How To Follow Bergen Paralympic Hockey Player Jack Wallace

BEIJING — Jack Wallace scored a first-period hat trick for Team USA in Paralympic sled hockey on Sunday, and the Bergen County native said the best is yet to come for the team.

Wallace, 23, plays defense for the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey team. He and his team won a gold medal in the PyeongChang Winter Games four years ago. The team has also won gold at world championships in 2019 and 2021.

According to his Team USA page, Wallace was born in Ridgewood, graduated from Indian Hills High School in Oakland, and lives in Franklin Hills. Declan Farmer and Josh Pauls, two other New Jersey natives, are also on the national team as My Central Jersey reports.

Wallace scored his hat trick during the team's 9-1 win over South Korea on Sunday.

“There are little things we need to keep working on and keep building,” Wallace told Team USA. “But I think we are on the right trajectory to play our best game at the end of the week.”

Team USA also beat Canada 5-0 in their first match.

The next match is the semifinals on Friday, March 11; Team USA only has two opponents in the preliminary round after Russian athletes were barred from participating.

Wallace lost part of his right leg in a boating accident in 2008, according to Team USA. He has been on the U.S. National Team since 2016.

Wallace's favorite food is buffalo chicken pizza, and his dream job is to become a pilot, his page said. His hobbies include skiing, playing guitar, camping, woodworking, golfing, and boating.

The Beijing Paralympics are shown on NBC and the Peacock streaming service.

The sled hockey team donned some sleeveless plaid lumberjack shirts and fuzzy hats to cheer on the curling team on their day off.