Toronto - Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew will square off at BMO Field on Saturday in the second Trillium Cup match of the season. TFC was victorious in the first meeting between the two sides with a 2-0 win at Columbus, but the result sparked a run of three straight defeats for the Canadian club. You can catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 beginning at 5pm et/2pm pt. The Reds appear to back in form though, managing four points from their last two league matches. They most recently came back twice to get a point form a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City. It was a tremendous point for Toronto given that the team was without several key players due to international duty. The Reds were also reduced to 10 men in the match as Steven Caldwell was issued a straight red card in the 63rd minute. "We had three of our starting midfield out, so we had a lot of absences," TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen said after the match. "We had three starting players out in three different positions and (SKC) had two out. So everybodys made (a deal) about their injuries and weve got a few out as well. Since the start of the season weve only had to pick a starting 11, the actual starting 11, once." Toronto will look to get Gilberto going this season. He has logged 10 consecutive starts but is still searching for his first goal with the club. "Weve got to pick (Gilberto) up," Nelsen said. "Weve all been through it as players and weve all been through it in jobs. And when you move to a new country like that its very difficult, and we forget hes only 24. "We know how good of a player he is and its our job to pick him up and obviously get his confidence up and get him going and it will. Maybe we could get a penalty one of these days and he can get on the scoreboard." Like Toronto, Columbus has taken four points from its last two games. After an enthralling 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers, the Crew ran out to a 2-0 home victory over the Chicago Fire to put an end to an eight-match winless run. "I think weve been frustrated that weve been playing well and not getting the results. Were still trying to focus on the product were creating and how were playing," said Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter. "Its nice when you get results. From that standpoint were happy. I think it was a good effort. Obviously were missing some guys but we did a great job." Federico Higuain played a starring role the Crews defeat of the Fire, but the striker will miss Saturdays clash at Toronto due to yellow card accumulation. "You dont replace Federico, simple as that. We get someone on the field that can play their game and were not going to ask someone to come in and play like Federico that would be foolish of us," said Berhalter. "Were going to ask someone to come in and play to the best of their ability. Im confident that we are going to be able to get that out of someone." . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. . Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night.
http://www.cheapfalconsjerseysonline.co ... sey-online. -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. . The time off didnt slow them down. Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 14 points and the Cavaliers pushed their winning streak to five games Tuesday night with a 114-85 victory over the skidding Philadelphia 76ers.MONTREAL — Five things to watch as Canada continues its road to gold in the world junior hockey championship on Saturday with a game against Germany:Avoiding complacency — The Germans, ranked 13th in the world, are Canadas weakest group-stage opposition. Last year, Canada opened its tournament with a 7-2 victory over the Germans, who ultimately scored just seven goals in their four round-robin games. The German national team has never finished higher than fifth at a world junior tournament. As in any David-and-Goliath matchup, Canada will need to stay focused and avoid complacency to ensure victory.Goal fest — If Canada can remain level-headed, its fans can expect a slew of goals from the red-and-white. The tournament-favourite Canadians are undefeated (12-0) all-time against the Germans at the world juniors, outscoring them 67-18.Captain Canada — Ottawa Senators rookie Curtis Lazar will look to use his 27 games of NHL experience to lead Canada back to the gold-medal game. Lazar, one of seven returning players from last years tournament in Malmo, Sweden, was named team ccaptain earlier this week.dddddddddddd A game against Germany could be exactly what the 19-year-old needs to spark linemates Connor McDavid and Nick Ritchie — a trio that will need to get hot if Canada hopes to be successful against tougher opposition down the road.North American experience — The German roster boasts a few players who have played hockey in Canada and the United States. Perhaps the most dangerous will be Dominik Kahun, who played two seasons with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. The 19-year-old winger, competing in his third world juniors, led Germany with seven points (three goals, four assists) at last years tournament.Cortinas homecoming — Saturdays game will be very special for German coach Pat Cortina, who was born in Montreal. After years coaching the Italian and Hungarian mens national teams, Cortina is now in his third year at the helm of the German organization — at both the senior and junior levels. Cortina has the formidable task of leading Germanys under-20 squad to the podium for the first time in its history. ' ' '
