CALGARY -- The Canadian womens hockey team will attempt to reclaim the Four Nations Cup without Hayley Wickenheiser. Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher . The five-time Olympian and Canadas captain was among six players head coach Dan Church left off his 21-player roster for the annual international womens tournament starting Tuesday in Lake Placid, N.Y. "Were going to take an opportunity to give her that little bit of a break," Church said Monday from Lake Placid. "Theres no question we know what she can do on the ice and that she can contribute in big games. "A lot of it has to with making sure she has a good recovery week here and is ready for the final push towards the Olympics." Wickenheiser, 35, is Canadas all-time leading scorer and has played in 14 Nations Cups during her career. The Four Nations is important preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics for Canada, the U.S., Finland and Sweden. Assistant captain Caroline Ouellette and forward Marie-Philip Poulin as well as defencemen Meaghan Mikkelson, Lauriane Rougeau and Laura Fortino also remained in Calgary, where the Canadian team is based this winter. Wickenheiser, Ouellette, a three-time Olympian, Poulin, who is recovering from an ankle injury, and Mikkelson were on the team that won the gold medal in 2010 in Vancouver. Fortino and Rougeau have been on the national womens team for two years. "No one is guaranteed a spot in Sochi," Church said. "Some players are obviously a little more secure in their spots, so there were some decisions around that. We also have to look at the overall training plan. "Some of the veteran players do need a bit of a break and this is really our only opportunity within our schedule to do that." The performances of the players he did choose for the Four Nations will help Church determine who he wants on the Olympic team that will attempt to defend the gold in Sochi, Russia, in February. There are 27 women in Calgary trying out for the squad expected to be named in late December. Three forwards and three defencemen will be released. Poulin scored both goals for Canada in a 2-0 win over the U.S. in the 2010 Olympic final, but hasnt played a game since September because of a high ankle sprain. "We were hoping she would be available for this tournament, but she just needs about another week," Church said. Canada opens the Four Nations against Finland on Tuesday before facing the host Americans the following day and Sweden on Friday. The two teams with the best records after the preliminary round meet in Saturdays final. The U.S. is the both the defending womens world champion and Four Nations champion, having won the latter tournament two years in a row. The Americans edged Canada 3-2 in Ottawa in April to win their fourth world title in five years. Canada and the U.S. have already played two of six exhibition games scheduled for this winter with the Canadians winning 3-2 in Burlington, Vt., and 6-3 in Boisbriand, Que., in October. Goaltenders Shannon Szabados, Charline Labonte and Genevieve Lacasse made the trip to Lake Placid. Jocelyne Larocque, Brigette Lacquette, Courtney Birchard, Catherine Ward, Tessa Bonhomme, and Tara Watchhorn were the defenceman named to the team Monday. The forwards will be Gillian Apps, Meghan Agosta-Marciano, Rebecca Johnston, Jennifer Wakefield, Melodie Daoust, Jayna Hefford, Bailey Bram, Jenelle Kohanchuk, Brianne Jenner, Hayley Irwin, Natalie Spooner and Vicki Bendus. While the point of a spending several months together prior to the Olympic Games is to build a cohesive team, it is never far from the Canadian players minds that theyre competing against each other for spots on the team. "Its something thats always there all year long, but were also a team," Apps said. "We fight hard against each other in practice every single day when we come to the rink to make each other better. "Theres six people in this group that wont be on the final roster and thats tough. It is in the back of peoples minds and thats just kind of the nature of the situation." A CBC online story in October questioned whether Wickenheiser would be Canadas captain at the 2014 Winter Games. Shes worn the C for Canada at every major tournament since 2007. "I dont know who will be the captain in Sochi," Church answered. "Hayley is definitely one of the ones were considering. Shes part of our leadership group that weve established. "It could be reading too much into it in terms if its jeopardy. We want a team with a lot of good quality leaders in it and whether people wear Cs or As theyre going to do a good job." Wickenheiser told The Canadian Press on Monday she was not available for an interview. Church has rotated his letters between different players this winter. "If you think you have leadership completely where it should be and you dont pay any attention to it, thats when things go wrong," Church said. "You always have to work on that aspect of your team. "Especially coming out of Ottawa and the results we had there and what we want to do, we want to build a team that has a lot of leaders in it that can step up at different times." Hefford will be Canadas captain in Lake Placid with Ward and Irwin her assistants, said Church. The absence of Wickenheiser, Ouellette, Mikkelson and Poulin at the Four Nations will force inexperienced players to shoulder more responsibility, he added. "Theres a huge opportunity for the players that are here this week to rise to the occasion," Church said. "There are big expectations on them to carry the load here without having that safety net. Thats a good thing for our younger players to experience." The Four Nations will also be Canadas first look at Finland and Sweden since the world championship. The Finns were the Olympic bronze medallists in 2010, but were beaten by the Russians for bronze in Ottawa. The Swedes, the surprise Olympic silver medallists in 2006, dropped to seventh at the world championship. The four remaining exhibition games against the U.S. women are scheduled for Dec. 12 in Calgary, Dec. 20 in Grand Forks, N.D., Dec. 28 in St. Paul, Minn., and Dec. 30 in Toronto. Air Max France Pas Cher . Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory. Air Max Tn Plus Livraison Gratuite . The trade deadline is Monday, Mar. 2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. TRADES COMPLETED SINCE OCT. 1, 2014: Feb. 15, 2015 Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: F Olli Jokinen, F Brendan Leipsic, 1st Round Pick (2015) Nashville Predators acquire: D Cody Franson, F Mike Santorelli Feb. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/basket-air-max-97-outlet.html . Its like being on Broadway, everything you do matters. Id want to be good though! I couldnt play here if I wasnt very good. #83217388 / gettyimages.A potent offence is one reason why the Toronto Raptors own the best record in the Eastern Conference. With a second straight meeting against a fellow division leader looming, the Raptors will try to bounce back from their worst offensive showing of the season Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.Their last game, though, didnt do anything to reinforce that belief. Toronto (15-5) has only averaged 100 points or more in four of its first 19 seasons, but its in very good shape to push that number to five. The Raptors rank second in the NBA, averaging 108.8 points per game, 4.7 higher than the franchise record set in 2009-10. You can catch all the action live on TSN2 at 7PM et / 4PM pt. They werent anywhere near that impressive Friday, shooting 40.7 percent from the field in a 105-91 loss to Central Division-leading Cleveland in their lowest scoring effort of the season. We were just missing shots, guard Kyle Lowry told the teams official website after scoring 22 points while making 7 of 18 from the field. I dont think theres anything we couldve done differently. (Greivis Vasquez) had a rough night, I had a rough night. The only ones who shot over 50 per cent I think were (James Johnson) and Amir (Johnson). Facing the Nuggets could help the Raptors get their offense back on track since Denver is one of the leagues worst defensive teams, allowing an average of 105.5 points.Toronto will get a chance to avenge that defeat to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, but will first try to avoid overlooking Denver (9-11). Toronto, thouggh, has dropped three of five games, splitting four without DeMar DeRozan, who is out with a torn left abductor. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Chine. The guard is second on the team with 19.4 points per game, trailing only Lowry (20.7). Lowry is scoring 28.4 over the past five games, but hes been held to 16.3 while making 35.7 percent from the field in the last four meetings with Denver. The Raptors split last seasons two meetings with the Nuggets, with the road team winning both. Denver has won seven of 10 at Toronto, but enters this one on a three-game slide following a 7-1 stretch. The Nuggets opened this three-game trip with a 119-89 defeat at Washington on Friday, and followed it up by falling 96-84 at Atlanta two days later. Theyre shooting a woeful 37.1 percent from the floor, including 11 for 57 from 3-point range over the past two games. However, a slew of injuries arent helping. Denver was without Kenneth Faried (back), Nate Robinson (back) and JaVale McGee (leg) on Sunday, leading to a season low point total. Were down 10 guys, coach Brian Shaw said. Guys have an opportunity to play, so they have to take advantage of those minutes. Guys have to step up. The most likely to return is Faried, who is averaging 13.4 points and 9.2 rebounds in five career meetings with Toronto. Ty Lawson has 22.0 points per game over his last five matchups with the Raptors, but Denver only needed 16 from him in a 112-98 road win Dec. 1, 2013. Robinson chipped in 23 in that visit, but its unclear if hell be available this time. ' ' '