Team USA Could Win Unparalleled Fifth Consecutive Sled Hockey Gold Medal
USA and Canada Have Won Every Paralympics Sled Hockey Tournament This Century
This will be Third USA-Canada Hockey Matchup During Milan Cortina 2026, with Team USA Defeating Canada in Both Women’s and Men’s Olympic Gold Medal Games in February
NBC Paralympics’ Chris Vosters and Two-Time Paralympic Gold Medalist Taylor Lipsett to Call Gold Medal Game
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 13, 2026 – One of the greatest rivalries in Para sports will be reignited when the USA and Canada face off in the Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics sled hockey gold medal game this Sunday, March 15, at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on NBC, Peacock, and CNBC. Team USA has won four consecutive Paralympic gold medals and five of the last six; the two countries have combined to win every Paralympic sled hockey tournament this century. Sunday’s Paralympics coverage begins at 4 a.m. ET on Peacock and CNBC.
Sunday will see the same matchup as both men’s and women’s gold medal ice hockey games at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February, which Team USA won in overtime, 2-1, in both events. In the men’s game, Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal, while on the women’s side, Megan Keller delivered the gold medal-winning score.
Team USA, led by captain, Flag Bearer, and four-time Paralympic gold medalist Josh Pauls and all-time Paralympic sled hockey scorer Declan Farmer, are undefeated in these Games. After defeating Italy, Germany, and China in the preliminary round by a combined score of 34-2, USA beat Czechia, 6-1, in the semifinal on Friday.
Canada, led by Flag Bearer and three-time Paralympic medalist Tyler McGregor and rising star and four-time world medalist Auren Halbert, also enter Sunday undefeated. The Canadians beat Slovakia, Japan, and Czechia in the preliminary round by a combined score of 26-1 and defeated China, 4-2, in the semifinal on Friday.
Team USA has defeated Canada in the gold medal game at the last two Paralympic Winter Games (2022 and 2018). The U.S. sled hockey team has been dominant since winning the gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics. Since then, they have won every sled hockey gold medal except at the 2006 Torino Games, which saw Canada win its lone gold medal.
2025 saw Team USA win the World Para Ice Hockey Championships on home ice in Buffalo, New York, with Canada earning the silver medal yet again. However, 2024 saw the exact opposite result, with Canada defeating Team USA on home ice in Calgary. Since 2008, Team USA and Canada have combined to win every World Para Ice Hockey Championship, with Team USA winning seven (2009, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025) and Canada winning four (2008, 2013, 2017, 2024). The two countries have also met in every gold medal game since 2013.
Ice Gold: A Journey from Worst to First, streaming now on Peacock documents the 2002 U.S. Sled Hockey team that won gold at the Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics, ushering in a period of great success for U.S. sled hockey that has since led to four more gold medals. The documentary features interviews with players such as Manny Guerra and head coach Rick Middleton. For more information, click here.
The men’s Olympic gold medal game was watched by 20.7 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Versant’s USA Network, and peaked at 26.0 million viewers – making it the most-watched pre-9 a.m. ET (start time) sporting event on record in U.S. history and NBC Sports’ second-most watched hockey game ever, behind only the USA-Canada men’s gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The women’s Olympic gold medal game is the most-watched women’s hockey game on record, with an average of 5.3 million viewers on USA Network and Peacock. The audience peaked at 7.7 million viewers in overtime.
Sunday’s gold medal game will be called by veteran play-by-play commentator Chris Vosters and three-time Paralympic sled hockey medalist Taylor Lipsett (analyst), who was a part of two gold medal-winning teams (2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi).
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A comprehensive programming schedule can be found here. The most updated Winter Paralympics listings are available here.
A complete archive of Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics press releases can be found here.
--MILAN CORTINA 2026 PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES--
