NYMBURK, Czechia – Adam Dixon (Midland, ON) became the all-time Team Canada games played leader as Canada’s National Para Hockey Team beat the United States 5-1 on Saturday to capture its first-ever gold medal at the International Para Hockey (IPH) Cup.
With career game No. 277, Dixon—who has recorded 291 points (110-181—291) wearing the Maple Leaf—surpassed National Women’s Team legend Hayley Wickenheiser, who made 276 appearances for Canada’s National Women’s Team from 1994 to 2016.
“If you asked my family at 10 years old when I’m diagnosed with cancer that I’m going to play 20 years representing our country and travelling all over the world playing the wonderful sport of hockey, holy smokes, what a dream that would be,” said Dixon. “That’s exactly what happened. I got to play with incredible players, incredible coaches and see so many things through victory and defeat. The person I am today is all because of hockey.”
“It is hard to summarize what he has meant to this program,” Canadian captain Tyler McGregor (Forest, ON) said of Dixon. “What impresses me the most isn’t just the consistency and longevity of his career, it’s the way he shows up to the rink with such a great attitude. He’s 37 years old and I’ve been honoured to be part of that for the past 15 years and he shows up the same way. He has an infectious attitude on the entire team. We’re all so happy for him, he’s a phenomenal guy.”
After a scoreless first period, Canada struck for three goals in less than seven minutes early in the second to take control. Auren Halbert (Calgary, AB) got the scoring started just 42 seconds into the middle frame, Branden Sison (Edmonton, AB) got a shot through traffic at 3:25 and Vincent Boily (Alma, QC) tapped in a cross-crease feed from Dominic Cozzolino (Mississauga, ON) at 7:04 for his team-best sixth goal of the tournament and a 3-0 Canadian advantage.
The United States got one back before the end of the second period on a power play, but James Dunn (Wallacetown, ON) and Anton Jacobs-Webb (Gatineau, QC) added insurance in the third.
Jean-François Huneault (Saint-Eustache, QC) was solid in goal, making 14 saves in a Player of the Game performance.
Full game stats and game summary are available HERE.
“It was an outstanding effort and I’m really proud of the group,” said head coach Boris Rybalka (Camrose, AB). “They are trusting us as a coaching staff and trusting management, and you can see the tide turning. We told them to keep trusting us, so all the credit goes to the players. They’re the ones who are believing in what we’re teaching them and they are going and doing it on the ice. They see it’s working and it’s a lot of fun and I love seeing the smiles on their faces when they see the success.”
Canada secured its spot in the gold medal game by finishing the preliminary round in second place with a 2-0-0-1 record. It opened the tournament with a 5-3 loss to the Americans before three consecutive shutouts—11-0 over the World Selects, 7-0 over Czechia and 2-0 over the Czechs in the semifinals.
Canada’s National Para Hockey Team will return to Calgary for a training camp in mid-November ahead of the 2026 Para Cup, Nov. 29-Dec 5, in Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador where they will be joined by the United States, China and Czechia. Fans looking to secure their seats can purchase a full 10-game tournament package 75, fees included, at HockeyCanada.ca/Tickets.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Para Hockey Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.