|
The Winnipeg Jets 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday wrapped up a post- Olympic home stretch that saw the Jets play nine of 12 at home, finishing with a 3-4-2 record and eight of a possible 18 points. Jim Leonhard Bills Jersey . The story of the scoreless first period was Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, as the Jets outshot the Hurricanes 13-6 and had a number of grade “A” scoring chances, the best off the stick of Bryan Little. It looked as though Little had the open net but Ward came diving across and stopped the mid-air shot with the paddle of his stick. “Thats probably the best save anyones made on me in my career,” Little would tell TSN 1290 in a post-game interview. While Ward followed that up with another great save on a wrap-around try by Eric ODell. The Jets did have a two man advantage for 42 seconds, the 11th time this season they have enjoyed a five-on-three, they have capitalized five times. The Jets were successful on their one penalty kill. The second period was a complete opposite from the first. Again, one team badly outshot the other, but this time it was the Hurricanes dominating the period. Jim Slater with his first of the year got the Jets on the board first, deflecting a Mark Stuart shot, but the lead lasted a grand total of 37 seconds as Eric Staal tied the game with his 17th of the year. Slater then went off for tripping and 32 seconds later Jordan Staal had the Hurricanes in front with the power play goal. Then 1:08 later Riley Nash banked one in off Montoya to make it a 3-1 game. Three goals in 2:53 for the Hurricanes proved the advantage, while shots in the second were 21-8 Carolina. After having a 9-0 lead on the shot clock in the first, the Hurricanes outshot the Jets since that point 27-12. The third period was again a reversal of the previous period. The Jets got an early goal from Little to pull to within one, his 21st of the year, with the assist to Michael Frolik. The Jets played with plenty of urgency in the third, and felt they had tied the game on a goal by Stuart, only to have it waived off. The officials ruled that Dustin Byfuglien interfered with Ward. No penalty was called on the play, but no goal. The Jets also had a three-on-one break, but neither Devin Setoguchi nor ODell could get a stick on the pass from Evander Kane. Setoguchi had another great chance but was robbed by Ward. The Shots in the third were 15-5 Jets and finished 36-32 Jets. Olli Jokinen had nine shots on goal to lead the Jets, while Tobias Enstrom played 24:49 to lead in ice time. The Jets lost Zach Bogosian in the second period and he is listed as day-to-day. Paul Maurice used to coach the Hurricanes, so Wards performance was not new to him. “The first period is how we wanted it to look,” Maurice told TSN. “Ive seen that from that goalie before. Second period they won 14 face-offs so we were not starting with the puck. We got tight at 2-1. We got back at it in the third, and Ward did it again.” “I wouldnt trade our chances for theirs in a million years,” he continued. “I dont have an answer as to why we couldnt get the puck across the line, but Cam Ward was the best player on the ice.” Maurice did feel the Stuart goal should have counted, however. “[The] video shows he got tripped. At the end of the day it was a good goal for me.” On the loss, Maurice offered: “This one is going to hurt for a day, until we get a chance to fix it Monday.” The Jets now start a five-game road trip, game one in Dallas Monday on TSN Jets and TSN Radio Winnipeg 1290. Remaining games are in San Jose Thursday, Los Angeles Saturday, Anaheim Monday and Phoenix on Monday. So the Jets start and finish the trip against teams they are chasing. Manny Lawson Bills Jersey . Jones had to work hard against Korean skip Kim Jisun and didnt hold a lead until the seventh end. Jones, lead Dawn McEwen, second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes were 8-0 going into the game and had already clinched a berth in the semifinals. Mike Williams Bills Jersey . Hes hired a professional makeup artist before lurching down Yonge Street among the undead as part of Zombie Walk. Last season, he shaved a huge red Raptors claw into his hair.KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for the 15th consecutive time, rallying in both sets for a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Sony Open semifinals on Thursday. Williams, seeking a record seventh Key Biscayne title, improved to 16-2 against Sharapova and hasnt lost to her favourite foil since 2004. "I have always felt when Im playing at my best, then its hard for people to beat me," Williams said. Rafael Nadal could say the same. He advanced to the semifinals by hitting a flurry of forehand winners down the stretch to beat Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. On Saturday, the No. 1-ranked Williams will try for a record seventh Key Biscayne title against No. 2 Li Na, who overcame 40 unforced errors to beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Williams is 10-1 against Li. No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych advanced to Fridays semifinals, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 7-6 (3). Berdych was the Key Biscayne runner-up in 2010. The No. 1-ranked Nadal, who is 0-3 in Key Biscayne finals, needs one more win to get there again. His opponent Friday night will be No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych, who advanced by beating No. 22 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 7-6 (3). Nadal has beaten Berdych 16 times in a row over the past seven years. "This tournament is a tournament where I really feel the love of the people so much," Nadal said, "so Im going to try my best to keep playing well." Three-time champion Novak Djokovic will play in the other semifinal Friday against No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori, who eliminated Roger Federer on Wednesday. The No. 1-ranked Williams won with a superior serve and better returns. She hit nine aces and broke five times, helping her rebound from deficits of 4-1 in the first set and 2-0 in the second. Williams earned hher 14th consecutive victory against a top-10 player. Stephon Gilmore Bills Jersey. Her opponent in Saturdays final will be either Australian Open champion Li Na or Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Williams first won Key Biscayne in 2002 and is the defending champion. She has worn Miami Dolphins orange and turquoise throughout the tournament and considers it her home event because she lives 90 minutes up the road. "When I grew up I always wanted to play here," she said. "I guess I just dont want to let go. Its my favourite stop on the tour. Its home. All my friends come. So its perfect for me." There was no evidence of a home-court advantage at the start, when Williams failed to convert four early break-point chances and fell behind. Sharapova cracked a succession of winners from the baseline and earned applause from Williams after besting her in one exchange. But Williams broke back when Sharapova committed three consecutive backhand errors, and gained momentum from there, sweeping the final five games of the first set. The story was similar in the second set, and after falling behind, Williams resorted to her dominating power. She quickly won one game with two aces and two service winners during a period when she swept 11 consecutive points. Sharapova committed groundstroke errors on the final three points, and a victorious Williams trotted to the net, her left fist leading the way. She has more victories against Sharapova than against any other opponent. "Despite my results against her, I still look forward to playing against her because you learn so much from that type of level which she produces," Sharapova said. "You finish the match, and you know where you need to improve and the things that you need to work on." ' ' ' |
