CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made 20 saves and four different U.S. players scored as the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team edged Canada, 5-2, to finish preliminary round play undefeated at the 2017 World Sled Hockey Challenge here at MacLaughlin Arena.
“We had a strong start but really had to dig deep there in the third period to get a hard-earned win,” said Guy Gosselin, head coach of the 2017-18 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. “Our players learned a lot tonight and know there’s still room for improvement. Three wins is nice, but now we have to turn our attention to tomorrow’s semifinal against Italy if we want to play for the championship on Saturday.”
Team USA (3-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will meet Italy in the semifinals tomorrow with the winner earning a spot in the championship game on Saturday (Dec. 9). Puck drop is set for 12 p.m. local time/11 a.m. ET and will be streamed live on HockeyTV.com. For more tournament information, click here.
For the complete game recap, click here.
2017 World Sled Hockey Challenge • Team USA Schedule
Dec. 3-9 – Charlottetown, P.E.I – MacLaughlan Arena
Date Opponent Time (ET) U.S. Player of the Game
Sun., Dec. 3 Korea W, 8-0 Jack Wallace
Mon., Dec. 4 Italy W, 10-0 Noah Grove
Wed., Dec. 6 Canada W, 5-2 Steve Cash
Thurs., Dec. 7 Italy
Semifinal 12:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 9 Third-Place Game 12:00 p.m.
Championship Game 4:00 p.m.
Notes: Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game … The U.S. was outshot, 14-22 … For the complete box score, click here … Deloitte, Labatt USA and Toyota are proud sponsors of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team … Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), director of sled national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager of the 2017-18 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team … Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.), a two-time U.S. Olympian (1988, 1992) and USA Hockey’s regional manager of the American Development Model, is in his first season as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. Joining Gosselin behind the bench is assistant coach David Hoff (Bottineau, N.D.) while additional U.S. staff members include team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich.) … For the complete U.S. roster, click here … The 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team is expected to be announced on Jan. 1, 2018.
