CALGARY, Alta. – Canada and the United States will face off in the gold medal game at the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge, with the puck dropping Saturday at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET inside the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.

Watch the game live on TSN/RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters, or stop by Hockey Canada’s home arena to see all the action on the ice in person for just $12, plus applicable fees. Stop by the box office, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/tickets or CLICK HERE to get your tickets now.

This is the third time in the last four World Sledge Hockey Challenges that Canada and the U.S. have met for gold, with the Canadians winning 4-1 last November in Calgary and the Americans scoring a 3-2 overtime victory at the 2009 event in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Canada’s National Sledge Team is looking for its fifth gold medal at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, also having won in April 2011 in London, Ont., 2008 in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and 2007 in Kelowna, B.C., in addition to claiming the 2009 silver medal. The Americans have won three bronze medals at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, to go along with their 2009 gold and last year’s silver.

In Thursday’s early semifinal, Daniel McCoy scored twice, while Josh Pauls and Kevin McKee had the other goals, to help the United States advance to the gold medal game with a 4-1 win over Norway.

In Thursday’s late semifinal, captain Greg Westlake (Oakville, Ont.) scored twice and added three assists, while Benoit St-Amand (St-Hubert, Que.) earned the shutout to lead Canada to a 10-0 win over Japan and a place in the gold medal game. Dominic Larocque (Quebec City, Que.) and Brad Bowden (Orton, Ont.) had two goals each, while Billy Bridges (Summerside, P.E.I.), Adam Dixon (Midland, Ont.), Kevin Rempel (Vineland, Ont.) and Tyler McGregor (Forest, Ont.) added singles for the Canadians. Dixon’s goal was his 100th career point, while McGregor’s was his first with the national team.

Canada finished first in the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record, including wins over Japan (11-0), Norway (4-1) and the U.S. (2-1). The Americans came second in preliminary action, with victories over Norway (3-1) and Japan (8-0), along with their loss to Canada.

Norway and Japan will meet for the bronze medal on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT/2 p.m. ET. The bronze medal game can be seen live via webcast through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com. Fans can watch all the action for free by following three steps:

STEP 1: Visit hockeycanada.fasthockey.com and sign up for a free FASTHockey account.

STEP 2: Like the World Sledge Hockey Challenge on Facebook at www.facebook.com/worldsledge.

STEP 3: Just prior to the game, click the HC on FASTHockey link on the World Sledge Hockey Challenge Facebook fan page to watch.

The gold medal game of the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge will be aired on TSN/RDS, official broadcasters of Hockey Canada. Please check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

Single-game tickets are now available, with admission to the six preliminary round games and both semifinals available for just $10, while bronze and gold medal game tickets are only $12 a piece. Full-tournament ticket packages, including access to all 10 games, are available for just $40 each. Prices do not include applicable fees.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Kristen Lipscombe, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of communications, can be reached at [email protected] or (403) 826-48 World Sledge Hockey Challenge media information and event interview requests. Keegan Goodrich, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of media relations, can be reached at kgoodrich@hockeycanadaca or (403) 519-7554 for any interview requests with players and staff of Canada’s National Sledge Team.

For more information on the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wshc, and follow all the action from Calgary via social media at www.facebook.com/worldsledge or www.twitter.com/hc_wshc.