Bayern Trupp » Thats Tortorella

HAMILTON, Ont. -- Drew MacIntyre did everything asked of a veteran goaltender Friday night. The 30-year-old didnt need to be spectacular, but made 24 saves as the Marlies defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-1 in American Hockey League play. "There was no show-stopping save tonight," said Marlies head coach Steve Spott. "We did a very good job in front of (MacIntyre) tonight, but when he had to be good he was. "He handled the puck well behind the net, he was vocal and controlled the game and he made the job easy for us defensively." The Marlies were responsible in their own end and opportunistic in attack, which led to their coach being more than pleased with the overall effort. "That was probably our best effort of the year," said Toronto head coach Steve Spott. "I think that from the first puck drop to the final whistle, it was our most complete game to date." Jerry DAmigo, David Broll and Sam Carrick scored for the Marlies (11-7-1). Gabriel Dumont had the lone goal for the Bulldogs (9-9-3). Robert Mayer made 26 saves in a losing effort. The games first clear scoring chance fell to the Bulldogs six minutes into the opening period, just as Steve Quailer was whistled for tripping. With the Marlies regrouping in the neutral zone, Dumont jumped into a passing lane and stole the puck, racing in for a shorthanded breakaway on MacIntyre. He shifted to his backhand, but couldnt manage a shot on goal with John-Michael Liles checking his stick. A momentary lapse of concentration in the defensive zone cost Hamilton the first goal of the night at 13:03 of the first period. Torontos Josh Leivo took possession of the puck behind the goal line, and slid a short pass to the unguarded DAmigo in the low slot. The winger easily placed a wrist shot past Mayer. The Marlies struck early in the second period to double their lead on a power play, after the Bulldogs Jarred Tinordi was whistled for delay of game. With the penalty winding down, Broll took possession of the puck along the left boards and spotted Mayer deep in his crease, releasing a quick wrist shot that took the goaltender by surprise and beat him just inside his far post at 3:17 of the second period. Dumont brought Hamilton within a goal just 41 seconds later. He took the puck at the top of the right circle, and with no defender ready to meet him, drove the net alone. The winger deked past one defenceman before going wide around another and sliding a backhanded shot past MacIntyre. Hamiltons momentum proved to be short-lived, however, as Toronto restored its two-goal lead at 5:57 of the second period. Another missed assignment in the defensive zone allowed Carrick to drift into the slot unguarded, and Spencer Abbott found him with a pass from the right boards. Carrick dropped to one knee and one-timed the puck past Mayer at the near post. Toronto was pressing for a fourth goal early in the third period, and Carrick nearly provided that insurance five minutes in. A deflection bounced to him in the slot, and Mayer produced one of his best saves of the night to swat away Carricks wrist shot with his glove. MacIntyre argued that his teams positive start to the third was crucial, desperate as the Bulldogs were for an early goal. "They were coming for us and they didnt stop coming," he said. "We knew that and thats what we were saying after the second period. "We had a great start to the third, and we needed that because we didnt want to give Hamilton life with a goal." Mike Green Jersey . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. Brendan Shanahan Red Wings Jersey . "Im excited just for a new start, just to see where things are going, to bring some kind of tradition back to the team and guys being excited about something new," the defensive back said during a conference call Monday after agreeing to stay with the Bombers rather than go to free agency next month. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/dylan-larkin-jersey/. "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. Brett Hull Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Vladimir Konstantinov Jersey . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Baackstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different.dddddddddddd What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. ' ' '