U.S. National Sled Team Blog

Game Recap

Game Photos

Jimmy Connelly Postgame Interview

Nikko Landeros Postgame Interview

Tournament Schedule/Results

**NOTE** With Japan’s 5-0 victory over South Korea, the U.S. has officially punched its ticket to the semifinals. Tuesday’s game against Japan will determine seeding.

That’s the game! 3-0 USA! Thanks for reading!

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1:55 PENALTY: USA’s Lipsett for interference.

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2:27 Taylor Chace with another hard shot from in close. He had four shots on goal coming into this period, and should finish with six or seven… possibly more than the Czech Republic as a whole.

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Shouts of USA and GO CZECH GO starting now as the final three minutes tick down…

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4:30 PENALTY OVER. Salamone misses a one-timer from the slot high. Another rush started by Taylor Chace, who’s had a heckuva game.

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5:55 Bubba Torres is in his old sled… no word on what happened to his newer one.

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6:42 PENALTY: USA’s Alexi Salamone is issued an elbowing penalty.

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8:20 Team USA has two great chances, one for Lipsett and one for Shaw.

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9:34 Josh Pauls gets a good whack at a rebound off of a Taylor Chace shot. Pauls is looking for his first career Paralympic goal.

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9:42 A good three-on-two rush for Team USA, but a centering pass intended for Brad Emmerson is intercepted by Vapenka.

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DESCRIPTION: Offensive zone puck possession led to a loose puck coming to the stick of Andy Yohe. Team USA’s captain slid a pass from the high slot to Connelly at the left dot, where the defenseman’s low one-timer beat Vapenka.

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11:16 GOAL!!! Jimmy Connelly! USA 3-0

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11:55 Taylor Chace denied again, this time on a breakaway.

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14:01 PENALTY: USA’s Andy Yohe off for delaying the game.

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Game on!

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We’ve got five minutes until Period 3!

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END OF PERIOD 2, USA 2-0. Shots are 15-4, USA.

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0:10 Taylor Chace rings one off the pipe. He’s had four quality chances tonight.

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DESCRIPTION: An end-to-end rush, Salamone used his speed to wheel around three Czech defenders, cut in on the right side and fire a shot high over Vapenka’s glove.

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2:38 Big glove save by Steve Cash.

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2:59 GOAL!! Alexi Salamone! USA 2-0

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5:30 Steve Cash denies a breakaway chance with a last second poke check. Meanwhile, Vapenka makes a point-blank stop at his own door stop. Things are opening up, and the crowd is loving it.

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6:15 Taylor Chace can’t bury a wide open wraparound chance. Backhand shots in sled hockey are extremely difficult, as balance is so important.

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7:02 A quick whistle robs Jimmy Connelly of an open-net rebound chance.

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8:19 PENALTY: The Czech Republic’s Berger is off for interference. This one’s getting a bit sloppy.

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8:45 PENALTIES OVER

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9:30 Brad Emmerson has a great chance from the left dot, but Vapenka makes a glove save.

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Here comes the wave!

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10:46 PENALTY: Team USA’s Chace is going off for goaltender interference.

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11:41 PENALTY: The Czech’s Jiri Berger is off for roughing.

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Team USA is using its speed advantage to play the dump-and-chase game.

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Whenever Tim Jones calls for the puck, he makes a distinctive “WHOOP!” noise.

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14:31 PENALTY OVER… and icing by the Czech Republic.

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Here we go!

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Joe Howard’s wife was just interviewed on the big screen here at UBC. For those of you who don’t read my game notes (for shame!!), Joe proposed to his wife eight years ago after Team USA’s Paralympic Winter Games win over Estonia… at center ice! Now there’s style!

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Team USA will need to kill off another 23 seconds of Czech power-play time once we get started once again. Both the players and coaching staff talked about limiting penalties following the team’s win yesterday, and while Howard might have a case regarding his infraction, the too-many-men penalties need to be eliminated.

As has been noted in an early feature on this blog, the iced benches here at UBC’s Thunderbird Arena are unique. Players are used to having to slow down coming on and off the ice and were therefore more cautious about changes in the past. The iced benches has certainly sped up the game, but it has also allowed for over-eagerness.

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END OF PERIOD 1, USA 1-0. Shots were 7-2, USA.

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Team USA’s penalty killing coverage has been great. The best chances have come on the rush, and have come from just inside the blue line.

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1:38 PENALTY: Team USA whistled for its third too-many-men penalty of the tournament.

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Team USA is just too fast for the Czechs. Potential breakaways at one blue line are turned into crushing hits at the other.

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2:50 Penalty over, and Vapenka turns aside Adam Page on a breakaway. Page couldn’t get elevation, and is being consoled by linemate Tim Jones.

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3:38 Nikko Landeros absolutely BURIES Jiri Berger in open ice. The Czech bench wants an elbow.

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4:56 PENALTY: USA’s Joe Howard will go off for interference. He checked a Czech opponent as both were rushing for a loose puck in the neutral zone.

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5:34 Steve Cash makes his second save of the night (I can’t remember the first…) on a low shot by Zdenek Habl.

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DESCRIPTION: Off a faceoff win, Alexi Salamone dropped the puck back to the blue line and Taylor Chace. Chace’s long shot was blocked by Vapenka, but Lipsett calmly collected the puck in the slot and roofed it for his third of the tournament. Power-play goal. Lipsett from Chace and Salamone.

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7:07 GOAL! Taylor Lipsett! USA 1-0

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7:14 Huge saves by Vapenka on jam efforts by Alexi Salamone and Taylor Chace.

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8:32 PENALTY: Czech Republic’s Zdenek Klima is off for teeing.

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9:02 Back-to-back offsides calls on the U.S.

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This is the same Czech team that held the U.S. to one goal just two months ago and beat Norway at the Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships.

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10:39 Shot on goal off of an offensive zone faceoff win by Greg Shaw. Taylor Lipsett fired the puck into the mitt of Vapenka, who is well known for his glove hand.

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10:43 Shot on goal by Tim Jones. The U.S. has been a bit tentative, but once again is playing solid defense and keeping play in front.

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For those of you who have not seen the game, Sled Hockey strategy frequently mirrors that of soccer. “Area passing” is important, and drop passes frequently allow for forward rushes.

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Most teams are employing what I’m calling a “Two-Door System” for line changes. One door (near the defensive end) is for defensemen only, and the other is for forwards. As hopping over the boards isn’t an option, this method makes a lot of sense.

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Nikko Landeros blasts a shot high from the left circle. Nearly had his first career tally!

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Team USA’s “Red Line” of Joe Howard, Bubba Torres and Alexi Salamone saw conspicuously low ice time in Game 1. It will be interesting to see if coach Ray Maluta is saving that line, which will be responsible for much of the team’s offense in future games.

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GAME ON!!! (Game on!)

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Czech goalie Michal Vapenka is sporting a haircut in which a goalie mask is shaved into the back of his head. Sa-weet.

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Players taking the ice!

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Boston Bruins legend Rick Middleton is providing PA commentary between periods for the fans here at UBC Thunderbird Arena.

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Seven minutes to puck drop! On the advice of one of our avid readers, I will try to put clock times on in-game posts. But none of this international timing stuff… the clock will be counting down from 15.

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One of tonight’s linesmen’s names is Kai Gunnar Thoeger-Andresen. Leaving aside its length, how cool would it be to say, “Gunnar is my MIDDLE name.” … Anyone?

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This building is already filling up with 20 minutes remaining until puck drop. Team USA’s 5 p.m. draws have been perfect for the weekend games, as families are showing up in droves despite the fact that Canada is not playing. Last night’s game, near capacity, welcomed nearly 5,500 fans.

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In earlier action today, heavily favored Norway once again toyed with fate in a 2-1 squeaker over Italy. Canada disposed of Sweden, 10-1, setting up a showdown between it and Norway for the top seed in Group B Tuesday night.

After our game this afternoon, Japan and South Korea will square off in a meeting that will carry significance for the U.S. no matter the outcome of Team USA’s upcoming game. A South Korea victory leaves open the door for a three-way tie in Group A, which would be settled by goal differential in the three teams’ meetings with one another. The U.S. was actually a victim of this very same tie-breaking scenario at the Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships last January, but emerged from its third-place seeding to win the title.

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35 minutes to puck drop! Team USA is looking sharp in its whites this afternoon as the players take the ice for pregame warm-ups.

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Welcome to the game blog for the USA vs. Czech Republic Paralympic Winter Games preliminary-round match-up on Sunday, March 14. Puck drop is slated for 5 p.m. PDT, so check back here 30 minutes before game time for updates!

Once again, remember that the most recent posts will be located at the top, so scroll down as the game goes on to review past plays and notes.