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Saturday, January 31, 2015

{allcanada} WHL: Bjorkstrand has a six-point night as Winterhawks double up Silvertips

PORTLAND, Ore. - Oliver Bjorkstrand had a six-point night — including a hat trick — to lead the Portland Winterhawks to their eight-straight win by doubling the Everett Silvertips 6-3 on Saturday night in Western Hockey League play.

Chase De Leo scored twice in the third period for Portland (31-19-3). Winnipeg Jets prospect Nicolas Petan added a goal 16 seconds into the third.

Noah Juulsen and Remi Laurencelle chipped in with first period goals for the Silvertips (31-15-4). Ivan Nikolishin had the other.

Adin Hill turned away 22 shots for the win while Austin Lotz made 30 saves for Everett.

The Winterhawks went 1 for 2 on the power play while the Silvertips scored twice on four chances.

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RAIDERS 6 REBELS 5 (SO)

RED DEER, Alta. — Reid Gardiner scored the decisive goal in the shootout and added two more in regulation as Prince Albert edged the Rebels.

Kris Schmidli, Matteo Gennaro and Sean Montgomery also chipped in for the Raiders (21-28-1), who scored four times in the second period.

Riley Sheen struck twice for Red Deer (27-15-8) with Conner Bleackley, Presten Kopeck and Grayson Pawlenchuk adding the others. Colton Bobyk had three assists.

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HITMEN 5 OIL KINGS 0

CALGARY — Adam Tambellini scored two of the Hitmen's three third-period goals and Mack Shields turned aside all 27 shots he faced as they shut out Edmonton.

Vancouver Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen had a goal and three assists for Calgary (29-17-5). Connor Rankin and Terell Draude also chipped in as the Hitmen won their sixth straight.

Tristan Jarry stopped 20 shots for the Oil Kings (24-22-6).

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WHEAT KINGS 6 WARRIORS 0

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Jordan Papirny made 21 saves and Ivan Provorov had four assists as Brandon blanked the Warriors.

Ryan Pilon, Rihards Bukarts, Peter Quenneville, Nolan Patrick, Braylon Shmyr and Reid Duke all found the back of the net for the Wheat Kings (37-9-5).

Zach Sawchenko turned away 35 shots in goal for Moose Jaw (20-27-4), which suffered its third-straight loss.

Jesse Shynkaruk of the Warriors received a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct at 10:23 of the third.

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BLADES 4 BRONCOS 0

SASKATOON — Nik Amundrud kicked out 29 shots as the Blades blanked Swift Current.

Mason McCarty, Nikita Soshnin, Brycen Martin and Brett Stovin scored for Saskatoon (15-31-3).

Landon Bow started in net for the Broncos (23-23-5) making 24 saves in 47:44. Travis Child turned aside all five shots that came his way in 12:16 of relief.

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PATS 6 HURRICANES 2

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Austin Wagner scored one of Regina's four second-period goals and added an empty-netter shorthanded as the Pats beat the Hurricanes.

Taylor Cooper, Adam Berg, Patrick D'Amico and Sam Steel rounded out the attack for Regina (27-17-6). The win ended a six-game losing streak.

Pavel Skumatov opened the scoring in the first for Lethbridge (12-31-6) while Brayden Burke added the other.

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ROCKETS 5 ICE 1

CRANBROOK, B.C. — Rourke Chartier had a short-handed goal in the first and Kelowna went on to score three more in the period and beat the Ice.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Leon Draisaitl, Cole Martin and Gage Quinney also found the back of the net in the first for the Rockets (39-8-4). Dillon Dube added the other in the second.

Tyler King replied with a power-play goal late in the opening period for Kootenay (27-24-1).

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BLAZERS 3 GIANTS 2 (SO)

VANCOUVER — Cole Ully and Jake Kryski both scored in the shootout as Kamloops slipped past the Giants.

Ully added another in regulation to open the scoring for the Blazers (20-26-6) while Marc McNutty had a second-period goal.

Zane Jones and Tyler Benson found the back of the net for Vancouver (20-28-3). It was the Giants' fourth-straight loss.

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THUNDERBIRDS 3 COUGARS 0

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Cory Milette scored a power-play goal and Taran Kozun stopped all 20 shots he faced as Seattle shut out the Cougars.

Calvin Spencer opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds (25-19-6) midway through the first period. Ryan Gropp added the other in the second.

Patrick Gora made 19 saves in goal for Prince George (20-31-2), which has lost its last 12 outings.

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ROYALS 3 AMERICANS 2 (SO)

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Jack Walker scored the only goal in the shootout as Victoria edged the Americans.

Bryton Sayers and Greg Chase supplied the offence for the Royals (28-20-4) in regulation.

Richard Nejezchleb struck twice — including once on the power play — for Tri-City (24-24-3). It was the Americans third consecutive loss.

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CHIEFS 4 TIGERS 3 (SO)

SPOKANE, Wash. — Jason Fram had the decisive goal in the shootout and added another in regulation to lift the Chiefs past Medicine Hat.

Liam Stewart and Adam Helewka also scored for Spokane (24-21-4), which ended a seven-game slide in the win.

Ty Stanton, Matt Bradley and Zach Fischer found the back of the net for the Tigers (35-12-3). The loss ends a six-game winning streak for Medicine Hat.

Jacob Cardiff of the Chiefs received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct at 8:54 of the second period.

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:35 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} OHL: Labanc scores hat trick as Colts double IceDogs

BARRIE, Ont. - Kevin Labanc had a goal in the first period and added two in the second to complete the hat trick as the Barrie Colts doubled the Niagara IceDogs 6-3 on Saturday night in Ontario Hockey League action.

Ben Hawerchuk, Justin Scott and Brendan Lemieux supplied the rest of the offence for Barrie (29-17-2). MacKenzie Blackwood kicked out 34 shots in goal.

Brendan Perlini scored twice for the IceDogs (21-22-4), who suffered their first regulation loss over a 12 game stretch. Blake Siebenaler started the scoring for Niagara in the first period.

Brent Moran made 25 saves for the IceDogs.

The Colts scored twice on five power plays while Niagara also converted twice, but on nine chances.

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FRONTENACS 5 STING 2

KINGSTON, Ont. — Conor McGlynn scored twice and added an assist to help the Frontenacs snap a four-game losing streak with a win against Sarnia.

Jared Steege, Lawson Crouse and Juho Lammikko also found the back of the net for Kingston (18-20-7).

Hayden Hodgson and Daniel Nikandrov had goals for the Sting (23-19-6).

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RANGERS 4 STORM 1

KITCHENER, Ont. — Ryan MacInnis had a pair of goals to lead the Rangers over Guelph.

Brandon Robinson opened the scoring for Kitchener (22-15-9), with Mike Davies finishing off the attack.

Givani Smith scored in the first period for the Storm (27-18-4).

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67's 4 PETES 2

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — Travis Konecny scored one-of-two Ottawa goals in the third period and added three assists as it doubled up the Petes.

Alex Lintuniemi had the other goal in the third period for the 67's (26-18-3), who won for the sixth time in the past seven games. Nathan Todd and Dante Salituro added the others.

Josh MacDonald and Cameron Lizotte found the back of the net for Peterborough (18-23-5), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

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SPITFIRES 3 WHALERS 2 (SO)

PLYMOUTH, Mich. — Lucas Venuto had the only goal in the shootout and had another in regulation as Windsor slipped past the Whalers to end a two-game losing streak.

Hayden McCool had the other goal for the Spitfires (20-25-2) late in the second period.

Connor Chatam and Will Bitten had goals on the power play for Plymouth (16-27-4).

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GREYHOUNDS 7 STEELHEADS 1

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Jared McCann scored twice in the first period while Blake Speers added two of his own as the Greyhounds routed Mississauga for their 10th-straight win.

Anthony DeAngelo, Keigan Goetz and Michael Bunting rounded out the attack for Sault Ste. Marie (37-9-2).

Stefan LeBlanc responded with a goal on the man advantage in the third for the Steelheads (20-26-3).

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ATTACK 7 WOLVES 2

OWEN SOUND, Ont. — Kyle Platzer had one of five goals in the second period for the Attack as they extended Sudbury's losing streak to 17 games.

Daniel Milne, Erik Bradford, Jaden Lindo, Jacob Busch, Zach Nastasiuk and Justin Brack also scored for for Owen Sound (21-16-9). The Attack ended a losing streak of their own, halting a three-game skid.

Jacob Harris scored twice in the second period for the Wolves (7-38-2).

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BULLS 5 SPIRIT 4 (OT)

SAGINAW, Mich. — David Tomasek scored 57 seconds into overtime to lift Belleville over the Spirit, ending its six-game losing streak.

Brett Gustavsen, Stephen Harper, Brandon Saigeon and Matt Luff also chipped in for the Bulls (20-22-6).

Kris Bennett, Tye Felhaber, Jacob Ringuette and Artem Artemov had goals for Saginaw (22-23-3).

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:35 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Flames score four in third period to overtake Oilers

CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames' third-period dominance overwhelmed the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Lance Bouma scored twice as part of Calgary's four-goal third period and the Flames rallied to beat the Oilers 4-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Paul Byron and Sean Monahan also scored and Jonas Hiller made 17 saves for Calgary (27-20-3), which has an NHL-leading nine wins when trailing after two periods. The Flames also have an NHL-leading 63 third-period goals while allowing the fewest in the League (32).

Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot scored in the first period for Edmonton (13-28-9), which concludes a two-game road trip Monday against the San Jose Sharks.

The Flames trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes but needed less than half the third period to turn the deficit into a lead.

Byron finally solved Oilers goaltender Ben Scrivens at 2:56. Mason Raymond circled the Oilers' net, popped out the other side and sent a shot through a screen that Byron tipped past Scrivens to cut the Oilers' lead to 2-1. It snapped a 28-game goal-scoring drought for Byron and a span of 105:28 without a goal for Calgary.

The Flames needed less than 3 1/2 minutes to pull even.

After failing to bunt a puck out of midair into an open net behind Scrivens earlier in the shift, Bouma collected a pass from Mikael Backlund that missed David Jones and beat the Oilers goaltender at 6:16 to tie the game at 2-2.

Monahan put the Flames ahead at 8:39, skipping a centering pass off Oilers defenseman Keith Aulie and past Scrivens with Edmonton forward Derek Roy in the penalty box for hooking.

Bouma added his second of the night with 3:33 remaining. Backlund forced a neutral-zone turnover, broke into the Edmonton zone and fed Bouma, who lifted his eighth of the season over Scrivens' glove to give Calgary a two-goal lead and cap the comeback.

Bouma had a chance to complete the hat trick in the final seconds with the Edmonton net empty but couldn't find the handle.

It took the Oilers 2:43 from the start of the game to jump ahead.

Off the ensuing faceoff following an icing, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins won the draw back to Eberle in the slot; he corralled the puck and fired his 13th of the season past Hiller's blocker to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead.

The Oilers made it 2-0 at 11:41 when Eberle picked up the puck to the left of Hiller and circled behind the net before spotting Pouliot on the other side. He caught Hiller out of position and scored his 11th of the season.

The Flames held a 6-5 advantage in shots in a scoreless second period, but their best chance came without a Scrivens save.

David Wolf, a late addition for his first NHL game in place of the ill Jiri Hudler, came close to pulling the Flames back within one near the midway point of the second period but hit the crossbar behind the Oilers goaltender.

Wolf left the game early in the third period and did not return after sustaining a lower-body injury.

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:32 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} WILD (22-20-6) at CANUCKS (27-17-3)

Sunday, February 1, 2015
3:00 PM ET
 

WILD (22-20-6) at CANUCKS (27-17-3)

TV: FS-N, FS-WI, SNP

Season series: The Minnesota Wild defeated the Vancouver Canucks in two of three games last season, including a 2-1 win at Rogers Arena on Feb. 28. The Wild and Canucks play their three games this season between now and Feb. 16.

Wild team scope: Minnesota completes a three-game Pacific Division road trip that began with games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. This is the 12th time in Wild history they have embarked on this trip (the four teams were once rivals in the Northwest Division), and a win would be the second sweep. Defenseman Ryan Suter had a maintenance day Saturday but is expected to play. Forward Justin Fontaine sustained a lower-body injury Thursday against the Flames, missing most of the third period of a 1-0 win. He did not practice and is questionable.

Canucks team scope: Forward Derek Dorsett returned to practice Saturday after missing a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Dorsett sustained an upper-body injury Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks and missed practice Wednesday. Defenseman Adam Clendening, acquired in a trade Friday from the Chicago Blackhawks, skated and could make his Canucks debut. Clendening had a goal and an assist in four games with Chicago.

Team Stats
GP Record Home Road L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
48 22-20-6 11-7-5 11-13-1 4-5-1 2.69 2.83 15.4 83.6 9.9 32.0 26.9 49.3
47 27-17-3 12-9-1 15-8-2 5-5-0 2.70 2.53 19.2 87.1 10.4 29.3 28.6 48.2
 
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Posted by Cidinha at 8:50 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} COYOTES (17-26-6) at CANADIENS (32-13-3)

Sunday, February 1, 2015
1:00 PM ET
 

COYOTES (17-26-6) at CANADIENS (32-13-3)

TV: CITY, RDS

Season series: The Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes each won one game in 2013-14. Coyotes forward Radim Vrbata scored two goals in a 5-2 win on March 6 at Gila River Arena. Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win at Bell Centre on Dec. 17, 2013.

Coyotes team scope: Arizona has lost eight of its past nine games after a 7-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. "We gave up too many chances," coach Dave Tippett told the Arizona Republic. "Once you get behind, you start chasing the game. You look like an ugly team." Goaltender Mike Smith was pulled after allowing five goals on 20 shots and was replaced by Louis Domingue, who was making his NHL debut. "Bottom line is, the goaltender has to be good for you and ours wasn't very good tonight," Tippett said. Domingue, a Quebec native, is expected to start. Forward Joe Vitale (upper body) will not play Sunday and forward Martin Hanzal (upper body) is questionable, according to Tippett. The Coyotes haven't defeated the Canadiens in Montreal since a 5-4 overtime win on Oct. 28, 1996. Arizona wraps up an eight-game road trip Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Canadiens team scope: Montreal goaltender Carey Price made 36 saves for his second consecutive shutout in a 1-0 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Price has stopped 100 of 102 shots (.980 save percentage) in three starts since the All-Star break. He ranks second in the League in save percentage (.933) and wins (27). Pacioretty, who scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win against the New York Rangers on Thursday, had the game-winner in overtime Saturday. He leads the Canadiens in goals (23) and points (40). Defenseman P.K. Subban recorded his 200th NHL point with an assist on Pacioretty's goal. The Canadiens have won five games in a row and will play the third of a four-game homestand Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Team Stats
GP Record Home Road L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
49 17-26-6 9-12-3 8-14-3 2-6-2 2.24 3.35 21.0 76.8 9.9 29.4 32.1 52.8
48 32-13-3 17-5-2 15-8-1 7-2-1 2.56 2.23 16.4 85.4 10.9 27.6 30.7 54.0
 
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Posted by Cidinha at 8:49 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Canadian Adventurer Will Gadd Becomes the First to Climb Frozen Niagara Falls

Canadian Adventurer Will Gadd Becomes the First to Climb Frozen Niagara Falls
 
Ever wonder what it might feel like to climb the frozen, icy walls of Niagara Falls in the dead of winter? Up until Canadian adventurer Will Gadd pulled off the feat on Jan. 27, nobody had a clue.

"There's something like 4,000 semi-trucks worth of water going over the falls every second and all that water was going right past my head," Gadd tells PEOPLE. "It's such a dynamic environment with everything smashing down around you. You can literally feel it in your stomach. It's this low-frequency bass thump that vibrates your intestines."

It took Gadd an hour to ascend the 150-foot-high strip of unpredictable, often fragile ice that had accumulated from the mists and spray coming off the edge of Horseshoe Falls, the largest of Niagara's three sections. "This type of ice was viewed as unclimbable for a long time," says Gadd. "It's literally frozen clouds that stick to the walls with the consistency of Styrofoam."

Canadian Adventurer Will Gadd Becomes the First to Climb Frozen Niagara Falls| Real People Stories


The 47-year-old Gadd, who is also a world-famous paraglider, admits that there were only a couple of sketchy moments during his ascent of the planet's most powerful waterfall. Early on, he had to navigate his way past a treacherous ice-rimmed pit of explosive rapids. "I nicknamed it, the Cauldron of Doom," says Gadd, whose girlfriend, climber Sarah Hueniken, 34, made the ascent after her beau. "It's like the most savage blender in the world. Normally, if you fall off during a climb, you're going to get hurt. But if you fall into the Cauldron of Doom, that's pretty much it for you."

Halfway up the frozen wall with Niagara's raging waters roaring past him at almost 70 miles per hour, Gadd's ice tools – that he uses to grip the ice – froze over. "They got coated in ice because of the spray coming off the falls," he says. "It was like hanging from a set of iced-over monkey bars. I had to thaw them out with my hands before I could continue."

Canadian Adventurer Will Gadd Becomes the First to Climb Frozen Niagara Falls| Real People Stories

The energy drink maker Red Bull sponsored the climb that was originally intended to be kept secret until after the Super Bowl. But once word leaked out, Gadd's feat quickly made world headlines – something that he wasn't quite used to. "Normally I climb in such obscure locations with a partner and maybe the occasional goat that might watch us," he says. "But now it feels like the whole world was watching."

What does Gadd have planned for his next big adventure? "I'm taking my kids to a wave pool this weekend," he says.
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Posted by Cidinha at 8:41 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Raptors blow big lead, but top Wizards in OT for sixth-straight win

WASHINGTON - Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and the streaking Toronto Raptors won in overtime for the second consecutive night after losing a large second-half lead, defeating the Washington Wizards 120-116 on Saturday.

Lou Williams added 19 points and Amir Johnson scored 17 for the Raptors, who tied a season high with their sixth straight victory.

John Wall, battling migraines and a sprained right ankle, was a game-time decision for Washington. He started and led all scorers with 28 points and had 12 assists. Bradley Beal added 26 points.

Lowry scored seven points in overtime for Toronto, which squandered a 17-point, second-half lead Friday night before outlasting the Nets.

With a win before a sellout crowd at the Verizon Center, Washington (31-17) could have pulled into a tie with Toronto (33-15) for second place in the Eastern Conference.

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{allcanada} Alberta's Rocque claims second straight women's gold at Canadian juniors

CORNER BROOK, N.L. - Kelsey Rocque has done it again.

The 20-year-old Edmonton native captured her second straight women's gold medal at the Canadian junior curling championships on Saturday night as Alberta beat Ontario's Chelsea Brandwood 8-2.

Rocque, who won last year's title with a different lineup (all of whom exhausted their junior eligibility at the end of the season), will now take aim at her second straight world junior women's title.

She'll be joined by third Danielle Schmiemann, second Holly Jamieson, lead Jessica Iles and coach Amanda-Dawn Coderre at the 2015 world junior championships, beginning Feb. 28 in Tallinn, Estonia.

"It definitely doesn't get tired," said Rocque. "To wear that Maple Leaf on your back is absolutely incredible. To do it twice? There's no words."

The Albertans controlled most of the game, taking the lead with a deuce in the fourth end and then adding a steal of one in the sixth when Brandwood was just heavy with her last-rock draw looking at two Alberta counters.

Brandwood had a shot to get a deuce back in the seventh but rolled a bit too far on her open hit and settled for a single. Alberta would respond with a deuce in the seventh and never looked back.

Rocque became just the fourth skip to win back-to-back Canadian junior women's titles — the others being Alberta's Cathy King (1977, 1978), Prince Edward Island's Suzanne Birt (2001, 2002) and Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes (2008, 2009).

In Estonia, she'll try to match Scotland's Eve Muirhead as the only skips to repeat as world junior champions.

The men's playoffs are scheduled for Sunday.

In the semifinal, Saskatchewan's Jacob Hersikorn plays 2014 silver-medallist Rene Comeau of New Brunswick.

The semifinal winner moves onto the gold-medal medal game later in the evening against reigning champion Braden Calvert of Manitoba.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:47 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} QMJHL: Duclair, Timashov net two each as Remparts rout Tigres

QUEBEC - Anthony Duclair and Dmytro Timashov each had two goals and two assists as the Quebec Remparts dominated the Victoriaville Tigres en route to a 9-4 win on Saturday night in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

After Duclair and Timashov gave Quebec (29-18-3) a 2-0 lead, the Remparts gave up four straight to the Tigres. Raphael Maheux, Marc-Olivier Roy, Nikolas Brouillard, Kurt Etchegary and Ryan Graves responded as Quebec scored seven unanswered goals to blow the game open.

Gabriel Gagne, Angelo Miceli, Mathieu Ayotte and Carl Marois provided the offence for Victoriaville (21-23-6), which lost its eight in a row.

Zachary Fucale started in net for the Remparts, stopping 9-of-13 shots in 21:37. Callum Booth went the rest of the way and stopped all 15 shots he faced in 38:23.

Olivier Tremblay turned away 21-of-29 shots in 48:40 for the Tigres. Chase Marchand finished out the game and made four saves in 11:18.

The Remparts converted four times on five power plays while Victoriaville was 2 for 6.

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ARMADA 4 SEA DOGS 0

BOISBRIAND, Que. — Samuel Montembeault stopped all 21 shots he faced and Philippe Sanche scored twice as the No. 8 Armada blanked Saint John.

Yvan Mongo and Danick Martel chipped in with the others for Blainville-Boisbriand (30-12-7).

Alex Bishop turned away 29 shots in goal for the Sea Dogs (26-17-7).

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OCEANIC 4 CATARACTES 3

RIMOUSKI, Que. — Michael Joly scored twice — including once short handed — as the No. 6 Oceanic edged Shawinigan.

Anthony DeLuca had the game-winning goal for Rimouski (32-13-3), which won its third game in a row. Simon Bourque added the other in the second period.

Dennis Yan and Gabriel Slight helped the Cataractes (27-19-3) jump out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. Brandon Gignac rounded out the attack in the third.

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SAGUENEENS 5 TITAN 0

BATHURST, N.B. — Julio Billia turned away 29 shots and Alexandre Ranger struck twice in the third period as Chicoutimi shut out the Titan.

Timothe Simard and Landon Schiller gave the Sagueneens (21-21-5) an early lead, with Charles Guevremont extending the advantage in the second.

Reilly Pickard kicked out 27 shots for Acadie-Bathurst (14-33-6) in its third-straight loss.

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DRAKKAR 2 MOOSEHEADS 1

HALIFAX — Jeremy Gregoire scored the winner at 10:32 of the third period as No. 10 Baie-Comeau rallied to beat the Mooseheads.

Maxime St-Cyr started the comeback by tying the game with his league-leading 43rd goal of the season for the Drakkar (28-15-7).

Nikolaj Ehlers had the lone goal for Halifax (24-21-4), which came on the power play in the second.

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PHOENIX 2 OLYMPIQUES 1

GATINEAU, Que. — Chase Harwell scored the decisive goal in the third period as Sherbrooke slipped past the Olympiques.

Tim Wieser opened the scoring in the second period for the Phoenix (29-17-4) with his 34th of the season. The win was their fifth straight.

Jake Coughler found the back of net at 19:59 of the second period for Gatineau (19-28-4).

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HUSKIES 6 FOREURS 5 (OT)

ROUYN-NORANDA, Que. — Julien Nantel scored his second of the game 1:41 into extra time and added an assist as the Huskies edged Val-d'Or.

Ryan Penny had an identical night for Rouyn-Noranda (25-22-3), with Jeremy Lauzon and Mathieu Lemay adding the others.

Jan Mandat struck twice for the Foreurs (21-21-8) with Anthony Richard, Julien Gauthier and Nicolas Aube-Kubel rounding out the attack.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:47 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Oilers D Nikitin out 4-6 weeks with shoulder injury

Edmonton Oilers defenceman Nikita Nikitin is out 4-6 weeks after injuring his shoulder during Thursday's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

"There's no surgery with him, it's just more or less trying to get better," said Oilers interim coach Todd Nelson.

With Nikitin out, Keith Aulie will be in the lineup against the Flames in Calgary on Saturday.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:43 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Stars use four power-play goals to defeat Jets

WINNIPEG -- The Dallas Stars' power play has struggled this season, but it delivered for them this week.

A hot power play was the last thing that the Winnipeg Jets needed to see, and the Stars made them pay for a lack of discipline in a 5-2 victory Saturday at MTS Centre.

Dallas, which was ranked 25th in the NHL on the power play entering the game, scored four times on eight opportunities. The four power-play goals were the most in a game this season for Dallas. The Stars' power play went 7-for-16 to help Dallas go 2-1-0 on a three-game Canadian road trip this week.

Winnipeg started the game having been shorthanded a League-high 202 times, and a parade to the penalty box cost the Jets in their third consecutive loss. Winnipeg has allowed five goals in each of the three losses, and seven of those goals came on the 13 power-play opportunities the Jets surrendered.

The win moved the Stars (23-19-7) within seven points of Winnipeg. Dallas has two games in hand on the Jets, who hold the Western Conference's first wild-card spot for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Patrick Eaves, Shawn Horcoff and Jason Spezza had power-play goals for Dallas. Rookie defenseman John Klingberg added two insurance goals, one with the extra man, in the third period and also had two assists. Center Tyler Seguin had three assists for his League-leading 18th multiple-point game.

Andrew Ladd and Toby Enstrom scored for Winnipeg (26-17-8).

Kari Lehtonen, making his sixth consecutive start, made 38 saves for the win. Jets rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson had 27 saves.

In this third game since returning to the lineup after a 21-game absence because of a lower-body injury, Eaves scored his fifth goal of the season on the Stars' first power play of the game. Seguin's left-side shot bounced to Eaves, who put the rebound past Hutchinson at 5:13 of the first period. Eaves has two power-play goals since his return.

Winnipeg outshot Dallas 16-4 in the first half of the second period, and Ladd tied the game at 10:14 after sustained Winnipeg pressure on Lehtonen. Ladd took a pass from defenseman Mark Stuart before snapping a rising shot past Lehtonen. He has 18 goals, tying him with linemate Bryan Little for the team lead.

A slashing penalty to Winnipeg defenseman Zach Bogosian, who was benched by Jets coach Paul Maurice after a first-period slashing minor, set up the Stars' second goal. Horcoff tipped defenseman Trevor Daley's shot past Hutchinson at 14:21 for his seventh goal.

Dallas made it 3-1 at 18:47 with its third power-play goal after Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien took a delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. Spezza grabbed the rebound of Seguin's long point shot on the power play and jammed it into the net for his ninth goal.

Klingberg's eighth goal 4:31 into the third period off a shot through Colton Sceviour's screen made it 4-1. The four-point game for the 22-year-old defenseman, a fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, was a career-high.

After a scrum led to a 5-on-3 Dallas power play, Klingberg's ninth goal made it 5-1 at 8:40. Enstrom's second goal of the season with 7:14 left in the game finished the scoring.

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{allcanada} Capitals' Holtby makes case for role with Canada

MONTREAL -- There is little debate about who is the face of Canada goaltending.

His name is Carey Price, he plays for the Montreal Canadiens, and he has a shiny gold medal from the 2014 Sochi Olympics sitting at home.

That much is certainly clear, but with the World Cup of Hockey making a return in 2016, Canada's next wave of goaltenders, who will likely need to fight to be Price's backup, could be the source of great debate. However, an argument can easily be made that as of now the man sitting in the pole position for that job would be Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.

Holtby and Price put on a goaltending clinic at Bell Centre on Saturday, with Price gaining the edge in a 1-0 overtime win.

Holtby watched from the other end of the ice as his teammates peppered Price with 17 shots in the second period, including seven on the power play, only to come up empty despite generating a number of high-quality chances.

Holtby was put to a similar test by the Canadiens in the third period, and he was more than up to it. After facing 13 shots in the first two periods combined, Holtby made 15 saves in the third period, including a spectacular glove save in the dying seconds of regulation time on Tomas Plekanec to allow the game to reach overtime and earn the Capitals a point in the standings.

Holtby said he was trying not to pay too much attention to what Price was doing 180 feet away during the second period, but it certainly looked like he took his turn in a game of dueling banjos in the third.

And he nailed it.

"If you ask any goaltender, busy goaltenders are guys that are usually locked in," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "The tough games are the ones when you're not busy. Braden wasn't very busy. I looked up and I think there was something like nine minutes to go in the second period and they had like 10 shots. That was a pretty boring first 30 minutes for him. Those are really hard games when you're watching the other goaltender."

Especially when the other goaltender is playing the way Price was.

Holtby was asked if he gets a little added motivation when he faces a top goaltender; he said he didn't because there are so many around the NHL. But in the case of Price, it's a little different.

"With Carey over there, I think he's a guy that I've looked up to in the past," Holtby said. "He's a very, very elite-level goaltender. When you're in our position you appreciate greatness, and he's obviously great. It's fun to play against guys like that, challenge yourself, and next game we're going to try to make it a different outcome."

Holtby, 25, was one of five goaltenders invited to Canada's Olympic orientation camp in the summer of 2013, along with Price, Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and the two other goaltenders who ultimately went to Sochi, Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers and Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes.

Holtby was the youngest goaltender at the camp, two years younger than Price and five years younger than Crawford. Holtby could have been chosen as Canada's third goaltender in Sochi instead of Smith and no one likely would have considered it a grave injustice; however, looking back now, it's possible he was invited as a nod to the future.

That future is coming in 2016.

Barring injury, there is little possibility that Price will not be Canada's starter in Toronto at the World Cup. But with Luongo turning 36 in April, the path appears clear for Holtby to grab the No. 2 job.

Holtby's save percentage is .923, which would be the best of his NHL career as a starter if he's able to maintain it. His save percentage at even strength is .928, which is top-10 in the NHL among regular goaltenders. The only Canadian goaltender ahead of him prior to Saturday was Steve Mason of the Philadelphia Flyers, with Luongo tied with Holtby at .928 prior to his game with the Panthers.

An argument could be made for Mason, 26, with the numbers he's put up since his trade to the Flyers in April 2013. Jonathan Bernier of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Michael Hutchinson of the Winnipeg Jets and Crawford are in the mix.

But with the way Holtby is playing at an age when goaltenders tend to begin to hit their stride bodes well for his chances in 2016, and for the Capitals' chances in this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Going toe-to-toe with the hottest goalie in the world on Saturday was certainly a testament to that.

"Lately, I saw [Price's] record, I saw the save percentage, I saw all that," Trotz said. "He's locked in, he's playing great hockey, but so is our guy too. [Holtby's] got back-to-back shutouts; obviously you go into overtime you get the overtime loss there. But he's been stellar as well. Both those guys are locked in right now."

Canada can only hope they'll be just as locked in 20 months from now in Toronto.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:39 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Price, Pacioretty repeat; Canadiens shut out Capitals

MONTREAL -- Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien says his best players have to play their best. Once again Saturday, they did.

Max Pacioretty scored with 1:52 left in overtime to give Montreal a 1-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Bell Centre. Carey Price made 36 saves in his second straight shutout.

It was Price's fourth of the season and 29th of his NHL career, tying Patrick Roy for fifth in Canadiens history. Roy, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, played 551 games for Montreal from 1985-95; Price played his 408th game Saturday.

"I've played a lot of games," Price said. "I've played with a lot of good teams and I've been fortunate enough to do what I do, and I'm honored to be a part of that."

The 27-year-old extended his shutout streak to 153:03, including a 1-0 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Price has allowed more than two goals once in his past 16 games. He is 13-2-1 during that span with a 1.43 goals-against-average and .953 save percentage.

"One of our best players happens to be our goalie," Therrien said. "If you make a list of all the teams in the NHL, there are some that it's going to be their forwards. If they don't play up to their abilities, then their team is going to be in trouble. Your best players have to be your best players and Carey is a part of that. He helps us enormously to win games."

Pacioretty, who scored the only goal of the game Thursday, tipped a pass from Tomas Plekanec past Braden Holtby.

"A great play by Plekanec to put the puck at the net, but you look [at] Pacioretty, he gave it a second effort then got rewarded," Therrien said.

Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban got his 200th NHL point with an assist.

The Canadiens (32-13-3) extended their winning streak to five. Montreal had two six-game winning streaks this season, most recently from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3.

"We're all making contributions," Price said. "It's a team sport, obviously, with Max making a big contribution there at the end. Guys are all doing their part. I'm relying on the guys around me and they're relying on me and right now we've got a perfect harmony going."

Subban's one-timer struck the crossbar with 26 seconds left in the third period, and Holtby got a piece of Plekanec's wrist shot with 12 seconds left.

"Obviously there were spurts of momentum for both sides, and I think we had a great third period and we were really pressuring them. It was a lot of fun," Pacioretty said. "That last shift going into overtime probably gave us a bit of momentum going into the extra frame, and it was a lot of fun playing like that. It's two games in a row where it's a playoff-style mentality and we're trying to get a head start on playing like that and it's been successful so far."

Holtby made 29 saves before his shutout streak ended at 137:48. He got his fifth shutout in a 4-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

"I just came off my post a little bit; I thought he was taking the pass in the center," Holtby said. "I just tried to intercept it, he threw a stick out and deflected it short side. I have to see it again, but I think I just need to be a little bit more patient and trust myself that I can get over there if he takes it in the middle of the ice. It's a good play. That's what you get when you drive the net hard, you get chances like that."

Washington (25-14-10) is 1-4-1 in its past six games. The Capitals held a 26-13 advantage in shots through two periods, including 17-6 in the second.

"We had a lot of power plays in the first half of the game, which kind of dictates the play that way," Holtby said. "I try to not to think about the other end too much. Obviously, I think everyone knows what Carey is capable of and he showed it tonight. But in saying that, we had three posts. Hockey's a game of inches. If a couple of those go the other way we're on the winning side. So we have to be happy with the game we played against a very good Canadiens team over there."

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had a 4:17 shift during the second period, from 6:44 until 11:01.

"He's a monster," Pacioretty said.

Ovechkin, who had eight of the Capitals' 36 shots, made Montreal's Nathan Beaulieu and Brendan Gallagher collide in an attempt to check him in the first period.

"You get the right the whistles at the right times, you can leave him out there," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said of Ovechkin. "He's a beast when it comes to being on the ice. I thought [Saturday] he was a big man. That first period, he did that lateral cut and it was like three bowling pins bounced off him. There's not too many guys that can do that.

"He doesn't get enough credit a lot of times for how big and physical he is for what you would call more of a skill type of player because of what he does in terms of the snipe and the goal scoring that he's done for a number of years. You'd be talking about Mark Messier a lot in those categories, because you saw in that Pittsburgh game (a 4-0 win Wednesday), I don't need anybody to ride shotgun for him. He takes care of himself usually."

The Canadiens have allowed an NHL-low 108 goals.

"We're playing very well defensively right now," Price said. "Our guys are playing extraordinarily well around me. That group of defensemen, I'm really relying on those guys to do their job and it's making my job easier."

Price showed he was sharp during Washington's first power play. He anticipated Joel Ward's cross-crease pass to Brooks Laich and flashed his glove to deny the forward's shot from the right edge of the crease at 10:44 of the first period.

Ward hit the post 56 seconds into the second period. Capitals defenseman John Carlson drove a slap shot off the right post during the first of consecutive and overlapping Washington power plays midway through the second, and Price made a pad save on Brooks Laich on a rebound off another Carlson shot from the point.

"When you can't put the puck in the net, there were the posts there and when [Price] makes some good saves, you just give him that kind of confidence and make him feel good," Ovechkin said.

Holtby stopped Pacioretty's shorthanded chance at 1:44 of the third period. Price got his shoulder on Marcus Johansson's shot from the slot later in the third.

"I thought both goaltenders played really good tonight," Trotz said. "I thought we played a real solid road game. We just couldn't find the back of the net."

Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, when Montreal plays the Arizona Coyotes.

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Posted by Cidinha at 4:01 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Four-goal third period powers Senators past Coyotes

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators scored four goals in a span of 5:26 in a 7-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

The Senators (20-19-9) took a 3-1 lead with goals by Milan Michalek and Mark Stone off the rush two minutes apart late in the second period.

They took a 5-1 lead with another two goals 20 seconds apart by Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau early in the third.

After Pageau's goal, Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue, who was recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League before the game, made his NHL debut after replacing Mike Smith in net.

Smith made 15 saves on 20 shots and the Coyotes (17-26-6) lost for the eighth time in their past nine games.

Domingue made nine saves and allowed goals to Senators captain Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad.

Zbynek Michalek and Sam Gagner scored for Arizona.

Ottawa goaltender Robin Lehner, starting his second straight game after No. 1 goaltender Craig Anderson sustained a hand injury, made 35 saves.

The victory ended a five-game losing streak for Lehner, whose last win was Dec. 13.

Senators coach Dave Cameron said Anderson skated Saturday and could be available to play Tuesday when the Senators play the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Milan Michalek's snap shot found the top corner over Smith's left shoulder at 16:51 of the second period. He took a pass from veteran center David Legwand, who was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last two games, and scored his seventh goal.

Legwand replaced forward Alex Chiasson, who sustained an injury against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Mark Stone scored his 12th goal at 18:54 assisted by Legwand and defenseman Marc Methot.

Legwand curled inside the Coyotes blue line and fed a pass to Methot. His shot was deflected by Stone.

The teams exchanged goals in the first 69 seconds of the game.

Zbynek Michalek gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead 40 seconds into the game when his shot from the point was deflected by the arm of Methot and found the net in the top corner behind Lehner stick side.

The Senators tied it at 1:09 when Ottawa rookie forward Mike Hoffman scored his 17th goal, all at even strength, after Coyotes forward Brandon McMillan fell in the corner to Smith's left and lost the puck.

Hoffman is tied with Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators for the NHL lead in goals among rookies.

The Coyotes were called for five straight minor penalties throughout the rest of the first period, including a 90-second 5-on-3 disadvantage, but killed them off.

After failing to score, Cameron resorted to starting his fourth line of Pageau, Erik Condra and Chris Neil on the last two power plays of the period.

Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips played his 1,178th game for the Senators, tying former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson's record.

Phillips, who has played most of those games on the left side, shifted over to the right Saturday and played with Mark Borowiecki, who made his return to the lineup after missing 12 games after sustaining a lacerated leg in a pre-game soccer warm-up Dec. 27.

Senators defenseman Eric Gryba was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

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{allcanada} Alanis Morissette Shares Her Personal History with Bob Dylan's Music

Bob Dylan is no stranger to musical accolades, but in February he will be honored with an award only 24 others have ever received.

The iconic musician will become the 25th MusiCares Person of the Year and will be celebrated with legendary artists performing his classic songs at a benefit gala in Los Angeles on Feb. 6.

Among those taking the stage will be Beck; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Norah Jones; Tom Jones; Los Lobos; John Mellencamp; Willie Nelson; Bonnie Raitt; Eddie Vedder; Jack White; and Neil Young.

In anticipation of the event, Alanis Morissette shares with PEOPLE her personal history with Dylan's music:

I vividly remember driving down the Autobahn in Germany, hurtling toward the Black Forest. I was 5 years old, sitting in the back seat of our Volkswagen with my brothers as my parents played Bob Dylan for the first time

We were living in Germany at the time and would travel by car as we explored many parts of Europe.

After playing Fat Albert games through the back window at several cars passing by and growing tired of the game, my dad thought it was time to illuminate us about one of his favorite artists.

"Sit back and listen to this one, guys. It'll blow your mind," he said as he looked at me in the rear-view mirror and squeezed my mother's hand. It's as though he had been waiting for this moment for some time.

He played "The Times They Are A-Changin' " and "Highway 61 Revisited." I listened with rapt attention.

I had been exposed to Carole King and Leonard Cohen through listening to my parents' big record collection. But this Bob Dylan man was new to me, haunting, powerful and storytelling-drenched.

He was someone I might just follow into a towering inferno, if I had only known what those were at that age.

The song stopped, and my dad waited for feedback.

"A real poet, dad."
"Yes, honey."
"It's like he's pulling the words down from the sky."
"Yes, they do course through him, sweetheart."
"I like him. And I like his eyes."
"I hope you listen to all his songs, Alanis. There is no one else in the world like him."
"Yes, he is very special, dad."

Years later when I was admonished in my teens for writing lyrics that were deemed "a little too stream-of-consciousness" or were "sacrilege for their lack of rhyming," I remembered that car ride and my dad's giddiness – and Bob Dylan's voice and his face on the cover, whom I imagined, in the face of these attempts to shut down my style of writing, saying, "Sounds good to me, Alanis."
 
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Posted by Cidinha at 12:40 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Raptors bring rejuvenated offence, five-game win streak into clash with Wizards

The Toronto Raptors' offence appears to be back on track after a miserable stretch.

DeMar DeRozan and Toronto can match a season high with a sixth straight victory Saturday night when they visit the Washington Wizards, who hope to be refreshed following a flurry of games in spite of the precedent they've set.

The Raptors (32-15) averaged 90.0 points on 39.2 percent shooting during a 1-3 stretch from Jan. 16-21. They've since averaged 111.0 points on 48.8 percent shooting during a five-game winning streak.

They also won six straight from Nov. 15-26 and Dec. 12-21. Both streaks included four home victories, while three during this run have come on the road, including Friday's 127-122 overtime victory against Brooklyn.

DeRozan, who shot 35.7 percent when Toronto lost three of four, has scored 24-plus in three of four and had 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting against the Nets. He has 59 points in his last two games versus Washington.

DeRozan also had nine assists, matching his second-highest total ever. Toronto owns a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio during its winning streak after recording a 1.1 ratio when it lost three of four.

"I know I draw a lot of attention, especially when I get in the paint," said DeRozan, who averages 2.9 assists. " ... It's just me paying attention to how teams are going to defend me, defend us, where guys are going to be open."

Amir Johnson had 24 points - 14.1 above his season average - while reserve Lou Williams scored 25 two nights after recording 27 against Sacramento. Both performances helped buoy the Raptors in spite of Kyle Lowry's 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting. He has shot 35.3 percent over his last seven games and is 11 for 31 in his last two versus Washington, though he has 10-plus assists in four straight meetings.

"Amir and DeMar held it down tonight," Lowry said. "They made all the winning plays."

DeRozan had 25 points in a 103-84 home win over Washington on Nov. 7, Toronto's fifth victory in six meetings. The Wizards shot 36.1 percent with John Wall, Paul Pierce and Nene going a combined 8 for 35.

Washington (31-16) is likely relieved to have two days of rest since Wednesday's 106-98 loss at Phoenix, its fourth game in five days. Each of those opponents rank 11th or higher in terms of pace, with the Suns at No. 2. The Wizards and Raptors prefer a slower style, ranking 20th and 18th, respectively.

Wall and Bradley Beal were a combined 10 of 31 versus Phoenix while Nene is questionable after sitting out with a sore right foot. The Wizards are 4-4 when he doesn't play.

"It was our fourth game in five nights and we were playing teams that were pretty fast," said Wall, who had been 26 of 45 over his last three games before going 5 for 16. "Denver and L.A. and now them, so it was tough. I'm not looking for excuses but we definitely didn't have the same energy as we usually do."

Washington is 5-5 with two or more days' rest, however, and Wall is shooting 41.8 percent in those contests compared to 47.4 in all others.

Wall has been wildly inconsistent in his last six matchups with Toronto. He shot 60.0 percent or better with 31-plus points twice, while three other times he shot 29.4 percent or worse.

Beal is shooting 30.2 percent in his last four meetings.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:10 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Duquette admits Toronto interest, but says he never wavered in quest to improve Orioles

BALTIMORE - Dan Duquette's job description includes making trades that will help improve the Baltimore Orioles.

This off-season, Duquette was in the middle of a potential blockbuster deal.

Duquette, the Orioles president of baseball operations, acknowledged Saturday "there was substance" to reports that the Toronto Blue Jays were in pursuit of him to be club president.

"A lot of times, players will be a trade rumour and sometimes managers get traded," Duquette said. "It's even more rare that executives get traded, but occasionally it happens. It's a unique experience. I think when you have a good team and you do well, people take notice."

Under Duquette's guidance, the Orioles won 96 games last season, captured the AL East for the first time since 1997 and advanced to the AL Championship Series.

That piqued Toronto's interest.

"As you get better as an organization, things that you're doing are trying to be either emulated or acquired," Orioles manager Buck Showalter noted. "It's inevitable as an organization that, as you get better, people are going to be coveted more."

Because Duquette is under contract with Baltimore through 2018, the Blue Jays had to offer Baltimore ample compensation to secure his services.

No deal was made, so Duquette was talking about Orioles baseball on Saturday at FanFest, the team's annual winter convention.

He insisted that Toronto's advances did not distract him from seeking to put a better club on the field in 2015.

"It's important for the Orioles fans to know that my focus — and my singular focus — is on improving the team," he said. "We do that day by day, trade by trade, addition by addition. We did that this year in the off-season like we've done it in the past."

With the exception of Duquette's potential departure, it's been a quiet off-season for Baltimore. The losses include free agent outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, along with reliever Andrew Miller.

The most notable addition is outfielder Travis Snider, obtained in a trade with Pittsburgh.

But that's typical of Duquette, who followed a quiet winter in 2014 by adding Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez during spring training.

"While it's important to improve your ballclub in off-season, we're not really trying to win the off-season," Duquette said. "We're trying to put together a team that can compete and get to the off-season and prevail. That's different from making headlines in the winter time."

Showalter had absolutely no complaint about the team's off-season activity.

"As we get into spring and there comes a need, we'll be able to do it," he said.

The Orioles played much of the 2014 season without injured stars Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. Having them in the lineup will make more of a difference than any trade or free agent addition.

"The biggest and most powerful improvement we have to our ballclub this year is Machado coming back and Wieters coming back," Duquette said.

In other news, suspended slugger Chris Davis said Saturday his use of Adderall last season was not as a performance enhancer but rather a way to cope with an oblique injury that landed him on the disabled list and played havoc with his swing.

"It was never a baseball issue," he said. "Just an everyday life thing."

Davis was suspended for 25 games. The punishment will expire after opening day.

"I was just kind of overwhelmed with everything that was going on last year with the injury," he said. "There were a lot of things that were taking my focus away from baseball."

Davis said he had previously been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, which got him a green light from Major League Baseball to use the drug in 2008.

"I had an exemption in the past. It was denied in 2013 and obviously, I shouldn't have been taking it last year," Davis said. "It was a moment of weakness."

After batting .286 with 53 homers and 138 RBIs in 2013, Davis' numbers slipped dramatically in 2014 to .196 with 26 homers and 72 RBIs.

This year, he expects things to be different.

"Being away from it a month longer than the rest of these guys was tough at first, but I used it to my advantage to get into my workouts a little bit earlier," Davis said. "I definitely think last year got off to a slow start, so this year I wanted to get off on the right foot. I'm doing some different workouts this year."

He jokingly said that included bunting down the third-base line, a way to cope with the shift that limited his effectiveness.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:09 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Canada's Gough slides to silver medal at luge WC

LILLEHAMMER, Norway — Canada's Alex Gough added to her luge World Cup medal collection, capturing a silver on Saturday.

The 27-year-old from Calgary took advantage of solid starts and strong sliding to post a time of one minute 35.732 seconds on the Olympic track for the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

It was Gough's third silver medal of this season, and 21st World Cup medal of her career.

"It was really good today. I definitely fought for it," Gough said. "I don't have a lot of experience here so I just tried to be consistent, and aerodynamic. I'm super happy with how I was able to do because I have not been here very much."

Russia's Tatiana Ivanova won the gold with 1:35.306, while Dajana Eitberger of luge powerhouse Germany slid to bronze in 1:35.753.

"When the Germans are out of Germany they are not as comfortable so it is nice to compete on tracks where it is more of a level playing field," said Gough, a three-time Olympian. "It does go through my head that we are not in Germany so they don't have that advantage, but I don't change my preparation or mindset regardless of where we slide."

Calgary's Kim McRae and Arianne Jones finished eighth and 10th, respectively.

Canada's doubles team of Tristan Walker of Cochrane, Alta., and Justin Snith of Calgary were seventh.

Tobias Wendle and Tobias Arlt won the doubles, ahead of German teammates Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken. Alexander Denisyev and Vladislav Antonov of Russia claimed the bronze.

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{allcanada} Canadian Corbo wins bronze at aerials World Cup

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Melissa Corbo captured the first podium finish of her career on Friday with a third-place finish at the aerials World Cup.

The Blainville, Que., native scored a 74.82 in her third-career World Cup appearance. Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya of Belarus finished first with an 80.62 while Russia's Veronika Korsunova was second with a score of 78.88.

"I really have no words for what I'm feeling," said Corbo. "It's an unbelievable surprise. It's an experience and a day I will remember for the rest of my life. It's my first year on the World Cup tour and the weather made things difficult. I just felt good today.

"This is a great way to start the Olympic cycle for me. It's really encouraging."

It was the first top-three finish by a Canadian woman since 2008 when Veronika Bauer captured bronze at the World Cup in China.

Montreal's Olivier Rochon made the finals on the men's side and finished sixth overall with a score of 80.54. Rochon has missed nearly two years due to injury.

Sabrina Guerin of Laval, Que., and Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont., also competed and finished 14th and 16th overall respectively.

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Friday, January 30, 2015

{allcanada} Radim Vrbata thriving alongside Sedin twins

Vancouver Canucks winger Radim Vrbata says the secret of being a quality linemate for the Sedin twins is knowing when to stay out of their way.

"Sometimes they like to do their own stuff," Vrbata said. "You don't want to get involved because on their cycles they like to be left alone. They can take on three guys themselves and you just need to get open somewhere else."

That strategy has served Vrbata well enough that he is well on his way to registering his best season since 2011-12 when he scored 35 goals. He has 18 goals in 43 games, earning him an All-Star trip when Henrik and Daniel Sedin didn't make it.

Vrbata, 33, is the top goal scorer of last season's free agent class, and he is in the conversation with the Nashville Predators' Mike Ribeiro and the Winnipeg Jets' Mathieu Perreault for the unofficial title of best forward free agent signing of 2014.

Needing more offense, the Canucks gave Vrbata $10 million over two seasons. The big question was how well he would play outside of Arizona. His free agent signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008 didn't work out and he was traded the following season back to the Coyotes, where he thrived again.

Any concern has turned out to be misplaced because he is ahead of last season's pace in both goals and points.

"This season is going even better than I thought," Vrbata said. "When I was in Phoenix, Marty Hanzal and I played against (the Sedins) a lot. When you have to defend them, it's not much fun. It's a lot more fun to be on the other side of things."

The search for a proper winger for the Sedins has always been a work in progress. Alex Burrows has been successful there at times, but Vrbata's scoring knack has seemed a better fit.

He says the Sedins' chemistry exceeds any connection he has witnessed in the hockey world.

"Some of the plays they make have to be sixth sense," Vrbata said.

He points out that linemates often develop good chemistry after a couple of seasons together, but the Sedins have been together their whole life.

"For a half season, I've seen them in certain situations on the ice where you would think a play would be impossible to make and they make it happen," Vrbata said. "It has to be something bigger than regular chemistry."

Vrbata isn't sure exactly why he has worked as the Sedins' linemate, while others have failed.

"Chemistry is a weird thing," he said. "It's just there or not. ... I just try to get lost and get open somewhere and if you do that, they will get the puck to you and you will have a scoring chance.

During his career, Vrbata said he had always heard the Sedins were almost too good to be true as teammates.

"They are great guys, even better than I thought or what I heard. They are humble people," he said. "When you go with a new team, you never know how it will go, but they have been helpful from day one."

Once Vrbata had signed, the Sedins reached out to him to welcome him to the team.

"Maybe it doesn't seem like a big thing, but when you are with a new team, it's nice that they picked me up for the first couple of practices and took me around the city," he said. "Introducing you to staff. Little things, but it makes a huge difference."

When named to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, Vrbata said he was the beneficiary of the Sedins' wizardy.

"They could have easily been (named) instead of me," he said. "I don't think it was my game. They deserve a lot of credit."

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Posted by Cidinha at 11:12 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} WHL: Tambellini scores two as Hitmen rout Raiders

CALGARY - Adam Tambellini scored twice in the second period and added two assists as the Calgary Hitmen routed the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 10-1 in Western Hockey League play on Friday night.

Radek Fazleev and Kenton Helgesen also had a pair of goals apiece for the Hitmen (28-17-5), who have now won five straight. Michael Zipp, Pavel Karnaukhov, Chase Lang and Elliott Peterson also scored. Travis Sanheim added three assists while Brendan Burke made 23 saves in net.

Sean Montgomery responded in the third period for Prince Albert (20-28-1). Nick McBridge started in goal but was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots in 14:07. Rylan Parenteau went the rest of the way and made 19 saves on 26 shots in 45:53 of relief.

Calgary went 3 for 5 on the power play while the Raiders were scoreless on six chances.

Prince Albert's Mackenze Stewart received a minor and major penalty for cross checking along with a game misconduct at 8:22 of the third.

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BRONCOS 6 BLADES 2

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Jake DeBrusk scored twice — including once on the power play — as the Broncos defeated Saskatoon.

Griffin Foulk, Colby Cave, Carter Rigby and Tanner LeSann supplied the rest of the offence for Swift Current (23-22-5).

Sam McKechnie trimmed the lead in the second period while Wyatt Sloboshan added the other on the man advantage for the Blades (14-31-3).

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WHEAT KINGS 6 WARRIORS 4

BRANDON, Man. — Nolan Patrick scored the first of three goals in the first period and added an empty-netter to lead the Wheat Kings past Moose Jaw.

Reid Duke and John Quenneville had goals in the first for No. 4 Brandon (37-9-5) to put them ahead 3-0. Morgan Klimchuk had a late goal in the second while Peter Quenneville rounded out the scoring on the power play in the third.

Jack Rodewald, Brayden Point, Tanner Eberle and Torrin White scored in the second period for the Warriors (20-26-4).

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ICE 4 PATS 3 (OT)

CRANBROOK, B.C. — Rinat Valiev scored 3:27 into overtime as Kootenay edged Regina.

Austin Vetterl, Matt Alfaro and Sam Reinhart had second-period goals for the Ice (27-23-1).

Braden Christoffer chipped in with the first of three straight for the Pats (26-17-6), who lost their sixth game in a row. Austin Wagner and Pavel Padakin added the others.

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ROCKETS 6 HURRICANES 3

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Edmonton Oilers prospect Leon Draisaitl had a pair of goals in the first period as No. 2 Kelowna went on to score five straight and double the Hurricanes.

Gage Quinney also struck twice for the Rockets (38-8-4) with Madison Bowey and Justin Kirkland adding the others.

Andrew Nielsen halted the shutout with a second-period goal for Lethbridge (12-30-6). Giorgio Estephan and Jamal Watson finished out the attack.

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OIL KINGS 4 REBELS 0

RED DEER, Alta. — Brett Pollock scored twice and Tristan Jarry made 20 saves as Edmonton shut out the Rebels.

Andrew Koep and Ashton Sautner also found the back of the net for the Oil Kings (24-21-6).

Rylan Toth turned away 33 shots in net for Red Deer (27-15-7). It was the Rebels' first regulation loss in 10 games.

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ROYALS 3 CHIEFS 0

SPOKANE, Wash. — Coleman Vollrath kicked out all 29 shots he faced as Victoria blanked the Chiefs.

Tyler Soy led the offence with a pair of goals for the Royals (27-20-4). Jack Walker added the other.

Garret Hughson made 25 saves in net for Spokane (23-21-4), which dropped its seventh straight game.

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THUNDERBIRDS 9 COUGARS 2

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Roberts Lipsbergs had a pair of first-period goals as Seattle thrashed the Cougars.

Ryan Gropp scored the first of eight straight for the Thunderbirds (24-19-6). Keegan Kolsear found the back of the net twice, while Turner Ottenbreit, Scott Eansor, Shea Theodore and Calvin Spencer added the others.

Brad Morrison had a goal on the man advantage in the first while Tyler Mrkonjic replied in the third for Prince George (20-30-2). The loss was its 11th straight.

Josh Connolly of the Cougars received a major penalty for slashing at 2:59 of the second while Josh Anderson was also penalized in the second with a major for checking to the head at 16:23. Both players received game misconducts.

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TIGERS 4 AMERICANS 1

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Matt Bradley and Trevor Cox scored in the first period as Medicine Hat beat Tri-City.

Chad Butcher and Cole Sanford, with his league-leading 41st of the season, rounded out the attack for the No. 7 Tigers (35-12-2). The win was their sixth straight.

Tyler Sandhu opened the scoring on the power play for the Americans (24-24-2).

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WINTERHAWKS 6 BLAZERS 2

PORTLAND, Ore. — Chase De Leo struck twice as the Winterhawks scored four in the first period to beat Kamloops.

Miles Koules, Nicolas Petan, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Koeni Texeira rounded out the attack for Portland (30-19-3). It was the Winterhawks' seventh-straight victory.

Luke Harrison had a goal in the second while Collin Shirley added the other on the man advantage in the third for the Blazers (19-26-6).

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SILVERTIPS 7 GIANTS 1

EVERETT, Wash. — Patrick Bajkov had a hat trick to lead the Silvertips in a rout of Vancouver.

Carson Stadnyk scored twice for Everett (31-14-4), which snapped a two-game skid. Kevin Davis and Ivan Nikolishin added the others.

Zane Jones replied with a goal in the first period for the Giants (20-28-2).

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Posted by Cidinha at 11:04 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Raptors blow lead but rally to beat Nets in overtime

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A Navy SEAL spoke to the Toronto Raptors before the season, reminding them there is never an easy day.

This started out looking like one, before the Raptors' fifth consecutive victory turned awfully difficult.

DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, Amir Johnson made the tiebreaking basket with 41 seconds left in overtime, and Toronto beat the Brooklyn Nets 127-122 on Friday night.

Lou Williams finished with 25 points and Johnson had 24 for the Raptors, who led 12-0 and were ahead by 17 in the second half before needing some big plays from Johnson in the final minutes.

"In this league there is never an easy day," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "Our guys found a way."

Johnson made the tying dunk with 12 seconds left in regulation, and scored inside after DeRozan's shot was blocked to make it 124-122, making him 10 for 11 from the field.

"Amir and DeMar held it down tonight," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "They made all the winning plays."

Jarrett Jack scored a career-high 35 points while playing 52 minutes for the Nets, and had 13 assists and eight rebounds. Brook Lopez came off the bench for 35 points and 12 boards.

Brooklyn lost its fourth straight and finished a miserable 3-12 January with its seventh straight home loss. The Nets are winless here since a Dec. 29 victory over Sacramento.

Toronto had a series of double-digit leads during the first three quarters. But it turned into a tight game over the final 10 minutes, and the teams, which played a seven-game playoff series last spring, traded big shots — until Lopez missed a wide-open jumper on the final play of regulation.

He made up for that with a three-point play that tied it at 120, and Jack tied it for the final time at 122-all with 56 seconds to play. The Nets nearly got the ball back after Mason Plumlee stuffed DeRozan, but Johnson came up with it and put it in.

Brooklyn missed a couple jumpers on the next possession before DeRozan made two free throws, and Lowry added one more to finish it out.

"Jack and Brook played unbelievable," Plumlee said. "They really willed us, kept us in the game. Overtime we made some poor fouls."

A year after the Nets beat them in a Game 7 on their home floor, the Raptors extended the NBA's largest division lead to 13 1/2 games in the Atlantic over Brooklyn, which fell to 18-28.

Trying to solve their home woes, the Nets held a game-day morning workout here for the first time this season, but the Raptors sure seemed more comfortable at the start.

Toronto opened a 12-0 lead before the Nets even had a rebound and remained in control behind Williams, who had 18 points at halftime on just four shots. He was 10 for 10 at the free-throw line and made both of his 3-point attempts in just 10 minutes.

Toronto had a 17-point cushion in the third, but Jack sparked a 12-0 run early in the fourth while the Nets held the Raptors without a field goal for nearly the first 6 minutes.

"We could've folded, we could've tucked our tails a number of times throughout this game," Jack said.

"They handled the game the majority of the game in the first half, and to come out and fight and put up an effort against a team that's a damn good team, I thought we just represented ourselves well tonight, came out, fought hard and we just came up short a couple of possessions."

TIP-INS

Raptors: Center Jonas Valanciunas hurt his right ankle in the first half and returned to the locker room to get re-taped. ... Forward James Johnson missed the game after hurting his right hamstring earlier Friday. He will be evaluated Saturday.

Nets: Coach Lionel Hollins said the Nets had only had one other practice here this season, an open practice in the preseason that wasn't even much of a workout. He said he would like to practice here at least once a week, but acknowledged that would be difficult because Barclays Center hosts so many events. The Nets still practice in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

The Raptors took a 38-37 lead in the all-time series. The teams meet again Wednesday in Toronto.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Visit Washington on Saturday.

Nets: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Monday

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:07 PM 0 comments
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