Beachsaison 2012 » pieces of their brilliant bullpen trio,

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Semyon Varlamov emptied the net with 2:39 left, and a penalty on Minnesota 25 seconds later gave Colorado a two-man advantage. This time, with a record roaring crowd on their side, the Wild held firm and sent the Avalanche back home with a long to-do list. Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series, and the Wild dominated the Avalanche for the second straight game on their way to a 2-1 win on Thursday night that evened the first-round matchup at two apiece. The Wild outshot the Avalanche a stunning 32-12, establishing a franchise record for fewest allowed by Minnesota. Colorado has been outshot 78-34 in the last two games, with Ryan OReilly getting the only goal. "Every game is a new game and you have got to always bring that energy and same focus, but I think we fed off of last game and how well we played," Coyle said. Jared Spurgeon used a slap shot to get a puck past Varlamov just 3:47 into the game, much quicker than the 65:08 the Wild needed to score in Game 3. Game 5 will be in Denver on Saturday night. Coyle was in perfect position on a power play to backhand in a friendly bounce of the ricochet of Jason Pominvilles rocket off the glass behind the net, giving the Wild a two-goal lead with 7:05 left in the second period. Just 30 seconds later, OReilly gave the Avalanche their first goal against Wild rookie Darcy Kuemper in the series after 42 shots and more than 124 minutes without one, a long-range shot from the top of the circle without any traffic in front that cut the lead to 2-1. But that was all they could scrap together on another off night by stars Nathan MacKinnon, Paul Stastny and Gabe Landeskog, who were the highlights for the Avalanche in winning the first two games. "Weve just got to stay on the pedal here and continue this push," Kuemper said. Roys daring removal of Varlamov with 3:01 remaining worked in Game 1, when Stastny tied the game with 13 seconds left and won it in overtime. This time, with the Avalanche in a 6-on-4, Mikael Granlund followed his dramatic diving overtime goal in Game 3 with some daring defence. He lost his stick at one point, but he still managed to block a shot without it as the arena erupted in approval with the final seconds ticking away. The announced attendance of 19,396 was the most ever to watch a Wild playoff game. "Weve had some exciting games since Ive been here in this building, but Ive never heard anything like that tonight. That was fun," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. The Avalanche failed to score on all four power plays and fell to 1 for 15 in the series. Roy didnt look fazed, though, even if his players were frustrated and disappointed. "When we have the type of performance that we have from our goaltender, theres no reason for us to not believe in ourselves, coming back home," Roy said. Even without suspended left wing Matt Cooke, the Wild sure werent missing any energy. They zipped crisp, purposeful passes all over the ice and again kept the play in the Avalanche zone for the majority of the night to raise the level of the crowd noise along with that. The Avalanche, angered by Cookes act, played more physically than in the last game. Granlund was a frequent target of the rough stuff. But the quality of their play further deteriorated. "Were still not testing this goalie enough. Were making him look good by taking shots from the outside and nobody being in front," Landeskog said. The Wilds defence had a lot to do with that, particularly on those power plays, but the Avalanche showed little semblance of an attack and fumbled with the puck often. "Thats part of the playoffs," Stastny said. "We knew it was going to be a tough series. Nothings going to come easy." NOTES: The Wilds win raised the home teams record in the Western Conference playoffs so far to 14-1. ... The Avalanche matched their playoff record for fewest shots on goal. They had 12 on June 2, 2001, against New Jersey in the Stanley Cup finals. ... This was the first time in seven all-time playoff series the Wild have won their first two home games. ... Avalanche-Wild playoff games have been decided by one goal 12 out of 17 times. ... MacKinnon left for the locker room in the second period, but returned soon after. Taylor Rapp Womens Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. Cory Littleton Rams Jersey . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-deacon-jones-rams-jersey/ .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. Andrew Whitworth Womens Jersey . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Alex Gordon saw the ball skipping past Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco and all the way to the wall, and the Royals homegrown star put his head down and churned toward third base.For just a moment, thousands of fans thought he might try to score — one last dash for home, and a tying run for the ages in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series.I was doing whatever I could to score, Gordon said later, standing in front of his locker. Its hard to see when you hit a ball like that with the scoreboard in the fence.Forced to rely on his coaches to judge whether he could score, Gordon saw third-base coach Mike Jirschele flash him the signal to stop. Gordon pulled up and stood on third base, leaving San Francisco with a 3-2 lead with two outs Wednesday night.Salvador Perez stepped to the plate against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. With the crowd at a roar once more, the big catcher popped out to third base for the final out.We had a chance, said the Royals Billy Butler. We had a chance at the end there with Sal, it just didnt work out. Jirsch is a tremendous third-base coach. He said he shouldnt go, he shouldnt have gone. We just fell short. It hurts. Its only one run.Gordon also said it was the right decision to hold him. The relay throw had arrived in plenty of time, and any decent throw to the plate would have beaten Gordon by several feet.It was a good hold, Gordon said. Close, but just short.Still, the season will be remembered for much more than how close the Royals came to forcing extra innings one more time. It will be remembered for their 12-inning wild-card win over Oakland, and sweeps of the Angels and Orioles in their first playoff appearance since 1985.It will be remembered for Yordano Venturas inspired pitching performance in Game 6. And the gutsy performances by the Royals brilliant bullpen. It will be remembered for James Shields and Wade Davis, and the way they taught a losing clubhouse how to win.It will be remembered for waking a baseball-starved city from its slumber.The character we had in this clubhouse is what Ill remember the most, said Shields, who now becomes a free agent and will likely pitch elsewhere for next season.We battled, first baseman Eric Hosmer said. I think yoou saw how much heart we have.ddddddddddddIt was on display one last time in the World Series.After splitting the first two games at home, Kansas City lost two of three in San Francisco, returning to Kauffman Stadium needing a victory just to force a deciding Game 7.They got it in a 10-0 rout behind Ventura, who dedicated the victory to the late Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, his good friend who died in a car crash over the weekend.Kansas City rallied once more in the finale, falling behind 2-0 in the second inning when the Giants managed back-to-back sacrifice flies against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie.In the bottom half, Butler laced a single up the middle, and Gordon drove in a run with a double. He later took third base on a fly out by Mike Moustakas, and then hustled home for the tying run when Omar Infante sent another flyball to centre field.The Giants regained the lead in the fourth when Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence opened the inning with singles, and Michael Morses base hit drove in a run. But hard-throwing relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera escaped the jam without allowing another run.Wade Davis and Greg Holland, the other two pieces of their brilliant bullpen trio, kept San Francisco off the board the rest of the way. But an offence that had rolled the previous night was shut down one more time by Bumgarner, the beguiling lefty who pitched the Giants to victory in Game 1 and then tossed a shutout in Game 5.Obviously we wanted to win, Gordon said, but to be in this situation with these young guys and what theyve done this post-season, Im just proud to be a part of this team.Now, the question is whether it will take them another 29 years to return.Along with the likely departure of Shields, the Royals will have to make some hard decisions with players such as Butler, who holds a pricy option for next season. But young cornerstones in Hosmer, Perez and Lorenzo Cain should provide the foundation for the next few years.So as the chants of Lets Go Royals drifted into the chilly night air, and fans streamed for the exits, one thing had become clear: After decades spent toiling in the shadows, the Royals had finally returned to baseballs spotlight.Even if it was extinguished just short of a championship. 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