With Russia having beaten South Korea in the other match, the US will now have the theoretically easier semi-final against the Asian side, while Sochi 2014 bronze medallists Canada will take on Russia, who finished one place ahead of them on the Sochi podium.

But if Canada came into the competition hoping to upset the Paralympic champions, that hope was crushed with ruthless efficiency as the US prevented the home side from executing their usual attacking game before dispatching the chances when they arose.

Both goals came from Nikko Landeros, the first courtesy of a wrist shot with one minute left in the first period from just inside the blue-line, before a second in the third period, as he sneaked a low, off-speed shot just inside the post.

Declan Farmer provided both assists, while goaltender Steve Cash was another star with a total of 13 saves.

It brought back memories of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic semi-final, when Cash turned away all 11 shots he faced in a 3-0 US win.

The match revived memories of the US victory over Canada in the semi-finals of the Winter Paralympics in Sochi ©Getty Images



The match marked the first time the Canadians have ever lost a preliminary round game at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, with their only two previous defeats at any stage coming to the US in the gold medal matches in 2009 and 2012.

Russia, meanwhile, added some hope after a disappointing campaign so far with a 4-1 win over South Korea, a team who will have gained much experience from participating alongside arguably the three strongest sides in the world. 

Dmitriy Lisov was the star with a goal and an assist, while Vadim Selyukin, Sergey Panfilov and Alexey Amosov all also found the net.

Young-Jae Cho was the lone South Korean goal scorer.

Both semi-finals will now take place tomorrow ahead of a final on Saturday (February 7).

The four-team event comes in the latter stages of preparations for the World Championships A-Pool, which are due to begin in Buffalo, US, on April 24.

Canada, the hosts US and Russia, will be joined by Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Norway and Japan.

South Korea, meanwhile,  are scheduled to participate tin the B-Pool World Championships in Ostersund, Sweden, from March 15 to 21, with opposition to be provided by Austria, Great Britain, Poland, Slovakia and hosts Sweden.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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