CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Sledge Team opens its 2009-10 season with a pair of games this weekend in Toronto, Ont.

Canada’s 18-player roster will face the United States on Friday and Saturday, with both games taking place at the new MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence. This will be the first Hockey Canada event at the facility, which opened earlier this week.

Friday’s game will be at noon ET, with Saturday’s game starting at 7 p.m. ET. Admission to both games is free.

Canada and the United States are two of the top three sledge hockey teams in the world. The United States won the 2009 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship, with Canada winning the 2008 title. The last time these two teams met was in a semi-final at the 2009 worlds, which Team USA won 2-1.

The teams will meet for two more games in Rochester, N.Y., in October. The next major event on the sledge schedule is the 2009 World Sledge Hockey Challenge, which will take place in Charlottetown, P.E.I., from November 17-21.

Note to media: Call Adam Crockatt, manager of the National Sledge Team, at 403-874-2023 for all interview requests while the team is in Toronto.

Canada’s National Sledge Team roster is currently at 18 players, 15 of whom will represent their country at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.