U.S. skates to unprecedented fifth straight Paralympic sled hockey gold, beating Canada 6-2

At long last, the United States’ drive for five has come to a fruitful end.

Four years after the U.S. sled hockey team cruised to a 5-0 victory over Canada for a fourth straight Paralympic title, marking the largest margin of victory in a Paralympic gold medal final in history, the Americans did it again, knocking off undefeated Canada, 6-2, for the crown at a third straight Paralympic tournament.

With the win, the Americans became the first hockey team — Olympic or Paralympic — to win five back-to-back titles and the first to complete a hockey golden sweep. Three weeks earlier, on the same sheet of ice in Milan, the United States robbed Canada of Olympic gold in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

They also broke the U.S. record for most goals scored in a single Paralympic tournament, totaling 46 across five games.

“This team is so special. We love each other,” U.S. defenseman Jack Wallace told NBC’s Andrea Joyce after the game. “This team grinded it out, a gritty f—ing game. It was unbelievable. I love these guys so much.”

And gritty it was. From the first whistle, both teams launched an incredibly physical campaign, ramming into each other up and down the ice. The United States controlled possession through much of the opening frame, though the Canadian defense wove a seemingly-infallible wall.

Until Wallace found a crack, that is.

Canada took two holding penalties in the first half of the period. Wallace took advantage of the second, scooping up a blocked shot that flew out to the faceoff dot on his left and rifling it through traffic into the top corner of the net for the 1-0 lead. 

It was the first of three goals for the 27-year-old, who entered the game leading all defensemen in Milan with 10 points, marking his first hat trick of the tournament. He also assisted on the United States’ fifth goal, potted by Declan Farmer in the third, and led the team in shots (7) in the gold medal game. 

For his efforts throughout the tournament, Wallace was named best defenseman for the second Paralympics in a row.

“It’s really easy to play defense when these guys are grinding below the goal line, so I feel like I got pretty lucky,” Wallace said. “It just means the world for this team.”