WELCOME

Dear Friends in Hockey,

On behalf of USA Hockey, we are pleased to welcome you to HARBORCENTER for the 2015 International Paralympic Committee Ice World Championships. Since its debut on the world stage, sled hockey has quickly become one of the most exciting and competitive sporting events and this year’s championship promises to be the best yet. The participating athletes are both talented players and tremendous Ron DeGregorio President ambassadors whose popularity and recognition continue to grow. Their contributions go well beyond the rink and have a deep and lasting impact, providing an example of what can be accomplished with dedication and enthusiasm for the game. In addition to the players, we also extend a special greeting to the coaches and staff from each of the participating nations and wish them the best of luck in their pursuit of a gold medal. Our thanks to the IPC, the local organizing committee, the staff at HARBORCENTER, those serving as volunteers, the media, the fans and all Dave Ogrean Executive Director involved in helping make this championship a success. We’re pleased to host this event and we look forward to a tremendous championship over the course of the next week. We know you’ll enjoy Buffalo and the wonderful hospitality of the people of Western New York.

Ron DeGregorio Dave Ogrean President Executive Director Welcome to the city of Buffalo and the impressive HARBORCENTER for the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool. I am delighted that we are back in the USA for a third world championships, and I am confident that this edition will form a memorable part ofthe tangible legacy of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. Just over one year ago, the USA collected gold in an exciting conclusion to the Games, watched by a huge global television audience and in front of a Sir Philip Craven MBE IPC President sell-out crowd. It was a watershed moment in the sport’s history. Buffalo 2015 will build on this success, bringing ice sledge hockey directly to you, some of its most passionate and engaged fans, at an incredibly important time and ahead of PyeongChang 2018. As we move into the next seasons we will further develop the sport and build the competition calendar, making it easier to follow outside of major international competitions. In the meantime I would like to thank you, USA Hockey, the HARBORCENTER, the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Sabres, NBC for their national online and live coverage, and all of the event partners for their support of this incredible game. I hope you enjoy watching all eight national teams over the coming days as the tournament, and the amazing talents of the athletes, unfold.

Sir Philip Craven MBE IPC President ABOUT THE COMPETITION

The 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool marks the eighth edition of the event. Taking place in Buffalo, New York, this is the third time the United States has hosted the tournament, including Salt Lake City, Utah (2000) and Marlborough, Massachusetts (2008). The IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool features eight of the world’s best sled hockey teams. Group A consists of the defending champions Canada, Czech Republic, Japan and Norway. The U.S. will face Germany, Italy, and Russia and in Group B. Each team will play three preliminary-round contests and the tournament will culminate with the bronze-medal and gold-medal games on Sunday, May 3. The bottom two finishers from the A-Pool event will be relegated to the B-Pool for the 2017 edition of the event, and the top two finishers from the B-Pool will be promoted to the A-Pool for 2017.

HISTORY OF SLEDGE HOCKEY A direct descendant of ice hockey, ice sledge hockey was invented at a rehabilitation center in Stockholm, Sweden, during the early 1960s by a group of Swedes who, despite their physical impairment, wanted to continue playing hockey. The sport caught on, and by 1969, Stockholm had a five-team league that included players with a physical impairment and able-bodied players. That same year, Stockholm hosted the first international ice sledge hockey match between a local club team and one from Oslo, Norway. During the 1970’s, teams from these two countries played once or twice a year. Several other countries began to establish teams, including Great Britain (1981), Canada (1982), USA (1990), Estonia and Japan (1993). Ice sledge hockey was demonstrated at the 1976 Paralympic Winter Games in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, and again at the 1988 Paralympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, before becoming an official Paralympic event at the 1994 Paralympic Winter Games in , Norway. Since its debut on the Paralympic stage, the sport has quickly become one of the largest attractions for spectators. Two years after its Paralympic debut, the first sanctioned IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships took place in Nynashamn, Sweden. Other international competitions have since been implemented, including the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European Championships (2005) and the World Sled Hockey Challenge (2007). Today, the sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee with coordination by the IPC Ice Hockey Technical Committee and follows the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) with modifications. Instead of skates, players use double-blade sleds that allow the puck to pass underneath. Players use two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing and a blade-end for shooting. Goalies wear essentially the same equipment but do have metal picks added to the heel of their stick and also sewn into the backside of their glove to allow the goalie to maneuver. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

2015 IPC ICE SLEDGE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

SUNDAY, 4.26.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Czech Republic vs. Norway 9:30AM Canada vs. Japan 1:00PM Italy vs. Germany 4:30PM USA vs. Russia 8:00PM

MONDAY 4.27.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Czech Republic vs. Japan 9:30AM Canada vs. Norway 1:00PM Russia vs. Italy 4:30PM USA vs. Germany 8:00PM

WEDNESDAY 4.29.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Russia vs. Germany 10:30AM USA vs. Italy 2:00PM Canada vs. Czech Republic 5:30PM Norway vs. Japan 9:00PM

THURSDAY, 4.30.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Qualifying Rounds - Teams TBA 4:30PM Qualifying Rounds - Teams TBA 8:00PM

FRIDAY, 5.1.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Semi-final Game 1 - Teams TBA 4:30PM Semi-final Game 2 - Teams TBA 8:00PM

SATURDAY, 5.2.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Qualifying Rounds - Teams TBA 4:30PM Qualifying Rounds - Teams TBA 8:00PM

SUNDAY, 5.3.15 EASTERN STANDARD TIME Bronze Medal Game - Teams TBA 11:00AM Gold Medal Game - Teams TBA 2:30PM *All Games Played On First Niagara Rink at HARBORCENTER TEAM CAN TEAM CZE

GOALTENDERS GOALTENDERS # NAME # NAME 1 Dominic LAROCQUE 6 Michal VAPENKA 30 Corbin WATSON 17 Jan MATOUSEK DEFENSEMEN DEFENSEMEN # NAME # NAME 4 Derek WHITSON 7 David MOTYCKA 11 Adam DIXON 10 Jiri BERGER 14 Steve ARSENAULT 29 Pavel KUBES 15 Kevin SORLEY 65 Miroslav HRBEK 23 Kieran BLOCK 25 James GEMMELL

FORWARDS FORWARDS # NAME # NAME 5 Kevin REMPEL 15 Martin NOVAK 7 Marc DORION 24 Zdenek SAFRANEK 8 Tyler MCGREGOR 74 Michal GEIER 9 Anthony GALE 75 Jiri RAUL 10 Ben DELANEY 77 David PALAT 12 Greg WESTLAKE 82 Zdenek HABL 18 Billy BRIDGES 96 Zdenek KRUPICKA 20 Bryan SHOLOMICKI 27 Brad BOWDEN

COACHING STAFF COACHING STAFF POSITION NAME POSITION NAME Head Coach Ken BABEY Head Coach Jiri BRIZA Asst. Coach Kevin FIGSBY Asst. Coach Lubos KONAK Asst. Coach Hervé LORD

Quick Facts: Canada’s three gold medals Quick Facts: The Czech Republic has reached (2000, 2008, 2013) in IPC Ice Sledge Hockey the bronze medal game in the last two IPC Ice World Championships play are the most for Sledge Hockey World Championships. any ice sledge hockey team. TEAM ITA TEAM DEU

GOALTENDERS GOALTENDERS # NAME # NAME 1 Santino STILLITANO 15 Klaus BRZOSKA 15 Gabriele ARAUDO 47 Simon KUNST

DEFENSEMEN DEFENSEMEN # NAME # NAME 3 Gianluigi ROSA 12 Christian JASTER 6 Gianluca CAVALIERE 52 Robert PABST 14 Bruno BALOSSETTI 83 Christian PILZ 69 Lucas SKLORZ

FORWARDS FORWARDS # NAME # NAME 5 Florian PLANKER 3 Bas DISVELD 7 Werner WINKLER 8 Frank RENNHACK 8 Roberto RADICE 11 Jacob WOLFF 9 Sandro KALEGARIS 33 Ingo KUHLI-LAUENSTEIN 11 Nils LARCH 43 Bernhard HERING 16 Andrea CHIAROTTI 55 Sven STUMPE 18 Andrea MACRI 77 Joerg WEDDE 62 Christoph DEPAOLI 87 Felix SCHRADER 68 Valerio CORVINO 73 Gregory Brian Alexi LEPERDI

COACHING STAFF COACHING STAFF POSITION NAME POSITION NAME Head Coach Massimo Da Rin de LORENZO Head Coach Andreas POKORNY Asst. Coach Carlo MUHR Asst. Coach Michael GURSINSKY

Quick Facts: Italy’s best finish in international Quick Facts: Competing in their fourth competition came in 2011 when they consecutive IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World defeated Czech Republic, 2-0, to win gold in Championships, Germany’s best finish came the 2011 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey European in 2008 when they finished in fifth place. Championships. TEAM JPN TEAM NOR

GOALTENDERS GOALTENDERS # NAME # NAME 21 Shinobu FUKUSHIMA 1 Roger JOHANSEN 39 Mitsuru NAGASE 18 Kjell Christian HAMAR

DEFENSEMEN DEFENSEMEN # NAME # NAME 6 Wataru HORIE 7 Eskil HAGEN 24 Satoru SUDO 9 Morten VAERNES 25 Eiji MISAWA 16 Knut Andre NORDSTOGA 30 Kazuya MOCHIZUKI 65 Thomas JACOBSEN

FORWARDS FORWARDS # NAME # NAME 13 Mamoru YOSHIKAWA 3 Rolf Einar PEDERSEN 16 Taimei SHIBA 6 Emil KIRSTISTUEN 18 Toshiyuki NAKAMURA 8 Stig Tore SVEE 29 Tomohiko MARUO 10 Tor Joakim RIVERA 33 Hideaki ISHII 12 Magnus BOGLE 36 Susumu HIROSE 15 Emil SORHEIM 40 Yoshihiro SHIOYA 17 Loyd-Remi Pallander SOLBERG 55 Kazuhiro TAKAHASHI 20 Martin HAMRE 70 Nao KODAMA 22 Audun BAKKE 96 Masaharu KUMAGAI 23 Jan Roger KLAKEGG 24 Thommas AVDAL COACHING STAFF COACHING STAFF POSITION NAME POSITION NAME Head Coach Kojin NAKAKITA Head Coach Espen HEDGE Asst. Coach Kiyoshi MACHII Asst. Coach Ole Eskild DALHLSTROEM Asst. Coach Yasuhiko TAKAHASHI Asst. Coach Andre LYSENSTOEN Asst. Coach Tommy ROVELSTAD

Quick Facts: Japan’s best finish in Quick Facts: Norway competed in the first international competition came in 2010 when international ice sled hockey match when a they earned silver at the 2010 Paralympic team from Oslo, Norway, competed against a Winter Games in , British Columbia. Swedish club team in Stockholm, Sweden. TEAM RUS TEAM USA

GOALTENDERS GOALTENDERS # NAME # NAME 1 Evgenii PLOTNIKOV 30 Kyle HUCKABY 20 Andrei KASATKIN 34 Steve CASH DEFENSEMEN DEFENSEMEN # NAME # NAME 2 Aleksei LYSOV 5 Billy HANNING 3 Ivan BERDNIK 9 Sam MUMPER 4 Alexander POLIN 11 Tyler CARRON 5 Vasilii VARLAKOV 15 Nikko LANDEROS 6 Vladimir LITVINENKO 27 Josh PAULS 9 Mikhail CHEKMAREV 10 Andrey SOKOLOV FORWARDS 17 Vadim SELYUKIN # NAME 19 Ivan KUZNETSOV 4 Brody ROYBAL FORWARDS 6 Luke MCDERMOTT 13 Josh SWEENEY # NAME 14 Dan MCCOY 7 Sergei PANFILOV 16 Declan FARMER 8 Dmitrii LISOV 17 Chris DOUGLAS 11 Alexey AMOSOV 19 Kevin MCKEE 14 Maxim KUZMINYKH 20 Adam PAGE 22 Nikolay TERENTYEV 24 Josh MISIEWICZ 23 Ilia VOLKOV 28 Paul SCHAUS

COACHING STAFF COACHING STAFF POSITION NAME POSITION NAME Head Coach Sergey SAMOYLOV Head Coach Jeff SAUER Asst. Coach Andrei IVANOV Asst. Coach Guy GOSSELIN Asst. Coach Nikoaly SHARSHUKOV Asst. Coach/GM Dan BRENNAN

Quicks Facts: Russia defeated Czech Quick Facts: Including Paralympic and World Republic, 3-0, in the bronze-medal game Championship play, the U.S. has reached the to make the podium in their first World last five gold-medal games, claiming the event’s Championships A-Pool at the 2013 IPC Ice top prize four times (World Championship: Sledge Hockey World Championships. 2008, 2009; : 2010, 2014). WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT HISTORY

The World Championships in sled hockey is an event organized by the International Paralympic Committee. The first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships took place in 1996; two years after the sport became an official Paralympic event. Hosted in Nynashamn, Sweden, the inaugural World Championships included six countries – Canada, Estonia, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States – and a round-robin format to determine medal-round games.

The tournament returned in the same format four years later when Salt Lake City, Utah, hosted the World Championships as the first test event for the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games. Canada, Estonia, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States were again the six participating nations.

As a result of more nations developing national teams, the next three World Championships (2004, 2008, 2009) saw significant modifications. After expanding to eight participating nations in 2004, the 2008 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships added another two teams (ten total) and divided them into two separate pools. The A-Pool, consisting of the six-best nations, would compete for the World Championships title in round-robin play while the B-Pool, consisting of the next four-best nations, would vie for qualification in the next tournament’s A-Pool.

A year later, the IPC turned the two separate pools into individual tournaments. Using two groups and preliminary-round action as opposed to round-robin play, the 2009 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Czech Republic determined the world champion with the top six finishers in the tournament received automatic qualification for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The remaining two teams from the A-Pool tournament then competed against the top two teams from the B-Pool tournament to determine the remaining two Paralympic spots.

While the tournament format remained unchanged in the 2012 and 2013 tournaments, the IPC announced modifications to the championship format in 2014 that will begin in this year’s tournament.

The tournament formats remained the same in 2012 and 2013 before the IPC announced its most recent modifications, highlighted by a new C-Pool tournament, in 2014. Beginning this year, the bottom two finishers from the A-Pool will be relegated to the B-Pool for the 2017 edition of the event and the top two finishers from the B-Pool will be promoted to the A-Pool for 2017. Additionally, the last- place team in the B-Pool tournament will be relegated to the new C-Pool tournament while the winner of the C-Pool will be promoted to the B-Pool for the next event.

YEAR GOLD SILVER BRONZE LOCATION 2013 Canada United States Russia Goyang, Korea 2012 United States Korea Canada Hamar, Norway 2009 United States Norway Canada Ostrava, Czech Republic 2008 Canada Norway United States Marlborough, USA 2004 Norway United States Sweden Ornskoldsvik, Sweden 2000 Canada Norway Sweden Salt Lake City, USA 1996 Sweden Norway Canada Nynashamn, Sweden It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, it ’s how you play them.

Here’s to the athletes who proved that anything is possible. They didn’t just keep going, they went further and became an inspiration to us all. None more so than London 2012 Paralympic silver medalist – and world record holder, Matt Stutzman.

In light of such displays of courage and determination, we are delighted to support all Paralympians as they continue to inspire every generation. . All rights reserved. BP America Inc 5 1 0 2 ©

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