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Today with Team USA: Pan-Pacific Championship Notebook

By USAHockey.com, 04/02/16, 8:00AM EDT

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Tournament Underway at HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, New York

SATURDAY, APRIL 2
DAY 8

Team USA takes on Canada at HARBORCENTER (capacity: 1,800) in the championship game of the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship. The two teams met on Wednesday (March 30), where Canada edged the U.S., 2-1. This is the 10th straight tournament in which the United States has reached the championship game. For game details, click here.

LAST GAME: USA 8, KOREA 0
Adam Page
(Lancaster, N.Y.) and Paul Schaus (Bu alo, N.Y.) combined for five points, including three goals and two assists, to pace Team USA to an 8-0 victory over Korea in its final preliminary round game of the tournament. Page was named the U.S. Player of the Game. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 1
DAY 7

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team faces Korea to close preliminary round action in the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship tonight at HARBORCENTER. For game-day information, click here

THURSDAY, MARCH 31
DAY 6

With the tournament having an off-day, the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team is conducting practice at noon ET. This evening, the team will visit a nearby restaurant for dinner where they will watch the NHL's Buffalo Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

LAST GAME: USA 1, CANADA 2
Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) made 14 saves and Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) scored a power play goal, but the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team fell to Canada, 2-1, in its second preliminary round game of the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship. For a complete game recap, click here.

FARMER CHASING RECORDS
With a goal last night, Declan Farmer is now one goal away from tying former national team members Taylor Lipsett (Mesquite, Texas) and Alexi Salamone (Buffalo, N.Y.) for the single-season goal scoring record with 11. He's also one goal shy of tying Lipsett and fellow Team USA member Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) for the career goal scoring record of 36.

Coach Sauer on Team USA

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30
DAY 5

Instead of an on-ice practice, the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team held an off-ice meeting today to discuss tonight's tilt against Canada. After, several players took to the ice for a light skate.

TONIGHT'S GAME
The United States takes on Canada at HARBORCENTER (capacity: 1,800) in its second preliminary round game at the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship. Tickets are $5 and available either at the door or online at harborcenter.com. The game will be streamed live at Paralympic.org/Buffalo-2016. For more gameday information, click here.

LAST GAME: USA 8, TEAM PAN-PACIFIC 0
Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) tallied four points and Bo Reichenbach (Billings, Mont.) stopped all five shots he faced as the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team blanked Team Pan-Pacific, 8-0, to open tournament play. Five different players scored in the victory and Farmer was named the U.S. Player of the Game. For a complete game recap and video, click here

TUESDAY, MARCH 29
DAY 4

TONIGHT'S GAME
The United States faces Team Pan-Pacific at HARBORCENTER (capacity: 1,800) to open preliminary round play here tonight at the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship. The game will be streamed live on Paralympic.org/Buffalo-2016. For more information on today's game, click here.

TRIO SPEAKS WITH WIVB-TV
U.S. National Sled Hockey Team head coach Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), Team USA alternate captain Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) and Buffalo native Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) each spoke with Lauren Hill from WIVB-TV this morning at HARBORCENTER to promote the start of the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship.

MONDAY, MARCH 28
DAY 3

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team held its final full practice prior to the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship here at the HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, New York. Tomorrow, Team USA will hold a 12:10-1pm pre-game skate prior to its 7pm tilt against Team Pan-Pacific. Tickets are available online at harborcenter.com and the game will be streamed live at Paralympic.org/Buffalo-2016.

TEAM USA VISITS SABRES LOCKERROOM
After practice today the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team received a tour of the Buffalo Sabres’s locker room at First Niagara Center. This is the second consecutive year a professional sports team in Buffalo has hosted Team USA after the Buffalo Bills welcomed the team to a spring practice last April.

COACH SERTICH JOINS TEAM USA
Mike Sertich (Duluth, Minn.), who coached at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (1982-2000) and Michigan Tech (2000-03), joined the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team here in Buffalo today. A longtime friend of Team USA head coach Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), Sertich will be with the team throughout the tournament providing additional support to the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team coaching staff.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27
DAY 2

After a late practice yesterday (Mar. 26) and a team dinner at a nearby restaurant, Team USA hit the ice early Easter morning for its second practice. This afternoon, several players will spend the evening with their families here in town.

LANDEROS AND CARRON ARRIVE
Due to a snow storm in Colorado, Team USA's defensive pairing Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.) and Tyler Carron (Fort Collins, Colo.) had to wait a day to safely join the team today in Buffalo, New York. 

BRENNAN RETAINS 'BAR DOWN' TITLE
In what is becoming an end-of-practice tradition, general manager Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.) bested the trio of Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.), Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) and Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) in a game of Bar Down. The winner is decided by whoever successfully hits the crossbar, left post and right post first. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 26
DAY 1

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team arrived safely in Buffalo, New York, for the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship that is set to begin Tuesday (Mar. 29). The tournament marks the first time Team USA returns to Buffalo since claiming the 2015 IPC Sled Hockey World Championship on May 3, 2015.

THE TOURNAMENT
Four teams are set to compete in the first-ever IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship: Canada, Korea, Team Pan-Pacific and the United States. Team Pan-Pacific will be comprised of players from Japan and the United States. Tournament play will include a round-robin preliminary round in which the top two teams will advance to a winner-take-all championship game on Saturday, April 2.

HARBORCENTER
The 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship is being staged at the HARBORCENTER with all games taking place at First Niagara Rink (capacity: 1,800+). The facility is home of Canisius College’s NCAA Division I ice-hockey team, the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League, and the Buffalo Junior Sabres youth hockey organization. Additionally, HARBORCENTER serves as the practice facility for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

SEEKING FIFTH STRAIGHT TITLE
A victory this week would give the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team its fifth straight international tournament title. In addition to claiming the 2016 World Sled Hockey Challenge in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, with a 3-2 overtime victory over Canada in January, the U.S. has claimed the 2015 IPC Sled Hockey World Championship in Buffalo, New York; the 2015 World Sled Hockey Challenge in Leduc, Alberta; and the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. 

SIX PURPLE HEARTS
Of the 17 members on the 2016 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, six are purple heart recipients. Four players -- Luke McDermott (Westerlo, N.Y.), Josh Misiewicz (La Grange, Ill.), Paul Schaus (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Josh Sweeney (Portland, Ore.) -- helped Team USA to an undefeated season and the 2015 IPC Sled Hockey World Championship last year while Rico Roman (Portland, Ore.) is back with the national team after helping Team USA claim gold at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Additionally, Bo Reichenbach (Billings, Mont.), who served as an alternate captain for the U.S. Developmental Sled Hockey Team last year, is in his first season with the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.

PAGE VISITS KNOXVILLE'S NEW SLED HOCKEY PROGRAM
Buffalo native and long-time U.S. National Sled Hockey Team member Adam Page (Lancaster, N.Y.) traveled down to Knoxville, Tennessee, to take part in a free sled hockey clinic with the Knoxville Amateur Hockey Association (KAHA).KAHA has been chosen as one of ten programs across the country to receive a $25,000 grant as part of Labatt USA’s “Pass It Forward” initiative to help create new sled hockey programs across the country. 

COACH PAULS
Last week, Team USA alternate captain Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) was a guest camp coach at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The camp, which helps select the 2016-17 U.S. National Under-17 Team, included 48 of the top American hockey players born in 2000. 

NOTES: The United States roster is highlighted by captain Josh Sweeney (Portland, Ore.); alternate captains Nikko Landeros (Johnstown, Colo.) and Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.); and goaltender Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.). For the complete U.S. roster, click here ... The 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship will be streamed live at Paralympic.org/Buffalo-2016. For more tournament information, click here ... Follow all U.S. games during the 2016 IPC Sled Hockey Pan-Pacific Championship via Twitter by using @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores, and join the conversation by using the hashtag #Buffalo2016 ... Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), director of sled and inline national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager of the 2016 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team ... Jeff Sauer (Madison, Wis.), former men's ice hockey head coach at the University of Wisconsin, is in his fifth season as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. Additional staff members include team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich).

Team USA Schedule

Date Opponent Result
Tue., Mar. 29 Team Pan-Pacific W, 8-0
Wed., Mar. 30 Canada L, 1-2
Fri., Apr. 1 Korea W, 8-0
Sat., Apr. 2 Canada
Championship Game
W, 4-1

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