Canada's sledge hockey team ends season with silver at Pan-Pacifics
Winning streak comes to a halt in championship game
Canada's national sledge hockey team's winning streak came to a halt in the gold medal game of the inaugural IPC Pan-Pacific Championship when the team suffered a 4-1 loss to the United States at Harbor Center, in Buffalo on Saturday, resigning themselves to silver.
Canada was undefeated in preliminary-round action, topping Korea by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday, beating the U.S. 2-1 on Wednesday, and winning 3-0 against Team Pan-Pacific on Friday.
The U.S. scored three goals in just over six minutes in the second period on their way to gold, potting an empty-netter for their fourth and final goal.
Forward Tyler McGregor of Forest, Ont., was the only player to score for Canada.
Kingsville, Ontario's Corbin Watson made 12 saves for his team, and was also named the top goaltender of the tournament.
"We would have hoped for a better result, but I believe that our team gave it their all. The United States played a better game tonight, and they deserve the win," said Ken Babey, head coach of Canada's National Sledge Team.
"In general, I am happy of the level of competition I've seen over the last year. We will take a step back with our staff to analyze the season as we look to improve for next year."
In the bronze-medal game, Korea topped Team Pan-Pacific 3-2.