A member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey team that won the gold medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia will play in the Oakland Edge Adult Hockey Tournament this weekend in Rochester.
Dan McCoy, 20, will join his club team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they take on sled teams from 
Windsor, Ont., Toledo and Grand Rapids. Tournament play begins Friday night for the men’s and women’s divisions and Saturday for the sled division. All games take place at the Onyx – Rochester Ice Arena. There is no admission charge.
“We’re excited to have a player of Dan’s stature play in the Oakland Edge,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “All of the sled hockey players have a level of talent that’s worth watching.”
Sled hockey players are athletes living with physical challenges that use their arms and modified hockey sticks to propel themselves around the ice while sitting in sleds with steel runners on the bottom.
McCoy was born with spina bifida, caused by the incomplete formation of vertebrae; and hydrocephalus, a medical condition in which there is accumulation of fluid in the brain.
The United States defeated Russia 1-0 to win the gold medal. McCoy will bring his gold medal to display and have pictures to autograph.
“He’s excited to be coming and to be playing with his club team again,” said his mother, Angie McCoy. “This sport really defined him. He came to us when he was eight and said he wanted to be a paralympian. At that point, my husband and I realized we can’t baby this kid.”
McCoy’s team plays at 2 p.m. Saturday against the Grand Rapids Sled Wings and at 8:30 p.m. against the Canadian team. On Sunday, the Penguins play the Toledo Walleye at 9 a.m. The top teams in the division play for the championship on Sunday at 2:15 p.m.
McCoy has been a member of the national team since 2011. He has traveled to South Korea, Norway, Canada and Japan with the team. He is a student at the University of Pittsburgh where he is pursuing a degree in rehabilitation science and sports medicine.
The information in this press release is courtesy of Oakland County. The pictures used were added by Rochester Media.
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