CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.), Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) and Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) combined for 16 points as the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team defeated Norway, 8-0, here today in its second preliminary-round game of the 2016 (Dec.) World Sled Hockey Challenge at MacLauchlan Arena.
“I thought we had really great intensity from the moment the game started,” said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. “It was a great performance to build on as we head into the off day and begin to prepare for Canada.”
Farmer opened the scoring for the U.S. on a breakaway at 5:02 of the first period when he collected a pass from Roybal in the neutral zone and split two defensemen before beating Norway’s netminder Deng Kissinger glove side. Just 30 seconds later, McKee netted a rebound from a shot by Roybal to double the U.S. lead.
Team USA extended its advantage to 3-0 with 3:59 left in the first stanza when Farmer one-timed a pass from Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) on a two-on-one rush. Less than a minute after Farmer’s second goal of the game, Rico Roman (Portland, Ore.) tallied a rebound during a net-front scramble to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead entering the first intermission.
McKee gave the U.S. a 5-0 lead with 6:08 left in the middle frame, collecting a cross-crease pass from Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.) and putting the puck into a wide-open net.
Roybal scored twice in the first four minutes of the third period and Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) tallied with 9:29 remaining to make the final 8-0.
Bo Reichenbach (Billings, Mont.), who made his first start of the tournament, made three saves to account for Team USA’s second-consecutive shutout to open competition.
The United States closes preliminary-round action Wednesday (Dec.7) against host Canada. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. ET and can be seen live on HockeyTV.com.
2016 (Dec.) World Sled Hockey Challenge • Team USA Schedule
Dec. 4-10 – Charlottetown, P.E.I. – MacLauchlan Arena
Date Opponent Time (AT)/Result
U.S. Player of the Game
Sun., Dec. 4 Korea W, 4-0 Nikko Landeros
Mon., Dec. 5 Norway W, 8-0 Kevin McKee
Wed., Dec. 7 Canada 7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 8 Semifinal 12:00 p.m.
Semifinal 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 10 Third-Place Game 12:00 p.m.
Championship Game 4:00 p.m.
NOTES: Kevin McKee was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA outshot Norway, 27-3, finished 0-for-1 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill … For complete game stats, click here … Team USA’s forward line of Declan Farmer (2-4), Brody Roybal (2-3) and Kevin McKee (2-3) combined for 16 points in the game … Farmer and Page are now tied for first all-time with 40 career goals scored for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team … Follow all U.S. games during the World Sled Hockey Challenge via Twitter by using @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores, and join the conversation by using the hashtag #WSHC.
