MILAN — The spirit of the Winter Games has taken over Milan, but Wednesday felt different with the start of men's ice hockey.
Hockey fans are truly a different breed - they get decked out in jerseys, flags, and face paint, traveling in big groups and creating excitement and anticipation for the games.
WATCH BELOW: Panthers fans span the globe as ice hockey begins in Milan
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Panthers in Milan
WPTV anchors Mike Trim and Meghan McRoberts are reporting from Milan during the games, where the high-fashion city took on a different look as Finland faced Slovakia in their opening hockey match. For Finland, high hopes turned into early disappointment, with Slovakia pulling the upset 4-1.
Floirda Panthers fans now span the globe, with Panthers players stacking rosters at the Winter Games. Finnish fans are relying on a strong Panthers performance more than any other country, with three players and a coach on Team Finland.
"I'm from where Santa Claus lives," one Finnish fan told McRoberts.
When asked about the Panthers being on their team, another fan said, "Panthers are a very good team."
Hours before Finland faced Slovakia, the mood was confident. From the Piazza del Duomo, fans made bold predictions.
"We're going to win 4-1," one supporter said.
"They're nice people, but we're going to beat them, though. It just happens. Simple as that. We like them, but we're going to beat them," another fan declared.
Confidence lined the way to the hockey arena, with another projection of "Of course, Finland wins, but maybe 4-3."
Sadly, that wasn't the case for these diehard hockey fans.
They would have loved to see Aleksander Barkov on the team, but he was pulled from the roster after tearing his ACL in September.
"Yes, very sad. Best player. I know," one fan told us when they heard that Barkov was hurt.
What we did confirm is that the Panthers' success at home is certainly being felt in Finland.
"In the NHL, we do cheer for all the Finnish players," one supporter said.
"We're very excited when Finnish players get the Stanley Cup," another added.
Even with the prospect of the first game being a loss, fans say that's not shaking any country pride.
"All the way? Yes, gold medal? Yeah. This is just the start? Yeah," they said.
Panthers players for Team Finland weren't the only Panthers on the ice. Gustav Forsling scored a goal for Team Sweden in their 5-2 victory over Italy.
The first day of hockey is complete, and Thursday will bring the first taste of Panthers playing against other Panthers when Team USA (Matthew Tkachuk) takes on Team Latvia (Uvis Balinskis and Sandis Vilmanis).
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