MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Special teams proved to be the difference on Sunday night as the United States scored two short-handed goals en route to a 6-1 victory over Canada in the World Para Hockey Championship gold-medal game.
Declan Farmer scored twice, while Josh Misiewicz, David Eustace, Jack Wallace and Kevin McKee (empty-netter) notched singles for the U.S., which led 2-0 after the first period and took a 4-0 lead into the third. It was the sixth world title for the U.S. crew, and third in a row.
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Tyler McGregor scored a third-period goal for Canada.
Canada, which went 0-for-6 on the power play, was outshot 23-9. The U.S. went 0-for-3 on the power-play.
“I thought we pushed through the adversity tonight and this game really reflected how we battled through adversity all season,” said David Hoff, the head coach of the U.S. national team. “I’m so proud of the group. Tonight really came down to us getting quality opportunities and capitalizing on them.”
Canada’s road to the final included wins over Korea and Czechia in the preliminary round, and 5-0 win in the semifinals against Czechia. Canada dropped a 3-0 decision to the U.S. in the preliminary round.
The U.S. had preliminary round wins over Czechia, Korea and Canada, then beat China 10-2 in the semifinals.
Czechia beat China 3-2 earlier Sunday to claim the bronze medal.
ICE CHIPS: David Eustace was named the U.S. player of the game, while Declan Farmer was named both tournament MVP and best forward of the tournament ? The U.S. finished the 2023 season with an unbeaten 16-2-0-0 record.
