The Italian Ice Sports Federation and the international ice hockey family mourns the death of Michele Bolognini, a wonderful person, unforgettable friend and exemplary professional.

Bolognini passed away on 19th February at age 46 following a two-year fight with cancer. He served as head of the press office of the Italian ice hockey national teams and deputy editor of the press office of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano.

Michele inherited his infinite passion for ice sports and in particular for hockey from his father Giancarlo - president of the Italian Ice Sport Federation from 1997 to 2014 and who passed away in 2019. It was a love that he cultivated since he was a child and that accompanied him throughout his life and his entire professional career. 

Michele is well-known to Italian ice hockey fans as the voice of HC Bolzano, providing commentary on Video Bolzano 33 for many years. He developed into one of the most famous ice hockey journalists at the national level, distinguishing himself for clarity, seriousness, competence and authority.

Below is a statement from the Italian Ice Sports Federation released after his passing:

Michele left us this morning at the age of 46 in a clinic in Munich where he had been hospitalized for a few days in fight against cancer that had haunted him for almost two years. Our first thoughts and the deepest condolences go to his family, his wife Daniela, his children Nico and Simon, his mother Vanna and his sister Laura.

Since September 2019 Michele was in charge of the press office of the Italian national ice hockey teams giving his all for this task, raising the level of communication thanks to his many ideas, his great charisma and unparalleled competence.

Kind, courteous and available every day, he has been a fundamental part of a work team for which he is spent to the last, driven by a moving passion and participation. Even in the hardest and most complex phases of his illness, he kept us participating and being present by accompanying the Italian national team to the 2021 World Cup and also last autumn, in the Pre-Olympic Tournament of Torre Pellice, which he had covered with tireless energy and dedication two months from a delicate operation and two weeks after the last radiotherapy cycle. 

Today we are losing an exceptional man who has made an enormous contribution to the knowledge and dissemination of our sports and who has made all those who have been close to him better. We will always be grateful to you Michele and we will miss you very, very much.

May your tenacity, your courage and your humanity always accompany us and support us in this moment of tremendous pain.

Thanks for everything Michele, you will always be one of us.