Zak Madell was once again a dominant force and this time it put Canada over the top.
Madell, a native of Edmonton playing in his fourth Paralympics wheelchair rugby tournament, scored 28 tries to lead the Canadians to a 54-47 win over Germany Friday in Paris.
Canada led 27-21 at halftime.
The win evened Canada’s record to 1-1 and kept their medal hopes alive as they shot into second place in the A Pool standings, ahead of the third-place United States (1-1). Canada leapfrogged the Americans into second place based on their better try differential (+4) as compared to that of the U.S. (0).
The top two teams in each division advance to the semifinal round on Sunday.
Canada will play Japan to wrap up their preliminary round play Saturday (8:30 a.m. PDT, CBC Gem app) and win over the Japanese will guarantee Canada will play for a medal.
Joel Ewert, 24, of Prince George, playing in his first Paralympics, saw his first game action on Friday.
Canada opened the eight-team tournament Thursday with a 53-48 loss to the U.S.
Meanwhile, in wheelchair basketball, Canada’s men’s team beat host France 83-68 on Friday to open their Paralympic tournament.
Patrick Anderson of Edmonton led the Canadian cause with a game-high 31 points.
Former UNBC student Robert ‘Bo’ Hedges, 47, contributed two points in 5:48 of playing time.
Canada (1-0) faces Great Britain in their next game Saturday (3:45 a.m. PT) and will also play Germany (Monday 7 a.m. PT).
Kady Dandeneau and the Canadian women return to the court Saturday (1:30 a.m. PT) to face Great Britain.
Dandeneau, a 34-year-old former UNBC Timberwolf, sunk a team-high 28 points in Canada’s opening 70-65 loss to China on Thursday.
Canada takes on Great Britain Saturday (1:30 a.m. PT) and will face Spain Sunday (12:30 p.m. PT).
