The latest chapter of the U.S.-Canada rivalry is expected to unfold at the World Para Ice Hockey Championship, starting Saturday and live on Peacock from Buffalo, New York.

The U.S. is the four-time reigning Paralympic champion, but last year Canada won the world title, snapping a streak of more than 20 consecutive losses to the Americans.

Declan Farmer, the most prolific scorer in U.S. history with more than 200 goals, said the U.S.-Canada rivalry had been “a little dormant” for a few years during the American domination.

Not anymore. Canada also won the teams’ most recent meeting on March 29. At worlds, they’ll face off in the May 31 final should each team top its group and win its semifinal.

“(Now) there’s full butterflies beforehand,” said Farmer, who made his Paralympic debut in 2014 at age 16. “You’ve got to execute. You’ve got to get the job done. You have to be at your best to win. It’s not just about showing up anymore, which is a good, healthy place to be.”

Already this year, Canada beat the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off final in men’s hockey in February. In April, the U.S. beat Canada in the IIHF World Championship final in women’s hockey. Both games went to overtime.

In Para hockey, Canada has rebuilt since a 5-0 loss in the 2022 Paralympic final.

“Some of the younger guys that (weren’t) really quite ready to compete against us line for line, where they just need a couple years to come along, and now they’re making some progress,” Farmer said. “I think it’s really as simple as that, and we just kind of have to keep matching their pace of improvement.”

2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championship Schedule

The Milan Cortina Paralympics open on March 6, 2026.

GAME SCHEDULE – ALL TIMES CT

Game 1 | Friday, May 23 at 4 p.m. 

Game 2 | Saturday, May 24 at 2 p.m.

Game 3 | TBD (if necessary game)

HOW TO FOLLOW

Game one will be broadcast on ESPN2, while Saturday’s game will be available on ESPN. A radio broadcast will be offered on The Franchise 2 1560 AM and 103. FM. Live stats will be available on statbroadcast.com.

MAY I?

The Sooners are 246-70 in May in head coach Patty Gasso‘s 31 seasons with the Sooners, while turning in a 92-8 record in the program’s eight championship seasons. 

50 WINS

The Sooners are looking for 50 wins for the ninth consecutive season … the last time OU hasn’t reached that milestone was in 2015 … OU is 48-7 on the season and on a five game winning streak. 

NCAA SUPER REGIONAL SNAPSHOT

The Sooners are 159-52 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … the Sooners are 6-6 against Alabama in the NCAA Tournament and … 13 of OU’s 21 games against Alabama have been played in the postseason … 10 of those games have taken place in Oklahoma City … OU and Alabama have never played in Norman .. the Sooners are hosting their 12th super regional … OU has notched 16 consecutive wins in super regional play … Oklahoma and Alabama met in the 2015 Super Regionals in Tuscaloosa … OU is playing its sixth super regional against a current member of the SEC … OU is 46-9 against current SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament … Oklahoma is looking for its 18th Women’s College World Series and ninth in a row.

LOWRY’S SEASONING

Audrey Lowry has pitched four consecutive scoreless outings, while also retiring the last 15 batters that she’s faced dating back to May 2 at Florida. During the SEC Tournament she earned the win and retired nine consecutive batters against No. 6/7 Arkansas. 

TWENTY-WON

Righty Sam Landry went 3-0 last weekend, spinning three innings of work in all of OU’s wins. Landry is 22-4 on the season, ranking first among all active pitchers in the nation with 85 career wins.

PICK YOUR POISON

Kasidi Pickering hit three home runs and drove in nine runs during the regionals last weekend. She hit a grand slam and also homered twice in the same game, posting the 10th two-home run game by a Sooner in NCAA Regionals history. Pickering is hitting .476 (20-for-42) in 17 NCAA Tournament games, while homering nine times and driving in 22 runs. She’s had a two-homer game in two different contests this season. 

ALL-REGION HONORS

Eight different Sooners earned NFCA Midwest All-Region honors. It’s the sixth time that OU has had eight honorees for a single season, tied for a program record. Sam Landry, Gabbie Garcia, Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering earned first team recognition, while Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Cydney Sanders were tabbed to the second team. Ailana Agbayani and Abigale Dayton took home third team honors. 

SEC RECORD BOOK WATCH

The Sooners hit an SEC Tournament single game record six home runs in the 8-6 win against No. 6/7 Arkansas in the semifinals May 9. OU also set the record for biggest comeback win in SEC Tournament history, overcoming a 6-1 deficit.

PFP QUEEN

Sam Landry gets to just about everything in the circle. The right-handed pitcher leads the SEC among hurlers with 49 assists.

COMEBACK KIDS

With the 8-6 win against No. 6/7 Arkansas, the Sooners earned their 17th comeback victory on the season. The comeback win in the SEC Championship Semifinals was OU’s largest comeback since 2018.

BRINGING OUR BOOM

Oklahoma has 110 home runs this season, becoming the first program to hit at least 100 home runs in six straight years. Gabbie Garcia leads the way with 18, while 13 Sooners have at least two.

MAGIC NUMBER

Oklahoma is 41-0 when scoring at least six runs. The Sooners earned three run-rule wins on the weekend during regionals, bringing Oklahoma to 22 such victories this season. 

ALL-SEC                           

Oklahoma earned nine different All-SEC honors, with Coach Gasso being named SEC Coach of the Year and Sam Landry was tabbed Newcomer of the Year. 

RANKED GAMES

The Sooners have played 24 games against ranked teams this season, going 20-6 in such contests. The Sooners earned three sweeps against top 15 programs, including a sweep against No. 3/2 Texas – OU’s first ever three game sweep against a top five team. 

The Sooners have outscored top 25 teams, 157-108. Freshman Gabbie Garcia has paced the Sooners with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 82 at-bats against ranked teams this season. Sam Landry has fanned 81 batters and gone 10-4 with a 2.28 ERA in her 18 appearances against ranked teams.

ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS

The Sooners have a number of players in the top ten among active leaders in a variety of statistical categories, particularly between the arms of Isabella Smith and Sam Landry. 

-Wins: Sam Landry (first in DI – 85), Isabella Smith (second in DI – 79)

-Innings pitched: Isabella Smith (sixth in DI – 649.3)

-Appearances: Sam Landry (sixth in DI and NCAA – 149), Isabella Smith (seventh in DI and NCAA – 140)

-Strikeouts: Isabella Smith (fifth in DI and 15th in NCAA – 682) 

-Home runs: Cydney Sanders (7th in DI – 56)

-Walks: Cydney Sanders (4th in DI – 152)

THE GIFT OF GAB

Freshman infielder Gabbie Garcia is tied for 6th among all freshmen in Division with 18 home runs. She was named D1Softball Freshman of the Week March 11 and April 8 as well SEC Player of the Week March 18. Earlier this season she became the first OU freshman since Jocelyn Alo to homer in five consecutive games. April 30 she was named to the top spot of the Softball America Shortstops rankings.

AND IT’S OUT OF THE PARK(ER)!

Sophomore Ella Parker is heating up over the past three weekends, having hit safely in 13 of the last 15 games. She’s homered in six of the last ten games, hitting half of her total for the year beginning in the Texas series. 

BALANCE IS KEY    

One of the greatest assets of the OU offense this year has been its balance. The Sooners have six players with at least 11 home runs, with Gabbie Garcia pacing the way with 18 and Kasidi Pickering with 17. 

SYD & CYD

Sydney Barker and Cydney Sanders have combined for six of OU’s 12 RBIs in the SEC Tournament. 

PERFORMING UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas has hit 11 of her 14 home runs in SEC play. She’s had a multi-home run series against South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi State, and also homered against Alabama and Texas. In total she’s homered against every SEC team OU has faced this season outside of Tennessee and Florida.

BIG BATS

OU has homered in 45 of 55 games this season. Oklahoma has hit five home runs three times, while setting a season high with six homers against Arkansas May 9. Two different players have had streaks of four games in a row with a home run or better.

FRESHIES

Oklahoma freshman have combined to hit 50 of Oklahoma’s 110 home runs, paced by 18 from Gabbie Garcia and 14 from Nelly McEnroe-Marinas. Five different OU freshmen have hit at least two home runs.

NATIONAL NODS

Senior pitcher Sam Landry and sophomore outfielder Kasidi Pickering were both named to the USA Collegiate Softball Player of the Year Top 25 list Wednesday, April 30.

ALL-SEC SOONERS

The Oklahoma Sooners made some noise in the all-tournament team listing. Six Sooners combined for nine total honors. Sam Landry was named SEC Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-SEC and to the all-defensive squad. Kasidi Pickering and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas made the first team. Gabbie Garcia was tabbed to the second team and all-defensive squad, while Ailana Agbayani was also a second team pick. Head Coach Patty Gasso was named SEC Coach of the Year in her first season in the league.

HAWAII FIVE-0

Junior second baseman Ailana Agbayani is coming off her first SEC Player of the Week honor April 29 after hitting .750 (6-for-8) with a grand slam, three runs five RBIs and two walks. Agbayani tied a career high with five RBIs in OU’s 7-6 win against No. 3/2 Texas Friday, April 25. She was also named Softball America Star of the Week that same week. All four of her home runs have either come against ranked teams or in postseason play. 

IT’S PERFECT!

The Sooners have spun two perfect games this year between the arms of Isabella Smith and Sam Landry. Smith posted a five-inning perfect game in an 8-0 win against Cal Baptist in her first-ever start with OU. She became the only pitcher in program history to post a perfect game in a debut. Landry followed that up with a five-inning perfect game at No. 23/24 Baylor later in February. 

ROLL CALL!

Oklahoma Softball set program records for series attendance and single game attendance for a regular season series at Love’s Field during the sweep of Texas April 25-27. A total of 13,734 fans saw the series, while game three’s attendance reached a record, 4,609 at Love’s.

RECORD SWEEP

OU has swept four SEC series this year (South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas), with the latest being a record-setting sweep against No. 3/2 Texas April 25-27. OU’s series sweep against the Longhorns marked the program’s first-ever three-game sweep against a top-five team.

JERSEY COMBOS

OU has worn five different jersey combinations this season and the records in each are in (note credit to Sooner Tracker). 

-White jersey/crimson pants: 10-2

-White jersey/white pants: 8-2

-Crimson jersey/crimson pants: 13-2

-Crimson jersey/white pants: 4-0

-Anthracite: 13-1

CYDNEY SLAMDERS

Cydney Sanders has played in the most games among active Sooners, logging 228 for her career and 167 for her time at Oklahoma. Sanders’ 56 career homers features 33 during her time in Norman, two of which came in the same inning against St. Thomas April 3. She was the first Sooner to do so since Alynah Torres homered twice in the same frame against UT Arlington March 20, 2024. Sanders also surpassed 100 career walks at OU, standing at 109 right now.

USA TEAM

Associate head coaches Jennifer Rocha and JT Gasso were both tabbed to the U.S. Softball Women’s National Team Coaching Pool as announced Monday, May 5. Also on the national scale, OU head coach Patty Gasso was named United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee College Coach of the Year April 29. 

SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM

Junior lefty Kiertson Deal was named to the SEC Softball Community Service Team Tuesday, May 6, becoming the first-ever Sooner Softball player to take home the award in the program’s first year in the league. The honor is given to student-athletes that have given back to their community with efforts off the field. In the circle Deal has spun two complete games against top-10 teams this year, doing so in the Saturday game against No. 10/9 Tennessee (7-1 win) and No. 3/2 Texas (7-2).

21 IS NO. 1

Sooner righty Sam Landry was picked first overall in the first-ever Athletes Unlimited Softball League Draft Saturday, May 3. Landry is set to play for the AUSL Volts, joining OU alumnae Tiare Jennings on the team.

KEEPIN’ IT 100

Oklahoma has seen a number of players surpass the “100 milestone” in a variety of statistical categories this year, including:

–Sam Landry reached 100 strikeouts this season (April 9 vs. OSU)

–Kasidi Pickering reached 100 career hits (April 9 vs. OSU)

–Ella Parker surpassed 100 career hits (February 28 vs. Marshall), 100 starts and 100 runs (April 26), as well as 100 RBIs (April 27)

–Isabela Emerling reached 100 career RBIs (March 26 at Wichita State)

–Cydney Sanders eclipsed 100 RBIs at OU (April 3 vs. St. Thomas)

–Cydney Sanders surpassed 100 walks at OU (April 26 vs. Texas)

–Kasidi Pickering surpassed 100 runs (May 17 vs. Cal)

–Kasidi Pickering surpassed 100 RBI (May 18 vs. Cal)

 

Hundreds of high school athletes around Northern Nevada will continue their athletic and academic careers in college, and they are being honored at signing ceremonies around the area this spring.

WILKES-BARRE — A Nanticoke man pled guilty in Luzerne County Court to charges related to a fatal crash involving an all-terrain vehicle driver in 2023.

Richard J. Simon Jr., 40, of West Union Street, was charged by Newport Township police with striking an ATV operated by James “Jimmy” Edward Thiemann, 26, on East Kirmar Avenue on July 30, 2023, according to court records.

Thiemann, of Warrior Run, died at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, on Aug. 5, 2023.

Simon, through his attorney, Theron J. Solomon, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor, before Judge Michael T. Vough on Thursday.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Simon could face up to five years in prison but prosecutors did not object to house arrest if Simon is eligible.

Court records say Simon, operating a 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe, was traveling on Alden Mountain Road when he was passed by several ATV drivers, including Thiemann.

Simon and the ATV drivers changed lanes and varied their speeds with Simon briefly driving off the roadway. Simon then struck Thiemann’s ATV that was pushed a distance resulting in Thiemann being thrown to the ground striking his head, court records say.

Simon briefly stopped and was allegedly pulled from his vehicle and attacked, before he managed to flee the scene.

Police did not charge Simon with fleeing the scene or failure to render aid.

Videos of the encounter were recorded on cellular phones by other ATV drivers.

In an unrelated case, Simon also pled guilty to a burglary charge as Nanticoke police accused him with entering a house under renovations on West Union Street and stealing tools, a hot water heater and materials on Jan. 24, 2024, according to court records.

Vough scheduled Simon to be sentenced July 3. Simon remains free on $25,000 bail.