Five-point game for Tyler McGregor at 2025 International Para Hockey Cup

OSTRAVA, Czechia – Tyler McGregor notched the hat trick and added two assists on Friday morning as Canada defeated Italy 9-1 and assured its spot in the championship final at the 2025 International Para Hockey Cup.

The Canadians conclude the preliminary round with three wins and one loss. They opened with a 2-1 loss in overtime to reigning Paralympic and world champions USA, then defeated Czechia 6-1 and China 4-2.

Auren Halbert added two goals and two assists for the Canadians on Friday while Greg Westlake, his first goal since coming back to the team, James Dunn, Dominic Cozzolino and Micah Kovacevich completed the scoring.

“I thought this was a great bounce-back game after our performance against China,’’ said McGregor, Canada’s leading scorer with seven goals and four assists.  ‘’We struggled to find the net early, but just kept playing within the structure and things started going in.”

Westlake was at his first tournament since the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games where Canada won silver. He was an assistant coach for the past couple of seasons then decided in August to return as a player.

“I reinforced good habits,’’ Westlake said.  ‘’It’s a pretty simple formula – when we execute the coaches’ plan and trust each other, good things can happen.”

Canada faces the U.S. or China in the gold medal game on Sunday at 12 pm (ET). The game will be streamed live on the Czech Para Hockey YouTube channel.

The U.S. (3-0) face China (2-1) later Friday to conclude the preliminary round.