| The championship game is set for Saturday (Dec. 7) at 4:30 p.m. ET Paradise, N.L. – Three points apiece from Noah Grove (Frederick, Md.), Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.), Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) and Jack Wallace (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) helped the U.S. National Sled Team defeat the Czech Republic, 8-0, to advance to its ninth-straight championship appearance at the Para Hockey Cup. “We got the start we wanted today,” said David Hoff (Bottineau, N.D.), head coach of the 2019-20 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. “But we’re not done yet. We still have one game left and, whether it’s Russia or Canada, it will be a tough opponent regardless. So we’ll be sure to have a good practice tomorrow to make sure we are prepared for Saturday.”The U.S. remains undefeated 4-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) at the 2019 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup. The championship game will take place Saturday (Dec. 7) at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Paradise Double Ice Complex, and will be broadcast live on TSN.The U.S. held a commanding 6-0 lead after the first period. Grove followed up his own rebound to open the scoring 4:51 into the game. Less than a minute later, Josh Hargis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added another tally for Team USA to make it 2-0.Wallace had a hand in three goals in roughly three minutes, extending the lead to 5-0 in the first. Wallace assisted on a Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) power play goal, and less than two minutes later assisted on McKee’s first goal of the game. With less than nine minutes remaining in the first period, Wallace added a goal of his own with a stunning wrist shot from just above the face-off dot that landed top corner. With only :27 ticking down on the clock, Rico Roman (Portland, Ore.) tallied an unassisted goal to put Team USA up 6-0 heading into the first intermission. The U.S. outshot the Czech Republic 18-2 in the first period.Ralph DeQuebec (San Pedro, Calif.) nearly scored a shorthanded goal in the second period, but it was gloved down by Czech Republic’s goaltender Martin Kudela. Brody Royal (Northlake, Ill.) had his own breakaway opportunity late in the second, but his shot was knocked away by Kudela, preserving the score 6-0. Roybal found the back of the net with less than a minute to play in the second period and U.S. goaltender Jen Lee (San Francisco, Calif.) earned an assist, his first career point for Team USA, on the play. Lee passed the puck off to Roybal, who skated it the length of the ice, through three Czech defenders, and tucked the puck under Kudela’s glove. In addition to his assist, Lee made six saves and earned his second shutout of the tournament. McKee sealed the final score at 8-0 after he recorded his second goal of the day, picking up his own rebound and sending it top corner less than two minutes into the third period. Notes: Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game …The U.S. outshot the Czech Republic, 36-6, went 1-for-2 on the powerplay and finished 1-for-1 on the penalty kill … For complete statistics, click here. |
