Alum Makes Italian Women’s Ice Hockey History at Olympics

Sacred Heart graduate helps Italy earn historic wins and reach the quarterfinals at the 2026 Winter Games

Key Highlights

• Amie Varano ’17 competed for Italy in women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, helping the host nation reach the quarterfinals for the first time in program history
• Italy earned its first Olympic women’s hockey win with a 4-1 victory over France and followed with a 3-2 win over Japan, defying expectations as a tournament underdog
• A sport management graduate, Varano credits Sacred Heart and head coach Thomas O’Malley for inspiring her to pursue professional hockey in Europe—a path that ultimately led to the Olympics
• Varano secured Italian citizenship through her family and spent several seasons playing professionally across Europe while training for a national team roster spot
• Now back in Massachusetts, she is preparing for the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April, continuing her international career with Team Italy

When Amie Varano ’17 stepped onto the Olympic ice in Milan in February, she gave herself one instruction before the puck dropped: “Look around for like a minute, and then you gotta lock in.”

Varano, a Sacred Heart University alum and former Pioneer on the women’s ice hockey team, competed for Italy in women’s ice hockey at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, helping the host nation deliver a historic performance that resulted in the first Olympic women’s hockey win in Italian history and a trip to the quarterfinals.

Italy opened the tournament February 5 with a 4-1 win over France and followed with a 3-2 victory against Japan. The wins defied expectations, Varano said, after many outside the program predicted Italy would struggle against more established teams.
 
“A lot of people didn’t believe that we would even win one game at the Olympics,” Varano said. “We really, really wanted to put the work in to show, like, yeah, we’re going to shock the hockey world.”

From Fairfield to Europe to the Olympics

Varano graduated from Sacred Heart in 2017 with a degree in sport management. After college, she knew she was not ready to give up the sport she had competed in at SHU.

“I played at Sacred Heart, and when I graduated, I decided I didn’t want to stop playing ice hockey,” she said.

That decision took her to Budapest, Hungary, where she played professionally for two years. Around the same time, she and her family began the process of securing Italian citizenship through her father’s side.

“We always talked about getting my Italian citizenship with my dad,” she said. “His side of the family is 100% Italian, so we finally applied for it.”

Varano received her Italian passport on Christmas Eve 2018. The following year, when it was announced the 2026 Winter Olympics would be held in Milan, she began to see what might be possible.

“The stars aligned,” she said.

To become eligible for Italy’s national team, Varano played a season in Italy before continuing her professional career in Austria and later Sweden, where she sought a higher level of competition while training toward an Olympic roster spot.

Along the way, she competed in multiple International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Championship tournaments, playing in Poland, South Korea, Latvia and Scotland.

“Who would have figured ice hockey would take me around the world?” she said.

“Right down to the wire”

Italy’s Olympic preparation intensified about two years ago with the arrival of new coaches, Varano said. The team centralized training in Montreal, Canada, in late November, bringing players together daily through mid-January for practices and evaluation games.

“That was down to the last few cuts,” she said. “We were in Montreal from the end of November to the middle of January.”

Players were evaluated not only on whether they would make the roster, but also on where they would fit in the lineup. Many did not receive confirmation until just weeks before the Games.

“It was right down to the wire,” she said.

When she got the call that she had made the team, she immediately phoned her parents. “I just remember calling my parents and saying, ‘I did it, I’m going to Milan,’” she said.

Taking in the moment

During warmups before Italy’s first game, Varano skated a few laps and searched the crowd. Against the noise and the sea of fans, she found her parents.

“I saw my dad and mom both get teary-eyed,” she said. “You take in the emotion for a second, but then warmups started, and it was time to turn my attention back to the game.”

Italy defeated France 4-1 in its opening game, then topped Japan 3-2 to advance to the quarterfinals, both firsts for the program on Olympic ice.

“We made history by getting the first win in Team Italy history and qualifying for the quarterfinals,” she said. “It’s great to be the underdog. I love proving people wrong.”

One of the most emotional moments, she said, came during the opening ceremony, when Italy entered last as the host nation.

“You walk out and you hear the crowd screaming ‘Italia! Italia!’” she said. “That’s when it really hit me that I’m an Olympian.”

A Sacred Heart foundation

Varano credits her experience at Sacred Heart and her former coach Thomas O’Malley for helping shape her path.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would choose SHU. A million times over,” she said. “Coach O’Malley made it a second family. He pushed us every single day and held us to such high standards.”

She said O’Malley was the first person to suggest she consider playing professionally in Europe.

“He’s the one who put that seed in my head,” she said.

O’Malley, head coach of Sacred Heart’s women’s ice hockey team, said he was overwhelmed with pride when Varano called with the news that she had made the Olympic roster.

“The night that Amie called me to tell me that she was named to the Italian Olympic Team was a phone call I will never forget,” O’Malley said. “The first thing I said after hello was, ‘Are you calling me with the news I’ve been waiting to hear?’ And she said, ‘Yes, Coach.’ I was so happy for her.”

O’Malley said Varano’s achievement reflects years of discipline and determination. “Amie has worked so hard in everything she has done, here at Sacred Heart University and throughout her professional and Olympic career,” he said. “She is a true testament to believing in and achieving your goals and dreams. She has represented herself, her family and Sacred Heart University and our women’s hockey team on the world stage.”

He added that her success embodies a long-standing message within the program. 
“There is a quote that Amie came up with, and it has hung in the women’s hockey locker room since Amie graduated in 2017: ‘High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectations,’” O’Malley said. “Amie Varano has lived that every single day.”

What’s next

Varano is back home in Massachusetts training for the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April in Budapest.

Regarding any post-Olympic downtime, she said, “Nope, none of that for me. That’s the hockey lifestyle.”

As for what comes after that, she is taking it one season at a time.

“I’m kind of a year-by-year kind of person,” she said. “We’ll see what happens next year.”