GANGNEUNG, South Korea – Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) scored three times while Josh Misiewicz (La Grange, Ill.) and Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) each tallied twice as the 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team beat host Korea, 8-0, in its final preliminary round game of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. With the win, the United States (3-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) advances to Thursday’s semifinal round, where it will face Italy. Time and television coverage of that contest is still to be determined.

The U.S. opened the scoring 4:51 into the game when Roybal converted on the power play. With the Koreans called for too many men, Roybal took a pass from Farmer and fired a left-handed wrist shot over the glove of Korean goaltender, Yu Man Gyun.

Farmer doubled Team USA’s lead 1:49 later with his first goal of the game. The play started deep in Korea’s zone, where Jack Wallace (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) dished the puck to Farmer who curled out of the corner and towards the top of the right circle for a shot that tucked under the crossbar.

Midway through the frame, Misiewicz scored back-to-back goals to push Team USA’s advantage to 4-0. His first goal came at the 8:09 mark when captain Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) sent him the puck just inside the right faceoff dot where he was able to tuck a shot under Gyun’s blocker. Misiewicz then connected again from the slot just 1:48 later when Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.) fed him a pass from behind the net that he one-timed for the score.

In the final two minutes, Farmer added a pair of shorthanded markers to complete the hat trick.

The first goal came when he chased down a clearing attempt from Roybal and beat Gyun with a low shot glove-side. With 1:32 remaining, Farmer connected again when Roybal dodged a Korean defender at the blue line and found Farmer streaking through the slot for a left-handed shot that snuck inside the far post.

The middle stanza saw both teams trade chances along with a pair of power play opportunities. Team USA’s best chance came off the stick of Landeros, whose long-ranged wrister was blockered aside. With neither team able to convert, the U.S. entered the final period with a commanding 6-0 lead.

In the third stanza, Travis Dodson (Deming, N.M.) scored his third goal of the tournament 3:36 into the frame. The play started when Tyler Carron (Fort Collins, Colo.) skated down into the right corner and fired a pass through a trio of defenders that found Dodson to the right of the crease for the tap-in tally.

With 4:53 in the game, Roybal tallied his second goal of the game to account for the 8-0 final.

U.S. netminder Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) turned aside all three shots he faced for his second shutout in as many games. The win gives Cash 11 wins in 12 Paralympic starts, of which 10 have been by shutout.

NOTES: The U.S. outshot Korea, 24-4, went 2-for-6 on the power play and finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. For complete game statistics, click here … Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) has a tournament best eight goals and 13 points while Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.) ranks second in each category with seven goals and 11 points … Deloitte, Labatt USA and Toyota are proud sponsors of the 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team … The 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team was announced on Jan. 1, 2018, and its full 17-player roster can be seen here … Dan Brennan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), director of sled national teams for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager of the 2018 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team … Guy Gosselin (Grafton, Wis.), a two-time U.S. Olympian (1988, 1992) and USA Hockey’s regional manager of the American Development Model, is head coach of Team USA … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for the U.S. Paralympic team.