Table of Contents
🇺🇸 US Women’s Para Ice Hockey: Growing the Game
USA Women’s Para Ice Hockey Team celebrates winning the 2025 Women’s World Championship. August 31, 2025. Dolný Kubín, Slovakia
Not only are the U.S. women dominating in stand-up ice hockey, they’re dominating in women’s para ice hockey too.
Women’s para ice hockey isn’t in the Paralympics yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch them play and cheer them on. Not only are they dominating on the ice, they’re also working to grow the game and push for women’s para ice hockey to be included in the 2030 Paralympics.
Para ice hockey in the Paralympics is technically a co-ed sport. Shoutout to Akari Fukunishi, who will represent Team Japan. While that’s great, it is still difficult for many women to be included in the Paralympics. We have never seen a woman play for the USA in para ice hockey in the Paralympics.
The ultimate goal is to have women’s para ice hockey included as its own category. The sport has already made huge progress, with the first-ever Women’s World Championships held last year in Slovakia.
Six teams competed: Australia, USA, Canada, Norway, Great Britain, and Team World. You can already see the impact this is having on the growth of the game: for example, Akari Fukunishi played for Team World at the 2025 World Championship.
Team USA went undefeated in the tournament and defeated Canada 7–1 in the gold medal game. USA’s Kelsey DiClaudio scored four goals in that game and was named tournament MVP. The team only allowed one goal during the entire tournament.
This U.S. team is incredible. The chemistry, the passing, the skill, the speed. And by the way, women’s para ice hockey is extremely physical too. I had so much fun watching this team because they’re really pushing boundaries and showing just how excellent women’s para ice hockey can be.
Not only are they excellent on the ice, they’re also helping grow the game. The team recently announced a Women’s Para Ice Hockey Development Camp. It will be led by Team USA’s Monica Quimby and take place this June in Finland.
This is amazing leadership. I am especially impressed by how accessible it is, considering the camp only costs $60. If you’re interested in para ice hockey at all, I highly recommend checking it out.
To make it into the Paralympic Games, the sport needs eight total countries competing. Right now there are five: Australia, USA, Canada, Norway, Great Britain, so they still need three more.
I really love women’s para ice hockey, and I’m excited to see it grow. Huge kudos to the U.S. women: not only are they dominating on the ice, but they are growing the game.
watch my full women’s para ice hockey video here!
🥇 Para Ice Hockey Tournament Format Explained
Storylines:
USA looking to win 5th straight gold
USA’s Josh Pauls (4X Paralympic Gold Medalist) served as Team USA’s flag bearer
Rivalry between USA and Canada exists in para ice hockey as well!
What is Para Ice Hockey?
2X Paralympic Gold Medalist Jack Wallace explains para ice hockey equipment! 👇
Tournament Format:
Three days of preliminary-round matches before teams advance to the knockout stage; each team plays three group-stage games
The two top teams from each group will advance to semi-finals
The teams ranked third and fourth will compete in classification games to determine fifth to eighth place
3-2-1-0 point format
Groups:
Group A: USA (1), China (4), Germany (5), Italy (8)
Group B: Canada (2), Czechia (3), Japan (6), Slovakia (7)
Group stage:
Saturday, 7 March 2026
*EST 6 hours behind Milan local time
view full schedule here
Game | Time EST / PST | Group |
|---|---|---|
CZECHIA vs JAPAN | 4:05 AM / 1:05 AM | Group B |
CHINA vs GERMANY | 7:35 AM / 4:35 AM | Group A |
USA vs ITALY | 11:05 AM / 8:05 AM | Group A |
CANADA vs SLOVAKIA | 2:35 PM / 11:35 AM | Group B |
Monday, 9 March 2026
*EST only 5 hours behind Milan local time (accounting for daylight savings)
Game | Time EST / PST | Group |
|---|---|---|
CHINA vs ITALY | 5:05 AM / 2:05 AM | Group A |
CZECHIA vs SLOVAKIA | 8:35 AM / 5:35 AM | Group B |
GERMANY vs USA | 12:05 PM / 9:05 AM | Group A |
JAPAN vs CANADA | 3:35 PM / 12:35 PM | Group B |
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Game | Time EST / PST | Group |
|---|---|---|
ITALY vs GERMANY | 5:05 AM / 2:05 AM | Group A |
USA vs CHINA | 8:35 AM / 5:35 AM | Group A |
CANADA vs CZECHIA | 12:05 PM / 9:05 AM | Group B |
SLOVAKIA vs JAPAN | 3:35 PM / 12:35 PM | Group B |
Knockout round:
Thursday, 12 March 2026
Game | Time EST / PST |
|---|---|
5-8 Playoff match 1 (A3 vs. B4) | 9:35 AM / 6:35 AM |
5-8 Playoff match 2 (A4 vs. B3) | 2:05 PM / 11:05 AM |
Friday, 13 March 2026
Game | Time EST / PST |
|---|---|
Semifinals 1 (A1 vs. B2) | 9:35 AM / 6:35 AM |
Semifinals 2 (A2 vs. B1) | 2:05 PM / 11:05 AM |
Saturday, 14 March 2026
Game | Time EST / PST |
|---|---|
Rank 7-8 match (Losers of 5-8 playoff) | 7:05 AM / 4:05 AM |
Rank 5-6 match (Winners of 5-8 playoff) | 11:05 AM / 8:05 AM |
Sunday, 15 March 2026
Game | Time EST / PST |
|---|---|
Bronze medal game | 7:05 AM / 4:05 AM |
Gold medal game | 11:05 AM / 8:05 AM |
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