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CHICAGO -- The Pittsburgh Penguins were wrapping up practice Friday when Tanner Glass grabbed an iPad mini and skated around the temporary rink in the middle of Soldier Field. Khalil Mack Jersey . The 30-year-old Canadian forward smiled as he captured the chilly scene, which took him all the way back to when he first learned to skate at his grandparents farm. "As I grew up, there was an outdoor rink right beside by the main rink," said Glass, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan. "So even tournaments, wed have our real game inside and then wed all just take half our gear off and run across to the outdoor rink and play all day. It reminds me of that and kind of the good old days." Yup, these outdoor games still have an allure for NHL players, especially when they involve two of the best teams in the league. The league gets a marquee prime-time finish for its successful Stadium Series when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins take on Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night at the home of the NFLs Chicago Bears. "Youve got two pretty fast, skilled hockey teams and if the ice can kind of agree with everyone I think that would make for a pretty good product out there," Crosby said. The forecast calls for light snow and temperatures in the teens, but each team has some experience with the pratfalls of playing outside. Chicago lost 6-4 to rival Detroit in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Crosby had the winning shootout goal when visiting Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 2-1 in the first Winter Classic in 2008, but the Penguins lost 3-1 to Washington when they hosted the 2011 game at Heinz Field. Now the Blackhawks and Penguins return to the great outdoors for their first meeting since Pittsburghs 3-2 victory on Dec. 20, 2011. Its their first game in Chicago since Patrick Kane had the only shootout goal in the Blackhawks 3-2 win on Feb. 20 of that year. While scheduling and the leagues most recent labour dispute have kept the teams apart, the players are plenty familiar with one another. Team captains Crosby and Toews face off for the first time in an NHL regular-season game after leading Canada to the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics last weekend. Crosby, Toews and Penguins forward Chris Kunitz scored in their countrys 3-0 victory in the final against Sweden, which included Marcus Kruger, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma got a chance to see Kane up close when he was behind the bench for Team USA in Russia. "Ive learned quite a bit about his competitiveness," Bylsma said. "You kind of see the smile. Its certainly a ton of skill how he plays the game, but I was impressed by it and learned just the competitiveness that he has and brings to the game. Skill-wise you see it live." The first NHL game at Soldier Field also features two teams in need of a win. The Penguins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to Montreal, while the Blackhawks lost 2-1 at the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Chicago, which almost tied the game against the Rangers in the final seconds, is playing its first game in the Windy City since Jan. 26. "Everybody is excited for Saturday," centre Peter Regin, who scored the only goal against New York, said Thursday night. "Obviously we were hoping to get a different outcome tonight, but we play in two days. That is the good thing about the NHL, you play every second night, so its not so long before you can redeem yourself." Ted Hendricks Jersey .J. -- The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt with a four-game winning streak, theyre calling the plays that get them those wins. Darren McFadden Elite Jersey . After losing the first two games of this set in Arlington the Tigers showed some signs of life on Tuesday, as Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta all homered and Austin Jackson went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI for the AL Central champs in a 5-2 win. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- North Carolina has beaten Michigan State, Kentucky and reigning national champion Louisville in this up-and-down season, but the Tar Heels were no match for No. 2 Syracuse. A strong start keyed by James Michael McAdoo vanished amid the Oranges flailing arms and diving bodies, and Syracuse beat UNC 57-45 on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference marquee matchup. Forwards C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant combined for 32 points and 20 rebounds to pace the Orange, who shot a season-low 35 per cent (21 of 60) and still won handily, leading by as many as 19 late in the second half. "They got by and won a game shooting 35 per cent," said UNC coach Roy Williams, who dropped to 1-4 against Syracuse in his Hall of Fame career. "The first six or eight or 10 minutes, I thought we were aggressive. We were involved. I thought after that point they were just so much more aggressive than we were. It ends up a 12-point game, but it really was more than a 12-point game. "They had so much more intensity than we did." Not at the start. North Carolina attacked the middle of the Syracuse zone with great success at the outset, with McAdoo hitting a pair of jumpers and J.P. Tokoto another from the foul line as the Tar Heels gained an 8-4 lead in the first 4 minutes. "We started slow, let McAdoo get in the lane," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Once we got back in front, our defence was good the whole game." The Orange regrouped after a timeout and went on a 17-5 run keyed by Fair and Grant, who did all the scoring. Fair, who had three early turnovers and was struggling at the start, hit a 3 from the wing and converted three free throws to give Syracuse a 19-15 lead, and two free throws by Grant completed a 10-0 spurt that put the Orange on top to stay, 21-15 at 8:53. The Tar Heels cooled off in a big way after the solid start, unable to penetrate inside. After Paige converted a three-point play with 13:04 left, UNC got only a fast-break slam dunk by McAdoo, a layup by Nate Britt and a jumper in the lane by Leslie McDonald in the ensuing 11 minutes and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 34-22. "Forr us, not being able to get looks -- we were successful early in the game. Justin Tuck Elite Jersey. Thats really on us, McAdoo said. "And also them being really good." Syracuse (16-0, 3-0 ACC) evened its all-time record against the North Carolina (10-6, 0-3) to 4-4. UNC started 0-2 in ACC play three times in the past five years and five times overall, and the loss to Syracuse equaled the worst conference start in school history in 1996-97, Dean Smiths final year as head coach. The last time North Carolina scored fewer than 45 points was in a 56-44 loss to eventual national champion Villanova in the Southeast Regional final of the 1985 NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels also beat North Carolina State 45-44 in February 1997. UNC shot 2 of 12 from behind the arc against the Syracuse zone and 20 of 51 (39.2 per cent) overall and was outrebounded 41-35, 17-10 on the offensive glass, netting just two second-chance points. "They were just playing harder," said Tokoto, who finished with three points on 1-of-6 shooting. "Thats pretty much what it was. We couldnt knock down the shots we needed to make and go on our run." The Tar Heels dont play again for a week, when they host Boston College. "Cant go backwards," Tokoto said. "Its on to the next game. Just got to look at the film, look at what we did wrong as a team, and where we can improve on." North Carolina was coming off a 63-57 home loss to Miami in which the Tar Heels shot just 31 per cent (20 for 65) and finished with a season-low scoring output against Miamis zone. This game, which featured teams with a combined 3,990 wins (UNC is third with 2,100 and Syracuse fifth with 1,890) was decided by a dominant first half by the Orange. Tyler Ennis finished with 10 points and seven assists to go with a season-high four turnovers, and Trevor Cooney had five steals and 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Rakeem Christmas contributed eight rebounds and had four of the Oranges nine blocks. Marcus Paige led North Carolina with 17 points and McAdoo had 15 points and nine rebounds. Desmond Hubert suffered a concussion in practice Friday and did not play against Syracuse. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
