Team USA Celebration Party – Watch Team USA arrive at the Century-Plaza to celebrate with their friends and family.
Celebration Photos (courtesy Getty Images)
Alexi Salamone shows off his gold medal.
Team USA taking a bite out of gold.
Taylor Lipsett displays the red, white and blue.
Team USA sings the National Anthem.
Final score: Team USA 2 – Japan 0
I’ll be back soon with a full recap and more from Vancouver. It’s time to celebrate!
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Four minutes to go! Follow the rest on ParalympicSport.tv! Make sure to click on the white button on the right-hand side.
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Josh Pauls’ energy has been great tonight.
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5:53 Cash makes a couple of big saves. Hearts are pumping!
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6:10 PENALTIES OVER
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7:25 Tim Jones stopped on a partial breakaway.
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8:29 PENALTY USA’s Lipsett called for interference. 4×4 action for 25 seconds.
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10:04 PENALTY Japan’s Naohiko Ishida is called for roughing.
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10:40 Joe Howard denied on a great chance!
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11:55 Breakaway by Daisuke Uehara stopped by Cash! Great action by Japan.
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12:40 A long shot by Nikko Landeros sails wide off of Nagase’s blocker.
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13:19 Japan’s keeping the puck in the U.S. end, but are being kept to the outsides with no chances.
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GAME ON! 15 minutes in regulation left.
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If you don’t love a one-goal gold-medal game, you don’t love hockey.
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Less than three minutes until the start of the third period! The tension is mounting! USA 1-0.
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END OF PERIOD 2, USA 1-0. In the final three minutes, Team USA had three near goals, including a breakaway shot by Tim Jones that hit the right post! They don’t just hand out gold medals, folks…
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3:07. I must be off for media duties. Follow on ParalympicSport.tv!
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Japan’s looking for that stretch pass again, keeping a forward in the neutral zone. Team USA is trying to keep an eye on the roamer, but also needs to capitalize when it has the puck deep in Japan’s zone.
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4:19 Icing, Japan. Team USA nearly had a 3-on-1 rush, but the pass slid a bit long.
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Japan’s captain and best player, Takayuki Endo, has logged a ton of minutes tonight.
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8:00 Near breakaway by Daisuke Uehara, who was patrolling the neutral zone for just such an opportunity.
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Good physical play in this one. Japan is playing much tougher than last Tuesday.
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11:25 HUGE flurry in front of the Japanese net leads to a near goal by Taylor Lipsett.
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12:07 Great shift here by the White Line, who is bottling Japan in its own end.
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STEVE CASH SAVE
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13:20 PENALTY SHOT for Japan!
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HERE. WE. GO!
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Both teams back on the ice! One minute to puck drop for the second period!
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For those of you who are watching on ParalympicSport.tv and are only seeing Opening Ceremonies, try clicking on the big white button on the right-hand side of the screen with the 2010 Paralympic logo. It will activate ParalympicSport.tv’s live feed.
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Shots in that period were 5-1, USA.
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Japan generated some quality chances at the end of the period, but had a hard time getting the puck through traffic to the net. Still, Team USA will need to tighten up a bit to hold on to its lead through two more periods.
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END OF PERIOD, USA 1-0.
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Great shot by Satoru Sudo goes wide. I must be off… until next period!
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3:13 PENALTY: Joe Howard called for roughing.
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3:53 Alexi Salamone denied on a partial breakaway.
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4:13 Taylor Lipsett is very nearly sprung on a breakaway, but he lost a stick through the neutral zone and could not catch up to the pass.
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5:05 A shot by Japan goes wide. Their best chances of the night have come off of offensive-zone faceoffs.
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A good cycle by Team USA, and its defense avoids the temptation to jump too far into the play.
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7:43 A turnover nearly gives Salamone his second goal of the afternoon but his shot is blocked in tight.
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8:09 PENALTY OVER
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9:15 Taylor Chace fights off two attackers and clears the puck from along the wall. Great individual effort.
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Bubba Torres is one of Team USA’s fastest skaters, and he is very aggressive on the forecheck with his team on the penalty kill.
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10:16 PENALTY USA’s Andy Yohe off for elbowing.
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DESCRIPTION: A 15-second goal mouth scramble left just about everyone looking for a loose puck. Alexi Salamone finally located the puck and slid it into an open net with Misturu Nagase out of position.
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10:50 GOAL! Alexi Salamone! USA 1-0
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12:38 PENALTY Japan’s Eiji Misawa off for interference.
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Team USA is trying to keep its shifts short and manageable.
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14:15 Good open-ice hit by Tim Jones.
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As Welcome to the Jungle blares…. HERE… WE… GO!!!
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The teams are on the ice. We’re about to watch 2+ years of hard work in 45 minutes of action.
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Four minutes until puck drop! Refs are on the ice!
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At the last game, we heard from blog viewers that the ParalympicSport.tv broadcast was only working on Firefox, not on Internet Explorer. If you have a few minutes, make sure to download Firefox to ensure a quality signal.
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After Canada lost its semifinal game against Japan, tickets for the gold-medal game hit Craigslist hard. But this building is filling up quickly, and the atmosphere is electric. Fans in Hockey Canada jerseys are waving Japanese flags and learning the NI-PON! (JA-PAN!) chant from Japanese followers. This will be a road game for the men in red, white and blue.
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Just a quick note about today’s blog coverage. As part of my duties, I will be required to facilitate intermission and postgame interviews. Therefore, I will need to leave these blogging duties with around two minutes remaining in each period. Make sure to watch the game on ParalympicSport.tv for live coverage, and keep following here for insights and updates!
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Team USA is fired up. The players are banging their sticks in unison as they wait in the tunnel to take the ice for warm-ups.
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The teams are about to take the ice for warm-ups. Team USA is wearing its blues tonight, and is the home team due to its higher seed.
In yesterday’s action, Italy claimed a seventh-place finish with a 4-0 win over Sweden, the Czech Republic claimed a fifth-place finish with a 2-1 win over South Korea and Norway won the bronze, stunning Canada by scoring with 3.5 seconds remaining to win, 2-1. Canada, a gold-medal favorite coming into this year’s Paralympic tournament, leaves empty-handed.
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It’s Gold-Medal Saturday, and the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team has reached the title game against Japan! The puck drops at 12 p.m. PDT, so check back here beginning at 11:30 a.m. PDT for live updates from the UBC Thunderbird Arena.
This afternoon’s game is also scheduled to be Webcast live at ParalympicSport.tv. Keep checking back here for insights and analysis throughout the game!
Finally, remember that the most recent updates will appear at the top of this post.
FINAL! The U.S. wins, 3-0!!!!
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2:00 Norway empty net
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DESCRIPTION: Despite being trapped in deep, defenseman Nikko Landeros located Howard cutting to the net. His pass stayed nicely on the ice, and Howard snapped a one timer past Johansen’s glove for his second of the tournament. 2:12 left until a shot at gold!
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3:01 GOAL!!! Joe Howard! USA 3-0
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3:00 THREE MINUTES TO GO!
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4:24 The U.S. conditioning is showing. They’re winning puck battles in open space now.
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Team USA’s keeping three in the neutral zone at all times to eliminate the stretch pass.
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The wave at its best!
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6:10 PENALTY OVER
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Another huge save by Steve Cash, this time on Rovelstad.
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8:16 PENALTY: USA’s Joe Howard called for a hold.
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8:31 Norway is flying. They’ve got 8:31 to try to score twice and get a chance at gold. Against the best goalie in the world.
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9:10 Norway misses on a 2-on-0 rush!
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Broadcast note: We’ve heard from viewers that the video feed is working on Firefox but NOT on Internet Explorer. FYI.
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Norway keeps trying the long, slow area stretch pass. It’s worked twice. It’s gone for icing about four or five times. But when it works… look out.
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10:30 PENALTY OVER Shot by Brad Emmerson turned aside by Johansen.
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A long pass by Andy Yohe misses Alexi Salamone and slides for icing.
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12:20 FIRST PENALTY OVER
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12:39 PENALTY: Norway’s Eskil Hagen throws the puck over the glass for delay of game.
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U.S. coaches are livid about an icing call. To say that Eskil Hagen was dogging it to let that puck reach the red line is an understatement.
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14:20 PENALTY Team Norway for delaying the game. Good call… they do it to rest up their key players who are on the ice most of the game.
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Norway takes a LONG time on line changes. And now…
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14:20 A couple of good chances for Tim Jones in the slot, but he couldn’t quite collect a bouncing puck either time.
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One period to go! And HERE WE GO!
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Three minutes to go. The crowd has been into this one despite the relatively low score. Lots of good chances. Steve Cash, who has yet to allow a goal this tournament, is showing why he’s the best in the world, too.
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SWEET CAR-O-LINE!!!
Tonight’s game has been all about capitalizing on opportunities. The “prime scoring chances” have been even. But Team USA leads, 2-0.
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END OF PERIOD TWO, USA 2-0. Shots are 8-7 in favor of Norway.
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1:00 Team USA misses on a 3-on-1 rush! Josh Pauls barely misses pulling a shot to his left side, otherwise he would have had an open net. Great game for the 17-year-old so far…
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For those wishing to watch the game, try clicking on the big white button with the Paralympics logo on it on the right hand side of ParalympicSport.tv’s main page. This humble blogger pulled up the live feed this way… not sure about computer compatibility issues…
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DESCRIPTION: Team USA cycled the puck well on the power play until Alexi Salamone escaped in the near corner. He fed Taylor Chace pinching in from the blue line. Chace’s shot hit a Norway defender, but bounced over Johansen’s glove and into the net.
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4:25 GOAL!! Taylor Chace! USA 2-0
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4:45 PENALTY: Norway’s Eskil Hagen is off for delaying the game.
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5:30 Steve Cash stops a breakaway by Norway’s Helge Bjornstad!
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DESCRIPTION: A turnover created by the persistence of Josh Pauls, Greg Shaw found himself all alone from the left dot in. He deked the goalie down and slid the puck into an open side.
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6:12 GOAL! Greg Shaw! USA 1-0
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Another key to today’s more even game has been faceoffs… a stat that the U.S. has dominated but is even tonight.
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8:23 A low shot by Taylor Chace trickles under the goalie Roger Johansen and NEARLY reaches the goal line before being covered up.
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8:52 A potential two-on-one rush by Norway is chased down from behind by Taylor Chace. Very tight game right now…
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The hockey game is now LIVE on ParalympicSport.tv. Click on the white button on the middle righthand side of the screen.
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11:40 Pederson hits the post!
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12:00 Shot by Pederson from the slot sent just wide!
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13:00 PENALTY OVER
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13:30 Good penalty killing so far…
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Salamone still has 1:50 on an elbowing penalty. HERE WE GO!
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One minute until puck drop! Team USA will need to come with more if they’re going to generate the scoring chances they created in their first three games.
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We’re trying to find out why there is a replay of a curling match being aired instead of the live sled hockey game promised by ParalympicSport.tv’s schedule. Stay tuned here for more updates.
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END OF PERIOD 1, No score. Shots were 5-3 in favor of Norway.
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0:10 PENALTY Alexi Salamone off for elbowing.
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Norway is clogging up the neutral zone, preventing U.S. rushes that were so successful in its first three games.
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1:42 Taylor Chace hits the post!
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Cash has been tested thus far, with five saves already.
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3:20 Near breakaway for Bjornstad, but the long bank pass slides too far.
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5:25 Nikko Landeros has hit Pederson in the pads a couple of times with dump attempts. A dangerous proposition since it often leads to breakaways the other way.
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5:53 Good shifts there by Team USA. You knew after Norway’s 5-0 loss to Canada that it would come out flying in this one.
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6:50 Josh Pauls nearly dekes around the goalie, but slides the puck too far!
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The Blue Line with some good puck possession now… Page with a shot that whistles wide.
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9:30 PENALTY OVER Another shot on goal by Norway.
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Pederson’s playing very well, and has intercepted a couple of U.S. passes.
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11:38 PENALTY: Norway’s Loyd Remi Johansen off for holding.
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12:55 Steve Cash makes a big save on Helge Bjornstad from the right circle.
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Both teams a little tentative… several missed passes in the first minute.
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HERE… WE… GO!
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Remember to watch the game live at ParalympicSport.tv… but stay tuned here for behind-the-scenes insights! Leave comments to support Team USA!
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Five minutes to go…
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Norway has scored a total of FOUR goals in four games: two by Rovelstad and two by Royne. Don’t wake a sleeping giant…
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12 minutes to puck drop! There’s a huge band of Norway fans in one corner of the stands. They’re all draped in the OTHER red, white and blue.
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Norway is a team that lives and dies by the success of three players: captain Tommy Rovelstad, Kjel Vidar Royne and Rolf Pederson. Pederson is arguably the best player in the world, though he is slowing down with age. If the U.S. can contain those three players, it should be playing for the gold.
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The players are on the ice for warm-ups! Team USA donning its whites for tonight. Puck drop in 35 minutes!
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The coaching staff and team veterans have done a good job at keeping Team USA’s eyes on tonight’s game despite Japan’s huge upset of Canada earlier this afternoon. Fortunately, this humble blogger can spend this brief time to appropriately focus on that upset in the context of its importance not for the U.S., but for the game of sled hockey.
A victory by either team in tonight’s semifinal later tonight would surprise no one. But Japan’s win this afternoon was “Miracle”-esque. And that is not an understatement. A team that had never finished higher than fifth in the Paralympics just knocked off gold-medal favorites. Japan beat Canada for the first time in 12 tries since accurate record keeping in the sport was employed in 2004. And it did so “on the road,” in Canada’s own building.
A quote by Japan’s head coach, Kojin Nakakita, following today’s win: “I knew if we played Canada 1,000 times we were going to lose 999 times. But not this one.”
Sound familiar? A certain famous U.S. head coach used a very similar line when addressing his boys prior to a certain Olympic hockey game in 1980. After Japan’s victory, goalie Mitsuru Nagase had tears in his eyes. Japan’s players whooped, hollered, and then bowed to honor the crowd.
CTV, who will be airing the gold-medal game live on Saturday, cannot be happy with the result. But this storybook win will go down in sled hockey history as one of the greatest games played by the feisty, never-say-die Japanese.
Ok… back to the game at hand. USA vs. Norway for the right to play for gold… in 90 minutes!
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A quick note: Japan has just pulled a stunning upset over Canada, 3-1, in the first semifinal. It was Japan’s first win over Canada since records were consistently kept beginning in 2004 (1-11-0). The winner of tonight’s game between Team USA and Norway will face Japan in the gold-medal game.
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Welcome to the live game blog for the Paralympic semifinal match-up between the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team and Norway. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. PDT, so stop by beginning at 6:30 p.m. for updates and incites into this important game. You can also catch all the action beginning at 7 p.m. at ParalympicSport.tv.
Remember, the most recent updates will appear at the top of this post.
Following the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team’s impressive 6-0 victory over Japan on Tuesday, the coaches gave the players Wednesday off to spend in Vancouver with their families. Team USA will skate tomorrow at 10 a.m. in preparation for its semifinal tilt with Norway at 7 p.m.
The Paralympic Winter Games are filled with inspirational stories of athletes overcoming odds and persevering in extraordinary conditions. The U.S. sled team athletes are no different. We’ve already highlighted Nikko Landeros, whose optimistic outlook and happy-go-lucky personality despite having been hit by a car while changing a tire as a high-schooler made those who know him nearly as excited as the many himself when he scored his first career goal Tuesday.
Take Tim Jones, whose single mother adopted him along with two other disabled children and raised them outside of Philadelphia with very little money. Or Taylor Chace, who once played able-bodied hockey in the EJHL before suffering a spinal cord injury in a game in Ontario.
Captain Andy Yohe is expecting a baby daughter in June with his wife, Katie. In a tragic coincidence, he is one of two members of Team USA, along with veteran Joe Howard, to have had his legs amputated after being hit by a train. And teenagers Bubba Torres, Adam Page and Josh Pauls are all finishing high school homework in between games while competing here in Vancouver.
Every member of Team USA has his own unique story that merits respect and admiration. But the slippery slope from admiration to pity should be avoided. These athletes are the top of their field – the best in the world of Paralympic sport. There are the gentlemen and the troublemakers. There are those who like to talk and those who stay silent. There are some who will be disappointed with silver and others who are happy to be here. These are the same athletes who participated in the Olympic Winter Games just weeks ago.
These athletes, on the whole, didn’t come to Vancouver to promote causes. Any ancillary benefit for foundations or organizations is just that. For the athletes here in Vancouver, the Paralympic Winter Games aren’t a chance to show the world that the physically disabled can compete. They’re a chance to bring glory to country and to self.
We admire these athletes for what they’ve accomplished against all odds. And rightly so. But the participants only really ask for the same recognition that is given to the great male and female athletes who compete in able-bodied Olympic events every four years. These Games are about showcasing the greatest Paralympic athletes in the world. And those watching and cheering have the privilege of saying that they’ve seen the best athletes in the world give their all for their country.