CHD's All In Sled Hockey Wins Gold Medal at Empire State Winter Games

The Springfield Thunderbirds Sled Hockey Team, which won a silver medal at the Empire State Winter Games last year, this time outdid themselves—and all their competition—by grabbing the Gold in the prestigious tournament, winning all five games January 31-February 2.

The Thunderbirds sled squad is administered by CHD’s All In: Barrier-Free Recreation program, which provides compelling recreational activities for adults and children with disabilities.

The medal-winning victory was in same arena in which the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” US Olympic Hockey Team won the Gold Medal in Lake Placid, NY. The 2025 championship game was a nail-biter, with the T-Birds squeaking by the Buffalo Sabres Sled Vets, 3-2. It was the same team the T-Birds won their first game against in another close one, 5-3. The rest of the contests were shutouts, with our Bay State skaters winning 5-0 over the Central New York Flyers, 6-0 vs. the Central Vermont Pioneers, and an 8-0 landslide over the Fort Drum Mountain Warriors.

“This year’s Thunderbird Sled Hockey team has shown nothing but tenacity, grit, and camaraderie,” said Ryan Kincade, outreach coordinator for CHD’S All In program and the Thunderbirds Sled Hockey team captain. “Every bit of that and more was given by every player. Playing and winning five games in three days, and scoring 27 total points while only letting up five goals, shows the commitment of our team. This gold proves that we can handle high intensity play in the very competitive sport of sled hockey.”

The opportunity to play in this tournament, as well as last year’s Empire State Games, was made possible by a grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, which provided All In with a two-year grant of $31,538 for its programming in sled hockey, which is similar to “stand up” hockey, except that participants sit on a sled that has skate blades and a runner in front, and use two shortened hockey sticks with a blade on one end and a pick on the other end, which enable them to propel themselves across the ice.

The Neilsen Foundation is the largest private funder of spinal cord injury, research, education, clinical training, and programmatic support in the US and Canada.