Canada dominates in opening 17-0 win in Para ice hockey

Canada’s Para ice hockey team pened the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games with a 17-0 win over Sweden in Gangneung, South Korea, on Saturday night. With the 17 goals, Canada has now scored 991 since Hockey Canada took over the Para ice hockey program in 2004.

The offense was sparked by Tyler McGregor’s (Forest, Ont.) four goals, including the first of the game which was his 100^th career point. Bryan Sholomicki (Winnipeg) added a hat trick while 12 different skaters registered at least one point in the win.

Rob Armstrong (Erin, Ont.), Dominic Cozzolino (Mississauga, Ont.), Liam Hickey (St. John’s, N.L.) and Corbyn Smith all scored in their Paralympic Winter Games debut. Billy Bridges (Summerside, P.E.I.), Ben Delaney (Ottawa), Adam Dixon (Midland, Ont.) and captain Greg Westlake (Toronto) added Canada’s other goals. Dixon led the way with five assists in the game, while Corbin Watson (Kingsville, Ont.) and Dominic Larocque (Quebec City) shared netminding duties.

Full game stats and story can be found HERE. Next game:

March 11 – Preliminary Round vs. Italy (7 p.m. local/6 a.m. ET)

“A game like tonight, you like to see everyone chip in and be involved offensively. It was a balanced team effort and I like the way the guys were unselfish, with almost every goal having two assists with it. The scoring went across the lines, the defense even chipped in a bit. It’s important to stay with our routines, stay as a team and share the puck. ”

– Ken Babey, head coach, on his team’s effort

“Felt great to get out there on the ice as we’ve been training a lot, so it’s nice to get out there and put the game plan in place. It’s always a great feeling to help contribute to your success and your team’s success so it felt amazing.”

– Sholomicki on his Paralympic Winter Games debut