Paralympics 2018: Team USA wins 3rd straight sled hockey gold medal

After dominating the sled hockey tournament in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, Canada and the United States met in a thrilling championship game late Saturday night (Sunday morning in South Korea). Team USA prevailed 2-1 in overtime in the final thanks to two late goals by Declan Farmer to capture its third consecutive Paralympic sled hockey gold medal.

Entering the final game Canada outscored its opponents 42-0 in four games in these Paralympics, with the U.S. not far behind at 38-1. The two evenly matched squads naturally needed more than regulation to solve their gold medal battle.

Trailing by a goal in the final minute, Farmer scored the equalizing goal for the United States, sending the game into overtime at 1-1.

Then in overtime Farmer hit the back of the net again to set off another celebration for the United States.

Tournament preview

The United States is looking for a third straight gold medal in sled hockey at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and looking for their fourth Olympic title in the last five games.

Team USA has won eight of its last nine major international tournaments, and won gold at the 2014 Games in Sochi and 2010 in Vancouver. Team captain Josh Pauls and alternate captains Nikko Landeros and Steve Cash were all part of the last two gold medal-winning squads.

Tournament format

Eight countries are split up into two groups of four, with two teams advancing to the semifinals from each group after a preliminary round featuring three games for each team.

Group A: Canada, Italy, Norway, Sweden
Group B: United States, Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea

All games will be played at the Gangneung Hockey Centre.

Other contenders

Canada beat the United States in the World Para Ice Hockey championships in 2013 and 2017, and won the silver medal in 2015. Host South Korea took the bronze in 2017 and will be a tough out for the U.S. in Group B.

Schedule and results

NBCSN will televise a group of games, and all games will be streamed by NBC Sports.

Preliminary round

The United States and Canada were dominant in the preliminary round, with each country not giving up a single goal in three games. Canada breezed through Group A, outscoring their opponents, 35-0, along the way. Team USA was similarly dominant in Group B, dispatching their foes by a combined 28-0.

Italy (in Group A) and host South Korea (Group B) each won two games to also advance to the medal round.

March 9: Italy 3, Norway 2
March 10: South Korea 4, Japan 1
March 10: Canada 17, Sweden 0
March 10: United States 10, Japan 0
March 11: South Korea 3, Czech Republic 2
March 11: Canada 10, Italy 0
March 11: United States 10, Czech Republic 0
March 12: Canada 8, Norway 0
March 12: Italy 2, Sweden 0
March 13: United States 8, South Korea 0
March 13: Norway 3, Sweden 1
March 13: Czech Republic 3, Japan 0

Classification round

March 14: 5th-8th place Game 1, Czech Republic 4, Sweden 3
March 14: 5th-8th place Game 2, Norway 6, Japan 1
March 16: 7th-8th place game, Sweden 5, Japan 1
March 16: 5th-6th place game, Norway 5, Czech Republic 2

Medal round

Semifinals
March 14: Canada 7, South Korea 0
March 15: United States 10, Italy, 1

March 16: Bronze medal game, South Korea 1, Italy 0

March 17: Gold medal game, United States 2, Canada 1 (OT)