Themenwelt » right field. Minor allowed only five hits and one

MONTREAL - Bolstered by winger Max Domi, Canadas top line was firing on all cylinders in the final pre-tournament game before the start of the junior world championship.Along with Domi, Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair combined for seven points in Canadas 6-0 romp of Switzerland on Tuesday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.Domi led the way with three goals, all of which were assisted by Duclair, while Reinhart added an assist on Domis second.Its pretty easy to play with those two guys, said Domi of his linemates. Reinhart and Duclair are two great hockey players. Its fun to be a part of that line and get the opportunity, but it comes with hard work too, and I work really hard away from the puck.Before camp opened, we wanted to see if those guys can have chemistry together, and obviously I think they do, said head coach Benoit Groulx. They seem to have a lot of fun playing together. Theyre a good mix — two guys (Domi and Duclair) with speed and skills on the wing, and Sam in the middle who controls the game. Theyre a good line for us.With Canada already up 1-0, Domi scored twice in 13 seconds in the second period.His first of the evening came on the power play at 15:46 after two Swiss defencemen gave him far too much time with the puck. The Winnipeg native skated towards the net with ease and found an opening between Ludovic Waebers pads.With the Bell Centre public address announcer still belting out the details of Domis goal, the Arizona Coyotes prospect quickly made it 3-0 for Canada as he deflected home a pass from Montreal-born Duclair.The goal was initially attributed to Duclair, but an official scoring change gave the goal to Domi instead. Domi, however, added to the boxscore confusion by claiming he did not even get his stick on the puck.That was Duclairs goal, said Domi. I didnt get a piece on it at all. It was all him.Canada scored a fourth goal 40 seconds after that — its third in 53 seconds — to effectively put the game out of Switzerlands reach.Domi, son of retired NHLer Tie Domi, completed his hat trick at 8:16 of the third period with a sharp wrist shot from the face-off circle.Besides Domi, Duclair was consistently the most threatening player on the ice. The New York Ranger weaved his way through defenceman with bursts of speed and fancy stick work on more than one occasion.Its working on the ice, said Duclair of Canadas top line. Weve been having a lot of success. I dont exactly know how to explain it, but its working between us.Canada is now 2-0-1 in its three exhibition matches, having outscored its opponents 12-4. The 11-day world junior event, which takes place in Toronto and Montreal, opens on Boxing Day.The Canadians have not won gold in five years, and have been kept off the podium in the last two tournaments.Were a great contender, said Duclair. Our past is behind us, and were looking towards the future. We have a new team, a new coaching staff, and were gunning for gold, thats for sure.The Canadians hope to have set the tone for the tournament with a six-goal effort and a 14-save shutout from goaltender Zach Fucale against the Swiss on Tuesday.Getting the start in Canadas final exhibition game means Fucale will likely get the nod over goaltender Eric Comrie when Canadas tournament officially gets underway versus Slovakia on Dec. 26.Fucale had little to do against the Swiss in the first period, as the Laval, Que. native faced only two shots in the opening 20 minutes.Its not easy when the rhythm is broken like that, said Fucale, whose saves werent terribly difficult overall. But whatever number of shots I face, I want to be sharp for the entire game. I have to be there when it matters.At the other end of the rink, Waeber had to be on his toes throughout the contest. The 19-year-old stopped 37 of 43 shots for Switzerland, which finished 0-2-0 in its exhibition games.Canada flexed its muscles from the very get-go— and hardly let up— outshooting Switzerland 14-2 after the first period.Though things could have been much worse for the Swiss early on. Despite the double-digit shot count at the first intermission, Canadas best chances were shots that missed the target. Fourth-liner Frederik Gauthier missed a wide-open net in the first, and so did forwards Nic Petan and Nick Paul.The Canadians got the breakthrough they thoroughly deserved at 13:34 of the first after Brayden Point completed a nice tic-tac-toe play. With the teams playing 4-on-4 hockey, defencemen Josh Morrissey and Madison Bowey combined with Point for a pretty finish.The Swiss pushed back in the second, largely on the back of three consecutive penalties to Canada. Switzerland threatened, especially on a brief 5-on-3, but couldnt solve Fucale.Thats when Domi and Jake Virtanen combined for three goals in less than a minute late in the second period to put the game out of Switzerlands reach.Nick Ritchie also scored for Canada.Notes: After their game against Slovakia, the Canadians welcome Germany to the Bell Centre (Dec. 27), Finland (Dec. 29), and finally the United States (Dec. 31) in group-stage action. … After Canadas round-robin matches, its tournament moves to Toronto for the knockout phase. … The final will be played Jan. 5 at the Air Canada Centre. Kevin Johnson Suns Jersey .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. Grant Hill Suns Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/mikal-bridges-suns-jersey/ . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. Devin Booker Suns Jersey . The NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year will be named at the NFL Honours Award show on February 1. The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987. Steve Nash Suns Jersey . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken.ATLANTA -- Lloyd McClendons unusual lineup left the Seattle manager answering questions about his teams scoring potential. As it turned out, Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners stingy bullpen didnt need much offence. Iwakuma combined with two relievers on a six-hit shutout and the streaking Mariners beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Wednesday to complete a two-game sweep. Cole Gillespie and Kyle Seager hit run-scoring singles. Seattle has won five straight, matching its longest winning streak of the season. Perhaps the most puzzling piece of the lineup was Stefen Romero, who hit cleanup for the first time this season. "Somebody has got to hit there," McClendon said before the game. "I dont have Bonds, so its going to be Romero." Romero, who hit a pinch-hit homer in Tuesday nights 7-5 win over the Braves, took a .204 batting average into the game. He came through with two hits, including a triple, and scored a run. Willie Bloomquist had a single and a walk as he started at first base for the first time in four years and hit leadoff for only the second time this year. Iwakuma overcame an early start -- 9:10 a.m. in Seattle -- and Atlantas heat to dominate the Braves. The first-pitch temperature was 84 degrees. Iwakuma (4-2) gave up only six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. The right-hander was sharp, throwing 71 of his 96 pitches for strikes. "I knew I needed to focus more than regular games because of the heat," Iwakuma said through a translator. "I was just trying to focus and get quick outs to go deeper in the game and thats what I was able to do." Mike Minor (2-4) allowed only one run in seven innings, but the Braves fell to 0-6 in interleague games. Yoervis Medina pitched a perfect eighth before Fernando Rodney earned his 16th save with three straight outs in the ninth. Seattle relievers threw eight scoreless innings in the two-game sweep. The Braves were held scoreless in the final seven innings of Tuesday nights loss. The streak of consecutive scoreless inningss reached 16 on Wednesday.dddddddddddd "We had a tough time figuring out their starter," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The guys only throwing 87, 88 miles an hour but he sure looked like he was throwing a lot harder. I know he had movement and some deception but we didnt square up too many balls against him. He was pretty darn good." Iwakuma, a 2013 All-Star, gave up a combined nine runs in back-to-back losses to Houston and Detroit before returning to form against the Braves. "He was much better getting the ball down in the zone," Seattle catcher Mike Zunino said. "We wanted to make an emphasis on keeping the ball down and he was. He was able to get to that bottom shelf and stay there for the majority of the game and just mix all his pitches." Gillespies RBI single in the fourth gave Seattle a 1-0 lead that held until the eighth, when Romero tripled off Luis Avilan. Pinch-runner James Jones scored on Seagers single to right field. Minor allowed only five hits and one run in seven innings. He matched his season high with 10 strikeouts. Freddie Freeman had three strikeouts against Iwakuma and finished 0-for-4. Gonzalez unsuccessfully challenged first-base umpire Will Littles ninth-inning call that Justin Upton was out at first base on the throw from shortstop Brad Miller. The review lasted only 40 seconds. NOTES: Seattle also won five straight from May 3-7. ... Bloomquists last start at first base came in 2010 with Kansas City. The versatile Bloomquist also has started at second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field this season, and he is the emergency catcher. ... Seattle players wore T-shirts honouring athletic trainer Rick Griffins 5,000th regular-season game. He joined the team in 1983. ... The Braves and Mariners are off on Thursday. The Braves open a weekend series at Arizona on Friday, when RHP Julio Teheran faces RHP Brandon McCarthy. Seattles east coast swing shifts to Tampa Bay, when Mariners RHP Chris Young will face LHP Erik Bedard. ' ' '