They took away her ‘C, but they didnt take away her heart. Cheap Air Max 97 White . 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. Air Max Sneakers On Sale . His team rose to the occasion Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Sweden in the bronze-medal game. "The sting from yesterday is not something we hid from or pretend didnt happen," Dineen said. Wholesale Air Max China . They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted. http://www.airmaxsneakersonsale.com/cheap-air-max-95.html . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2).CLEVELAND -- Luol Deng misses his close friends in Chicago. The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Augustin and Mike Dunleavy hit 3-pointers down the stretch to pace the Bulls, who have won three straight, nine of 11 and moved over .500 for the first time since Nov. 22. Chicago reached the seasons mid-point at 21-20, not where many expected the Bulls to be sitting after dealing Deng. The two-time All-Star was a non-factor in his first game against his former team, which traded him for draft picks on Jan. 6. Deng went just 2 of 11 from the field and scored 11 points in 40 minutes. "It was strange," Deng said. "Its the Cavs versus the Bulls and not so much about me. In terms of me, I could have played better." Joakim Noah had 18 rebounds for the Bulls, who appeared to be looking toward the future when they traded Deng, not long after losing superstar Derrick Rose to a season-ending injury. But the Bulls arent fading away as coach Tom Thibodeau has them playing with their usual defensive tenacity. Dengs not around, but the Bulls remain as tough as always. "Its one of the things I respect about our team," Thibodeau said. "They respond to every challenge. They have a lot of heart. Theyre playing together. Each day they have the right approach. If someones out, the next five get in there and get the job done. Were short-handed. We understand how hard we have to play to give ourselves a chance to win." Kyrie Irving scored 26 to lead Cleveland, which has dropped the first two games of a five-game homestand. The Cavs have lost all of their momentum after going 3-2 on the road. "Were not making any excuses here," Irving said. "Weve got to pick it up." Although they were missing two starters in Boozer (calf) and Hinrich (hamstring), the Bulls had more than enough to hold off the Cavaliers. Making just his fourth start, Gibson scored 12 in the third as the Bulls opened a 71-62 lead entering the fourth. Dunleavys 3-pointer extended Chicagos lead to 12 in the opening minute of the final quarter, but the Cavs fought back behind Dion Waiters and pulled to 84-81 on his 3. Wholesale Air Max 1. However, Dunleavy scored again, Noah made a layup and Augustin buried a 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 91-81 lead. The Cavs were still within 93-87 when Dunleavy knocked down another 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to seal Chicagos win. Dunleavy added 22 points for the Bulls, who got just four points from their bench. Waiters had 15 for Cleveland. Deng spent 10 seasons with the Bulls, and the 28-year-old knew it would be challenging to oppose his ex-teammates. "Its definitely going to be weird because its guys Im really close with and it feels like just yesterday I was going to battle with them and now Im going against them," he said at the morning shootaround. Following the game, Deng acknowledged it was difficult to face players he knows so well. "I tried to really play the game within myself," he said. "They played good D. I missed shots. Im not happy with my performance. Thats a good defensive team. Weve just got to keep growing." Before the opening tip, Deng ran over to Chicagos bench and hugged Thibodeau and shook hands with all of the teams assistant coaches. "It says a lot about who he is," Thibodeau said. "That didnt surprise me." Gibson said there were some awkward moments going against Deng. "It felt weird," Gibson said. "There was tension before the game because we werent talking. Its like Tibs said, We love him but were going to go knock him on his butt if he tries to score. After the game, were going to be friends." Outworked by a depleted Chicago team, the Cavs fell behind by 10 early in the second quarter and were down 35-29 when Irving heated up. He made five consecutive 3-pointers in the final 5:45 of the second quarter to give the Cavs a 44-43 lead at halftime. NOTES: Deng spent nearly 20 minutes after the shootaround discussing his days in Chicago, which ended shortly after he rejected a three-year, $30 million contract extension, an offer and pay cut that he and his agents didnt find adequate. Asked if he would consider returning to the Bulls as a free agent this summer, Deng took a swipe at Chicagos front office. "Maybe theyll offer me three years, $30 million," he cracked. "That might be an option to take." ... Noah has recorded at least 10 rebounds in 14 straight games, the longest stretch in franchise history since Dennis Rodman posted 43 straight in 97. ' ' '