USA Hockey

Team USa Game NoTeS
2011 World Sledge Hockey Challenge • London, Ont.
Team USA (0-0-0-0) vs. Canada (0-0-0-0)
April 18, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. • Preliminary-Round Game #1
• TONIGHT’S CONTEST -- The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team
and Canada will meet tonight for the sixth time this season, with
Canada holding a 2-2-1-0 advantage in four exhibition outings and
one meeting at the International Paralympic Committee-sanctioned
2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge Hockey Championships last month in
Nagano, Japan. Team USA’s lone win came via a shootout on Oct.
15, 2010, in an exhibition game in Toronto. Tonight, the U.S. will look
to take its first step towards defending its World Sledge Hockey
Challenge crown, which it captured last season in November 2009 in
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Contact:
Alex Clark
Manager, Communications
USA Hockey
alexc@usahockey.org
Cell: (847) 302-1116
Twitter.com/USAH_AlexClark
Team USA Schedule
• 2009 WORLD SLEDGE HOCKEY CHALLENGE -- Last season,
the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team won its first-ever World Sledge
Hockey Challenge when it topped then two-time defending champion
Canada, 3-2, in overtime of the title game. Current U.S. captain
Taylor Chace scored a shorthanded goal just over six minutes into
the extra frame to help Team USA avenge its earlier 4-0 preliminaryround loss to its neighbors to the north.
•
Monday, April 18 -- London, Ont.
USA vs. Canada
7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19 -- London, Ont.
USA vs. Japan
12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20 -- London, Ont.
USA vs. Norway
12:30 p.m.
Friday, April 22 -- London, Ont.
Semifinal Games
12:30/7 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 -- London, Ont.
3rd Place/Championship Games 11 a.m./2 p.m.
TOURNAMENT PROGRESS --
Games Today
• RETURNING TO FULL STRENGTH -- This week’s tournament
Norway vs. Japan
12:30 p.m.
marks the first time during the 2010-11 season that the entire U.S.
USA vs. Canada
7 p.m.
National Sled Hockey Team will compete together. 2010 U.S.
Paralympic Sled Hockey Team gold-medal winners Taylor Chace,
Preliminary Round Standings
Jimmy Connelly, Tim Jones, Taylor Lipsett, and Adam Page
have all missed action due to injury or personal reasons. Chace will
Team
W OTW OTL
L
GF GA
join the club for its final two games on Friday and Saturday.
United States 0
0
0
0
0
0
Canada
0
0
0
0
0
0
Games Missed
Reason
Player
Japan
0
0
0
0
0
0
Taylor Chace
3
Finishing College (UNH)
Norway
0
0
0
0
0
0
Jimmy Connelly
8
Illness in the Family
Tim Jones
Taylor Lipsett
Adam Page
4
5
3
Injury
Work
Personal Reasons
• NEW FACES -- Following the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team’s
gold-medal victory in March 2010 in Vancouver, B.C., the U.S.
National Sled Hockey Team got a new look for the 2010-11 season.
The retirement of players like Brad Emmerson, Jimmy Howard and
Andy Yohe opened the door for fresh faces. Among the rookies on
the U.S. roster are 2009-10 U.S. National Developmental Sled
Hockey Team members Tyler Carron, Dan McCoy, Dan McDevitt
and Kevin McKee. Also joining Team USA was forward Rico
Roman, an Iraq war veteran who was introduced to sled hockey at
the Brooke Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio, Texas; and goalie
Justin Kreger, who was called up to the U.S. national roster midway
through the season from the 2010-11 developmental squad.
• FOREVER YOUNG -- At the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in
Vancouver, B.C., the gold medal-winning Team USA was the
youngest squad at the tournament with an average age of just under
24, nearly seven years younger than next youngest team (Canada,
30.8). This year, the U.S. roster has gotten even younger with the
addition of several young guns such as Dan McCoy (17) and Dan
McDevitt (20) and the departure of seasoned veterans like Mike
Blabac, Joe Howard and Andy Yohe. Team USA’s average age at
this year’s World Sledge Hockey Challenge is just over 21-years-old.
Team USA Results at
the World Sledge Hockey Challenge
Year
2007
2008
2009
City
Kelowna, B.C.
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Finish
Third
Third
First
• PLAYERS TO WATCH -- Keep an eye on these key
contributors for Team USA:
Steve Cash, G -- Arguably the top sled hockey goalie
in the world. Did not allow a single goal in five games
at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Alexi Salamone, F -- Team USA’s leading point-getter
in each of the last two seasons. Leads the 2010-11
squad with seven assists and nine points in eight
games.
Jimmy Connelly, D -- Solid defensive defenseman.
Returning to the U.S. blue line for the first time this season after taking time away to care for his sick mother.
Team USA Game Notes vs. CAN • Mon., April 18, 2011 • 2011 World Sledge Hockey Challenge • Page Two
• SEASON RESULTS -- Below is a list of Team USA’s
games during the course of the 2010-11 season.
EXHIBITION SERIES VS. CANADA
Oct. 14-16 - Toronto, Ont.
Canada 2, USA 1 (SO)
Canada 1, USA 0 (SO)
USA 2, Canada 1 (SO)
EXHIBITION SERIES VS. CANADA/JAPAN
Nov. 10-13 - Rochester, N.Y.
Canada 2, USA 0
USA 10, Japan 1
JAPAN PARA ICE SLEDGE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 11-14 - Nagano, Japan
Canada 2, USA 1
USA 6, Japan 0
• SPEED RACERS -- Last year, the members of the U.S.
Paralympic Sled Hockey Team were outfitted for brand new
sled buckets designed by the Extreme Ice Center in Indian
Trail, N.C. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano
became involved in the project when his father, Tom - a partner at the Extreme Ice Center - tipped him off. The former
NASCAR Rookie of the Year driver used his status as a member of the Coca-Cola Family of Drivers to help fund the project. In January 2011, the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team
visited Indian Trail, N.C., for a training camp and had the
opportunity to meet and thank Logano in person. To cap
things off, Logano and the Extreme Ice Center created custom sleds for each of the new Team USA members as well.
Norway 3, USA 2 (OT)
• SEASON STATS -- Below is a breakdown of Team USA
players’ 2010-11 season stats.
Name
Pos.
Salamone, Alexi
F
Shaw, Greg
F
Landeros, Nikko
D
Lipsett, Taylor
F
McCoy, Dan
F
McDevitt, Dan
F
McKee, Kevin
F
Carron, Tyler
D
Chace, Taylor
D
Pauls, Josh
D
Roman, Rico
F
Beck, Raymond*
F
Page, Adam
F
Genovese, Bryan* F
Jones, Tim
F/D
Connelly, Jimmy
D
TOTALS
Name
Cash, Steve
Lee, Jen Yung*
Kreger, Justin
TOTALS
GP
8
8
8
3
8
8
8
8
5
8
8
7
5
4
4
0
8
G
2
3
2
2
2
2
4
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
21
GP MIN GA
8 398:30 11
1 40:00
1
1 15:00
0
8 453:30 12
A
7
4
2
2
2
2
0
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
27
PTS
9
7
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
48
GAA
1.24
1.13
0.00
1.19
SVS
112
5
1
118
PIM
6
2
2
0
0
0
2
0
6
2
0
0
2
0
2
0
24
PPG
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
SHG
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
SV% SO
REC
0.911 0 1-1-3-2
0.833 0 1-0-0-0
1.000 0 0-0-0-0
.908
0 2-1-3-2
*Not a current member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team
• JAPAN PARA CHAMPIONSHIPS -- Following a pair of
exhibition series against Canada and Japan earlier in the
season, Team USA took part in its first IPC-sanctioned
event of the year last month at the 2011 Japan Para Ice
Sledge Hockey Championships in Nagano, Japan. Team
USA finished third with a 1-0-1-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record,
which included one-goal losses to Canada (2-1) and Norway
(3-2, OT) and a 6-0 victory over Japan. The event, which
Norway eventually won by virtue of its 2-1-0-0 overall
record, marked the first IPC-sanctioned tournament not captured by Team USA in five outings.
• ADDED TIME -- In Team USA’s exhibition games against
Canada and Japan last fall, the teams used a 60-minute
clock with 20-minute periods rather than the IPC standard
45-minute clock (15-minute periods). The three teams,
which finished first (USA), second (Japan) and fourth
(Canada) at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, have
advocated for longer periods as well as expanded 20-man
rosters instead of the IPC standard of 15 to match the ablebodied game. This week’s tournament will follow those
extended guidelines as a test for future IPC events.
NASCAR star Joey Logano receives a jersey from Team USA
• NATIONAL CHAMPIONS -- Earlier this month, the
National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., played host to the
seventh annual USA Hockey National Disabled Festival and
the first-ever USA Hockey Adult Sled Hockey National
Championships. Champions were crowned at both the Tier
I and Tier II levels, and U.S. National Sled Hockey Team
members, past and present, played an integral role on
teams in both divisions. Below is a list of the Team USA
players who participated in the National Championships:
Division
Tier I
Tier II
Team
Team USA Players
Buffalo Sabres (Champs) . . . . . . . .Adam Page
Alexi Salamone
Northeast Passage . . . . . . . . . . . .Taylor Chace
Pennsylvania Center-Pedes . . . . . . .Tim Jones
Dan McDevitt
San Antonio Rampage . . . . . . . . . .Rico Roman
Colorado Avalanche (Champs) . . Taylor Carron
Nikko Landeros
Pittsburgh Penguins . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan McCoy
RIC Blackhawks . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Justin Kreger
Kevin McKee
Team USA’s Adam Page and Alexi Salamone and the Buffalo Sabres won the Tier I National Championship
Team USA Game Notes vs. CAN • Mon., April 18, 2011 • 2011 World Sledge Hockey Challenge • Page Three
• U.S. NATIONAL SLED HOCKEY TEAM BREAKDOWN:
Record when (W-OTW-OTL-L) -Team USA scored first: 2-1-1-0
Opponent scored first: 0-0-2-2
Team USA led after first: 2-1-1-0
Opponent led after first: 0-0-0-1
Tied after first: 0-0-2-1
Team USA led after second: 2-1-0-0
Opponent led after second: 0-0-1-2
Tied after second: 0-0-2-0
Team USA scored two goals or fewer: 0-1-3-2
Team USA scored three goals: 0-0-0-0
Team USA scored four goals or more: 2-0-0-0
Opponent scored two goals or fewer: 2-1-2-2
Opponent scored three goals: 0-0-1-0
Opponent scored four goals or more: 0-0-0-0
One-goal games: 0-1-3-1
Two-goal games: 0-0-0-1
Games decided by three or more: 2-0-0-0
Outshot opponent: 2-0-0-0
Opponent outshot Team USA: 0-1-2-2
Shots Even: 0-0-1-0
Team USA had fewer than 10 shots: 0-0-1-2
Team USA had 10-14 shots: 0-0-0-0
Team USA had 15-19 shots: 0-1-2-0
Team USA had 20 shots or more: 2-0-0-0
Opponent had fewer than 10 shots: 2-0-0-0
Opponent had 10-14 shots: 0-0-1-1
Opponent had 15-19 shots: 0-0-1-0
Opponent had 20 shots or more: 0-1-1-1
Team USA scored a PPG: 1-0-1-1
Team USA did not score a PPG: 1-1-2-1
Opponent scored a PPG: 0-0-0-0
Opponent did not score a PPG: 2-1-3-2
SEASON STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS
• FAST BREAKS -- Scoring first will be a key for Team
USA. The U.S. has yet to win a game (0-0-2-2) when its
opponent finds the back of the net first, and it has an 0-0-22 record when trailing or tied after just one frame.
• LATE LEADS THE KEY -- In Team USA’s eight games
during the 2010-11 season, it has posted a 2-1-0-0 record
when leading after two periods and a 0-0-3-2 record when
trailing or tied heading into the final frame.
• SHOOTING GALLERY -- Team USA’s offense has struggled at times this season, as the U.S. has only out-shot its
opponents twice all year - each time against Japan.
• DEFENSE FIRST -- Despite Team USA’s modest record
this season, its defense has been stellar. The U.S. has
allowed more than two goals only once all season - a 3-2
overtime loss to Norway at the 2011 Japan Para Ice Sledge
Hockey Championships.
• SHUT OFF THE POWER -- Team USA’s penalty killing
has been superb thus far this season. The U.S. has yet to
allow a power-play goal in eight games.
GET TO KNOW TEAM USA
• THE HEAD COACH -- Team USA head coach Ray Maluta
is in his third season behind the bench of the U.S. National
Sled Hockey Team. Last year, he helped guide the U.S.
Paralympic Sled Hockey Team to its second Paralympic
Winter Games gold medal in Vancouver, B.C. He also directed Team USA to its first-ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World
Championship gold medal in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in
2009. Maluta’s additional USA Hockey experience includes
serving as the team leader of the U.S. Men’s Under-18
Select Team at the 2007 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka
Tournament in Piestany and Breclav, Czech Republic. He
also serves as the general manager of The Sports Centre at
Monroe Communicty College in Rochester, N.Y. The 1974
NHL seventh-round draftee spent some time with the
Boston Bruins and played five years (1975-80) in the AHL
with the Rochester Americans before finishing his professional career in Europe with HC Salzburg in 1981. Maluta
resides in Rochester, N.Y., with his wife, Sandy.
• TYLER CARRON -- A fitness buff, Carron took part in the
Warrior Classic bodybuilding competition in August 2010
despite using prosthetic legs following a car accident (see:
Nikko Landeros).
• STEVE CASH -- Cash, who also plays inline hockey and
was a member of the University of Missouri St. Louis’ inline
hockey team from 2007-09, earned acclaim for his performance at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, where he did not
surrender a single goal in five games. Cash received an
ESPY Award from ESPN as the 2010 Best Male Athlete with
a Disability.
• TAYLOR CHACE -- Chace suffered a spinal cord injury
while playing hockey with the Eastern Junior Hockey
League’s New Hampshire Junior Monarchs at the age of 16.
He still skates on his legs while coaching, but can no longer
play the able-bodied version of the sport.
• TIM JONES -- One of three adopted children, all of whom
are disabled, Jones lives outside of Philadelphia with his
mother, a nurse. Along with helping his mother take care of
his siblings, Jones serves as a security guard at a hospital.
• NIKKO LANDEROS -- Had both of his legs amputated
when he was struck by a car along with his high school
friend and Team USA teammate Tyler Carron while the two
were changing a tire.
• JOSH PAULS -- Nicknamed “Spuds” for his round, shaved
head and odd superstition, Pauls sets a Mr. Potato Head toy
in his stall and points it towards his opponent’s locker room as
part of his pregame routine at every tournament.
• ALEXI SALAMONE -- Born in Briansk, Ukraine, 14
months after the now infamous nuclear reactor meltdown in
Chernobyl, Salamone was born with deformed legs and,
consequently, had both of them amputated at the Children’s
Institute of Prosthetics in Moscow at the age of 4. He was
subsequently adopted and brought to the United States by
the Salamone family at the age of 6.
125 (57)
190 (86)
5-5 (165)
5-11 (180)
6-0 (183)
6-1 (185)
5-3 (160)
5-9 (175)
5-5 (165)
5-7 (170)
5-5 (165)
5-4 (163)
6-1 (185)
4-7 (140)
5-4 (162)
5-9 (175)
5-5 (165)
3-0 (91)
DEFENSEMEN (5)
11 Tyler Carron
19 Taylor Chace
4 Jimmy Connelly
15 Nikko Landeros
9 Josh Pauls
FORWARDS (9)
3 Tim Jones
7 Taylor Lipsett
14 Daniel McCoy
5 Danny McDevitt
25 Kevin McKee
20 Adam Page
23 Rico Roman
21 Alexi Salamone
8 Greg Shaw
3/22/11
President: Ron DeGregorio, Salem, N.H.
Executive Director: Dave Ogrean, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Chairman of the Board: Walter L. Bush, Jr., Edina, Minn.
Vice President, International Council Chair: Tony Rossi, Chicago, Ill.
Assistant Executive Director/Hockey Ops: Jim Johannson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Senior Director, Communications: Dave Fischer, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Pennsylvania Center-Pedes
Minnesota Northern
Pittsburgh Penguins Sled Hockey
Pennsylvania Center-Pedes
RIC Blackhawks
Buffalo Sabres Sled Hockey
San Antonio Rampage
Buffalo Sabres Sled Hockey
NAC Golden Eagles Sled Hockey
Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey
Northeast Passage/UNH Wildcats
Pennsylvania Center-Pedes
Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey
New York Rangers Sled Hockey
DASA Blues Sled Hockey
RIC Blackhawks
Club Team
USA Hockey, Inc.
Mt. Ephraim, N.J.
Richardson, Texas
Cheswick, Pa.
Abington, Pa.
Davenport, Iowa
Lancaster, N.Y.
Portland, Ore.
Grand Island, N.Y.
Park City, Utah
Berthoud, Colo.
Hampton Falls, N.H.
Galloway, N.J.
Berthoud, Colo.
South Plainfield, N.J.
Overland, Mo.
Waterford, Wis.
Hometown
General Manager: Dan Brennan, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Head Coach: Ray Maluta, Rochester, N.Y.
Assistant Coach: Bill Corbo, Jr., Merrimack, N.H.
Athletic Trainer: Brian Brewster, Houghton, Mich.
Equipment Manager/Athletic Trainer: Mike Cortese, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Communications: Alex Clark, Colorado Springs, Colo.
12/16/87
1/20/87
1/24/94
5/24/90
2/11/90
3/10/92
2/4/81
6/17/87
2/28/90
5/11/89
5/9/86
10/27/89
4/28/89
12/31/92
5/9/89
6/26/80
Birthdate
Team Staff
148 (67)
150 (68)
135 (61)
163 (74)
130 (59)
135 (61)
180 (82)
135 (61)
80 (36)
150 (68)
195 (88)
150 (68)
190 (86)
135 (61)
Wt (kg)
Ht (cm)
No. Name
GOALTENDERS (2)
34 Steve Cash
27 Justin Kreger
2010-11 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team