CALGARY -- Canadas medal prospects in the new Olympic sport of freestyle halfpipe are bright if the World Cup in Calgary is an indication.
Pedro Castellano Jersey . Canadian men swept the podium and placed four in the top five Friday at Canada Olympic Park event and that was with reigning World Cup champion Mike Riddle of Sherwood Park, Alta., sidelined with a bruised heel. Justin Dorey of Vernon, B.C., Calgarys Noah Bowman and Matt Margetts of Penticton, B.C., finished first to third respectively in the halfpipe, which makes its Olympic debut next month in Sochi, Russia. Simon dArtois of Whistler, B.C., was fifth. "We have a lot of talent on the halfpipe team right now," Dorey said. "I think were all capable of putting down podium runs." Dorey, 25, posted a combined two-run score of 87.20 points for his first World Cup victory. Bowman, 21, was second with a 84.40 score, while Margetts, 25, was third with a score of 82.60. Calgarys Megan Gunning finished just outside the womens medals. Rowan Cheshire of Britain won the womens event with a score of 80.40 points. Virginie Faivre of Switzerland second with 79.80 points and Amy Sheehan of Australia third with 79.20. Edmontons Keltie Hansen was eighth. As in snowboard halfpipe, the freestylers use momentum generated by the pipes slopes to gain air and perform tricks. Former world champion Rosalind Groenewoud of Squamish, B.C., underwent surgery on both her knees last month. She wasnt yet ready for competition although she intends to compete in Sochi. The U.S. team wasnt in Calgary so reigning world champion David Wise and world silver medallist Torin Yater-Wallace were not in the mens field. "Theres no doubt there were some strong podium contenders who werent at this event, so that opens up a little bit of room," Canadian coach Trennon Paynter said. "That being said, our guys who podiumed today have all podiumed at major events in the past. "We had four of the top five. Its one of the best results weve ever had as a team. At this time of the year as were building towards going into Sochi, its such a positive note. Were all stoked." Canada will have to leave some halfpipe talent at home for the Winter Games. The country can enter a maximum of four men and Riddle has already qualified for one of those spots. "We have some of the best halfpipe talent in the world, which is pretty crazy," Margetts said. "Its pretty cool we have that. It also makes it really difficult because we have so many good competitors, teammates we have to compete against and theres so few spots. "I still had two Canadians, two teammates, two competitors who were still ahead of me. Even though we all did well today, they still did better than me which gives them that little more of an opportunity to go, which kind of sucks. Youre obviously stoked for your friends, but youre competitors at the same time so its kind of difficult emotionally to deal with that." Dorey felt some of the pressure to qualify for Sochi lift with his victory. "Its not official that Ill be going, but I feel really confident in my position to get on the team, so now I can start pushing it a little bit more and start working on my Sochi run," he said. "The pressure, Im starting to learn how to deal with that a little better. There will be plenty of that in Russia. Im stoked to go there because Ive been doing this for almost eight years and lot of the guys I grew up with doing this sport have kind of phased out of it." Bowman joined Canada Olympic Parks freestyle club at age 14, so standing on the podium in the place where it all began felt special to him. "It means so much to have a podium with two of my best friends and teammates here in Calgary," he said. "It was so amazing to have friends and family out here supporting. Hearing all them cheer before I dropped in, I got chills." Both Bowman and Margetts said there was a standing bet among the Canadian men that if they ever achieved a medal sweep, Paynter "had to start smoking again," said Margetts. Paynter disavowed all knowledge of the wager to reporters. Canadas three male medallists each received a $5,000 bonus from WinSport, which operates Canada Olympic Park. WinSport established the Sarah Burke Performance Awards in memory of Burke, a Canadian freestyle ski pioneer who died following a training accident in January, 2012. Any Canadian athlete who earns a World Cup medal at COP earns the financial award.
Michael Cuddyer Jersey . Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league.
Wes Parsons Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No.TORONTO - Stephane Robidas remembers what it was like to be a healthy scratch more than 20 times early in his NHL career.You cant take anything for granted, the veteran defenceman said. Theres always people that are coming in and they want to steal your job, they want your spot, they want to be in the lineup.Early in the season for Toronto Maple Leafs, Stuart Percy has been that job-stealer. The first defenceman in franchise history to put up a point in each of his first three games in the league, Percy has at least temporarily taken Jake Gardiners spot in the lineup.Its just how it goes, said Gardiner, who was a healthy scratch for a second straight game Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Its a business. If someones playing really well or youre not playing your game, youre not going to play.In the process, Percy has given the coaching staff a good problem to have with seven defencemen vying for six spots. In his fourth career game, the 21-year-old was second on the Leafs in ice time with a steady 23:34.Weve said right from the beginning that were going to create competition for positions, coach Randy Carlyle said. If they compete for the position and they earn it, its a novel concept.Percy was a first-round pick in 2011, so his growth into an NHL player shouldnt be a surprise. But he entered training camp staring at three veteran left-handed defencemen firmly ahead of him and Henrik Tallinder with the Leafs on a tryout as the favourite to make it as the No. 7.A shoulder injury to Tallinder and a knee injury to righty Cody Franson opened the gate for Percy to show what he could do. So far, so good.The poise that he has with the puck, the decision-making, he always seems to make that good decision, hold onto the puck when its time, move when its time, Robidas said. Hes very reliable defensively, very good stick, always in good position. Hes been very effective on the power play, as well, and played against some really good players.Carlyle praised Percy for reading where the forecheck is coming from, exiting the zone with one pass and making the right pass in all zones on a consistent basis.Percy, a native of nearby Oakville, Ont., said he takes pride in playing a 200-foot game. His offensive skills were never a question, according to Carlyle, just Percys ability to adapt to this level after one full season in the American Hockey League.Percy showed a flash of being ready in Torontos season opener, when he assisted on a Tyler Bozak power-play goal with a perfect setup from below the goal-line.MMaybe I didnt expect (to adapt this quickly), but I definitely strived for it, Percy said.
Mike Munoz Jersey. Im just playing my usual game. Its how Ive played most of my career. Just sticking to it, keep things simple, be assertive out there and always have your head moving.Carlyle, who enjoyed a 17-year career as a defenceman, knows that the position comes with a steep learning curve. Playing more games with less practice time and at a quicker pace can go against young players, he said.With that in mind, Percy is taking to heart some advice he got from another former NHL defenceman, Steve Staios, whos now in player development for the Leafs.For me just to keep my foot on the gas and dont let up, Percy said. Just to keep playing hard and practising hard every day and working as hard as I can to stay here every day.Percys ability to stick beyond a game or two came at the expense of Gardiner, who hasnt played since Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well removed from his shuttling back and forth between the Leafs and AHLs Toronto Marlies, Gardiner signed a US$20.25-million, five-year contract in the off-season, but that didnt keep him from sitting in the press box two games in a row.This happens, Gardiner said Tuesday morning. Its happened to me a few times before and it happens to everybody. You cant play great all the time. Just rebound the next time I get an opportunity.Gardiner said he has watched a couple of video clips and believes he has to tighten some things up defensively.Carlyle said Gardiner simply needs to play better.We feel that we have a quality hockey player that can play to a higher level, and he agrees with that, Carlyle said.Meanwhile, Percy is playing at perhaps as high a level as can be expected for someone with three games of NHL experience. But with what Carlyle called a comfort zone as far as on-ice instincts, Percy has shown evidence he can stick around for some time.We understand theres going to be valleys and theres going to be hiccups along the way, Carlyle said. But I dont think thats any different than any of our other young defencemen.Percy has simply been better than the Leafs other young defencemen, Gardiner and second-year player Morgan Rielly. All three are lefties, and with captain Dion Phaneuf on that side now there isnt room for all of them at once.We have a healthy, I guess, competition to stay in the lineup and thats always good for the team knowing that the teams going to get everybodys best efforts, Percy said.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '