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March 1, 2009
NR.021
VANCOUVER, BC – Canada has claimed gold in dramatic fashion at the Hockey Canada Cup sledge tournament at
UBC Thunderbird Arena.
Adam Dixon (Midland, ON) scored the lone goal in the shootout to give Canada a 2-1 victory over the United
States in the gold medal game. Dixon was Canada’s fifth shooter and made a great move to beat U.S. goaltender
Steve Cash. Paul Rosen (Thornhill, ON), Canada’s goaltender, stopped all five U.S. shooters to earn the win
in net.
Graeme Murray (Gravenhurst, ON) opened the scoring for Canada at the 7:06 mark of the first period, when
he wired a shot top corner past Cash. The U.S. tied the game at 1-1 when Jimmy Connelly scored at 6:56 of the
third. The teams played through a 15-minute scoreless overtime period, setting the stage for the Dixon’s
game-winner in the shootout.
The gold medal final was played before a crowd of 1,812, the largest crowd to ever watch a sledge hockey
final, and was also televised live on TSN2. The main TSN network will show the game on tape delay later
tonight at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT.
Earlier in the day, Japan defeated Germany 3-2 in a shootout to win the bronze medal. Germany led 2-0 late
in the third period before Japan made a late comeback to force overtime. After a scoreless overtime period,
Japanese captain Daisuke Uehara scored the lone goal in the shootout to give his team the win.
The Hockey Canada Cup was a four-team tournament held as a test event for the 2010 Paralympic Winter
Games, which will be held at UBC Thunderbird Arena in Vancouver.
Chris Jurewicz, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of media relations, is with Canada’s National Sledge Team in
Vancouver. All media enquiries should be directed to Chris, who can be reached at (403) 880-5819 or cjurewicz@hockeycanada.ca.
The 2009 Hockey Canada Cup is a four-team event being held one year out of the 2010 Paralympic Winter
Games. All games are being played at the new UBC Thunderbird Arena, the home for sledge hockey in 2010.
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