Sports

Local Man a Shining Star for Growing US Sled Hockey Program

In addition to preparing for his third Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, next month, Hampton Falls' Taylor Chace continues to make a name for himself both himself on and off the ice as a member of the Northeast Passage Wildcats sled hockey team.

Chace, 27, a University of New Hampshire graduate, will defend his 2010 Paralympic gold medal and his 2010 Paralympic Athlete of the Year award when he skates for the Unites States sled hockey team in the tournament in February.

The defenseman currently works at Northeast Passage, which has ties to UNH, in a strength and conditioning coaching role for other athletes with disabilities, according to his Wikipedia entry. He also coaches and works to spread awareness about the sport of sled hockey, also known as sledge hockey.

The Boston Globe has reported that spreading the sport's appeal is important to Chace, who said the sport was "therapy" for him because it allowed him to get back into a competitive and close-knit team environment after he was partially paralyzed at age 16. Chace suffered an L1 vertebra break and incomplete spinal cord injury while playing for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs in 2002. 

Other players and coaches credited Chace as an inspiring figure for his work ethic and approach to not only the game, but also life, according to the Boston Globe.

"Taylor’s a very physical, intense guy, with a lethal shot from either hand," Wildcat coach Bill Stewart reportedly told the Globe. "But he’s also spent countless hours working on his shot and his skating, which at the elite level you need to do to be competitive."

In addition to the 2010 gold medal, Chace also played on the bronze medal-winning U.S. squad at the 2006 Paralympic Games in Italy, won bronze at the 2008 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships, won gold at the 2009 World Championships, according to his Wikipedia entry, and won a silver medal and was named most outstanding defenseman in 2013 at the International Paralympic World Championships in South Korea.



[Read the full feature story on Chace and the budding local sled hockey system here.]


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