USA’s Joey Woodke, left, and Canada’s Tyler Mcgregor fight for the puck in a preliminary round game between Canada and USA during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing on March 5. 
Joshua Misiewicz of Team USA celebrates with teammates, including Port Hope graduate Joey Woodke (11), after scoring USA’s third goal during a semifinal matchup between United States and China at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games on Friday in Beijing.  
Port Hope graduate Joey Woodke, left, and Kyle Zych of the United States as they prepare for their semifinal hockey game against China at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games on Friday in Beijing. 
Port Hope native Joey Woodke and the USA Men’s Paralympic hockey team earned a trip to this weekend’s gold medal game with an 11-0 drubbing of China in the semifinals on Friday morning in Beijing.
USA will take on Canada for the gold on Saturday at 11:05 p.m. EST. The game will air on the USA Network and also be streamed live on the Peacock video streaming service.
Woodke, who wears No. 11 for USA, also tallied his first career Paralympics goal on Friday.
USA advanced to the semifinals with wins over Canada and South Korea. The team is going for its fourth-straight gold medal on Saturday night.
Woodke helped the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team to the top spot in the 2021 Para Ice World Championship in Czech Republic in June 2021. Team USA secured the gold with a 5-1 win over Canada on June 26, giving Team USA its fifth gold medal.
The Port Hope High School graduate has been a member of Team USA for almost three years, but both events and travel were severely limited by the pandemic. Prior to last June, Woodke played in just one international tournament — the 2019 Canadian Tire Para Hockey Cup. That was eight years after a significant event changed his life forever.
On March 29, 2011, Woodke was serving with the U.S. Marines Corps and was on foot patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on an improvised explosive device. He lost both his legs in the blast and suffered damage to his right ear.
He learned about Team USA Para Ice Hockey during an 18-month recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center and eventually became a member. Woodke also plays for the Nashville Sled Preds.
USA will take on Canada in the 2022 Beijing Paralympics men’s hockey gold medal game on Saturday, March 12, at 11:05 p.m. The game will air on the USA Network and also be streamed live on the Peacock video streaming service.
Mark Birdsall has been a reporter at the Huron Daily Tribune since July 2019.
Prior to arriving at the Tribune, Mark was night desk editor for the Cadillac News, where he also helped out the sports department on busy high school football and basketball nights. He previously worked at the Holland Sentinel and the Greenville Daily News.
He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism from Grand Valley State University, where he was editor of the student newspaper, The Lanthorn.
A native of Bay City, Mark is an avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Michigan State Spartans and the Chicago Cubs. He’s also a movie buff and enjoys fishing in his spare time.

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