For the first time in more than 30 years, Canada officially has a medal drought at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Robbie Rogers Jersey . Canada dropped the bronze medal game to Russia by a score of 2-1 on Sunday, marking the first time it has failed to win a medal in back-to-back tournaments since the Program of Excellences inception in 1982. Russia stormed out to an early 2-0 lead over Canada on Sunday thanks to first period goals from Mikhail Grigorenko and Eduard Gimatov. It would provide the basis for a lead Russia would never surrender. Canada would get on the board mid-way through the third with defenceman Josh Morrissey giving the Canadian team some life, but it would not be enough as the Russians would beat Canada to claim bronze for a second straight year. Andrei Vasilevski turned away 28 of the 29 shots Canada threw at him on Sunday, improving his all-time World Junior record to 11-4 over the course of three tournaments. He was named Russias Player of the Game. Aaron Ekblad was named Canadas Player of the Game. Canadian goalkeeper Zach Fucale took over as starter after Canadas preliminary round loss to the Czech Republic and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the semifinal. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick expressed disappointment with the result despite his strong play. "This is absolutely not about me," he told TSN in a post-game interview. "This is just about the team winning and we came here for a reason and we didnt get it done." Canada has now gone five tournaments without bringing home World Junior gold. Their last gold came in 2009 when they claimed their fifth consecutive tournament, winning on home ice in Ottawa. The loss sets Canada up for a tough group at the 2015 World Juniors that will be hosted in Toronto and Montreal. With the fourth-place finish, Canada is set to once again be drawn with the United States. They will also be joined by defending gold medalists Finland as well as Slovakia and Germany. "For guys coming back next year its good motivation," said forward Curtis Lazar, who finished third in team scoring with three goals and four assists in seven games. "Its Canada, you want to get back on top. Its a tough tournament to win, thats the bottom line," Lazar added. This Canadian team has 11 players that would be eligible to play in next years tournament, including Lazar. However, 17-year-olds Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad are projected to go first and second in the 2014 NHL Draft and their availability for next years team would be questionable. It was a tough tournament for Canada, as the team surrendered the first goal in all but one of their games. But the bronze medal game saw a better overall effort for Canada than the one they put forth in the semifinal loss to Finland. "In this particular game you could make a case that Team Canada deserved a better fate but in the bigger picture of where they finished in the tournament I dont think you could say they deserved anything more than what they got, which is a fourth-place finish," TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie said. "In a difficult game to play, they had more emotion, they had more commitment and more chances to score and generated a lot more than they did in the semifinals against Finland, where they generated only three shots in the third period," McKenzie added. The tournament also saw head coach Brent Sutters perfect World Junior record shattered after Canada lost its preliminary round game to the Czech Republic 5-4 in a shootout. Sutter had gone 6-0 and won gold in both his previous coaching tenures in the 2005 tournament in Vancouver and Kelowna and the 2006 tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota. McKenzie believes Canadas troubles may have less to do with Canadas on-ice personnel and more to do with the mental approach the team takes to the high-profile competition, especially the knockout games. "Its more along the lines of [being] terrified to lose than [they] are determined to win," McKenzie observed of three years worth of semifinal defeats. Fucale would also acknowledge the weight of high expectations after the defeat. "Here its all about results," said the 18-year-old. "Canada expects more, we expect more from ourselves and you know we didnt get it done." Custom Los Angeles Galaxy Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Bradford Jamieson Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. http://www.galaxymlsshop.com/Authentic-Donovan-Ricketts-Jersey/ . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before.BEREA, Ohio -- For the second straight day, the Browns ended the season for one of their running backs. Montario Hardesty was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a knee injury, the latest medical setback for the former third-round pick whose promising NFL career has been sabotaged by injuries. The move with Hardesty came one day after the Browns put running back Dion Lewis on season-ending injured reserve with a surgically repaired left leg. The loss of Hardesty and Lewis hurts Clevelands depth and may force the Browns to sign a player before the Sept. 8 season opener. Lewis was supposed to be the change-of-pace back behind starter Trent Richardson. Lewis had passed Hardesty on the depth chart during training camp, and now Cleveland will be without both players in 2013. Also, the Browns released fullback Owen Marecic, a fourth-round pick in 2011, as they trimmed their roster to 75 by the leagues 4 p.m. deadline. Teams must have their active rosters to 53 players by 6 p.m. on Saturday. In addition, the Browns were awarded linebacker Paul Hazel from Jacksonville and punter Colton Schmidt from San Francisco. The Browns also waived linebacker Kendrick Adams, offensive lineman Dominic Alford, wide receiver Dominique Croom, defensive lineman Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, offensive lineman Ryan Miller and tight end Travis Tannahill. Miller sustained a concussion during the first week of training camp. Miller was knocked out during a blocking drill, and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. He entered the leagues concussion protocol program before being cut. Rookie offensive lineman Chris Faulk was also placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. He is also done for the year. Hardesty was slowed by a hamstring injury during training camp and returned to ppractice a few weeks ago only to dislocate his right thumb while trying to catch a direct snap from centre. Los Angeles Galaxy Jersey. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Aug. 15. Hardesty missed his rookie season in 2010 after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the final exhibition game. He sat out part of 2011 with a calf injury, but was healthy last season and rushed for 271 yards and a touchdown in 12 games. Hardesty showed good explosiveness on several runs and the Browns were encouraged that he was able to stay healthy. Now, his career could be in jeopardy since hes going to miss another full season. If he does return, it could be with another team since hes in the final year of his contract with Cleveland. Marecic made six starts over two seasons for the Browns, who selected the former Stanford standout after acquiring the No. 124 overall pick in the draft-day trade with Atlanta. The Falcons sent the Browns five picks to move up and select wide receiver Julio Jones. Marecic lost his job as Clevelands primary fullback this summer to Chris Ogbonnaya, who converted from tailback. NOTES: Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said its possible the starters could play "10 to 12 reps" in Thursdays preseason finale at Chicago. Chudzinski will reveal his plans on Wednesday. ... Chudzinski said Oneil Cousins has the "edge" over rookie Garrett Gilkey to start the season at right guard. Cousins got the chance to win the job after Shawn Lauvao and Jason Pinkston sustained ankle injuries. ... Backup QB Jason Campbell sat out practice with an unspecified illness. WR Davone Bess sat out to rest his knee. He didnt play last week because of tendinitis. ... TE Jordan Cameron did not participate in team drills as he recovers from a strained groin. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap Soccer Jerseys ' ' '
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