Canada and USA face off for gold at Buffalo 2025

Team Canada will be defending their gold medal against hosts United States on Saturday (31 May) at the Buffalo 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships. This marks the eight time the North American rivals will face off in the A-Pool final. Canada is aiming for their sixth world title, which would match the USA’s record.

The reigning champions secured their spot in Saturday’s final after skating to a character 3-0 victory over Team Czechia, while Team USA triumphed 6-1 against Team China at LECOM Harborcenter on Friday (30). 

“That was the perfect test our team needed,” said Canadian captain Tyler McGregor. 

“We knew Czechia would be a real tough test for us,” added his coach, Russ Herrington. “They play very stingy defensively, they like to play a physical game, and they have a good goaltender.”

The maple leafed delegation got off to a strong start, scoring twice in the first half of the opening frame thanks to Liam Hickey’s and Adam Dixon’s skilful contributions. “It was important for us to try and get a goal early, get a couple, which we did, and like most teams we play a little more relaxed and a little better with the lead,” commented Herrington.

A second period lamp lighter by McGregor would cement the Canadian triumph, but not without contributions from the entire delegation, including those not in a uniform. 

“We got contributions throughout the line-up, starting in net with Adam Kingsmill. He made some saves when we needed him to, and it was nice [that] we were [able] to have everybody involved in the game. Everybody contributed. Even our equipment managers had to hustle between the second and third to build a new sled for Zach Lavin because he broke his in the last minute of the second period,” said Herrington.

🥅 Medal games on deck for Saturday, 31 May:

🏒 Bronze medal: China 🇨🇳 vs. Czechia 🇨🇿 at 12h30

🏒 Gold medal: USA 🇺🇸 vs. Canada 🇨🇦 at 16h

Who will claim the ultimate prize? 🥇🏒
Don’t miss the action!

*Buffalo local time GMT-4#ParaIceHockey #Buffalo2025 pic.twitter.com/D5IksflGkQ

— Para Ice Hockey (@paraicehockey) May 30, 2025

McGregor would echo the feeling of unity and resiliency that binds his squad: “That is our brand of hockey. Right from the first face-off, we got our forecheck established, it was physical, and that’s how we created our offense. And so, it was a perfect test for us. They played us really well, they defended well, and their goalie made stops when he needed to.”

Adding: “We’ve spent the past three years with pretty much the same nucleus, the same team, preparing relentlessly. And that starts with our management staff, our coaching staff and all the players in that room. Everybody [is] aligned on who we are, [and] the work ethic that’s required to be who we want to be.”

Furthermore, it is of note that the Canadian team benefitted from their largest and loudest support from the stands to date. Concluded Herrington: “A lot of gratitude for how many red and white sweaters there were in the crowd, it almost felt like we were playing a home game.”

But when looking ahead to tomorrow’s gold medal game, McGregor was already prepared for the tables to turn: “We’re in hostile territory. This is their [USA] home barn, but we also have a ton of family and friends here right now, more to come, so we’re looking forward to the environment tomorrow. Obviously, the script is flipped compared to us competing on home ice last year.” 

United-States remain perfect with 6-1 win

The game was five minutes into the second period. Team USA had a 1-0 lead. The hosts had thrown everything at the net and yet, Chinese goaltender Yan Zhao Ji had been a fortress. The red, white and blue got a long two-man advantage. They began by moving the puck around the offensive zone like sharks circling their prey.

Then suddenly, a turnover in the slot area with no USA player back. Team China forward Jin Tao Tian, author of six goals including two shorthanded lamp lighters, began sprinting towards the opponent’s net with nothing but space between him and the stars-and-stripes goaltender. Tao Tian’s teammate grabbed the puck, but in a split-second instant, instead of passing the little black disc to the galloping threat, he iced the puck down the ice, negating the possibility of a breakaway.

Giving the United States potent power plays a second chance proved to be a decisive mistake, as forward Declan Farmer would score on that very man advantage, converting a potentially tied score into a two-goal lead. The goal also seemed to give his team a confidence boost. 
“[It] definitely (gave us) more confidence,” said USA player-of-the-game Evan Nichols. “It’s always nice to get another goal, but at the same time, we’re always out there to get one more.”

But not only would his team get one more, they would get four more in that period alone, solidifying a commanding win for Team USA and catapulting them to a gold medal face-off against Canada.

With the benefit of perspective, USA coach David Hoff was quite pleased with his squad’s performance: “That’s a really solid effort. We really wanted to be aware of (…) the defensive end of the ice, [we’re] sometimes a little bit loose there, and I thought that was as solid [an] effort there as we’ve played in a long time.” 

But more specifically: “Just really trying to identify threats and minimize those threats. Maybe [we] got off to a little bit of a slow start offensively but I just liked the game throughout, I thought it was a good solid effort.”

When asked about the noisy and supportive home crowd, Nichols was all smiles and happy to mention: “It’s nice to have all this support out here. We’re on home ice in Buffalo for the first time in a while, so it’s great to have all these friends and family come out and support us. It makes the game a lot more worth it.”

Tage Thompson dropped the puck on Team USA's semifinal matchup against China at #SledWorlds tonight 🙌 @usahockey | @paraicehockey pic.twitter.com/XdI9yg2j8p

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 30, 2025

For his part, Hoff dove even further into the subject: “I think it’s just the excitement for our guys. You know, you can play a lot of games throughout the season, but you don’t have a chance to have family here’”

“So there’s that excitement of just having family around. We love the crowd side of it too, because it was nice to have a really pro-USA crowd with us tonight. I just think the biggest thing is for these guys the chance to really perform in front of family and friends, I think it’s a great opportunity for each of them that way,” Hoff added.

Czechia and China to play for bronze

While Team Czechia and Team China may understandably feel disappointment over their losses today, both teams still have much to play for. Indeed, less than 24 hours after their aforementioned games, they will be back on the ice to battle each other for the bronze medal.

When asked how he will get his team ready to play, Czech coach Jakub Novotny explained: “They [the players] know they are playing for a medal. Tomorrow [Saturday], before the game, they will be ready to play for that medal, because it’s another game, it’s another possibility to win and we want to take it.”

This will be the third consecutive meeting between the two teams, with the Czechs having the edge after beating the Chinese for bronze at both the 2023 and 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships. 

In the seventh-place game on Friday, Korea secured a 2-1 victory over Norway. Both teams will compete in the B-Pool Worlds next year but still have a chance to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games through the Qualification Tournament later this year.

Complete scores, stats and schedule from the World Para Ice Hockey Championships can be found here.

USAHockeyTV will stream the gold and bronze medal games live.