Italian Ticket Stub

Sometimes we have long forgotten about the little things we have tucked away. A few days ago, I dug through a box of photos to find a specific picture, and I came across this ticket stub from Italy.

Back in 1999, I briefly had a roommate in college from Milan, Italy. Midway through the semester, he moved back because his mother became very sick (she got better later that year). We kept in touch for about a year, writing letters to each other. In one letter, he enclosed this ticket stub from “Hockey Club Milano 24.”

Thanks to my friend Phil — actually, his parents, who are from Italy — I now know what this ticket stub says:

HOCKEY SU GHIACCIO STAGIONE 1996-97 = ICE HOCKEY SEASON 1996-97

VILLACH = A city in Austria (the opponents)

Polazzo del Ghiaccio AGORA Via Dei Ciclomini, 23 – Milano = The address of “AGORA ICE PALACE”

RIDOTTO = Reduced (perhaps explaining the blue slash?)

From what I’ve learned, the 24 in “Hockey Club Milano” represents 1924–the year the team was founded. Interestingly, the 1996-97 season was the last year this team took to the ice. After that, the club became a roller hockey team.

But during the team’s last season on ice, several former NHL player skated for HC Milan 24…

Jay Mazur – Mazur appeared in 47 games over four seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. In 1996-97, he played in 13 games for Milan, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists.

Bryan Fogarty – The troubled defenseman’s alcoholism derailed what could have been a promising NHL career. Fogarty played 156 games in the NHL from 1989 to 1995. He had a short 7 game stint with Milan in ’96-97, netting 3 goals and 7 assists.

Mike Krushelnyski – A veteran of 897 games, Krushelnyski finished his playing career in Milan, appearing in a scant 2 games during the 1996-97 campaign, going scoreless.

John Tucker – Tucker played 656 games in the NHL, then 30 games for Milan in 1996-97. He scored 13 goals and 29 assists for 41 points that year.

Mike Zanier – Zanier played 3 games for the Edmonton Oilers in 1984-85, going 1-1-1. In 1996-97, Zanier was Milan’s starting goalie. He played in 28 of the team’s 43 games that season, posting a 3.64 GAA. Zanier did not have a card from an NHL set, so I made the custom one you see above.

Looking at that ticket stub, now 13 years old, I wonder how Milan did in that game on October 26, 1996. Were any of these guys in the lineup? I guess that really doesn’t matter now.

Odd stuff like this makes collecting a great hobby. Learning the story behind it makes collecting transcendent.

mm

Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

2 thoughts on “Italian Ticket Stub”

  1. Love that international connection – however, you should have asked for AC Milan items.

    This soccer stuff is hotter than hell.

    That said, great post of some cool hockey swag.

    cheers

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