ny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The way the New York Islanders begin their five-game trip out West, finishing it with three straight wins was quite rewarding.Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal with 2:31 left in the third period, Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves, and the Islanders held on for a 1-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.I came in late to the offensive zone and just kind of sneaked in there trying to find an open spot, Nielsen said. It was great to see it go in.The Islanders (9-5) capped of the trip with an effort that included 16 blocked shots and five killed penalties. Arizona (6-7-1) had its three-game winning streak snapped.New York went 0 for 3 on its power plays. The Islanders penalty-killing unit is 9-for-9 in the past two games, including Thursdays win over the Los Angeles Kings.New York dropped the first two games of its road swing: 5-0 at Colorado on Oct. 30, and 3-1 at San Jose on Nov. 1, then won at Anaheim, Los Angeles and Arizona.I told the guys they probably deserved better on this trip, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.Capuano said the penalty killing was about attention to detail.It was about good sticks, getting in lanes to deny them to get pucks to the net, having to sacrifice to block shots when you need to block them, Capuano said.Nielsen took a centring pass from Mikhail Grabovski, who had worked the puck behind the net, and fired a shot under goalie Mike Smiths glove. Things got more hectic as the seconds ticked down.The Coyotes got a late power play and pulled Smith in the final 90 seconds, but were unable to force overtime with a two-man advantage. Smith finished with 31 saves.Smith, who struggled at the start of the season, has stopped 152 of 162 shots in his last five games.We found a way to keep ourselves in it, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. We just needed somebody to make that play, to make that difference. Unfortunately, they got it at the end.Both teams had a power play in the closing minutes of the second period that produced several opportunities, but Smith and Halak were up to the task.Smith turned and spread his legs to knock away John Tavares attempt at a far-post shot at close range with just under two minutes left in the period.Each team killed off power plays in the first, too, and Smith made 11 saves overall in the period.Smith deflected a short-handed breakaway attempt by Cal Clutterbuck early in the third period.They blocked a lot of shots, Coyotes forward Sam Gagner said. They paid the price to win.NOTES: Zbynek Michalek played in his 500th game with Arizona, becoming the 13th player and fifth defenceman to do that with the franchise. ... Tippett moved into a tie for longest tenured coach in team history at 390 games, joining Bob Francis (1999-2004). ... The Coyotes wore purple jerseys during warmups, which were auctioned off during the game to benefit the fight against cancer. ... Islanders C Casey Cizikas wasnt called for cross-checking in the last seconds of the second period when he hit Arizonas Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the back with his stick. Ekman-Larsson fell to his knees but was able to skate to the bench. He was back on the ice to start the third period. Larry Bowa Jersey . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Chuck Klein Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phill...me-Kids-Jersey/. The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. Tim McCarver Jersey . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Aaron Altherr Jersey . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead.Nassau, Bahamas (SportsNetwork.com) - The 22nd-ranked UCLA Bruins and the UAB Blazers will try to salvage their stays in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday night in the seventh-place game at Imperial Arena. UCLA failed to advance to the winners side of the bracket in the quarterfinals by suffering a 75-65 loss at the hands of Oklahoma and then had another disappointing setback on Thursday in a nationally-ranked showdown with North Carolina, 78-56. It was the first two losses of the season for the Bruins, who are 4-2. UAB was outmatched in both of its matchups in this event, falling to the seventh-place game after losing to Wisconsin (72-43) and Florida (56-47). The Blazers are off to a sluggish start this season at just 2-4. The Bruins and the Blazers have never before squared off on the hardwood. Although the Bruins played tight with UNC for most of the first half of their latest game, the Tar Heels finished the first half on an 18-4 run to go into intermission up by double digits and the Bruins never sniffed the lead in the second stanza. They shot only 38.6 percent from the field, which included a dreadful 1-of-14 showing from 3-point range, and they were also plagued by 23 turnovers. Norman Powell paced the losing effort with 15 points, while Kevon Looney and Bryce Alford netted 11 and 10 points, respectively. Two poor showings in this event hasnt been able to completely spoil UCLAs impressive offensive numbers this season, as it shoot 46 percent from the field for 83.7 ppg, which is moore than good enough to support a modest scoring defense (73.dddddddddddd2 ppg). Alford (18.2 ppg) and Powell (18.0 ppg) are one of the best one-two scoring punches in the nation, with the duo combining to shoot 26-of-67 from 3-point range. Alford also gets his teammates involved with 7.3 apg and Powell is a great perimeter defender with nearly three steals per game. Rounding out the outstanding starting five are Looney (14.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg), Tony Parker (11.7 ppg) and Isaac Hamilton (10.0 ppg). The Blazers put forth a great effort against Florida on Thursday, even holding a two-point lead with under four minutes to play, but they faltered down the stretch by allowing the Gators to score the final 11 points of the game. Their defensive effort was spectacular, as they held Florida to a mere 34 percent field goal shooting, but unfortunately they could not take advantage with a modest 42.2 percent showing (including 4-of-14 from 3-point range) to go with a game-high 16 turnovers. Tosin Mehinti and Robert Brown were the only players to score in double figures with 12 points apiece. UAB has established a similar theme this season, as its lackluster offensive attack (.402 FG percentage, 63.0 ppg) isnt quite good enough to support a stellar defense (.439, 67.7). Brown (11.3 ppg) and C.J. Washington (9.3 ppg) are the leading scorers but neither shoots greater than 36 percent from the field. Tyler Madison (9.3 ppg), Mehinti (8.8 ppg) and Hakeem Baxter (8.0 ppg) have also been solid. ' ' '