A hat trick from Jack Wallace (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and four points from Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) led the U.S. National Sled Team to defeat the Czech Republic 8-0 in Game 2 of the preliminary round of the 2019 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup.
"The goals didn't come right away for us, but you saw everything click in that second period," said David Hoff (Bottineau, N.D.), head coach of the 2019-20 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. "It was nice to see everyone feed off each other's momentum and we need to keep that energy going into our next game against Canada."
The U.S. (2-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will close out the preliminary round of the 2019 Para Hockey Cup against Canada on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 5:30 p.m. ET at the Paradise Double Ice Complex in Paradise, Newfoundland. The game will be streamed live here.
Team USA started off strong on offense, outshooting the Czech Republic 7-0 in first three minutes of the game and 13-2 in the first period. Back-to-back scoring chances from Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) and Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) nearly gave the U.S. an early lead, but the score remained tied 0-0 for the majority of the first period.
The U.S. got on the board with just over two minutes left to go in the first period after Pauls intercepted a puck at the red line, barreled into the zone and beat the Czech Republic’s goaltender on the left side.
Wallace extended Team USA’s lead to 2-0 early in the second period after he found the back of the net 1:06 into the second frame.
The U.S. scored three goals in :30 to secure a 5-0 lead with over 10 minutes left on the clock in the second period. Pauls kickstarted Team USA’s scoring spree with a powerplay goal 3:48 into the second period then Brody Royal (Northlake, Ill.) added another tally for the U.S. merely 10 seconds later.
Just :13 after the U.S. had doubled its lead, defenseman David Eustace (Stoneham, Mass.) scored his first career goal for Team USA.
Wallace added two more goals in the second period to complete the hat trick. His first came 1:13 after Team USA’s three-goal scoring spurt followed by another less than five minutes later. The U.S. took a 7-0 lead going into the second intermission as well as a 27-2 advantage on shots.
With less than 10 minutes to play in the game, McKee tacked on another goal to give the U.S. an 8-0 lead. U.S. goaltender Jen Lee (San Francisco, Calif.) backed Team USA to its second shutout of the season, recording five saves.
NOTES: Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ...The U.S. outshot the Czech Republic, 36-5, went 1-for-3 on the powerplay and finished 2-for-2 on the penalty kill ... For complete statistics, click here.
Team USA Schedule
| Date | Opponent | TIME (LOCAL/ET)/Result | LOCATION | Broadcast/Stream | U.S. Player of the Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Dec. 1 | Russia Preliminary |
W, 3-0 | Paradise Double Ice Complex Paradise, Newfoundland | Livestream | Brody Roybal |
| Mon., Dec. 2 | Czech Republic Preliminary |
W, 8-0 | Paradise Double Ice Complex Paradise, Newfoundland | Livestream | Josh Pauls |
| Wed., Dec. 4 | Canada Preliminary |
W, 4-1 | Paradise Double Ice Complex Paradise, Newfoundland | Livestream | Rico Roman |
| Thurs., Dec. 5 | Czech Republic Semifinals |
W, 8-0 | Paradise Double Ice Complex Paradise, Newfoundland | Livestream | Kevin McKee |
| Sat., Dec. 7 | Canada Championship |
W, 2-1 | Paradise Double Ice Complex Paradise, Newfoundland | TSN | Declan Farmer |
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