Team USA Dominates China, Declan Farmer Sets Paralympic Record in 7-1 Victory

MILAN – The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team secured a commanding 7-1 victory over China in its final preliminary round contest of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on Monday, March 10th, at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The win ensures Team USA finishes atop Group A with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record, having outscored opponents 34-2.

Farmer Makes History

Declan Farmer of Tampa, Florida, etched his name into the Paralympic record books, registering his 54th-career Paralympic point with a power-play goal. This milestone secures the all-time record for most Paralympic points scored. The goal, a backhand shot over the shoulder of Chinese netminder Yanzhao Ji, gave the U.S. A 2-0 lead. Team USA Hockey

Game Highlights

Josh Pauls, captain of Team USA (Green Brook, N.J.), opened the scoring at 12:46 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle. Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) added a third U.S. Tally at 2:22 of the second period, capitalizing on a centering feed from Evan Nichols (Haymarket, Va.) during a power play.

Farmer extended the lead with a goal at 5:24 of the second, showcasing skillful stickhandling before wristing a shot past Ji. Roybal scored his second power-play goal of the game at 11:16, lifting the puck over Ji’s glove to build it 5-0. Liam Cunningham (River Falls, Wis.) scored his first career Paralympic goal with 1:22 remaining in the second period, firing a shot on the power play to put the U.S. Up 6-0.

Farmer completed his hat trick just 59 seconds into the third period, capitalizing on a turnover near the crease to give the U.S. A 7-0 advantage. Zhanfu Zhu scored China’s lone goal at 4:28 of the third, firing a shot from the point.

Goaltending and Team Stats

U.S. Netminder Jen Lee (Daly City, Calif.) made eight saves in the victory. Team USA outshot China 31-9. The U.S. Team went 5-9 on the power play, while China was 0-3. Team USA Hockey

Looking Ahead

Team USA advances to the semifinal round on Friday, March 13th, at 2:35 p.m. CET (9:35 a.m. ET), where they will face the second-place team from Group B. The game will be broadcast on USA Network and streamed on Peacock. Paralympic.org

“I really liked the effort today and how we stepped up to the challenge,” said David Hoff, head coach of the 2026 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. “China skates extremely well, but we played steady and wore them down throughout the game. Now, we focus on Friday’s semifinal and work toward our ultimate goal.” Team USA Hockey