‘It’s about the camaraderie’: MoCo disabled police officer among those who battled in USA Warriors Sled Hockey Tournament
Military veterans, first responders bonded over rehab and competition at weekend event in Rockville
By
Max SchaefferMay 18, 2026 5:25 p.m.
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Montgomery County police Lt. Patrick Kepp sat perched on a metal sled Sunday, waiting for the referee to drop the puck to begin the sled hockey championship game pitting his team, the Washington, D.C.-based USA Warriors, against the Vigilant Titans, whose players hail from Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California.
Kepp had never played hockey before he was struck by a reckless driver on I-270 in Rockville in 2023. Doctors were forced to amputate his legs after the crash and replace them with prosthetics.
Yet Kepp is now on the ice frequently. He’s one of the top players for the Warriors in sled hockey, a paralympic sport for players with disabilities that prevent them from playing standing hockey.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Rockville Ice Arena hosted the USA Warriors Sled Hockey Tournament. The event on Saturday and Sunday featured eight sled hockey teams composed of mostly disabled U.S. veterans, with a few first responders such as Kepp.
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In sled hockey, a player sits on a long metal seat perched atop a double blade. Kepp, 39, told Bethesda Today he discovered the sport during his recovery at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda.
“One of the occupational and physical therapists said, ‘Hey, do you want to play sled hockey?’ I said, ‘Absolutely’,” Kepp said Sunday.
During the tournament, Kepp’s Warriors won two games and lost one during the round-robin play, earning them a spot in the “Alpha” division (for more experienced players) championship game. They would eventually fall 3-1 on Sunday morning to the Vigilant Titans, a team of players hailing from Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California.
The Titans were led by Ralph DeQuebec, a former Marine who lost both of his legs above the knee to an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, according to his Team USA biography. DeQuebec won two paralympic sled hockey gold medals with the U.S. team before his retirement from international competition.
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Kepp and other players with prosthetic legs remove them to get into their sleds. They then hold the bottom fourth of a hockey stick in each hand, propelling themselves forward by flipping the sticks over and using the backs of each – much like how ski poles are used. Players whose injuries have caused paralysis are strapped into their sleds.
The sleds do nothing to impede the normal brutality of a hockey game. Players frequently crash into each other when fighting for a loose puck. During the game for third place in the “Bravo” division, Army veteran Wendy Major, who has a prosthetic leg, laid a big hit on an opponent, winning possession of the puck for her team, the Florida Sled Guardians. She then propelled herself rapidly along the ice ahead of the defenders, received a pass and tucked the puck in the bottom corner of the net.
“It’s about the camaraderie,” Major, 35, who grew up in Louisiana and had never played hockey before joining her team, told Bethesda Today after the game. “It’s about being around other people with similar disabilities or traumas that you go through — most people don’t understand.”
Karen Hicks, 59, said she knows the impact that playing sled hockey has had on the players. Hicks, who lives in Annapolis, returned for her second year as tournament director after becoming involved through a friend’s husband who is the equipment manager for the Washington Capitals, which sponsors the USA Warriors team.
“I’ve heard a few stories of ‘hockey saved my life’,” Hicks said. “It’s very isolating — first of all just being a veteran you’re in the minority, but when you’re an injured or disabled vet, it’s very isolating … this gives them the opportunity to be with others that are very much like them.”
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If it weren’t for the team jerseys worn by the players, it would be difficult to tell teammates from opponents after a game ends. Players congregate and hug each other, talking about their experiences as veterans or their best plays on the ice.
The USA Warriors team is coached by volunteer Michael Mulrean, a 60-year-old pediatric cardiologist at the Walter Reed medical center and an Iraq War veteran.
“We can have good games, we can have bad games and we don’t get a lot of attitude changes,” Mulrean said. “They’ve been through, you know, hell. They’re using this for recovery and for rehab.”
Hicks said veterans have told her they’re often associated with being cynical, angry and frustrated, but events like the tournament provide an opportunity to showcase their skills and shared bond. Many are developing their own adaptive equipment to add to their sleds, Hicks said.
Kepp noted he has received an outpouring of community support since the crash that cost him his legs – and that support was evident during the tournament. At least three uniformed Montgomery County police officers cheered for Kepp during Sunday’s championship game; more had come earlier in the weekend, he said. Some fellow officers saw him notch two goals and four assists in an earlier game.
“Ninety-five percent of them have no idea, have never seen the sport before and are like, ‘what the heck are these guys doing on sleds?’,” Kepp said. “To put on a good show and to give back to them for coming to support me, that’s the best memory.”
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine