LATE COMEBACK GIVES SLEDGE DEV TEAM WIN OVER U.S.

ESSEX, Ont. – James Gemmell (Quesnel, B.C.) and Brendan Blanchard (Chatham, Ont.) scored goals in the last 2:01 as Canada’s National Sledge Development Team erased a late deficit to score a 3-2 victory over the United States on Friday night, the Canadians’ second win in as many nights over their southern rivals.

Canada was just 121 seconds from its first defeat in five games against the U.S., dating back to last month’s three-game series in Buffalo, before the heroics from Gemmell and Blanchard kept the Canadians’ perfect record intact.

Coming off a 1-0 series-opening win on Thursday, Canada looked to be on its way to another ‘W’ when Ben Biermann (Ardrossan, Alta.) put the Canadians on the board first just 1:36 after the puck dropped.

But Brian Genovese equalized for the U.S. before the end of the first period, and Tim Shoemaker beat Canadian goaltender Drew Rigden (Coldwater, Ont.) on an American power play less than two minutes into the third, giving the U.S. their first lead in five games against Canada.

Just as it looked as if that lead would hold and the Americans would finally make a mark in the win column, Gemmell scored at 17:59 of the third period, followed by Blanchard’s winner at 19:19, exciting the pro-Canadian crowd at the Essex Arena and Sports Complex.

The teams won’t waste any time in wrapping up the series – the third and final game goes at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.

Goals/Buts : 
01:36 CAN Ben Biermann (Nicholas Tessier)
18:20 USA Brian Genovese (Jeremy Lyons)

Penalties/Pénalités : 
07:12 USA Tyler Anderson (T-boning/Charge en T)

Goals/Buts : 
01:23 USA Tim Shoemaker (Sam Mumper, Jeremy Lyons) PP/AN

Penalties/Pénalités : 
00:55 CAN Nicholas Tessier (Interference/Obstruction)
01:46 CAN Brendan Blanchard (Holding/Retenir)

Goals/Buts : 
17:59 CAN James Gemmell
19:19 CAN Brendan Blanchard (Jeremy Booker, James Gemmell)
 

Penalties/Pénalités : 
None/Aucune