FARMERS BRANCH, Texas –There was a passion and love hockey on full display this past weekend at the Children’s Health StarCenter-Farmers Branch.
Teams in six different tiers were crowned champions this past Sunday at the 2024 USA Hockey Sled Hockey Classic, presented by the NHL.
The NHL was a true partner, going beyond the NHL team names and logos that adorned the players’ sweaters. The league, the Dallas Stars, USA Hockey, two StarCenter venues and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex itself converged to create a memorable weekend.
This year’s Sled Classic included 30 teams and a record high of 525 players, a participation increase of 69% from 2023.
The Sled Classic was part of a star-studded long weekend. On Friday night, current and retired stars from the U.S. National Sled Team and the U.S. Women’s Development Sled Team played in the inaugural Sled Showcase Game.
That game was an instant classic, with Team Green taking an 8-7 decision over Team White following a shootout, with the deciding score tucked away by Declan Farmer.
Farmer had three goals and two assists in the Showcase Game for Team Green, while Noah Grove had a hat trick for Team White.
“Anybody who has never seen it, it’s life-changing and usually perspective-changing,” said Elizabeth Hayward, senior manager of Social Impact & Strategic Integration for the NHL. “[There are] so many elite athletes in the disabled community and this is a good showcase of that.”
Farmer led the Colorado Avalanche to the Tier I championship by producing tournament-high totals of 20 goals, 28 points and five hat tricks in five games. In Colorado’s 8-0 final win over the Calgary Flames, Malik Jones had four goals and two assists while Farmer added three goals and four assists.
It hadn’t been an easy road to the final game. On Saturday, Colorado edged the Boston Bruins, with Farmer scoring four goals. Later that day, Farmer harvested five goals, including the game’s final four in a 7-6 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Brett Bolton joined the Avalanche this season after he moved from Florida to attend the University of Colorado.
“I always played sports when I was younger,” he said. “There came a point where I couldn’t keep up with able-bodied kids. My mom found a sled hockey magazine at the doctor’s office, and Paralympian Greg Shaw was playing at my local rink. That’s what got me started.”
Bolton scored a goal in the win over Chicago, but throughout the tournament he was close to a sled enforcer.
“The best part of my game right now is being physical and being relentless, being gritty with the puck. You need a strong defensive line right there to keep you home,” he said.
Farmer didn’t need an enforcer to find space on the ice. His scoring, puck handling and physical play caused an elderly spectator to bring to mind Gordie Howe in his Houston Aeros days. Like Howe, Farmer — a three-time Paralympic gold medalist — dominated on the ice.
Speaking of old-school domination, the Pittsburgh Penguins in Tier 2 was like the college football juggernauts of decades gone by who strived to be unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. The Penguins outscored their five opponents 35-0 and were so in control that goalie Lance Hupkovich needed to make just 31 saves.
Kelsey DiClaudio had seven goals and nine assists to lead all Pittsburgh scorers with 16 points. The 27-year-old DiClaudio, a three-time Women’s World Challenge champion, began playing sled hockey when she was in second grade.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
