At long last, the United States' drive for five has come to a fruitful end.

Four years after the U.S. sled hockey team cruised to a 5-0 victory over Canada for a fourth straight Paralympic title, marking the largest margin of victory in a Paralympic gold medal final in history, the Americans did it again, knocking off undefeated Canada, 6-2, for the crown.

With the win, the Americans become the first hockey team — Olympic or Paralympic — to win five back-to-back titles and complete the 2026 golden sweep. Three weeks earlier, on the same sheet of ice in Milan, the United States robbed Canada of Olympic gold in both the men's and women's tournaments.

"This team is so special. We love each other," U.S. defenseman Jack Wallace told NBC's Andrea Joyce after the game. "This team grinded it out, a gritty f—ing game. It was unbelievable. I love these guys so much."

Four years ago, China fielded its first-ever Paralympic team and took bronze on home ice. The country battled its way to 3rd place once again in Milan, outlasting a gritty Czech team in the bronze medal final to secure another prize.

The two countries have grown very familiar with each other since the 2022 Beijing Games. They've gone head-to-head for bronze at each of the last three world championships, with Czechia squeezing out one-goal wins each time, including a 2-1 overtime victory at the most recent edition of the tournament.

Czechia proved resilient and determined throughout its entire tenure in Milan. Though the country eventually fell in its matchups against Canada and the United States, it refused to go down without a fight, breaking Canada's two-game shutout streak and handing the United States its smallest margin of victory through four games.

That dogged spirit remained in the bronze medal contest. The Czechs came out fast and furious, launching a physical offensive attack and finding the back of the net twice in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Pavel Kubes recorded his first goal of the tournament, and Radek Zelinka potted his fourth. 

After some regrouping, China responded with two of their own tallies, scored by Tian Jintao and Wang Zhidong two minutes apart, but two back-to-back penalties to end the period killed the country's momentum.

The score remained locked at 2-2 through the middle 15 minutes of play, but just 18 seconds into the final period, Tian found the back of the net for the lead. Czechia remained strong through the finish but was unable to find an equalizer. 

Czech goalie Patrik Sedlacek was the star of the game — and possibly the best goalie of the whole tournament — effortlessly sliding post-to-post and robbing China of several seemingly-undeniable scoring chances. Through five games in Milan, Sedlacek stopped 87 of 103 shots on net (0.844 save percentage).

During its four previous Paralympic appearances, Czechia never had advanced beyond the preliminary round. The country placed 5th in 2010 and 2014, then 6th in 2018 and 2022.