Ice hockey-Tutino full of pride after Italy's first win

MILAN, Feb 6 : Italy's women's ice hockey team won for the first time ever at the Winter Olympics with a victory over France, and Canadian-born Kayla Tutino could not be prouder of her teammates and her Italian heritage.

Following Tutino's equaliser one minute after France took the lead in the opening period, Italy never looked back in a 4-1 win in Group B on Thursday, and the 33-year-old was all smiles after Friday's practice session.

"It's an honour to wear this jersey," Tutino told Reuters, as she proudly insisted on speaking in Italian.

"For Italy, and especially for the women's programme, what we did yesterday — winning our first game in Olympic history — was truly an honour to share with my teammates.

"My parents are Italian, my grandparents are Italian. I learned the language with my grandparents, they only spoke Italian, so I had to learn it to talk with them."  

There may be little time to celebrate, with the players back training for their match with Sweden, who beat Germany 4-1 in their opener, on Saturday.

Yet the Italian team made sure to savour the win.

"In moments like this, you have to enjoy them," Tutino said.

"We did, and today is a new day. We had practice, everything went well, tomorrow is another game. We're focused. We turn the page."

Italy's women have not played at the Olympics since 2006, when they also qualified as hosts, and while they intend to make the most of these rare moments, they are also serious about their performances on the rink.

"We came here to enjoy it a little and we're honoured to be here, but we also want to represent Italy," she said.

"We want to play, we want to win, and we want to be honest with the effort we give."

Italy came into the Games as rank outsiders, and many may believe that