The Windsor Spitfires hold a 2 – 0 lead in the best of seven Western Conference quarter final series after winning 3 – 1 against the Erie Otters Sunday.
Taylor Hall scored two goals while Dale Mitchell scored one.
Game 3 will be held at the WFCU Centre on Tuesday.
After much speculation as to when and if Tiger Woods would return to play, a statement was released indicating he would be returning to the PGA Tour at The Masters golf tournament at Augusta in April.
The tournament is set to begin April 8.
Gloves and stick to be more specific. The stick Sidney Crosby used Sunday to score the winning goal against the United States in the men’s Olympic gold medal hockey game … has gone missing.
The second the puck went into the net, the stick, gloves and mouth guard were tossed in celebration. When all the equipment was collected Sid’s gloves and stick were missing.
The Hockey Hall of Fame would like to add the historic stick to its collection. Hockey Canada is investigating.
If a private party somehow managed to “acquire” the Crosby equipment … it was quite the “stick-up” and could be worth thousands.
After loosing 5-3 to the US on Sunday, Canada’s men’s hockey team must now win 4 consecutive games to claim the gold medal.
The loss to the Americans came at the worst possible time, not only in the realm of the ice hockey tournament, in conjunction with missed opportunities for Canada on the slopes over the past few days.
To “Own the Podium” will require some amazing results. The US – not just because of the hockey game – is positioned to run away with the games.
Tiger Woods addresses the public for the first time since the news of his “transgressions” broke.
The Barrie Colts (34-6-0-1) are now tied with Windsor (34-6-0-4) for most wins in the OHL, after knocking off the number one ranked team in Canada 4-2. In a game expected to be a preview of the OHL championship series, Zack Kassian opened the scoring with his first goal as a Spitfire, but will be remembered for a second-period hit on a defenseless Matt Kennedy, for which he received a five minute major and a game-misconduct.
Though the Colts were unable to score on the five minute power play, they would eventually tie the game on a Dalton Prout blast from the point.
Greg Nemisz beat Peter Di Salvo on the power play 1:53 in to the third, moments later Alex Pietrangelo recorded his first assist as a Colt, getting the puck to Colin Behenna who made an amazing pass to Kyle Clifford to tie the game at two. Stefan Della Rovere took a five minute major with 8:31 to go in the game putting his team short-handed, but Alexander Burmistrov would beat Troy Passingham halfway through the major for the game-winning goal. Luke Pither added an empty-netter to solidify Barrie’s victory.
On the heels of a legendary New Year’s Eve showdown, Canada and the US renewed their rivalry in the final of the World Jr. Hockey Championships, in Saskatchewan. Seeking an unprecedented 6th consecutive gold medal, in the end, Canada had to settle for silver.
Mirroring the tournaments round-robin battle, Canada fought back from a 2-goal deficit in the 3rd period to force an unlikely overtime frame, but this time the Americans were victorious. Former London Knights’ defenceman John Carlson scored the game-winner on a three-on-one 4:31 into overtime to give the U.S. its first World Jr. gold medal since 2004. Windsor Spitfire Cam Fowler, a member of Team USA, gets a gold medal.
Canada battled back in the 3rd period, just as they had in the New Year’s Eve showdown, to send the game into over-time. Jordan Eberle scored twice in the final three minutes of regulation to tie the game at 5-5.
Greg Nemisz of the Spitfires scored for Canada to tie the game at two late in the opening frame and Spitfire team-mate Taylor Hall evened the score at 3 in the second period.
US goaltender Jack Campbell is also a Spitfires prospect.
Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires scored a pair of goals to help Canada cruise to a 6-1 win over Switzerland in the semi-finals on Sunday. That set up a rematch of the almost legendary showdown between the two powerhouses, on New Years Eve.
In that game, Canada trailed 4-2, but came back to tie the game and eventually won it in a dramatic over-time shoot-out.
The two sides will rekindle the battle with gold on the line.
Linesman Kevin Brown, 25, is in critical but stable condition after a player’s skate blade sliced his neck during a Junior C hockey game between the Woodstock Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds.
Horrified fans gasped, amid screams for an ambulance, as trainers attended to the bleeding linesman. The incident occurred during the third period of a game Tuesday at Woodstock’s Southwood Arena and has led to a renewed call to ban fighting in hockey.
Witnesses say Brown was attempting to break up a fight when one of the players fell to the ice, his leg flying into the air and slicing the linesman’s neck. Brown was taken to hospital in Woodstock, later transferred to London Health Sciences Centre where he remained in critical condition.
Taylor Hall scored his first 3-goals on the World Junior Hockey Championships Tuesday, leading Canada to a solid 8-3 win over Slovakia.
The Spitfires’ star who is leading the OHL scoring race this season, scored a pair of goals midway through the first period and added another in the second to pace Canada to its third straight win in this tournament and 13th in a row overall dating back to 2008.
Hall, who had three assists in Canada’s first two games, was happy to find the net against Slovakia. “I didn’t score the first couple of games but it wasn’t a big deal to me,” said Hall, Canada’s player of the game. “I just kept playing a team game and I knew eventually they would go in.”
The win sets up a New Year’s Eve showdown with Team U.S.A. (3-0-0) with the winner advancing directly to the semi-finals on Sunday. Hall said that the Canadians expect their games to keep getting tougher from this point on. “The games that count are ahead of us,” Hall said. “Hopefully I can keep playing well and so can the team.”
Ottawa Senators heartthrob Mike Fisher and his country singer superstar friend Carrie Underwood are engaged to be married.
Fisher confirmed their engagement Monday as the Senators prepared for their game against the Boston Bruins at Scoriabank Place. Responding to questions, he said he popped the question to Underwood on Sunday, but declined to offer any other details at this point.
“It’s true,” said Fisher. “We’re both obviously excited and very happy.”
The City of Windsor and the Windsor Spitfires are going after the Memorial Cup. The Spits announced at the Mayor’s Office Monday, that they are making the big push to be selected as the host city for the 2011 Memorial Cup. The team is asking fans to log-on to it’s website (www.windsorspitfires.com) and register support for the bid. The team is hoping to 25-thousand people will sign-in.
The defending Memorial Cup champs say the economic impact of hosting the tournament could be more than $10-million.
Despite being short 7 of their regular players (away at World Jr. camps) the Windsor Spitfires notched another win in their rivalry with the London Knights.
Dale Mithchell had a goal and two assists, while Troy Passingham was sensational in goal, stopping 31 of 33 shots in the 4-2 victory. Scott Timmins, Eric Wellwood and Mark Cundari also scored for Windsor.
Cundari and Mitchell, who were sent home from last Sunday’s game after just 40 minutes for shoddy play, appear to be back in the grove.
All 4 Windsor Spitfires, who went to the Canadian Jr. Team camp, have made the final roster. Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Greg Nemisz and Ryan Ellis will be representing Canada. For Ellis, it’s his second appearance, after helping Canada win the gold medal last year.
Twenty of the players have previous international experience, including 15 players who played with Canada’s National Under-18 Team and 15 who played with Canadian regional Under-17 teams at either the World Under-17 Challenge or the Canada Winter Games.
Twenty of the players named to Canada’s final roster were drafted in either the 2008 or 2009 NHL Entry Draft, including ten first-round selections and five second-round picks.
Canada will play its first game of the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship on Boxing Day, December 26 versus Latvia, a game that will be broadcast LIVE by TSN/RDS and on The FAN Radio Network (check local listings).
Canada has medaled at eleven straight IIHF World Junior Championships including gold medal performances in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, silver medals in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and bronze medals in 2000 and 2001.
The 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship is in Saskatchewan, from December 26, 2009 – January 5, 2010.
From the New York Times:
A Canadian doctor who has treated many as well as Olympic medalists, is under criminal investigation in the United States. He is suspected of providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs, according to several people who have been briefed on the investigation.
The F.B.I. investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea, a sports medicine specialist who has treated hundreds of professional athletes across many sports, follows his arrest on Oct. 15 in Toronto by the Canadian police. Human growth hormone and Actovegin, a drug extracted from calf’s blood, were found in his medical bag at the United States-Canada border in late September. Using, selling or importing Actovegin is illegal in the United States.
Dr. Galea is also being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for smuggling, advertising and selling unapproved drugs as well as criminal conspiracy. He is tentatively scheduled to appear in a Canadian courtroom on Friday.
Dr. Galea’s legal problems began in late September when his assistant was stopped entering the United States from Canada. His car was searched by border-crossing guards and authorities found Dr. Galea’s medical bag, which contained four drugs, including human growth hormone, Dr. Galea said. “It was for my own use,” he said.
Dr. Galea said “it would be impossible” for the authorities to have found information linking any of his athletes to performance-enhancing drugs.
On Oct. 15, the Canadian police raided Dr. Galea’s clinic, the ISM Health & Wellness Centre in Toronto. Sgt. Marc LaPorte, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said Dr. Galea was arrested and released the same day after questioning. Mr. Greenspan said court documents, which are not public under Canadian law, show that his client faces three charges, one under Canada’s food and drugs act, one under its customs act and a conspiracy charge under the criminal code. The customs and the drug charges relate to the misrepresentation of goods and drugs.
Prescribing human growth hormone is legal in Canada but approved in the United States only for a few specific uses that do not include hastening recovery from surgery or injury. In the world of sports, under World Anti-Doping Association guidelines, H.G.H. is banned though not widely tested for because it requires a blood test. The N.F.L., the N.H.L., and Major League Baseball do not test for H.G.H.