confident, yet was more focused on helping the four

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It had been a while since Joakim Nordstrom scored a goal, and even longer since Cam Ward shut out an opponent.Both droughts are over -- and now the Carolina Hurricanes are no longer in last place.Nordstrom scored with 9:12 left, Ward made 22 saves in his first shutout in over a year and the Hurricanes beat the San Jose Sharks 1-0 on Tuesday night for their second straight win.Its starting to come together, Carolina coach Bill Peters said.Ward got the 24th shutout of his career and first since he blanked Colorado on Oct. 21, 2015, while improving to 6-1 in his career against the Sharks.That helped the Hurricanes escape last place in the Metropolitan Division, in the process snapping the defending Western Conference champions three-game winning streak.Youve got to build some momentum, and certainly these last two games have been our best two games of the year, and we did it in a real good fashion, playing the way we wanted to play, and dominated at times, Ward said. Thats a compliment to the guys. ... Its not going to get any easier, but we showed what we can do when were on, for sure.Aaron Dell stopped 32 shots in his third career game and his second start for the Sharks.He was excellent, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. Gave us a chance to hang around in a game we didnt deserve to be in. Thats all you can ask from him.San Jose, which averages nearly 30 shots per game, managed just two in the second period before coming on strong in the third. The Sharks were shut out for the third time this season and second time this month.They took the game over in the second period, DeBoer said. Their compete level went up another notch and we didnt go with them.The sequence that led to Nordstroms goal was started by Viktor Stalberg, who broke up a breakaway attempt with his stick. Ward then blocked Joonas Donskois tip-in try, and that eventually led to a rush the other way, with Nordstrom backhanding the rebound of his own shot past Dells glove for the fourth-line forwards first goal of the season. He had 10 last year.I couldnt believe my eyes when I missed the first one, so I was kind of happy to get the second chance, Nordstrom said.Before that score, the goalies had put on a show for the overwhelming majority of this one, with Dell and Ward matching each other save for save. Dell made a slick stop on a rising shot by Jeff Skinner early in the third, and a few minutes later Ward stopped a tricky tip from Logan Couture with about 13 1/2 minutes left.Game notes San Jose scratched C Melker Karlsson, who injured his left ankle while blocking a shot Saturday against Tampa Bay. ... Carolina activated D Justin Faulk from injured reserve before the game. Faulk (upper body) missed three games. ... The teams meet again Dec. 10 in San Jose.UP NEXTSan Jose: The Sharks continue their six-game road trip at St. Louis on Thursday night.Carolina: The Hurricanes play host to Montreal on Friday night in the third game of their critical five-game homestand. Archie Manning Youth Jersey . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Saints Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-cameron-jordan-gold-jersey/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Youth Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Bobby Hebert Youth Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Anyone who has met or spoken with Ginny Thrasher usually ends up with the same description of her personality: bubbly.Not the stereotypical, air-heady kind. More engaging, friendly, opinionated. Vivacious.When Thrasher raises her rifle toward the 10-ring target 50 meters downrange, the other side of her personality takes over. Determined, focused, confident.Thats the part that pushed the 19-year-old to become the first freshman rifle shooter to win both individual NCAA titles and earn a spot at the Rio Olympics in less than a month.When it comes to anything thats a challenge -- a test, a competition, training -- its very easy for her to dial in that concentration, said Jon Hammond, Thrashers rifle coach at West Virginia University. Shes still a very friendly person when shes shooting, but becomes a very focused individual.Thrasher, even from a young age, gravitated toward challenges. The harder it was, the more she seemed to like it.Shooting a rifle on the elite level is a large-caliber challenge centered upon the process: setup, path of the gun to the target, reaching a state of mental and physical calm to squeeze the trigger at the precise moment.Thrasher loved trying to piece together the puzzle of process, searching not for a single answer, but the one that worked for her.Whats most attractive of rifle is the mental side of the sport, she said. Anyone can go and hit a 10, its not that hard. To go and shoot 10 after 10 after 10 in a big event is very hard. You have to have a mastery of the mental side, controlling your emotions, following your process and not thinking about the outcome.Mastering the mental is something that usually comes with experience; young shooters often dont grasp the nuances older shooters have honed through years of competition.Thrasher condensed the learning curve, becoming a world-class shooter in five short years.She wanted to be an Olympic figure skater when she was younger, but became enthralled with shooting after joining her grandfather, father and two older brothers on a hunting trip.On the second day of the trip, the group stopped to eat lunch when Thrashers father, Roger, told her there was a deer right behind her. Thrasher grabbed her gun, leaned against a tree and, to the surprisee of her family, not only pulled the trigger, but took down the deer.dddddddddddd.The adrenaline rush was incredible, Thrasher said.Not long after that, Thrasher began shooting with the air rifle team at West Springfield (Va.) High School and went on to win the 2015 air rifle state championship. She also won five medals at the 2015 USA Shooting national championships to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team.Recruited by numerous colleges out of high school, Thrasher decided to attend national shooting powerhouse West Virginia. Though Hammond wasnt sure if she would be among the top five for the 18-time champion Mountaineers, Thrasher established herself as one of the nations best shooters by the end of the year.What makes the situation more unique is the improvement she made over the course of the year, said Hammond, a two-time Olympic shooter for Great Britain. The improvement she made from the start of the year to the end was dramatic.Even so, it was hard to predict what she would do during a four-week period this spring.Thrasher entered the NCAA championships confident, yet was more focused on helping the four seniors with her to win a national championship in Akron, Ohio. The Mountaineers did just that and Thrasher had two added bonuses: Individual national championships in small-bore and air rifle with many of her family and friends watching.Thrasher had another week of school after that, spent spring break in Costa Rica with her family, then headed to Fort Benning, Georgia, for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Again focused on shooting her best, not possible outcomes, she pulled off another surprise by building a massive lead after two days of the three-position event to earn a spot in Rio.That was a pretty crazy month for me, Thrasher said.It didnt stop there.A week after the trials, Thrasher went to Rio for an Olympic test event and came back for the final week of school. From there, she headed to Colorado, Munich, the Czech Republic, home to northern Virginia, France, Georgia, Germany and back home again.Chaotic, yes, but its all part of the process, one that has led her to Rio next month. ' ' '