SEATTLE -- Kekutah Manneh picked quite a time to score his first professional hat trick.
Avalanche Jersey . The 18-year-old rookie scored three goals to lift the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday, keeping his teams slim playoff hopes alive. He also became the youngest player in MLS history to score three goals in a game. "Im more nervous in this interview than I was in the game," Manneh said. "This is the type of games that every player wants to play in. This is the kind of game we dream to play in. To play in front of this crowd is amazing. All we can do is get excited and play the game." Manneh was especially efficient for Vancouver (12-11-9), scoring on all three of the shots that he put on frame. He had come into the game with just three previous starts and 529 minutes in which he had managed to score two goals and register three assists. "Phenomenal game and a great night for Whitecaps fans to remember for a long time," Whitecaps manager Martin Rennie said. "We played a great game tonight. We played some great stuff, kept good possession of the ball, moved the ball well in a tough environment to come to against our biggest rival. Im really proud of the players. We worked extremely hard and took our chances when they came." All three of Mannehs goals came after he was able to slip behind the defence. The first was in the 12th minute, when Daigo Kobayashi intercepted Jhon Kennedy Hurtados clearance attempt and volleyed it to Manneh. With just one defender to beat, Manneh got behind the defence and poked it past Sounders goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Manneh added another in the 42nd minute, catching the Sounders defence on a counter-strike. Young-Pyo Lee started it with a pass along the sideline to Camilo Sanvezzo, who back-heeled it to Manneh. Again with just a single defender to beat, Manneh pushed ahead and beat Gspurning with a low shot. The capper came in the 53rd minute after Manneh worked a give-and-go with Kobayashi at the top of the penalty area. Manneh got free on goal and put his shot between Gspurnings legs for the first hat trick in the Whitecaps MLS history. "We joked before that youre never exactly sure what youre going to get with an 18-year-old," Rennie said. "But hes unbelievably talented. ... With younger players, youre not always going to get that consistent level of performance but we did talk about it before that if he showed up he could make a huge impact on the game and he did." Nigel Reo-Coker added his first goal of the season in the 82nd minute to cap the scoring on a poor effort by Gspurning. Seattles lone goal came in the 69th minute from Mauro Rosales. The win moved the Whitecaps to within three points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They will have to win their final two games against the Colorado Rapids -- away and at home -- in order to have any chance of qualifying for a second straight year. Theyll also need the San Jose Earthquakes drop at least two points in their final two matches. Seattle (15-10-6) meanwhile is still one point back of Real Salt Lake for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Whitecaps at least have some serious momentum. "We needed that tonight," Rennie said. "These players, I dont think people really believe in them as much as they should. I think the most important thing is the players are really believing in themselves. ... "Tonight was a really good night for us and well enjoy that. Then we have to get focused on the next one."
Joe Sakic Jersey . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway.
Peter Forsberg Avalanche Jersey . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again.Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Kane was the winner of the accuracy challenge as Team Foligno continued its winning ways at Saturdays NHL All- Star Skills Competition. Kane was the quickest to destroy the four targets as he earned Team Foligno an extra point with a time of 13.529 seconds. After Ryan Getzlaf won the first matchup for Team Toews, Foligno, Radim Vrbata and Kane were each quicker than their opponent to give Team Foligno a commanding 10-1 advantage for the event. Ryan Johansen already had the support of the crowd in Nationwide Arena on his side, but the Columbus forward also won over fans at home to win the Twitter vote with three creative breakaway moves to give Team Foligno a 6-0 lead. In his first attempt, Johansen took off his Blue Jackets jersey to reveal a red Ohio State football jersey and proceeded to kick the puck between his skates, cut back in front of the net and fire a shot into the net. During the second round, he grabbed a child from the crowd and helped him fire a shot past goaaltender Corey Crawford and finished off the event by reenacting the famous Flying V formation from the Mighty Ducks movies.
Custom Avalanche Jersey. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, Blues rookie Vladimir Tarasenko, Flyers captain Claude Giroux, Philadelphia forward and NHL points leader Jakub Voracek and Flames rookie phenom Johnny Gaudreau also took part in the event. Team Foligno jumped out to an early lead after taking all five points in the fastest skater competition. Jonathan Drouin, who was selected third overall by Tampa Bay in the 2013 NHL Draft, recorded the fastest time with 13.103. Torontos Phil Kessel, Montreals Jiri Sekac and Buffalos Zemgus Girgensons also won their relay as Team Foligno took a 5-0 lead to start the night. New Yorks Carl Hagelin was the previous winner in 2012 with a time of 12.993. Due to the lockout-shortened season in 2013 and the 2014 Winter Olympics, the last All-Star game took place in 2012 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, where in 2012, Team Alfredsson beat Team Chara, 21-12.
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