Stars und Sternchen! » nergy Arena. Toronto

MALMO, Sweden -- Canada will go without a gold medal at the world junior championship for a fifth consecutive year. Canadas gold-medal hopes ended Saturday as Finland scored three times in the second period and held on for a 5-1 semifinal victory at the world junior hockey championship. You can watch Canada/Russia on TSN, Sunday at 8:30am et/5:30am pt. The Finland/Sweden gold medal game can be seen on TSN at 1pm et/10am pt. Frustrated by a dogged defensive team and drawn into individualistic play and bad penalties, Canada was beaten 5-1 by Finland in the semfinals on Saturday. "Everything from penalties to neutral zone play to turnovers, we just got beat fair and square," team captain Scott Laughton said. "Its not like we deserved to win." Canada will play for bronze on Sunday against Russia, which lost 2-1 to host Sweden in a game that ended in a brawl. Canada lost the bronze-medal game to the Russians last year in Ufa to end a run of 14 years of finishing in the top three. "Its a game less than 24 hours later and youve got to do your country proud," added Laughton. "Its tough were not playing for the gold, but were still looking to get a medal and get back on track." Sweden will play Finland in an all-Nordic gold medal game. Joni Nikko, Artturi Lehkonen and Rasmus Ristolainen scored in the second period for Finland. Jonathan Drouin replied for Canada, but Finland captain Teuvo Teralainen scored on a penalty shot at 16:49 of the third and then scored into an empty net to seal the victory. The Finns frustrated Canada by playing for counterattacks, with tight checking in the neutral zone and by collapsing around goalie Juuse Saros to keep shooters to the outside. Unable to penetrate the defence, players tried to get through on their own, which only made Finlands trap more effective. It helped the underdog Finns that they got the first goal, even if it came on a lucky bounce. Julius Honka of the Swift Current Broncos dumped the puck in and saw it take a strange bounce off a gap in the Zamboni entrance door. Nikko pounced on the puck to beat an otherwise sharp Zachary Fucale. Then Frederik Gauthier took a penalty and Lehkonen scored. Then centre Nic Petan took an abuse of official misconduct penalty for saying something to a referee after he was stopped on a good chance by goalie Juuse Saros. Drouin got a goal back as he scooped up a loose puck and shot into an open side with Anthony Mantha clogging up the front of the net, but then he got hit with his second checking to the head penalty of the tournament, which carries a 10-minute misconduct. With two of Canadas four centres in the penalty box for an extended period, Ristolainen roofed a shot from close range for a 3-1 lead. The large contingent of red-and-white clad Canadian fans in the crowd of 11,544 at Malmo Arena kept the noise level high through a desperate third period, but Saros shut the door. It marked the first regulation time loss for coach Brent Sutter in three world junior tournaments, having won gold without dropping a game in 2005 and 2006. This years squad had lost a game in a shootout to the Czech Republic in the preliminary round. He was at a loss to explain why his team fell short. "It seemed we froze in the moment," he said. "We never executed our game plan. "We knew how they were going to play and what they were going to do in the neutral zone and we refused to get pucks into the areas we needed to. We played too much one-on-one hockey and when that happens, your game gets off track." Sutter is aware of the criticism that awaits from disappointed fans, but said the world juniors has become a tougher tournament to win since he last coached Canadas team. The fact that Canada sent its second youngest team ever to the tournament, older only than the 1987 team that was disqualified for a bench-clearing brawl with the Soviet Union, didnt help. This years team wasnt expected to dominate, although it has 11 players eligible to return for next years event in Montreal and Toronto who gained valuable experience. "Russias got a heck of a team and they got beat too,"said Sutter. "Theyve got a pile of 19-year-olds and they lost. Youve got two good teams playing for bronze and two teams moving on. "Its redemption. Its a chance to get back at them for last year in the bronze medal game, so lets see what happens. Weve got to make sure we treat this professionally and handle it the right way." Defenceman Griffin Reinhart is among three Canadians, along with Drouin and backup goalie Jake Paterson, who played on last years team and dont want to go home without a medal again. Reinhart admits that losing a semifinal and then having to play for bronze is a mental challenge. "It always sucks," he said. "I dont know if it can suck any more than it did last year. "Everyone, in their league playoffs, once theyre out and they cant win, theyre done. Its tough to get up the next morning once youre out, but I think well be able to do it." Neither Petan nor Drouin felt their misconducts were deserved. "Personally I thought it was a terrible call," said Petan. "I didnt say anything out of line. Thats just the way it goes here, I guess. We need to move past it." Drouin felt the player he hit took a dive, but added the officiating was not to blame for the loss. "We didnt play our game," he said. "They deserved to win. We got beat." The loss assured that Canada will go five years in a row without gold after winning the tournament five times in a row from 2005 to 2009. In the third period, Pouliot hauled down Henrik Haapala on a breakaway. Despite Canadian protests, Teravainen took the penalty shot because Haapala claimed he had injured his right hand. Against Switzerland this week, Canada wanted Drouin to take a penalty shot but the officials said Mantha had to take it because he was the player that was fouled. The Finns, who finished seventh last year, are assured of ending a seven-year medal drought. They have not won this tournament since 1998. "We had everybody together -- we were team with a big T," said Honka. "It will be nice to play in the final." Notes: Canada is 22-8-6 all-time against Finland at the world juniors, but 1-2 in semifinals. ... Defenceman Mathew Dumba and forward Charles Hudon were both fit to play after missing practice Friday with minor injuries. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Gear .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Stitched Atlanta Falcons Jerseys .Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. http://www.cheapfalcons.com/ . A Swiss Federal Tribunal ruling published Friday said that FIFAs disputes panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport correctly imposed the sanction for Nantes enticing Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura to break his contract with Dubai club Al Nasr in January 2012. Atlanta Falcons Jerseys China ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys Online . -- Jacksonville Jaguars rookie receiver Marqise Lee has agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth more than $5 million.OKLAHOMA CITY - Prior to Sundays game - a game no rational person expected them to be competitive in, let alone win - Raptors coach Dwane Casey spoke about his teams newfound mental toughness. "I like the toughness factor in certain situations where last year and two years ago wed get bumped, get hit [and] wouldnt respond," Casey said an hour and a half before facing the league-best Thunder, a team that hadnt yet lost at home. "Weve grown up from that standpoint and learning how to win is huge." To suggest that Casey was foreshadowing is giving him too much credit. He couldnt have known or genuinely expected what was about to happen. No one did. But he was on to something. This is a different Raptors team than the one Casey was referring to, the one that would cower from adversity in years past. They were supposed to go winless on this exceptionally difficult Western Conference road swing. Instead, theyve won their first two games. “Im seeing it growing," Casey said of his teams resiliency after shocking the hosting Thunder, 104-98, winning four straight on the road for the first time since 2002. "It was one of those things where our guys fought through it and we could have folded or packed it in but they stuck with it and stuck together most of all and didnt fall apart." He called it their best win of the season, which is a given. To take it one step further, it was the Raptors most impressive victory of the three-year Casey era and for all the criticism Torontos coach takes, he had his fingerprints all over it. Casey earned his pay check Sunday evening. He didnt sit down, he didnt relax. He couldnt, not against this team. The Raptors got off to a quick start but withstood the inevitable counterpunch, they rose above spotty officiating and stood their ground when they needed to the most. Through it all Casey was manic on the sidelines. "Sit down Coach," a Thunder fan behind the Raptors bench kept yelling. He didnt. The Raptors were coming off an impressive win in Dallas, defeating a Mavericks team that was 11-2 at home on Friday. The Thunder, winners of nine straight and 17 of 18 overall, were perfect in 13 games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Toronto threw the first punch and led by six at the break. They were "the aggressor," as Casey puts it, and they paid for it. The Thunder had attempted 22 free throws at the half, making them all, while Toronto shot just 10. That trend continued into the third when, finally the lopsided officiating began to seep into the psyche of a young team that has never been known for their mental resolve. A nine-point lead early in the third quarter turned into a nine-point deficit going into a fourth. Collectively Raptors fans thought, here we go again. The Thunder were fighting back - as we expected - and the Raptors couldnt catch a break from the officials. They missed 17 of 19 field goal attempts to end the frame. Thats when something seemed different. They didnt run, they didnt hide, they hit right back. For that, Casey and his players unanimously credited the work of veteran newcomer John Salmons. "I thought John Salmons maturity came through," Casey said of the reserve forward, who scored nine of his 14 playing the entire fourth quarter.dddddddddddd "He has a settling effect when hes in the game and it helps us. It rubs off on DeMar and Terrence. He doesnt get rattled." "John Salmons, I mean give him the game ball, offensively and defensively," added Kyle Lowry. "Just, here, take the ball. He was a big-time player tonight." For the second straight game Salmons came up big when it mattered most. On Friday he slowed down Monta Ellis and two days later he was a big part of the brigade that frustrated Kevin Durant, holding him to 24 points on 5-of-16 shooting, 1-of-6 in the fourth, and forcing his six turnovers. A 12-year vet, Salmons was an afterthought in the seven-player deal that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento earlier this month. He was - and probably is - a temporary Raptor, a contract that can be moved at the deadline or easily bought out in the offseason. A day after the trade was finalized, he stood in front of the local media without much in the way of emotion or excitement, complaining about being tired from the trip. He has brought more to this team than anyone could have expected. "Im not a rah-rah guy at all but Ive been around for a long time," he said. "Ive experienced a lot so I just try to give my advice when I can." Taking the lead of Salmons, his teammates remained even-keeled when things looked to be going south. Nobody panicked. They executed and made good decisions, the right plays down the stretch. "Weve done a great job of just everyone cheering for each other, supporting each other and nobodys getting their head down," said Lowry, who continues to play the best basketball of his career, leading the team with 22 points and nine assists on Sunday. "Everyones focusing on winning the game no matter how bleak it looks." DeRozan played well, scoring 17 points against a tough defender in Thabo Sefolosha, someone who has given him fits in the past and once again, Amir Johnson was the unsung hero. Johnson - who recorded a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds - made some crucial defensive plays down the stretch, switching off on Durant and swatting a Russell Westbrook floater in the final two minutes of the game. "I cant [say enough], theres too much to say about him," Lowry said, or attempted to say about Johnson. "Hes just an unbelievable player. He had his struggles (early in the season) but we all said hell be alright once he finds his groove. And look at him, hes playing unbelievable. He guarded Kevin Durant as tough as he did and the other night he guarded Dirk (Nowitzki) as tough as he did. You just have to tip your hat to him." Back atop the Atlantic Division, the Raptors play their final game before a three-day Christmas break in San Antonio on the second night of a back-to-back Monday. The Spurs have the third-best record in the West and are 9-3 at home. The Raptors are not supposed to win. Care to bet against them? 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