CANADA SKATES TO 4-0 WIN OVER THE UNITED STATES

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It didn’t take long for Canada’s National Sledge Team to get the crowd going on Tuesday night at the CARI Complex – thirty-five seconds, to be exact.

Graeme Murray (Gravenhurst, Ont.) got things rolling for Canada during the first minute and the defending World Sledge Hockey Challenge gold medalists opened with a 4-0 win over the United States. The game was played before a large contingent of loud and proud Team Canada fans.

It was the fifth meeting of the 2009-10 season between Canada and the United States. Canada moved to 3-2 against the Americans – the teams split a pair of home-and-home series, in Toronto and Rochester, N.Y.

Canada’s other goals came from Brad Bowden (Orton, Ont.), who scored on a rebound at 8:40 of the first period, Billy Bridges (Summerside, P.E.I), who opened the third with a goal at the 52-second mark, and Todd Nicholson (Kinburn, Ont.), who finished things off with a goal late in third.  Bowden and Bridges scored their goals with Canada on a power play.

Paul Rosen (Thornhill, Ont.) was steady in Canada’s net, making 10 saves for the shutout.

The World Sledge Hockey Challenge continues on Wednesday, with Canada taking on another of its rivals when it faces Norway (7 p.m. AT).

The Canadians are back-to-back defending champions at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, having won the inaugural event in 2007 in Kelowna, B.C., and the 2008 tournament in Charlottetown.