When Czechia’s Michal Geier opened the scoring five minutes into the tie, it didn’t seem like Team USA could win. However, they quickly recovered and turned their fortunes around with Declan Farmer leading the charge. His fourth consecutive hat-trick led his side to their fifth consecutive Para ice hockey gold medal game. However, the task is far from over, as standing in their way of a historic win are arch-rivals Canada.

The two North American powerhouses will face each other for the third consecutive Paralympics final. Both the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 finals went the way of Team USA, who won their third and fourth Para ice hockey golds. Not only that, the two of them have combined to win every single Paralympic ice hockey gold since the turn of the century.

Team USA has thrived, winning five of those, while Canada beat Norway in the 2006 Turin final to win their only gold so far. That could all change, although China gave them a tough fight in the semi-final. The Canadians did advance, but only after a hard-fought 4-2, their narrowest margin of victory thus far at the Paralympics.

That does come as little surprise, given that Team Canada has done exceptionally well at Para ice hockey since its inception in 1994. They’ve made the final four of every tournament since then, including four finals, but have won only one. Team USA, on the other hand, finished 6th at the 1998 tournament but has been the dominant force since the 2002 Paralympics.

They’ve reached five finals and won all five, a record that is only marred by a third-place finish at the 2006 Turin Paralympics. However, now they’ve got the chance to win their fifth consecutive Paralympic ice hockey gold, and the opportunity to be the first nation to secure all Olympic and Paralympic gold medals consecutively.

Team USA captain John Pauls praises his team ahead of the final

Yet despite that potential achievement adding to the pressure, Team USA’s captain John Pauls fully believes in his side. The stalwart has won four Paralympic gold medals, the most by any sled hockey player in history. It all started with that 2010 gold, and with Pauls chasing after his and Team USA’s fifth consecutive gold, he knows he has the team to do it.

“We have 17 guys ready to go, three lines that are willing to do whatever it takes and be unselfish, throw pucks in,” Pauls told Olympics.com. “Our depth and our speed really wear on teams, and it opened up a lot more lanes towards the end.”

That does stand true as Team USA swept through their group stage by winning all three games, scoring 34 goals, and conceding just two. Not only that, they beat both Italy and Germany by a 13-goal margin before beating China 7-1 in their final group-stage game. That rout continued into the knockout rounds as they beat Czechia, conceding first for only the second time in the tournament.

It’s why Pauls’ thoughts were echoed by leading goal-scorer Declan Farmer. Like his captain, Farmer also has a lot of faith in the team and said that they are “the best they’ve ever felt.” The forward has scored four consecutive hat-tricks, and Team USA will be hoping to see Farmer at his best when he lines up against Team Canada next.

Only time will tell, however, whether Team USA storms their way to another gold or if Team Canada finally ends their rivals’ streak.