Sports
Franklin Lakes' Jack Wallace Scores In Paralympics
Jack Wallace, 19, is competing in South Korea with the men's National Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.
FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — Jack Wallace scored a goal in his team's 10-0 route of Japan at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea Sunday. Wallace is a member of the National Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.
It was the team's first preliminary round game at the Paralympics. Wallace is a forward on the team.
The team's next game is Monday at noon against the Czech Republic. It will be televised live on NBCSN and streamed live on NBCOlympics.com.
Find out what's happening in Wyckofffor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Sled hockey is just like it sounds. Players move around the ice on metal sleds with skates on the bottom. Unlike regular hockey where players have to move and handle the puck with their hands, sled hockey players have to do one or the other.
Wallace, 19, has been playing the sport after he lost his right leg in a boating accident in 2008. A hockey player his entire life, Wallace began playing sled hockey soon after he was hurt.
Find out what's happening in Wyckofffor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"It was just something fun I was doing, but as I get more into it, the more I enjoyed it," Wallace said recently from South Korea. "Once I made the development team, I had a goal of making the national team."
Despite the physical differences, sled hockey is a tough, physically demanding sport.
"It's completely physical, you can light people up just as much as you can in regular hockey," Wallace said. "Sometimes its worse because you get hit on the boards and they don't flex like the glass above them does."
Wallace said his family has been extremely supportive of him playing sled hockey. He is planning for a career after sled hockey. He is a student at The College of New Jersey majoring in biomedical engineering.
"The amount of sacrifices they've made for me is amazing," Wallace said. "I'm going to play as long as I can. I love it."
Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.
Photos: Jack Wallace's team photo.. Jack Wallace on the ice with the 2018 National Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. Courtesy of Team USA
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.