Die Macht » second straight contest, a big run haunt

TORONTO -- Eric Staal never has trouble finding motivation when hes up against the Toronto Maple Leafs.Staal scored yet another goal against Toronto, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night.Staal has 47 points in 43 career games against Toronto, and three of his six goals this season have come against the Leafs.It was a team I grew up watching, the 32-year-old center said. So I always have a little spot in my heart for the Leafs because of growing up with Hockey Night in Canada there in Thunder Bay and people there are Leafs fans, thats who they watch and I was no different as a kid. Jason Zucker and Chris Stewart also scored for the Wild, who wrapped a five-game trip 2-1-2.Ben Smith and Tyler Bozak had goals for the Maple Leafs, who dropped to 8-4-0 at Air Canada Centre.Toronto entered the third period down a goal and pushed hard but couldnt get the equalizer because of goalie Devan Dubnyk, who stopped all 17 shots in the final 20 minutes and 35 in total.Dubnyk leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.65), save percentage (.946) and shutouts (four).He seems to go down in that butterfly and post to post is covered, he does a great job fighting traffic and tonight he made a few timely saves, Torontos Nazem Kadri said.Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots for Toronto.Minnesota opened the scoring 8:42 into the first period after forcing a turnover from Kadri behind his own net. Mikko Koivu stripped Kadri and made a short pass to Mikael Granlund, who then put the puck out front to Zucker. He beat Andersen blocker side for a 1-0 lead.Andersen was later forced to make a fine pad save on Granlund from the slot, but then Stewart made it 2-0 when he was sprung in alone on a breakaway off a long pass from Jared Spurgeon.It was Stewarts first goal at Air Canada Centre -- he grew up in Toronto and had family in the crowd watching.Ive been thinking about that one my whole life, Stewart said. Its good to get it off the bucket list.Smith got one back for Toronto with 3:10 to go in the period. Kadri crossed Minnesotas blue line and put a shot on net that Dubnyk kicked out to the slot, where Smith was waiting to push it in for a 2-1 game.Staal regained the two-goal lead for the Wild just 1:15 into the second period, putting a backhand shot past Andersen after taking a pass from behind the net from Charlie Coyle.It took Toronto over five minutes to register its first shot on net in the second.Bozak scored with an individual effort to make it 3-2 at 10:54. Bozak stole the puck in Minnesotas end, skated by Matt Dumba and beat Dubnyk with a backhand up top.Linesman Steve Miller was hit in the left knee by a slap shot from Roman Polak in the opening minute of the third period and instantly dropped to the ice in pain. He skated off with assistance and didnt return, leaving the game to be finished with three officials instead of four.Toronto had one final opportunity to even the score late when Ryan Suter took a minor penalty, but Minnesota killed it off.Game notesDubnyk was making the 300th career start. He entered with the best save percentage in the league at .946. ... Connor Carrick replaced Martin Marincin on Torontos blue line. ... Antoine Bibeau backed up Andersen while Karri Ramo made his first start for the AHL Marlies against Utica. He made 33 saves in a 3-2 loss.UP NEXTWild: Return home to host the Oilers on Friday night.Maple Leafs: Play at Boston on Saturday night.Cheap Jerseys From China . 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George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville used a big start to the second half to break away Saturday.Asia Durr scored a career-high 34 points in less than three quarters and No. 5 Louisville beat Bowling Green 83-58 in the first game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge.The Cardinals (4-0) used an 18-2 run over the first 2:36 of the second half to break it open. Durr, a sophomore guard, scored the first 13 points herself to make it 49-27 with 8:29 left in the third quarter.Every time we came down the court, they were trying to find me, the 5-foot-10 Durr said. I knocked them down. I was thankful for that.Some poor first-half shooting by Louisville, which made just 5 of 21 shots in the second quarter, allowed the Falcons to stay close throughout the first half. But when Louisville went on its run in the third, Bowling Green helped by committing 14 of its 32 turnovers during the quarter.Durr, who came to Louisville as the top-rated recruit in her class and won Parade Magazines High School Player of the Year award in 2015, went 8 of 13 from 3-point range to top her previous career high of seven. She left the game with 4:30 to go in the third quarter. Her previous scoring best was 24 points, which came in the season opener at Tennessee-Martin.At this time last season, Durr was experiencing pain after going through surgery to repair a torn groin muscle. The pain was so bad that it limited her game, and Louisville coaches considered redshirting her.Its amazing to watch just from last year and to see how shes playing right now, forward Myisha Hines-Allen said. Shes grown so much with her confidence. I knew she was a great player already, but just to see this -- actually playing with her on the court -- is amazing.Not everything wwent well though for Louisville.dddddddddddd The Cardinals lost the rebounding battle 40-39 and allowed 11 offensive boards in the second half. Thats an issue of concern for coach Jeff Walz.When we start playing some teams that have some size to them, its going to be a long night, he said.Clare Glowniak led the Falcons (0-3) with 11 points.Hines-Allen added 13 for Louisville, which shot 45.5 percent, compared with Bowling Greens 35.2 percent.BIG PICTURELouisville: The margin could have been a lot wider, but coach Jeff Walz chose to use his bench heavily to save his starters for the next two days, when they play two more games as part of the challenge.Bowling Green: For the second straight contest, a big run haunted the Falcons, who let a fourth-quarter lead disappear against Cincinnati on Tuesday.SHE SAID ITWe played an elite level team today that can rebound at the elite level, that can press at an elite level. This is a team thats going to go to the Final Four. -- Bowling Green coach Jennifer Roos.LETDOWNAfter making 9 of 14 shots and scoring 27 in a 91-72 win at Middle Tennessee Wednesday, Mariya Moore struggled. The junior forward made just 1 of 9 Saturday, but she still found other ways to contribute as she posted a team-best six assists.POLL IMPLICATIONSDespite some early shooting woes, Louisville came out on fire in the third quarter and put the Falcons away as expected. As long as the Cardinals dont experience any hiccups later on this weekend, their ranking should remain the same.UP NEXTLouisville hosts Lafayette on Sunday.Bowling Green plays Chattanooga on Sunday in Louisville. ' ' '