U.S. blanks Canada 1-0 to win World Sledge Hockey Challenge gold
CALGARY - Taylor Chace scored the lone goal of the game to lead the United States to a 1-0 victory over Canada and win gold at the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge on Saturday.
Steve Cash made eight saves to earn the shutout as the Americans employed a stifling defensive system to keep Canada off the scoreboard at the Markin MacPhail Centre.
Canadian goalie Benoit St-Amand stopped eight of nine shots.
The U.S. went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, while Canada failed to score on two power plays.
Earlier in the day, Loyd Remi Solberg had a hat trick to help Norway capture the bronze medal with a 5-0 win over Japan.
In the gold-medal game, the two finalists battled to a scoreless first period in which the U.S. outshot Canada 3-0.
Canada's biggest highlight of the first came near the mid-way mark of the period when Kieran Block levelled Chace at centre ice with a big hit.
A short time later, the Americans had a great scoring chance during a man-advantage situation, but St-Amand maintained his position to turn aside a shot from the slot by Chace.
Dixon finally recorded Canada's first shot on goal at 4:35 of the second period, but was thwarted when Cash made a glove save.
At the other end of the ice, St-Amand made a nice chest save to turn aside a shot by U.S. forward Josh Pauls.
Chace finally broke the deadlock at 9:10 of the second when his shot from the point through traffic fooled St-Amand and found the back of the net.
Greg Westlake had a breakaway for Canada early in the third period and his shot trickled past Cash, but American forward Declan Farmer cleared the puck out of harm's way before it crossed the goal-line.
With St.-Amand on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, Canada poured on the pressure in the game's final minute but couldn't score an equalizer.
In the bronze-medal game, Magnus Bogle and Knut Andre Nordstoga also scored for Norway, while Audun Bakke tied a tournament record with four assists.
Kjell Christian Hamar made nine saves to record the shutout, while Mitsuru Nagase stopped 23 shots at the other end of the ice.
Notes: Canada struck gold at the last edition of the World Sledge Hockey Challenge in November 2011 in Calgary with a 4-1 win over the U.S. in the final. Norway won bronze with a 5-3 win over Japan. … The U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in the semifinals of the 2012 International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships in Hamar, Norway last April and then went on to win gold with a 5-1 victory over Japan in the final. … The 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships will be held in Goyang City, Korea in April.
