Off Topic » courses to finish second to Italys Luca

KREISCHBERG, Austria - When he saw the icy conditions for Fridays snowboardcross competition at the world championships, Kevin Hill knew he was in for a wild ride.It all ended well for the Vernon, B.C., resident, who earned his first major international medal.Hill overcame one of his least favourite courses to finish second to Italys Luca Matteotti in the big final of the mens snowboardcross event.Hill was runner-up in each of the elimination rounds, a rather dicey position as only the top two advance. In the big final he had to come from behind to assure himself the silver ahead of American riders Nick Baumgartner and Nate Holland.I started the day a little unsettled, very excited to race but with extra added pressure from myself, Hill said. The course was one of my least favourites in the past few years, more so because of the weather leading to the event with warm weather and then freezing weather.Those conditions made for high speeds and icy turns but Hill was in control.I worked hard to make it to the final. When the gate dropped I left it on the line and got some luck, he said. Im very excited, I cant thank the Canadian support team enough and now Im ready to go get a medal at X-Games.Christopher Robanske of Calgary was 27th and Baptiste Brochu of Saguenay, Que., 35th.In womens competition, Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States won her fourth world title.Nelly Moenne Loccoz of France was the fastest starter and led the womens final before being overtaken by Jacobellis, who also won the word title in 2005, 07 and 11.I am really happy, said Jacobellis, who won Olympic silver in 2006. It just all came together for me. I never won any of the starts. Every race I had to fight. Its incredible how much this sport has evolved, especially on the womens side. And I am happy to be a part of that history, and I am still with it.Moenne Loccoz took silver and Michela Moioli of Italy won the bronze medal. Olympic champion Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic lost in the semifinals and finished sixth.Two-time Olympic medallist Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere-St-Fran?ois, Que., won the small final for fifth place overall.Im not disappointed with the overall result at all I went for it, said Maltais, second to the Czech at the Games. At the level we are riding right now, many of us are in contention for the medals. There was a strong field for the small final and I really wanted to win it. It was a chance to bounce back from my race in Sochi.In the semifinal, Maltais was third behind Jacobellis and Moenne Loccoz.Tess Critchlow of Kelowna, B.C., was 14th, Carle Brenneman of Whistler 16th and Zoe Bergermann of Erin, Ont., 23rd.— With files from The Associated Press Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs. Discount Nike NFL Jerseys . The team reported the signing on its website Thursday, but said Friday the deal was off in "a mutual parting of the ways that had to do with the language of the contract. http://www.jerseyswholesalenfl.net/. Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger that the team is quietly gauging interest on the Senators captain, though Spezza has a limited no-trade clause and carries a large contract. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Fast Shipping . "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night. DENVER -- Patrick Roy was quite calm and even cracked a few jokes as his team went through a light workout. No signs of stress at all. Of course, the first-year Colorado Avalanche coach has been in a few pressure-packed Game 7 situations as a Hall of Fame goaltender -- 13 to be exact. His players? Not as much experience. A dozen had never been to the post-season before this year. And yet Roys hardly fretting over his teams emotional state heading into a decisive final game Wednesday night against the Minnesota Wild, with the winner moving on to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. On the contrary, Roys reminding his youthful team of one simple thing: Enjoy the moment. "How good is this?" Roy said. "Theyre excited about it and they should be. ... Were playing Game 7 in our building, in front of our fans." In this series, home ice is a pretty big deal. All six games in this tightly contested matchup have been decided during the waning moments, with the home team capturing each one. Wild coach Mike Yeo has a stirring pregame speech all prepared for just the occasion, a few well-chosen words to put into his players ears before they hit the ice and hear the clamour of the crowd. Care to share the highlights? "Then it wouldnt be very inspirational," Yeo joked. Minnesota will try to neutralize the noise with another sizzling start. The Wild have scored the first goal in four of the games. "(Game 7s) are the best and also the worst," Yeo said. "You have so much on the line -- the players laying it all out there, the passion and the energy of the building and the fans. Theres just so much at stake." Avs forward Maxime Talbot stressed "having fun" to rookie Nathan MacKinnon, whos tied with Zach Parise for most points (10) in the NHL playoffs so far. Talbot knows the butterflies will be present for players such as MacKinnon -- and its something to embrace. "Thats why we play the game," said Talbot, who scored twice in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final to lift Pittsburgh to a 2-1 win over Detroit. "Thats the coolest thing about hockey. As much experience as you havve, you have to take these butterflies and turn them into excitement and energy, and thats definitely the feeling I have right now.ddddddddddddquot; Roy believes that Game 7 will hinge on, what else, the goalies. Semyon Varlamov won a team-record 41 games in the regular season, breaking the mark held by Roy. The goalie nicknamed "Varly" has faced a barrage of shots in this series, coming up big in several games. "Varlys always the brick out there," Talbot said. "We know hes going to make the big saves." The same can be said of Darcy Kuemper, who has a 1.53 goals- against average since stepping in for Ilya Bryzgalov in Game 2. Although Kuemper cant ever remember playing in a Game 7, he said that Mondays game -- a 5-2 win in which the Wild sealed it and extended the series by scoring two empty-net goals -- was good practice. "Now, both teams are in the situation," Kuemper said. "So theyre going to be a little bit more desperate than they were last game. Weve been through it before, so we should be pretty calm and confident with it." The intensity level is something the Wild are embracing. They know its going to be a hostile environment, but its not as if the Wild have been blown out inside the Pepsi Center. No, the Avalanche have needed to rely on some late magic, pulling Varlamov for an extra skater in Games 1 and 5, get big late goals and to send it into OT, where they found a way to win. "We feel good about the way weve been playing," Parise said. "Hopefully, we can get a win here." Colorado received a boost last game with the return of Matt Duchene from a knee injury. The teams leading scorer in the regular season is still rounding into shape, but with every shift hes getting back his quickness. "This is just another game," Duchene said. "Thats how you have to treat Game 7s." The previous time the Avs were in a Game 7 was 2003, when they were eliminated by the Wild in Roys last game. "Thats not going to have a big effect on our team," Roy said, smiling. "Because there are not that many players from then that are still with us." ' ' '