MILAN (AP) 鈥� Three weeks after the United States beat Canada in , the Americans overcame their neighbors again to win Paralympic gold and at .
In front of a packed arena, Jack Wallace scored a hat trick to help the U.S. beat Canada 6-2 in Sunday鈥檚 final and become the first nation to win all three of the hockey tournaments at the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year. There is currently as it is classified as an open-gender sport.
Kayden Beasley, Declan Farmer 鈥� the tournament鈥檚 MVP 鈥� and Brody Roybal scored the other goals for the U.S. Liam Hickey bagged both goals for Canada, which pushed its rivals hard before conceding three in the final period.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad we got it done because I think there鈥檚 a little bit more pressure with the men and women getting the golds too,鈥� U.S. captain Josh Pauls said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 happy we could do it for USA hockey and I think it really just shows like how much they 鈥� invest in the grassroots programs because we have so many young players coming up and playing pivotal roles on our teams.鈥�
One of those he鈥檚 seen progress at close hand is Wallace.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 get much better than that,鈥� Wallace said with a broad smile when asked about his hat trick.
The 27-year-old Wallace, who grew up loving hockey, had his right leg amputated above the knee after a water-skiing accident at age 10 and thought his dreams of playing the sport at the highest level were over before discovering Para ice hockey.
鈥淚 think watching Jack Wallace go from the player he was when he first started, from a kid who just wanted to be back on the ice after losing his leg and now to watch him score a hat trick, it鈥檚 just so awesome to be a part of people鈥檚 lives and to watch them succeed and put in the work,鈥� Pauls said.
鈥淚 was on the ice for the first time when he was on his sled and so to watch those guys blossom is just the ultimate honor and to be their teammate is the best thing that鈥檚 ever happened to me,鈥� Pauls said.
While the Olympics saw the U.S. men鈥檚 team win gold for the first time since the in 1980, it鈥檚 a very different story at the Paralympics.
It was a fifth straight title for the U.S. and Pauls 鈥� Wallace now has three and several of his teammates have four.
鈥淚 mean it鈥檚 kind of crazy, I can鈥檛 believe it,鈥� Pauls said with a laugh. 鈥淚 mean I don鈥檛 think you ever start out wanting to win five consecutive and to be the most decorated player in the sport and so I think this team is just so special.鈥�
The U.S. has won . It was a third straight loss in the final for Canada, which won its only para ice hockey gold on Italian ice, in Turin in 2006.
Earlier, China claimed a second successive bronze medal as it fought back from conceding two goals in the opening three minutes to beat Czech Republic 3-2.
Sunday鈥檚 final set a new record attendance for the sport at a major tournament as 10,795 fans filled the near-capacity stands.
in the opening match of the tournament with the preliminary round game between the U.S. and host nation Italy drawing 8,992 spectators.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could have imagined this,鈥� Pauls said. “I mean it鈥檚 just so cool. I know this building was packed for the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Olympic finals and to be packed for us, I think, shows the parity of sled hockey compared to stand up ice hockey.
鈥淎nd I think we had some really passionate fans. I didn鈥檛 realize so much of Italy was Canadian! And there was definitely some chants, but I鈥檓 glad we could kind of silence them a little bit … it was such a great atmosphere to play in.鈥�
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