Pirate Galaxy » We play NHL-style all year and you come here

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings forwards Steve Ott and Dylan Larkin made the best use of their time in the penalty box during a preseason game by smiling for a picture with a 4-year-old girl in the stands.A picture on the teams Instagram account shows the girl, Lylah Almas, smiling with Ott and Larkin grinning in the background. The caption says the girl was hit with the classic Ott, Larkin penalty box photobomb. The players were serving minor penalties in Sundays game against the Chicago Blackhawks.Lylahs mother, Shannon Almas, tells the teams website that she only noticed the players smiling when she reviewed the picture.The photo has received more than 26,000 likes on Instagram. USA Soccer Gear . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Stitched USA Soccer Jerseys . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. USA Soccer Pro Shop .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras.STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Canada reached the final of the mens world hockey championship six times between 2003 and 2009 and won three gold medals. Catch Canada vs. Denmark on TSN and TSN Mobile TV, Saturday at 10:15am et/7:15am pt. Since that stretch, its been three straight quarter-final exits. Canadas strategy for a return to the podium in 2013 is to hold fast to a style of hockey they know despite the wider, unfamiliar ice surface and opponents who will be in their element. "Its going to be a lot of work to play Canadian-style hockey on this big ice, but thats what its going to take to win I think," forward Matt Duchene said Friday. "Youve got to push the pace and tell yourself to move quick. Theres going to be more room out there, but youve got to come through that room with speed. "Thats going to be the challenge for us though, to not fall into the style of game that those other teams want to play who are comfortable on the big ice." Canada opens the tournament against Denmark on Saturday followed by Switzerland on Sunday at Globe Arena. Devan Dubnyk of the Edmonton Oilers will spend his 27th birthday in Canadas net versus Denmark. Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes gets his turn the following day against the Swiss. Canadian head coach Lindy Ruff intends to rotate the two goalies until one emerges as a No. 1 for the medal round. "I would look to one guy to try and push through," Ruff said. "You decide which guy you think is playing the best and probably go with him." In Fridays action, the Czech Republic beat Belarus 2-0, while Switzerland upset Sweden 3-2. Meanwhile in Helsinki, last years silver medallists from Slovakia opened with a 6-2 win over France, while Finland beat Germany 4-3 in overtime. Denmark is ranked 12th in the world and Switzerland, coached by Canadian Sean Simpson, is 10th behind Canada at No. 5. The Canadians start the tournament having had just three practices as a team because the NHL lockout pushed the regular seasons conclusion to the end of April. The players actually prefer this scenario, which feels like a natural extension of their seasons, to winding down and ramping up again in the three weeks between the end of their NHL seasons and the tournament. But the reality is Canada had little time develop chemistry and cohesion or get a feel for the wide ice. "Weve tried to create a system everyone is comfortable with right off the bat," Ruff said. "We want to play a real fast-paced, North-South game, the same game we would play in North America on North American rinks. Try to stay inside the (faceoff) dots, get pucks to the net and try to use our speed to get in behind people." The European countries have had at least parts of their world hockey championship teams together to prepare while they awaited the arrival of some NHL players. The majority of thhe Danish team spent the last month playing exhibition games.dddddddddddd The Canadians are still favoured to win their opener, but theyll have to overcome their internal unknowns while pursuing their first win of the tournament. Canada lost to Slovakia in last years quarter-final by one goal. The year before that it was a 2-1 loss to Russia in the quarter-finals. In 2010, the Russians also eliminated Canada in the round of eight by a score of 5-2. Jordan Eberle was a 19-year-old forward fresh off his junior career in 2010 when he was named to the Canadian team. He watched from the stands as Canada lost 4-1 to Switzerland and then played in a 3-2 loss to the Czechs in the preliminary round that year. It was an eye-opener for the Edmonton Oilers forward because those countries hadnt come close to beating Canada when he won gold and silver at world junior championships. But the Eberle now knows a thing or two about the unpredictable animal that is the world hockey championship because hes playing in his fourth for Canada. "Every team can beat any team, especially on this big ice," Eberle said. "We play NHL-style all year and you come here and you have to play a different game. They grew up playing this kind of game. "I think thats why its been challenging for us in the last few years. That being said, it takes a couple games to get used to it and once you do, you should be able to play it." The upside of the NHL lockout for this Canadian team was that six players spent some time between September and December playing for European clubs. Duchene played for clubs in both Sweden and Switzerland before returning to the Colorado Avalanche when the lockout ended. "I played in the Swedish league and that game is night and day compared to the NHL," he said. "It was tough for me at first to figure it out and I know that Swedish team is going to go right back to their roots, which is that type of hockey. Its going to be kind of a slower game, kind of controlled, theyre going to try create time and space." Dubnyk backstopped Canada to a Spengler Cup victory in Davos, Switzerland, in December, and is preparing to adjust his game again. "As pucks are coming to the outside, you feel you have to keep going just because there is so much room outside the dots," he explained. "You just have to force yourself to keep your feet where you are and not open up the far side, and realize the half-wall is a lot farther away here too. They dont look to shoot as much off the half-wall here." Duchene is playing in his third world hockey championship even though hes just 22. He experienced those quarter-final losses in 2010 and 2011. "Im kind of a seasoned veteran at this tournament now," Duchene said. "I kind of know what loses, anyway. Hopefully I can figure out what wins." ' ' '