MILAN, Italy — The United States continued its dominant run at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, defeating the People’s Republic of China 7-1 on Tuesday to finish preliminary play unbeaten and secure the top seed in Group A.
Declan Farmer led the way again for the defending Paralympic champions, recording his third consecutive hat trick of the tournament while adding two assists for a five-point performance. Brody Roybal also played a major role in the victory, finishing with four points as the Americans improved to 3-0 in group play.
The win sends the United States into the semifinals at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Friday as the tournament favorite while continuing its pursuit of a fifth straight Paralympic gold medal.
China, the bronze medalist at the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing, kept the game tight early before the United States broke through on the power play midway through the first period. Captain Josh Pauls opened the scoring and Farmer added another shortly afterward as the Americans took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
The United States extended the lead in the second period with a flurry of power-play goals. Roybal contributed two goals and two assists, while Liam Cunningham scored his first Paralympic goal as the Americans pushed the margin to 6-0 entering the third.
Farmer completed his hat trick just 59 seconds into the final period, continuing a remarkable scoring run that has helped power the Americans through the tournament’s opening stage.
China avoided the shutout when Zhanfu Zhu scored midway through the third period, but the outcome was already well in hand as the United States controlled possession and dictated the pace throughout the game.
With the victory, the Americans finished atop Group A and advanced to the semifinals, where they will face either Canada or Czechia depending on the result of the other preliminary round matchup.
In Tuesday’s other Group A game, host Italy earned its first victory of the home Paralympics with a 2-1 win over Germany. Nils Larch and Nikko Landeros scored for the Italians after Germany took an early lead.
The semifinal round will take place Friday in Milan, with the United States entering the medal round having outscored opponents by a wide margin through its first three games.