They took away her ‘C, but they didnt take away her heart. Alex Formenton Jersey . Hayley Wickenheiser, the greatest womens hockey player ever, stole the show as Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in a thrilling nail-biter preliminary game in Sochi Wednesday. Wickenheiser set up Canadas first goal of the game on a nifty pass to Meghan Agosta-Marciano and then scored her second goal of the 2014 Winter Olympics – the 18th of her Olympic career. Not only that, the 35-year-old Wickenheiser played a strong defensive game, too, shutting down Team USAs top scorers. It is no coincidence that in the dying seconds of the game, with the United States on the power play and its goalie on the bench in favour of an extra skater, Wickenheiser was one of the four Canadian skaters on the ice in pure defensive mode. The victory for Canada means it avoids a tough semifinal matchup against the pesky Finnish squad. Canada defeated Finland 3-0 earlier in the tournament, but didnt score until 9:27 of the third period. The Finns are capable of pulling off an upset in this years Olympics. Wickenheiser, a two-time Olympic MVP, had been the captain of the Canadas national team, but it was announced by Hockey Canada prior to the Olympics that Caroline Ouellette would be the captain in Sochi. Wickenheiser was named an alternate captain. There had even been some chatter leading up to the Games she might be cut from the team. Given how well she has played in Sochi, that would have been a dreadful mistake. Its a team game For Wickenheiser, it is all about the team. “Were so close,” she said of the bitter rivalry with the United States. “Sometimes it just comes down to the team that gets a break or has more energy. I liked the energy level and determination in our game [today].” On snapping the four-game losing streak to Team USA, Wickenheiser said, “Its a confidence booster. [Coach] Kevin Dineen has had some time to prepare for this game. He also needed time to get to know the players in our room; the strengths and weaknesses. We have all the confidence in him.” So, with the victory over the United States, is it advantage Canada moving into the medal round? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Bragging rights Certainly Canada has bragging rights following its win over Team USA. However, history has shown what happens leading up to the Games doesnt necessarily have anything to do with who wins the gold medal. In 2002, Team USA had beaten Canada 10 times in a row, but the Canadians shocked the Americans with a 3-2 victory in the gold-medal game at Salt Lake City. It is also worth noting prior to the last three Olympic Games, the United States won the world championship only to have Canada rebound to take gold at the Olympics. The United States certainly had a mental edge over Canada entering the game – the first time the teams had met in the preliminary round since 1998 – thanks to four straight victories over their rivals in a six-game exhibition series leading up to the Olympic Games. In 1998 in Nagano, Japan, Team USA beat Canada 7-4 in the preliminary round and 3-1 in the gold-medal game. At the very least, Canada now knows it can skate with and beat the powerful United States club. Doing it twice in a row will not be easy. “It felt so good,” said winning goalie Charline Labonte. “We have been struggling a bit the past couple of games against them. We have worked really hard to readjust and become a better team. They came out really strong, as expected, so I am really glad we came up with the win.” American scoring ace Amanda Kessel was understandably dissatisfied with the final result. "It hurts," Kessel said. "Every game matters. They didnt get to see how we can play." A lot has been made of the fact the two teams have an intense dislike for one another – as indicated by the two line brawls in the final few exhibition games leading up to the Olympics – and it was fully on display in Wednesdays preliminary match. Despite the fact bodychecking is illegal in womens hockey, players from both teams rode that fine line between handing out jarring hits, just hard and incidental enough so as not to cause Finnish referee Anna Eskola to penalize them. In that regard, Eskola did a fine job in allowing the game to be physical without getting goofy. "Both teams were aggressive," said American forward Hilary Knight. Youll get our top game when we play one another and thats a great thing. We are both good teams and we are competitive." Canada matched USAs speed and demonstrated a penchant for driving hard to the net from start to finish. If there was a concern for Canada it was the ineffectiveness of its power play. Canada entered the third period a mere 1-for-10 with the man advantage throughout the tournament. It was zero-for-three in the first 40 minutes. However, Agosta-Marciano accepted a perfectly-placed pass from Wickenheiser and scored with Americas Brianna Decker in the penalty box to tie the game 1-1 with a much-needed power-play marker. Decker had been sent off for tripping Wickenheiser. The quarter-finals will be played Saturday and Canada will play in the semifinal Monday. Ben Harpur Jersey . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday. Alexandre Burrows Jersey .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. http://www.senatorsauthority.com/authentic-chris-driedger-senators-jersey/ . "Im not doing enough to help them," Durant told The Oklahoman on Monday of his 28-9 team. "Im shooting too much. Im shooting too many threes. Im not helping them out at all.SEATTLE -- Hundreds of thousands of notoriously loud Seahawks fans cranked up the volume Wednesday, cheering, chanting and going berserk during a parade and ceremony to celebrate the first Super Bowl victory in the history of the franchise. The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. Players were introduced by the order of their jersey numbers and ended with No. 3, quarterback Russell Wilson, who walked onto the field pumping the Lombardi Trophy in the air to thunderous applause. "Our plan is to win another one for you next year," Wilson said later. Coach Pete Carroll led the crowd in a "Seahawks! Seahawks!" chant and said the team will be back. "Were just getting warmed up, if you know what Im talking about," he said. Nick Sutton watched the parade from Westlake Center and considered it a highlight when he threw a football to one of the players who threw it back to him. "Its surreal. Its hard to believe. Seeing this now, its finally sinking in," he said. Hundreds of thousands of fan lined the streets of downtown Seattle early in the day and cheered as the players rolled by. Thousands of students apparently skipped school to attend. Seattle Public Schools said more than 25 per cent of the districts 51,000 students were absent in the morning. By comparison, about 5 per cent were absent the day before. The school district also said 565 teachers were absent, far more than usual. "This is a historical event, once in a lifetime. To not show up would be blasphemy," said Jesse Lake, 36, a carpenter from Port Orchard, who stood in the packed parking lot outside CenturyLink Field to greet the team as they arrived. Shawn Cooper and Marlana Studebaker of Covington staked out a spot hours before the parade started and displayed supersized photo cutouts of Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman, prompting many fans to stop and take photos. "This was a long-awaited win. Its well worth the wwait," Cooper said. Mark Borowiecki Jersey. "Theyre years ahead of their time, which makes me believe theres another one coming." Dakota Heaphy, 20, and friend Ellie Hergert, 20, drove all night from Cheyenne, Wyo. -- more than 1,400 miles away. "My boss is a Broncos fan and said we kicked their butts and deserved to go," Hergert said. Revelers packed the 2-mile route, wearing blue and green wigs, waving flags, scarves and signs, and breaking out into song and dance. The Washington National Guard chauffeured many of the players in Humvees and other military vehicles under blue, sunny skies in cold temperatures. Elected officials rode along in amphibious vehicles used to take tourists around the city. Players enjoyed the celebration as much as the fans. Running back Marshawn Lynch sat on the hood of a vehicle carrying the Sea Gals cheerleaders. He tossed Skittles -- his favourite treat -- into the crowd. Other Seahawks players threw jerseys and T-shirts to fans while waving blue "12" flags as a sign of gratitude. Boisterous fans observed a "moment of loudness" at 12:12 p.m. Crowds also gathered in Spokane, Olympia and elsewhere in the state to celebrate the first championship in the 38-year history of the franchise. Many fans had camped out overnight to reserve front-row seats along the route, braving freezing temperatures. Others perched on window sills and balconies, climbed trees and pillars, or sat on sturdier shoulders to get a better view. At Westlake Center, smartphones and cameras were thrust into the air whenever players rolled by. Seattle city officials asked the public to keep cellphone use to a minimum to keep lines free for emergency use. There were some reported difficulties with 911 calls getting through, said Jeff Reading, a spokesman for the mayor. Chris Hoops, a sales worker from Everett, and his school-aged daughters left home at 7 a.m. to get a good spot. The girls, 11-year-old Emily and 8-year-old Bella, were bundled in sleeping bags at his feet. They warmed up when they were asked whether they were sorry about missing school. They shouted "No!" in unison. "I like the Seahawks," Emily said. "They were really good this season." 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