The United States Sled Hockey team begins their quest to regain the World Para Ice Hockey Championship when play begins on Saturday, May 24 at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York.

The 20-game tournament features the best sled hockey players in the world, representing eight nations. Canada, Germany, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea compete in Group A. Czechia, Norway, and Slovakia join the USA in Group B.

Group play begins Saturday, May 24 and concludes Tuesday, May 27.

Playoff games are scheduled for Wednesday May 28 and Friday, May 30.

Medal games are slated for Saturday, May 31. USA has made the podium 11 times in the A-Pool world championships, notching six championships since 1996.

“The great part about hockey is that anything can happen once you’re on the ice, any team can win at any time.” said U.S Para ice hockey forward Declan Farmer, according to an article written by Stuart Lieberman for World Para Ice Hockey.

The full schedule is available at 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool Schedule.

The last time the World Championship was in Buffalo, ten years ago, the US captured gold. Farmer made his debut in the World Championships that year, scoring the game-winning goal for USA against Canada. Russia took home the bronze.

With two NHL regulation-sized rinks, the LECOM Harborcenter serves as the practice facility for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. 

“I remember it being a great, intimate venue, and with its proximity to Canada, it should be standing-room only like in 2015 if we end up matching up against Canada at some point in the tournament.” said Farmer, according to the same Lierberman article.

All games of the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championships will be available via livestream on Peacock in the United States or internationally at https://usahockeytv.com/ .

The top five finishers from the championship will earn automatic slots for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

The bottom three finishers will be forced to compete at the Paralympic Winter Games Qualification Tournament later this year in order to make it to Italy.

Overall, the US holds a 48-3-1-16 record in world championship play, most recently claiming a silver at the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championship in a hard-fought game against Canada.

“I’m not sure if anything necessarily went wrong in that gold-medal game, other than not being able to finish our chances,” concluded Farmer, according to the same Lieberman article.

This Buffalo 2025 event marks the 14^th edition of the World Championships A-Pool.

The US has played in the gold-medal game in ten of the last 11 world championships. They took home gold in 2023, 2021, 2019, 2015, 2012, and 2009.