by ldh2013 » Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:15 am
Michael Grabner scored two goals and Mathias Lange made 34 saves as Austria held off Norway 3-1 on Sunday for its first victory at the Olympic mens hockey tournament. . Michael Raffl scored in the first period for Austria, which finished third in its group at 1-2. Austria and Norway both lost to Canada and Finland, who met later in the day to decide the group winner. Grabner, the New York Islanders forward, has five goals in his first three Olympic matches after scoring early and late against Norway. His breakaway goal with 1:37 left secured the victory. Per-Age Skroder scored and Lars Haugen stopped 24 shots for Norway, which hasnt won an Olympic hockey game since its home Lillehammer Games in 1994. Lange got his first start in place of Bernhard Starkbaum after Austria yielded 14 goals in its first two games at the Olympics. Lange was solid, and he got more than enough offense from Grabner, who had a hat trick in his first Olympic appearance against Finland three days ago. Norway launched 17 shots in the first period, but Austria went ahead less than five minutes in when Thomas Pock threaded a clever cross-ice pass to Grabner, who tipped it home. During a power play just 2:25 later, Raffl walked in untouched from the corner and beat Haugen in front for his first goal in Sochi. Norway failed to score during 73 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage later in the first period, but Skroder trimmed the lead in the second period with a one-timer in front of Lange on a slick pass from Patrick Thoresen. Norway pressed in the third period, but Lange was solid until Daniel Welser found Grabner behind the defense for his second goal. .Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford broke their Canadian record to win the pairs competition Saturday at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. . PETERSBURG, Fla. . -- San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run and reckless driving after he drove a car into a bicyclist and fled, police said.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs shoot for victories on consecutive nights when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers tonight. You can watch the game on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 7pm et/4pm pt and listen live on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Last night, Tyler Bozak scored the go-ahead goal while short-handed late in the second period to help the Leafs earn a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens in the first game of the 2013-14 season. Mason Raymond tallied the eventual game-winner in the third period, while former Flyer James van Riemsdyk and Dion Phaneuf also notched goals for the Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel, signed to a lucrative eight-year contract extension earlier on Tuesday, recorded an assist on van Riemsdyks power-play marker. "Tonight our special teams were the difference in the game," said Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle. "The short-handed goal turned everything in our favor." James Reimer made 34 saves to help Toronto fight back from a 2-1 deficit after the opening 20 minutes. Jonathan Bernier is expected to get the start on Wednesday after coming over from Los Angeles in an offseason trade. Bernier, who never has played a game in Philadelphia, was 9-3-1 with a 1.87 goals against average while spelling star goaltender Jonathan Quick in L.A. last season. The Flyers begin the season with returning to the postseason on their minds after the club had a string of five straight trips to the playoffs halted last spring. Philadelphia missed out on the postseason tournament by a margin of six points, finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference during the lockout- shortened campaign. Philadelphia is once again led on offense by captain Claude Giroux, who had a team-high 48 points in 48 games despite only scoring 13 goals. Winger Jakub Voraccek led the team with a career-high 22 goals in 2013 and will be expected to build off that total over the course of a full season. . Giroux and Voracek missed time during the preseason due to injuries, but Phillys top two offensive players are both ready to go for the season opener. The Flyers also enter 2013-14 without goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov or forward Daniel Briere, as the team used compliance buyouts to wipe out the contracts of both players last summer. With the controversial Bryzgalov gone, the Flyers will use the tandem of Ray Emery and Steve Mason in net this season. Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette has tabbed Mason to get the start in Wednesdays opener, but there isnt a clear-cut No. 1 between the two netminders at this stage of the season. The biggest addition for the Flyers since last season was the signing of Vincent Lecavalier to take the No. 2 centerman spot behind Giroux. Lecavalier, 33, was bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason before inking a five-year, $22.5 million contract to join Philadelphia. Lecavalier had 10 goals and 22 assists in 39 games for the Lightning last season and will try to get his Flyers career off to a good start on Wednesday. The 33-year-old has registered 52 points on 22 goals and 30 assists in 50 career games against the Maple Leafs. More recently, the Flyers signed big defenseman Hal Gill to a one-year deal after his successful professional try-out with the club in September. The 6- foot-7 Gill will be entering his 16th NHL season and offers depth and physicality at the back end. Toronto took two of three meetings against the Flyers last season, but Philly has won six of eight and 10 of the past 13 tilts in this series. The Leafs have also dropped seven of nine and eight of their last 11 games in the City of Brotherly Love. ' ' '
