8 for 8: USA preview

“You have to make sure there aren’t too many peaks and valleys, and that you stay at a steady mentality, because in our position we should be in the mindset where we can expect anything to happen.”

The USA will attempt to become the first team to ever win back-to-back ice sledge hockey golds when the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games open on 7 March.

Anchored by clutch goaltender Steve Cash, aggressive defenceman Taylor Chace and sharp-shooting forward Josh Pauls, the USA enter the Paralympics as the No. 2 seed behind their North American rivals from Canada.

Cash became one of the most respected players in the world following the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics, where he did not allow a single goal in five games, stopping all 33 shots that came his way.

He then recorded a .923 save percentage at the 2012 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool to help USA claim gold and a .946 save percentage at the 2013 World Championships, where the Americans finished with the silver.

But all those numbers are just stats in the ice sledge hockey record books now.

“You can’t really dwell on the past and expect to repeat history,” Cash said.

“For the past few years, we’ve been talking about how special Vancouver was, but this is a new year, and we’re focused on a totally different task. Whether that includes being able to repeat what we did in Vancouver would be phenomenal, but we’re taking it one step and one game at a time.”

Joining the aforementioned trio in Sochi will be four players with military ties – Josh Sweeney (US Marine Corps), Paul Schaus (US Marine Corps), Rico Roman (US Army), and Jen Lee (US Army) – who will all be making their Paralympic debuts.

Seasoned veteran Andy Yohe, a three-time Paralympian, will captain the team.

“We really don’t have anybody on the team that doesn’t belong,” Cash said. “The team that we have not only has elevated our level of talent, but I also feel like we’re closer as a unit as we were in past years.”

The USA are in Group B for preliminary round play in Sochi, along with No. 3 Russia, No. 6 South Korea and No. 7 Italy.

Of those three, the South Koreans are the only ones the American players are familiar with and compete against on a seasonal basis.

“We always know going into games that you should expect the unexpected,” Cash said.

“You have to make sure there aren’t too many peaks and valleys, and that you stay at a steady mentality, because in our position we should be in the mindset where we can expect anything to happen.”

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Caption

Josh Pauls has proven himself as a breakout star for the USA at the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Goyang, Korea.