BUFFALO, New York – The U.S. National Sled Team earned its second consecutive shut out in the preliminary round of play at 2015 International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships with a 7-0 victory over Italy this afternoon as the HARBORCENTER. In Team USA’s final contest of the preliminary round 11 different players contributed at least one point to the final score, including Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) and Chris Douglas (Saint Cloud, Fla.) each tallying three assists.
“Today’s effort was a confidence builder for us,” said Jeff Sauer, head coach of the 2015 U.S. National Sled Team. “We’re moving the puck well and scoring goals, which is a real positive as we head into the semifinals on Friday.”
In the opening period, Team USA controlled the play, outshooting Italy 14-0. With less than two minutes to play in the period, Roybal fed Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.), who was stationed right in front of the Italy net, and Farmer rifled a power-power marker top-shelf for the 1-0 lead.
The U.S. continued to control play in the second period and 2:47 into the frame, Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) fired the puck past Italy goaltender Santino Stillitano to give Team USA the 2-0 lead. Farmer collected his second goal of the night just 1:13 later for the third U.S. goal of the game and final marker of the middle period.
Team USA picked another early-period goal just :35 into the final frame when Josh Misiewicz (La Grange, Ill.) tallied his second goal of the tournament to put the U.S. up 4-0. In the final five minutes of play, Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.), Paul Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) each picked up a goal for the 7-0 final score.
The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team will face the second-place finisher in Group A on Friday (May 1) at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra and will be aired on a same-day delay at approximately 10:30 p.m. ET following the network’s NHL Stanley Cup playoff coverage. Additionally, live stats and complete game coverage can be found here.
Team USA 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships Schedule
April 26-May 3 • Buffalo, New York • HARBORCENTER
Date Opponent
Time (ET)
Sun., April 26 Russia W, 6-1
Mon., April 27 Germany W, 7-0
Wed., April 29 Italy W, 7-0
Fri., May 1 Semifinals 8:00 p.m.
Sun., May 3 Medal Round Game TBD
NOTES: Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) was named U.S. Player of the Game … The U.S. outshot Italy, 44-4 … Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) leads the U.S. in tournament points with seven (4-3) … Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) has a point in every U.S. game this season … For full game statistics, click here … For tournament information, visit 2015sledworlds.com. For live updates, follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter and join the conversation on social media by using #Buffalo2015 … Dan Brennan, director of sled and inline national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager. Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.) is serving as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team for the fourth season … Additional staff members include team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich.).
