We couldnt find a way to score
Posté: Lun Oct 31, 2016 10:26 amABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Utica Comets needed someone to step up Saturday night. Enter team captain Colin Stuart. Stuart scored twice to lead the Utica Comets to a 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Stuart now has 15 goals on the year and is tied for third on the team despite scoring just twice in the previous 15 games. "We challenged our leaders to bring a better game tonight, and (Stuart) was one of the guys who stepped up," said Comets head coach Travis Green. "Hes been good for us all year. You expect your captain to make plays and step up at the right time. You need all your best players this time of the year and it was good to see him do that." The Comets had their four-game winning streak snapped Friday by the Heat, but moved to within eight points of a Western Conference playoff berth with the bounce-back victory. "I didnt like the way we skated last night and the way we competed in certain areas of the ice," said Green. "The guys responded well tonight. These are desperate times for our team and we played like it tonight." Stuart, who signed with the Comets NHL-affiliate Vancouver Canucks during the summer, played in Abbotsford during the Heats inaugural season in 2009-10. Hes now registered six points in six games against the Heat this year. "Its still neat coming here," said Stuart. "And not just the arena, but the city itself. Its interesting to see how things have changed around town. And obviously I was here in the inaugural season so it was pretty special too." Brandon DeFazio also scored for the Comets for his third goal in four games. Alex Friesen had two assists for Utica (27-27-7), while Joacim Eriksson made 38 saves in the win. "(Eriksson) was good the whole game," said Green. "I like him last night and really liked him for the last three months. Hes been real solid for us. He had a tough start to the year but hes starting to develop." Eriksson gave the Abbotsford offence fits Saturday, making several key stops. "We keyed on getting the puck to the net but obviously we didnt take away the guys eyes as well as we should have," said Heat defenceman Chad Billins. "Theyre big bodies back there and they box out very well. Weve got to get some more bodies to the front of the net. And also hes a good goalie, so youve got to give him credit too." Ben Street scored the only goal for the Heat and Olivier Roy stopped 31 shots for Abbotsford (34-21-7), which has just one win in its last nine games. The Heat actually had the best opportunities to open the scoring, getting four power plays in the first period, but had nothing to show for it, including just one shot through 10 minutes. "We had four straight power plays, and we didnt generate anything off of that," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "We didnt gain some momentum, we didnt put ourselves in a position physically or mentally to get some emotion or get some charge out of those power plays. I thought that was one of the biggest differences in the game." Stuart mirrored that idea. "We got into a little bit of penalty trouble in the first period," said Stuart. "We just kept battling back. Wed kill off a penalty and gain back a little bit more momentum and build on it. They kept coming at us and we weathered the storm when we needed to and controlled the game when we needed to as well." The Comets finally opened the scoring at 8:47 of the second period. Yann Sauves long shot was kicked out by Roy right to DeFazio down low and he made no mistake in beating Roy stick side for his 12th of the year. The Heat had some opportunities to get on the board. Corey Locke forced a turnover behind the net and centred for Max Reinhart, but Eriksson stopped him and made it look easy as well. While Locke has 14 assists with the Heat this season, he still has not scored in 18 games. "Its frustrating," said Locke. "Ive been getting looks but cant find a way to get the puck behind that goal-line. It cost a goal today. I stayed out to try and score, extending a shift, and they go back and score that second goal. Thats unacceptable." Stuart made it 2-0 at 15:25. Friesen made a perfect pass off the boards, around a Heat defender, to Stuart and he beat Roy blocker side. The Comets captain got his second of the game at 3:05 of the third. He skated to the left faceoff dot and wired a shot short side on the Heat netminder, putting the visitors up 3-0. The Heat had a two-man advantage with eight minutes to go in the third and finally beat Eriksson. Street one-timed Lockes pass from the slot, blowing it by the Swedish netminders glove for his 23rd of the year. Cheap China NFL Jerseys . As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy. The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. Cheap Authentic China Jerseys . "He started putting me on the ice to strengthen them at the suggestion from a doctor," he said. Weight said it wasnt a pretty sight at the rink in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "I looked like Forrest Gump," he joked. http://www.cheapchinajerseysfree.com/ . Kansas City became the first team in baseball history to win four extra-inning games in a single postseason on Friday, as Alex Gordon crushed a leadoff homer in the 10th and Mike Moustakas added the deciding two-run blast in the Royals 8-6 win. Cheap China Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla.WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkins goal was no surprise. But when defencemen Nate Schmidt and Karl Alzner scored, it was an unexpected bonus for Washington. Braden Holtby made 34 saves and Ovechkin scored the second of three goals by the Capitals in the first 17 minutes of a 5-2 victory over the Predators on Saturday night, extending Nashvilles losing streak to five games. Troy Brouwer and Eric Fehr also scored for the Capitals. Ovechkin got his 22nd goal this season and ninth on the power play, both NHL highs. Nicklas Backstrom and Mikhail Grabovski each had two assists. Schmidt, a 22-year-old rookie, got his first NHL goal. Alzner, a six-year veteran, got his first career goal in 148 home games. "Thats what Im here for. Im a game-closer. The finisher, they could call me," joked Alzner, who has six career goals and said he had been aware of his failure to score at home since his rookie season. In the dressing room, Schmidt had a wide smile as he posed for pictures with the puck. "Ive been used to previously having more points," he said. "Being a first-year defenceman, its going to come." Roman Josi scored the Predators first goal at the end of the first period and fed Eric Nystrom for their other one with 16:08 left. Nashville defenceman Shea Weber, playing for the first time since getting hit in the face by a puck on Nov. 28, also had an assist. "We couldnt find a way to score. Obviously, we didnt have many power plays tonight (one) to try and build momentum," Weber said. "Same story, weve just got to find a way to put it in." Washington took the lead after Nashville goalie Marek Mazanec (28 saves) failed to control a slap shot from the wing by Fehr. Battling a Predators defender, Brouwer got enough of his stick on the puck to trickkle a backhand past Mazanec for his sixth goal.dddddddddddd Less than 7 minutes later, Ovechkin scored 3 seconds into a power play, firing a slap shot off a faceoff feed from Backstrom. Alzner made it 3-0 with his first regular-season goal since Feb. 12. In addition to winning a draw that led to the goal, Backstrom played a role on the shot. He obstructed the view of Mazanec, slow to react on a drive from the defenceman that came from just inside the blue line. Alzner has often been criticized for a lack of aggressiveness with the puck. "When its his turn, we need a goal from him, or a good play, and we got one tonight," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "Every little touch he makes benefits us big picture." The teams traded goals early in the third period. After Schmidt scored the first of his career, Nystrom retaliated 23 seconds later in transition. With 5:10 left, Fehr got the clincher, scoring for the fourth time this season. He has six points in six games. "I think we were getting a little bit too fancy, looking for that perfect tap-in, backdoor play," Fehr said. "We talked before the game (and said), just get pucks to the net and crash and get some rebounds and try to get a greasy one. It worked out." NOTES: Ex-Capital Matt Hendricks faced Washington for the first time since he was signed by Nashville as a free agent. ... The losing streak is the longest for Nashville since it dropped eight straight in April. ... Nashvilles frustration showed as Rich Clune picked a fight with Washington rookie Tom Wilson, but got the worst of it after his helmet came off in the tussle. ... With the 136th power-play goal of his career, Ovechkin moved within one of Peter Bondras franchise record. ... The goal for Alzner was his first in 148 regular-season games at home. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '