Abmeldungen » thing. We had to take it as a regular game. Obviou

WINNIPEG -- Teenager Kadeisha Buchanan was a star on both sides of the ball Thursday night as Canada tied the No. 1-ranked U.S. womens soccer team 1-1, thanks to her first goal as a member of the Canadian national team. "The future is bright," said teammate Desiree Scott. "Kadeisha Buchanan, 18-year-old, going toe-to-toe with some of the best strikers in the world and she scores a goal tonight. Unbelievable performance." Buchanan said it was a great experience to score but her work on defence was also key to keeping the Americans in check. "Defence wins games and we tried," she said of the physical way she challenged and often beat U.S. strikers such as veteran Abby Wambach as they rushed the Canadian goal. "Thats part of my element." Coach John Herdman said Canadas young back line did a great job and Buchanan has what it takes to be the best in the world at her position. "Shes the (Christine) Sinclair of defenders, shes that good" he said, referring to Canadas top forward. Buchanan scored her goal with a header off a corner kick just before the 35-minute mark of the friendly, and for 40 minutes it looked like Canada might finally beat a team they last defeated in 2001. The 18-year-old Toronto native only made her debut with the national team in January 2013 but has seen 12 starts with Lauren Sesselmann out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Herdman said it was disappointing to come so close and not get the win but he liked what he saw of the Canadian teams development as they prepare for the 2015 Womens World Cup. American striker Sydney Leroux, who was born in Surrey, B.C., tied the game just before the 78-minute mark when she kicked Canadian defender Rebecca Quinns crossing header into the corner past goalkeeper Erin McLeod. It was the third consecutive game against Canada in which shes scored a goal. "She loves big moments and shes come through and shes been fantastic," said interim U.S. coach Jill Ellis. McLeod had to make one big save early in the game off Heather OReilly and another in the second half off a header by Wambach. Then the Canadian team had to block a free kick just past the 84-minute mark that could have put the Americans in the lead. American keeper Hope Solo had her bid to tie the U.S. shutout record foiled by Buchanan. The day before the game, Herdman said the crowd could play a role. "Were not going to have 700 shots and 700 crosses, so the fans have got to be ready to really get behind us when we need (them)," he said. The crowd of 28,255 didnt disappoint. The game was also blessed with cool but dry weather, after a forecast that threatened rain, and it was the second largest crowd ever to watch a womens friendly in Canada. "You could feel the energy," said Herdman, who suggested it was a taste of what Canada will offer when it hosts the Womens World Cup next summer. Solo, who also played for the U.S. in the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, is just one away from tying Briana Scurry for the most shutouts in the American programs history at 70. Melissa Tancredi, who rejoined the Canadian team for the first time since she returned to school a couple of years ago to finish her chiropractic studies, got some playing time late in the second half. The Winnipeg-born Scott said she was thrilled to play for the first time in front of friends and family as a member of the national team. This is her sixth year on Canadas squad. "It was exhilarating and exciting for me and it definitely drove me to give a great performance tonight," she said. Buchanan, meanwhile, is also a member of Canadas under-20 World Cup team. The under-20 World Cup starts Aug. 5 with games set to take place in Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton. Bill Barber Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Brian Propp Jersey . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/customized/ .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Jakub Voracek Jersey .com) - On a night the Bulls played without Derrick Rose, it was time for Pau Gasol to take charge. Bernie Parent Jersey .com) - Colorado forward P.ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Mike Babcock wasnt on the ice at Michigan Stadium himself, so seven minutes into the Winter Classic the Detroit Red Wings coach asked star Pavel Datsyuk how he thought things were going. "He said, Well, were being too careful with the puck, " Babcock recalled. "But he said, we got to be because youre scared to turn it over theres so much snow." Snow built up amid frigid temperatures throughout the game, which the Toronto Maple Leafs ultimately won 3-2 in a shootout to jump ahead of the Red Wings in the standings. The conditions didnt make for the prettiest fundamental game, but the spectacle of having a capacity crowd of 105,491 at this venue set such a picturesque scene that it overshadowed those shortcomings. "I dont know if you would call it a gem from a pace standpoint," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "The weather definitely changed the way it was presented with the snow coming down, and it brought back a lot of memories from a childhood of playing outside." Even after watching Tyler Bozak score the shootout winner against his Red Wings, Babcock was beaming and talking about how glad he was to participate in an event that set the NHL attendance record and might have been enough to make the Guinness Book of World Records. It didnt even bother him that the snow slowed the puck and the players down. "I thought that was a big part of the atmosphere in todays game to make it even more special," Babcock said. "To me, today was a home run for hockey." It was -11 C when the puck dropped at 1:31 p.m., and snow fell steadily throughout the game, which featured goals from James van Riemsdyk and Bozak for Toronto and Daniel Alfredsson and Justin Abdelkader for Detroit. Coaches remarked that the snow had the biggest impact on power plays, based on how long they came after the crew was able to shovel the ice. "The NHL did a good job keeping the ice as clean as possible," said Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, whose shot was deflected in by Bozak to give Toronto the lead in the third period. "Its an experience. Its an outdoor game, in the middle of winter youre going to have snow." That was commissioner Gary Bettmans message afterward, as well. This is the first of six outdoor games in the NHL this season, and inevitably the weather makes an impact. In this case, Bettman was satisfied with how "ice guru" Dan Craig and others handled the conditions to make this game playable. "Were playing outdoors and thats what you get when you play outdoors. When you get the elements, you get the elements," Bettman said. "You could tell as the logo started getting more covered when we needed to shovel. It actually looked like synchronized swimming, so to speak. They did a great job. Listen, whatever the conditions were, it was the same for both teams." The conditions led to some sloppy play, especially a slow start as players had to feel out the conditions. The Leafs beat the Red Wings in a shootout Dec. 21 at Air Canada Centre, but this was uglier because of the snow. "You lose the puck every once in a while because you get stuck in the snow, or you cant find it," Red Wings defenceman Brendan Smith said. "The game was a lot simpler because you had to make smart decisions." Some smart deccisions came from the Leafs top line of van Riemsdyk, Bozak and Phil Kessel, which produced both goals in regulation.dddddddddddd After the game, Kessel and van Riemsdyk were named to the U.S. Olympic team, along with Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard, who made 24 saves in a losing effort but bounced back from his five-goal outing Monday in Nashville. "I dont know if it was a low point for him, but Howies better than that," Babcock said. "So for him to respond today, he didnt have a lot of work, but he had some tough plays. And the way the puck was bouncing, it was hard anyways for a goaltender." It was hard on Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier, too, but he was up to the task in making 41 saves through regulation and overtime. Thats a record for an NHL outdoor game, surpassing the Calgary Flames Miikka Kiprusoffs 39 in the 2011 Heritage Classic. Bernier said the visibility was bad in the first period, and then the wind became the problem in the second when the teams changed ends. In the shootout, he figured he had an edge because players couldnt stick-handle as well. "I tried to play the odds with the ice advantage, probably, as a goalie," said Bernier, who stopped Alfredsson and Tomas Tatar in the shootout. "I tried to take away the angles and be more aggressive a little bit and hopefully they go for the deke and miss the puck." Datsyuk didnt miss, but neither did Joffrey Lupul or Bozak, and so the Leafs moved one point ahead of Detroit in the Eastern Conference wild-card and Atlantic Division standings. Babcock was so pleased with his teams effort, specifically how much they held on to the puck, that he addressed players after the loss, something he rarely, if ever, does. "The conditions made it so some of the skill in the game was eliminated, but I still thought the players competed hard," Babcock said. "It was a good game for our team. So all in all it was a good day." Given the enormity of the proceedings, it was a good day all around. But it was naturally better for the Leafs because they got the victory. "Its a tight conference for us," Bozak said. "We havent been playing our greatest lately, so it was huge two points for our team. So I think that was the main thing. We had to take it as a regular game. Obviously there were some distractions, but we needed these two points back, and were happy we got them." NOTES -- Alfredssons goal was his 34th in 82 career games against the Leafs. The previous 33, along with 38 of 39 assists versus Toronto, came when he was captain of the Ottawa Senators. According to Elias Sports, the 34 goals are the most any active player has scored against the Leafs. ... After making John-Michael Liles a healthy scratch, the Leafs traded him to the Hurricanes in exchange for fellow defenceman Tim Gleason. Carolina also got prospect Dennis Robertson in the deal. ... Defenceman Mark Fraser and forward Frazer McLaren were the other healthy scratches for Toronto. ... Alfredsson returned to the Red Wings lineup after missing Mondays game at Nashville because of back spasms. He replaced Darren Helm. ... Canadian broadcaster CBC had technical difficulties for part of the third period. The outage was filled by an American broadcaster until the problem was fixed before overtime. ' ' '