the rotation but was demoted to the bullpen when he proved ineffective. "Hopefully I get that opportunity."

HAMILTON - The Syracuse Crunch benefited from two strange bounces in the
second period en route to a 3-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in the
teams final game of the American Hockey League season on Saturday. Dion Jordan Jersey .
Evan Rankin, Luke Witkowski and Jonathan Marchessault had goals for the
Crunch. Cedric Desjardins made 22 saves.
Nathan Beaulieu scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs, and Dustin
Tokarski stopped 23 shots in a losing effort.
With the win, Syracuse finishes with a record of 31-32-13 and ends the
season 12th in the Eastern Conference standings.
The loss also concluded Hamiltons season with a 33-35-8 record, ensuring
that the Bulldogs can finish no higher than 12th in the Western
Conference.
A noticeable edge in speed had the Bulldogs carrying play early on
Saturday, and Christian Thomas enjoyed the first quality scoring chance
when Sven Andrighetto sprung him on a breakaway three minutes in. Thomas
moved to his forehand and attempted a low wrist shot that Cedrick
Desjardins sprawled to kick aside.
Another breakdown from the suspect Syracuse defence allowed Mike Blunden
a breakaway of his own four minutes later, but Joey Mormina recovered
to break his stride with a slash.
Denied on his own chance, Blunden assumed the role of creator on the
ensuing power play as the Bulldogs opened the scoring at 8:14 of the
first period. The winger held the puck along the right boards and fired a
hard pass across the slot that the pinching Beaulieu latched onto and
tipped past Desjardins at the far post.
Hamilton seemed to be well in control of its lead until a bad bounce
victimized Tokarski and tied the game at 15:07 of the second.
A centring pass from Rankin missed the mark, but clipped the skate of
Bulldog defenceman Joel Chouinard and trickled past Tokarski at the far
post.
Another bizarre deflection gave Syracuse the lead just over a minute
later.
Witkowski fired an attempted dump-in to Tokarskis left, but the puck
took a radical deflection off Beaulieu in front and caught Tokarski
entirely by surprise at 16:17 of the second.
The Crunch added an insurance goal late in the third to effectively put
the game beyond reach.
A 3-on-1 rush developed with Marchessault heading it on the left wing,
and he decided to keep the puck before firing a low wrist shot through
the five hole of Tokarski at 15:27.
Hamilton finished 1 of 4 on the power play, while holding Syracuse
goalless three times on the penalty kill.

Nat Moore Dolphins Jersey .com) - Coming down the stretch of a lengthy road trip, the Vancouver Canucks aim to rebound from just their second loss in seven games on
Sunday evening as they visit the Ottawa Senators. Brent Grimes Jersey . 5 Baylor wiped out a 21-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to beat
No. 9 TCU 61-58 on Saturday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Royals ace James Shields is open to staying in
Kansas City beyond this season.
That news should make the thousands of fans, already flying high over
the teams strong finish a year ago, feel even better as they turned out
for their annual FanFest on Friday.
The Royals exercised their $13.5 million option on Shieldss contract
shortly after going 86-76 last season, their best finish since 1989. The
durable right-hander was a big reason behind the success, going 13-9
with a 3.15 ERA in an American League-leading 228.2 innings.
Shields told a small group of reporters at Bartle Hall that he was
willing to discuss an extension, but he said those talks with general
manager Dayton Moore have not taken place.
"Id definitely be open-minded to it," Shields said. "A player in my
position, where I have one more year left before free agency, I mean, Im
definitely open to it. I like Kansas City. I like the organization and I
like the direction were going."
If Shields went to the open market, its unlikely that the Royals would
be a player in the chase. There were reports this off-season that he
would seek a contract similar to that of former Royals star
Zack Greinke, who signed a $147 million, six-year deal with the Dodgers
last season.
"Thats absolutely not true at all," Shields said. "I have no clue where
he got that from, to be honest with you. Ive had no discussions with
Dayton at all.
"If Dayton wants to talk about it, Im more than willing to sit and talk
about it. But during the season, my main focus is trying to win games
and get some wins for this team."
Pitchers and catchers are due to report to Surprise, Ariz., for the
start of spring training on Feb. 14. The first full-squad workout is
Feb. 20.
Most of the Royals key pieces return from last season, when they
conntended into September for the first time in a decade. Mike Pouncey Dolphins Jersey. Their two biggest holes were filled by trading reliever Will Smith to
Milwaukee for right field Norichika Aoki and signing Omar Infante to
solidify second base.
"I didnt think our defence could get any better," Shields said, "but
theyre definitely filling some holes that we had. And theyre great
additions to our lineup."
Then theres the starting rotation, where Ervin Santana has become a free
agent. While the right-hander has yet to sign elsewhere, the Royals
appeared to move on when they signed left-hander Jason Vargas to a
contract early in the off-season.
Along with Jeremy Guthrie, the first three spots in the rotation are
set. That leaves two up for grabs among a handful of candidates,
including starters-turned-relievers Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar,
veteran Bruce Chen, left-hander Danny Duffy and flame-thrower
Yordano Ventura.
"Ive just been working hard, resting my arm," said Ventura, who had a
3.52 ERA in three late-season starts in Kansas City. "Ive just been
getting ready because I want to get out there and make the team."
That doesnt figure to be an easy task given the glut of competition.
"Its a competitive game anyway," Davis said. "Why not do it from within a
little bit?"
Davis said that he spent the off-season in the weight room, and
pronounced himself more ready for this season than any previous year. He
also said that hes already been throwing some bullpen sessions, giving
him a head start on reporting for spring training.
"Im definitely going in to start," said Davis, who began last season in
the rotation but was demoted to the bullpen when he proved ineffective.
"Hopefully I get that opportunity."

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