2015-16 National Sledge Team

CANADA OPENS PAN-PACIFICS WITH WIN OVER KOREA

DAVID BRIEN

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Marc Dorion (Bourget, Ont.) scored a pair of goals to pace Canada’s National Sledge Team to a 4-1 victory over Korea in the IPC Pan-Pacific Championship opener on Tuesday.

The game was the first in the history of the new regional tournament, which also includes the United States, and a Pan-Pacific team made up of players from Canada, Japan, and the U.S.

Rob Armstrong (Mississauga, Ont.) and Adam Dixon (Midland, Ont.) were credited with the other Canadian goals off the blue-line, while netminder Corbin Watson (Kingsville, Ont.) made five saves for the win.

Kevin Sorley (Petersburg, Ont.) and Greg Westlake (Oakville, Ont.) added two assists each.

The first goal came just two minutes after the opening puck dropped; Dorion picked up the puck behind the net and banked a shot off the back of Korean netminder Man-Gyun Yu and in for a quick 1-0 Canadian lead.

Canada doubled its advantage just past the nine-minute mark of the period thanks to an Armstrong wrist shot from the hashmarks that deflected off a Korean stick and over Yu.

Dorion added his second goal 6:35 into the middle frame, cutting in from the corner, going under his sled and snapping a shot past Yu to make it a three-goal game.

Outshot 23-5 entering the third period, Korea’s hard work paid off midway through the final stanza; Seung-Hwan Jung stripped the puck from a Canadian in the neutral zone, broke down the left wing and wired a shot over the blocker of Watson.

But whatever momentum the Koreans had evaporated just three minutes later, when Dixon jumped on a loose puck right out of the penalty box, outraced a Korean defender and tucked a shot around Yu.

The Canadians had full control from the opening face-off in all facets of the game, and finished with a one-sided 30-6 advantage in shots on goal; Korea managed just two shots after the first period.

Canada is right back to action Wednesday night in the marquee match-up of the preliminary round, taking on the United States (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) in another chapter of the biggest rivalry in sledge hockey.