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The Winnipeg Goldeyes bats went silent on Wednesday night and now the Fish find themselves in a fight to hold on to first place. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The Goldeyes dropped a doubleheader to the St. Paul Saints on Wednesday in front of 5,936 spectators at Shaw Park and as a result, the Goldeyes are now in a battle for first place in the American Associations North Division. Not long ago the Fish had an 9 1/2 game lead on St. Paul, but after losing the opener of the Twin Bill 5-2, then dropping the night cap 4-0, the Goldeyes find themselves only 3 1/2 games ahead of the Saints with a huge game coming up against St. Paul on Thursday at Noon. "You know, in the second game we hit the ball pretty well, but it was one of those games when everything you hit hard is right at somebody," said Goldeyes shortstop Tyler Kuhn. "Actually, their pitchers did a real good job in both games of pounding the strike zone. They didnt give up many free passes (only four walks in two games, none in Game 2) and that makes it tough. They pitched really well." With the loss, the Fish fell to 36-22 on the season while St. Paul improved to 32-25. The Goldeyes had won 11 straight in late June and early July, but in the first 10 games of an 11-game homestand, the Goldeyes have now gone 2-8. In the second game of the doubleheader on Wednesday night, the Goldeyes couldnt muster any offense. They scratched out five hits and had runners in scoring position only twice. St. Paul scored a run in the third, one more in the fourth and then put it away with a bases-loaded single by No. 8-hitter Jared McDonald that drove in a pair of runs. St. Paul starter Jeff Shields (5-4, 2.96 ERA) pitched a complete-game shutout and earned the win while Goldeyes starter Gabe Aguilar (5-2, 3.03 ERA) suffered the loss. In the opener, the Goldeyes built an early 2-0 lead, but couldnt hold on. In the second inning, Donnie Webb singled, stole second and scored on a single by Reggie Abercrombie. After a ground out and a walk, Abercrombie scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tyler Kuhn. But St. Paul battled back to tie it up in the fifth and then Jake Taylor won it with a three-run homer off Nick Hernandez in the sixth. St. Paul starter Drew Gay (3-0, 2.65 ERA) got the win, while Hernandez (5-2, 4.03 ERA) took the loss. Mikey Mehlich picked up his first save of the year for the Saints. The Goldeyes and Saints will play the fifth and final game of this series at Noon on Thursday. Ethan Hollingsworth (3-0, 4.55 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg while Robert Coe (4-4, 6.75 ERA) will take to the bump for St. Paul.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com . Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators felt good after their 3-1 defeat of the Washington Capitals on Monday, their first back-to-back victory in 51 days and their first three-game winning streak at the Canadian Tire Centre this season. Jerseys Cheap .Y. -- Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel wont start in Buffalos season finale at New England because of a small tear in a left knee ligament that will not require surgery. DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov celebrated his new contract with another stellar performance in net. Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night. Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan OReilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored. It was quite a day for the 25-year-old Varlamov, who also finalized a five-year extension with Colorado that runs through the 2018-19 season. "It was a big day for us. Im sure its a great day for Varly as well," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "He certainly deserved that contract. Were very happy its a done deal." The Avalanche acquired Varlamov from Washington in July 2011, and the Russian turned in a pair of inconsistent seasons under former coach Joe Sacco. He has flourished under the tutelage of Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie, and goaltender coach Francois Allaire, improving to 27-9-5 with Thursdays win. "Thank God the right people came to the team during the summer," Varlamov said. "Patrick, and especially Francois Allaire. Those guys helped me a lot. They changed my game." Colorado needed every bit of Varlamovs talent against Minnesota. He helped the Avalanche win the season series 4-0-1 and move nine points ahead of the Wild in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division. "It was a big game for us. We have three games in hand and were up (nine) points in the standings," Duchene said. "That puts us well ahead and we just have to keep taking care of business." Zach Parise had two goals and two assists and Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota, which went 9-4-1 in January to get into the thick of the post-season race. The Avalanche used a big second period to help cool off the Wild. Mitchell broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal of the season at 1:43. Stastny scored his 16th of the season on a rebound midway through the period, and Talbot used the stick of Wild centre Kyle Brodziak to make it 4-1 at 15:26.http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/nike-nfl-jerseys-china_new-england-patriots-jersey-china/. Brodziak had gathered a rebound in front of goalie Darcy Kuemper when Talbot came in from behind and hit the centres stick to put the puck in the net. "We were so good the first two periods," Roy said. "Offensively this is the best Ive seen our team play. We were cycling the puck, moving it quick. We had tons of chances." A minute later, Niklas Backstrom replaced Kuemper, who had 19 saves. "I let him know it wasnt him," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I did it to try to change the momentum at that point." "Kuemper played a pretty good game even though he got pulled. He made some amazing saves on us," Duchene said. "It could have been 6-, 7-1 if not for him." Backstrom had nine stops the rest of the way, giving the Wild a chance to get back into it. Parises goal at 7:47 of the third made it 4-2. He then assisted on Granlunds goal at 12:51 that made it a one-score game. MacKinnon appeared to seal the win with his 19th of the season at 17:35 but Pominville scored 11 seconds later. Backstrom went off for an extra skater with 1:07 left but the Wild couldnt get the equalizer. "When you get behind the 8-ball like we did, its tough to get back," Pominville said. "They are a good team for a reason." Colorado took a 1-0 lead on OReillys 20th of the season at 4:41 of the first and Parise tied in on the power play 1:35 later. The Avalanche had three power-play chances to break the tie in the first but couldnt capitalize. Brodziak nearly scored a short-handed goal but Varlamov made a save on the odd-man rush. NOTES: Stastny left in the third period with a leg injury and did not return. ... Avalanche RW P.A. Parenteau was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Parenteau played in three games after missing 10 with a sprained left knee. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon skated with the team Thursday. He has been on injured reserve since Jan. 4 with a foot injury. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
