Equipment
Players sit in sleds that have two hockey skate blades fastened to the bottom. There is a stabilizer or "skag" at the front of the sled that helps players keep their balance. Players use two sticks instead of one, and the curve of the blade is flatter than full-sized sticks. The sticks have special picks at the top of the hockey stick to allow players to dig into the ice to propel themselves forward and backward on the ice. Players wear full upper-body hockey gear including helmets with full face-shields, shoulder pads, elbow pads and protective shorts. Goalies wear goalie pads on their sleds, full chest protectors, goalie masks and a blocker and catching glove with picks on the back to help them maneuver on the ice.
Rules
Basic hockey rules like icing, offsides, penalties, etc. apply in sled hockey. Since the butt-ends of the sticks are equipped with picks, butt-ending is taken extremely seriously. Legal checking is allowed in adult sled hockey, but players with different colored helmets that can't take contact are uncheckable. Backup goaltenders who replace their goalie equipment with regular player gloves and sticks may play out when they are not in goal. Players who are unable to propel themselves forward may have a pusher or a standing skater who pushes them along on the ice. The pusher cannot play the puck and has to keep their pushed player at the same speed as the rest of the players on the ice. Sled hockey is played on a full-sized ice rink with a regulation hockey puck. The nets used in sled hockey are the same size as used in standing hockey.
USA Sled Hockey
The U.S. men's national sled hockey team has won three consecutive gold medals at the Paralympic Games. At the 2018 games, Declan Farmer scored the game-tying goal against Canada with 37.8 seconds left to play in the gold medal game and lifted the United States to gold with his overtime goal. Team USA has competed in six Paralympic Winter Games and has won four medals: three gold (2018, 2014, 2010) and one bronze (2006).
More information on sled hockey can be found
here
from USA Hockey.
