INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. – Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) scored twice and Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) tallied three assists to lead the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team past Canada, 3-1, today at Extreme Ice Center in Indian Trail, North Carolina.
“We dealt with some adversity today but everyone stepped up and did a great job, especially in the third period,” said Guy Gosselin, acting head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. “Both teams came out to play and fortunately we came out on top.”
McKee opened the scoring for Team USA just 2:24 into the game when he finished off a passing play from Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) and Farmer. Canada’s Marc Dorion evened the score a minute later with a redirection from the left circle that found its way by Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.). The goal was Canada’s first in four meetings between the two teams and ended Cash’s shutout streak against the Canadians at just over 250 minutes of play. The U.S. regained the lead midway through the period when McKee beat Canada goaltender Corbin Watson with a wrist shot that rang off the crossbar and in.
After a scoreless second stanza, both teams traded chances early in the final frame. With five minutes remaining and Canada pressing for the equalizer, Farmer stole the puck in the defensive zone and sent Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) on a breakaway where he beat Watson glove side to give the U.S. a 3-1 lead. Cash made two point-blank saves in the final minute to secure the victory.
With a 2-0 victory yesterday (March 26), the U.S. has won the first two games of the sled series for the first time ever. The victory was also the sixth consecutive win for the U.S. against Canada.
The final game of the series will take place tomorrow (March 28) at Extreme Ice Center. Puck drop is set for 12:30 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed live at FASTHockey.com. Additionally, live coverage of the series can be found here.
2015 USA vs. Canada Sled Series
Mar. 26-28 – Indian Trail, N.C. – Extreme Ice Center
Date Time (ET) How to Follow
Thurs., March 26 W, 2-0
Live Stats
Fri., March 27 W, 3-1
Live Stats
Sat., March 28 12:30 p.m. FASTHockey.com
Live Stats
Notes: For full game statistics, click here … The US. has outscored Canada, 15-3, during its six-game win streak … Brody Roybal (4-5–9) has a point in every U.S. game this season … Declan Farmer (3-9–12) leads Team USA in points while Kevin McKee (6-3–9) leads the team in goals … Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.), assistant coach for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, is serving as the acting head coach for Team USA throughout the Sled Series. Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), currently in his fourth season as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, is missing the series to coach the U.S. Deaflympic Ice Hockey Team in the 18th Winter Deaflympics in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia … Dan Brennan, director of sled and inline national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager. Additional staff members include team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich.) … For live updates, follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter and join the conversation on social media by using #SledSeries … The 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships will take place April 26-May 3 at HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, New York. For tournament information, click here. For Team USA information, click here.
