The United States Olympic Committee announced today that world champions Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.), Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team were each named as 2014-15 finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year. USA Hockey leads all National Governing Bodies with three finalists.

Browse these tabs for more content about each nominee.

The Team USA Awards recognizes the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes year-round. Athletes and teams considered for the Best of the Year were finalists for Best of the Month honors, dating back to the fall of the previous year and coinciding with the sport calendar. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through Friday, Nov. 20.

A finalist for the Male Paralympic Athlete of the Year, Farmer scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game against Canada at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Sled Hockey World Championship in Buffalo, New York. He led the U.S. with six goals, tying the record for most goals scored by a U.S. player in a single world championship. He also set the Team USA record for most assists (6) and points (9) in a World Sled Hockey Challenge. Overall, he skated in 13 games for Team USA and finished as the team-leader in goals (10) and points (10-11-21).

Matthews, a finalist for the Male Olympic Athlete of the Year, led the U.S. to the gold medal and earned the Directorate Award as the tournament's best forward at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men's World Championship in Lucerne and Zug, Switzerland. Matthews led the tournament in points (15), tied for the event-high in goals (8), finished tied for second in plus/minus (+11) and tied for fourth in assists (7). He also rewrote the USA Hockey National Team Development Program record book, notching 55 goals and 117 points to surpass Patrick Kane's single-season goals (52) and points (102) records. His 62 assists rank second on the single-season list. Additionally, Matthews was named USA Hockey's Bob Johnson Award recipient after completing his NTDP career with 79 goals and 88 assists for 167 points in 104 games.

A finalist for Paralympic Team of the Year, the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team went undefeated (12-1-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) and ended the season as world champions on home ice. After defeating Russia, 2-1, in overtime to win the 2015 World Sled Hockey Challenge in Leduc, Alberta, the U.S. outscored its opponents 29-1 while going a perfect 5-0 to claim the gold medal at the 2015 IPC Sled Hockey World Championship. The U.S. finished both tournaments as leaders in goals per game, goals against per game, power play percentage and shutouts. In 13 games, Team USA scored 59 goals, allowed just six goals and set 12 team records to finish the season undefeated for the second time in team history.

Online fan voting at TeamUSA.org/Awards accounts for 50 percent of the final tally, while members of the Olympic and Paralympic family – including a panel of Olympic and Paralympic journalists – account for the other 50 percent.

The six award winners will be announced during the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year, to be held Dec. 10 at the University of Pennsylvania's Houston Hall in Philadelphia. The awards show will be televised on NBCSN on Dec. 27 from 3-4 p.m. ET.

The year-end celebration will also recognize the Building Dreams Award, presented by USG, which honors an individual, group or community that has gone above and beyond in its support of Team USA.

NOTES: Farmer was a finalist for the Best of February honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow while Matthews earnest Best of April honors and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team received Best of May honors ... Athletes and teams considered for the Best of the Year were finalists for Best of the Month honors, dating back to the fall of the previous year and coinciding with the sport calendar. A USOC nominating committee then selected the top-five finalists in the individual categories and top three in the team categories to advance to the voting round.