the next bbreakout womens star.

[ldh2013]

MALMO, Sweden -- Providences Jon Gillies made 23 saves to help the United States open its world junior title defence with a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Thursday. . Miami of Ohios Riley Barber, Denvers Will Butcher, Minnesotas Hudson Fasching, Colorado Colleges Jaccob Slavin and Notre Dames Vince Hinostroza scored for the United States. "Its always good to get the cobwebs out and get a convincing win," Barber said. Barber and Butcher scored power-play goals in a 41-second span early in the first period. "When you get the two power-play goals to begin the game and can play with the lead its much, much easier to play the game," said coach Don Lucia of the University of Minnesota. "Our defence did a good job breaking us out and Jon Gillies was there when we needed him." Michal Plutnar had a third-period goal for the Czech Republic. In the other Group A game, Anthony Mantha scored three goals in Canadas 7-2 victory over Germany. Josh Anderson, Bo Horvat, Sam Reinhart, Nic Petan added goals for Canada. The U.S. will play Slovakia on Saturday, Germany on Sunday, and finish group play Tuesday against Canada. In Group B, Sweden beat Switzerland 5-3, and Russia routed Norway 11-0. Filip Forsberg, Christian Djoos, Andreas Johnson, Oskar Sundqvist and Lukas Bengtsson scored for Sweden. Anton Slepyshev, Nikita Zadorov and Vadim Khlopotov each scored twice for Russia. . -- The Baltimore Ravens have put middle linebacker Rolando McClain on the reserve-retired list for a second time. . Crawford led off the 10th inning with a game-ending drive into McCovey Cove to give the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead.MELBOURNE, Australia -- Montreals Eugenie Bouchard has been preparing for the Australian Open semifinal her entire life. Bouchard became the first Canadian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi in three decades with her 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 quarter-final win over former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic on Monday. She faces Chinas Li Na on Thursday in the Australian Opens final four. "This is something Ive been doing since I was five years old and working my whole life for and sacrificing a lot of things for," said Bouchard. "So its not exactly a surprise. I always expect myself to do well. Im just happy to have gone through this step. Im not done. I have a match on Thursday. Im just looking forward to that." The semifinal pairing of the 19-year-old Bouchard versus the 31-year-old Li, who won the 2011 French Open, has captured the attention of tennis fans around the world. Li has played two of the last three finals at Melbourne Park. That kind of WTA rep does not bother the confident Bouchard, whose ad-hoc Genie Army of a dozen or so Aussie fans will surely be out in full force for the showcase event. "Lis a great champion, shes won a Slam, as well, its going to be really tough," said Bouchard, playing in the main draw of a major for only the fourth time. "I played her once in Montreal two years ago. We had a close match, one of my first bigger matches. "It will be interesting to play her. I know shes very solid, very good from the back. Its going to be hard, but Im looking forward to it." Beside her tennis, its Bouchards bubbly personality that has captured fan fancy, with commentators already labelling her the next bbreakout womens star. . The Canadian extrovert, who confesses to possessing a Type A, get-it-done personality -- especially on the court -- is dealing with the expectations well. "Im a really focused person, really driven. Off the court Im almost impatient in a way," said Bouchard. "On the court Im the same way. I really just want to play my game, be aggressive, take it to my opponent, and not just wait around and wait for opportunities. "I think its a good thing to take my chances when Im on the court." Bouchards not intimidated by the big stage of a Grand Slam tournament, either. "The matches I had last year on the big courts, like (Maria) Sharapova at the French Open, Ivanovic at Wimbledon, just being on those big stages gave me a lot of experience," she said. "Now walking out on centre court in Australia, I feel like Ive been here before. Ive been able to perform on big stages as well. It gives me that extra confidence." While she wont make any predictions about her match with Li, Bouchard is fairly certain that her supporters will be tossing another stuffed Aussie animal onto the court after the match, bringing her tournament total to five. The bulky mementos have a special place in her heart, with Bouchard bringing each new one to post-match media availability and sitting it proudly next to the microphone. Getting the growing menagerie back to Quebec should not be a problem for the resourceful Bouchard. "I have a koala, and kangaroo, a kookaburra, and a wombat," she said. "I will create luggage space. Its worth it to take my wombat home." ' ' '