Post by jenny123 on Jan 20, 2014 22:28:52 GMT -5
CALGARY -- Greg Westlake prides himself on his goal-scoring ability, but he showed hes no slouch as a playmaker either. Westlake, of Oakville, Ont., set up a pair of goals to lead Canada to a 3-1 win over the United States on Wednesday at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. "I was happy about that," said Westlake, assisted on goals by Anthony Gale of Brampton, Ont., and Brad Bowden of Orton, Ont. "Im more of a goal scorer and it was kind of nice to give it back." Bowden, who also had an assist in the game, scored the game-winning goal late in the second period after Westlake and Billy Bridges of Summerside, P.E.I., teamed up to set him up in the slot. "Bowdens probably assisted on 90 per cent of my career goals so its nice to give him one back tonight," Westlake said. "He still had to work for it. He was high in the slot and made a good shot." Canadian head coach Mike Mondin praised Westlake for his efforts in the tight-checking game. "Every game you know what youre going to get," Mondin said. "Hes real consistent. Its a pleasure to have him on the team. Its the emotional part that he brings, that leadership, and its a real key component." Marc Dorion of Bourget, Ont., also scored for Canada (3-0), while goalie Benoit St-Amand of St-Hubert, Que., stopped 15 of 16 shots he faced to pick up the win. Tim Jones scored for the U.S. (2-1), while netminder Steve Cash made 16 saves. Despite the setback, U.S. coach Jeff Sauer said he was proud of his teams effort. "I knew it was going to be a dogfight," Sauer said. "They took advantage of a couple mistakes of ours. Its a game of mistakes. Hopefully we can come back and play them again this weekend." Earlier in the day, Rolf Pedersen had a hat trick and an assist to lead Norway (1-2) to a convincing 8-3 win over Japan (0-3). Next up, the Americans will face off against Norway in one semifinal on Thursday at the new WinSport Athletic and Ice Complex, while Canada will battle Japan later in the evening. After an off-day on Friday, the bronze medal and gold medal games will take place on Saturday. Gale opened the scoring at 5:37 of the first period when he took a pass from Westlake and lifted a shot up and over Cash. U.S. forward Adam Page almost tied the game shortly after as he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in alone on St-Amand, who made a nice shoulder save to turn aside the scoring threat. "He made a great save," Page said. "Just through the whole game we didnt bury our chances. Thats the team definitely to beat. I know our guys are just as good. Weve got to come back strong and beat (Norway) and have a chance to beat (Canada) in the championship." The U.S. tied the score at 1-1 with 1:31 left in the opening period when Jones tapped in a cross-crease pass from Taylor Chace during a Canadian power play. The Americans had a great chance to pull ahead during a second-period power play, but Brad Emmersons shot hit the post and deflected wide. Late in the second period, Bridges sent a pass into the slot for Bowden, who quickly fired a shot past Cash to put Canada up by a goal. During another U.S. power play in the third, St-Amand reached up to make a glove save on a high rising shot by defenceman Nikko Landeros. "He had a heck of a game," Mondin said of St-Amand. "He was focused the whole day. There was nothing getting him off his game." At the other end of the ice, Cash made a nice chest save to turn aside a shot by Bridges and keep it a one-goal game. Dorion added an insurance goal for Canada with 55.1 seconds left in the game. Notes: In six meetings last season, Canada had a 3-2-1 record against the U.S. ... After scoring three goals and adding three assists in Team USAs first three games, Landeros was held off the scoresheet against Canada. ... With his assist, Bridges moved into sole possession of the tournament scoring lead with seven points (four goals, three assists), one ahead of both Landeros and Pedersen. Bruce Irvin Super Bowl Jersey . Against the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals improved their play and erased lingering murmurs that they were underachievers. OBrien Schofield Super Bowl Jersey . This is maybe sort of one. There are not many books on sports coming out of Atlantic Canada, or at least not many books dealing with people or athletic events from this part of the country. www.theseahawksjerseysstore.com/James-Carpenter-Youth-Jersey-Super-Bowl/ . It didnt take long. The manager says making out lineups just got easier. Gonzalez used 107 lineups last year, sometimes adjusting due to the opposing pitcher. Chris Clemons Super Bowl Jersey . The team said on its Twitter account that Nugent-Hopkins is flying to Cleveland to have his shoulder examined and that surgery is likely. After an impressive rookie campaign, Nugent-Hopkins numbers were slightly down this year with just four goals and 20 assists in 40 games. Earl Thomas Super Bowl Jersey . It was believed that the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats both expressed interest in speaking to Austin about their head coaching vacancies. The Regina Leader-Post reported that it has received an E-mail from Austin that confirms that he wishes to remain in the NCAA coaching ranks. Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Robinson Cano hit a two-run triple to back six strong innings from Bartolo Colon, as the New York Yankees downed the Mets, 5-2, in the second edition of this three-game interleague set. Eduardo Nunez finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo homer, and Curtis Granderson added a solo shot for the Yankees, who have won a season-high seven consecutive games, including the first two in this series. Nunie has played well, but Derek is our shortstop, said Yankees manager Joe Girardi when asked if Nunez, who has gone 7-for-8 in the series, might threaten Jeters job. Hes been here for a long, long time and hes still a great player. Activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the contest after suffering a left hamstring strain, Colon (6-3) yielded five hits while fanning six to win his fourth straight start. Hes kind of surprised us all year long, Girardi added. We werent sure what we were going to get out of him in spring training, but he pitched well from then, and thats what he did today. Jason Bay and Lucas Duda drove in a run each for the Mets, losers of three straight. Dillon Gee (8-2) was tagged in defeat for seven hits and four runs over seven full frames, striking out seven with three walks. Granderson snapped the scoreless deadlock with a one-out homer to right-center in the sixth. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodrigueez followed with singles and Cano plated both with a triple.dddddddddddd Nick Swishers sacrifice fly to left made it 4-0. All of a sudden, he left the changeup up to Granderson, and when that ball was hit, he might as well have lost his concentration, said Mets manager Terry Collins about his starters rapid implosion. Nunez clubbed his homer with one down in the ninth against Tim Byrdak, and the Mets came up with two in the home portion off Sergio Mitre on consecutive groundouts by Bay and Duda. Josh Thole grounded back to the mound for the final out. Both hurlers kept the opposition in check through the first 4 1/2 innings. The Mets loaded the bases in the home fifth thanks to three consecutive one-out singles, but Colon survived the rally by inducing an inning-ending 5-3 double- play grounder from his counterpart Gee. GAME NOTES:For Colon, who made his first start since June 11, it was his third scoreless outing in those four wins, and marked the fifth time this season he held the opposition scoreless...The Yankees opened a roster spot for Colon by optioning pitcher Brian Gordon to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre...Mets shortstop Jose Reyes left the game prior to the top of the third inning due to an apparent hamstring injury. He is slated to undergo an MRI on Sunday...Jeter made a rehab start at Double-A Trenton on Saturday night. ' ' '