russia 6 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Italy vs. Switzerland 5:30 a.m.
Latvia vs. Kazakhstan 4:30 a.m.
Next Home Game: Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Quad City Mallards. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Hogs and Mallards engage in a rematch at the MetroCentre. The Zooperstars will be on hand to entertain the crowd during the intermissions.
Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Missouri River Otters. The game is slated to start at 7:05 p.m. The Hogs and River Otters match-up for the final time this season at the Rockford MetroCentre in the front end of a home-and-home series. The first 1,000 fans to the game will receive a Thunder Stick from Thompson's Transmissions and Everything 95.3FM.
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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 7, 2006
- Danbury Trashers Update - Danbury Trashers
- RiverDogs week in review - Richmond RiverDogs
- Nardella set for 2006 Winter Olympic Games - Rockford IceHogs
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