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Jordan Franks Jersey Retro . - It is getting down to crunch time at the Montreal Canadiens camp.The Canadiens made five cuts on Thursday, including defencemen Greg Pateryn and Davis Drewiske, to reduce the training camp roster to 28 players.Forwards Sven Andrighetto, Jake Dowell and Gabriel Dumont were also sent to the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs, who are holding training camp in St. Johns, N.L.Among those who escaped the cuts were forwards Christian Thomas, Jacob de la Rose and Jiri Sekac, defencemen Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Darren Dietz and Francis Bouillon and goaltender Dustin Tokarski.Montreal also agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with former Carolina forward Drayson Bowman, who was invited to join the Canadiens camp on a professional tryout.The survivors are expected to see action in pre-season games against the Ottawa Senators on Friday and Saturday nights. Teams have until Tuesday to get down to the 23-man roster limit.It is likely that Beaulieu, who played in the post-season in the spring, will make the NHL club, but it may be between Tinordi and Bouillon for the job as the seventh defenceman on the depth chart.The six-foot-six Tinordi has had an up-and-down camp, but coach Michel Therrien said he likes his physical play. If he is sent down, the team can turn to returning veteran Bouillon, who was invited to camp on a tryout.In Francis case, its not an audition, said Therrien. We know exactly what weve got.After we make our evaluation of the young players, then well make a decision. We need to see if the young defencemen are ready to play in the NHL.Bouillon, who turns 39 on Oct. 17, looked relieved to still be in camp.I know Im in competition with the young guys, but the best I can do is show up on the ice and show that I can still play in this league, he said. The rest I have no control over.The big surprise was Dietz, a rushing defenceman who was limited to 34 games in Hamilton last season due to injuries. The Medicine Hat, Alta., native has been impressive in camp.I like his speed, said Therrien. Hes got poise with the puck.He can jump up in the play. Well give him another chance to see what hes got.The goal is to make the hockey team and nothing is accomplished yet, said Dietz.At forward, the speedy, five-foot-nine Thomas has made himself noticed in every pre-season game hes played.There should be a spot open on right wing, and the son of former NHL winger Steve Thomas has made a good case, although he is up against gifted six-foot-two newcomer Sekac, who looks to have the edge so far. The 19-year-old De la Rose appears to be a long shot to crack the lineup.Everyones goal here is to have a good camp and make the Canadiens and this just means Im a step closer, said Thomas. Hopefully I made a good impression with the staff and that it stays like that.Therrien said Pateryn needs to adjust to the pace of play in the NHL, while Drewiske simply needs playing time after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury.In goal, the Canadiens are still undecided on whether to keep Peter Budaj, the incumbent back-up to Carey Price, or Tokarski, who was chosen over Budaj to play when Price was injured in the Eastern Conference final.
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Nyle McFarlane Jersey Retro . After making his All-Star debut in Fridays Rising Stars Challenge, the Raptors sophomore centre wont be sticking around for the duration of the weekends festivities, thinking about the big picture instead.Jon Jones went from pound-for-pound the best fighter inside the octagon to just plain pounded. Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Looking as human and humbled as ever, Jones wouldnt let his hard-earned championship slip away easily and gutted out another title defence -- a UFC record sixth straight -- that set up him up to find another challenger of the month. Enter Glover Teixeira. Teixeira boasts a whopping 20-bout winning streak that dates nine years and is coming off a first-round TKO of Ryan Bader. Jones (19-1) and Teixeira (22-2) fight in the main event of UFC 172 Saturday night when the promotion makes its debut in Baltimore. Phil Davis fights Anthony Johnson in the other headline bout. Jones, one of UFCs biggest active pay-per-view draws, won a unanimous decision against Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September. Gustafsson cut the champion at the right eye midway through the first round. And with a minute left, he took Jones down for the first time in the champions UFC career. Jones said he knew he was as close as ever to dropping the belt. "I realized I needed to switch up my strategy and begin improvising a little bit more, and thats what I did," he said. "I think with Gus I was trying to fight like a technical kick boxing match and I think I was losing at that. I just had to switch my style up and start flowing a little better and start winging things, making up, creating, and finding new openings." He found enough of them to escape and put his name in the record book. With the win, Jones passed UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortizs light heavyweight mark of five straight successful title defences. After beating Shogun Rua on March 20, 2011 to win the belt, Jones went on to defeat Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Gustafsson.
Kevin Wyatt Jersey Retro. . He beat all but Evans and Gustafsson during the streak via TKO or submission, and three times earned UFC fight of the night honours. Known as "Bones," Jones said its time to return to his dominant form to keep the streak going. "Im totally prepared to fight for five rounds, but my goal in this fight is to dominate the fight in a way that no one seen possible," he said. Domination is in my psychology. Its the way I train. Its the way I eat. Its the way I visualize. Its the way I believe. "If I dont dominate the fight, Ill still be happy with the victory. But domination is what Im planning on." Teixeira, the No. 2 title contender, is 5-0 since jumping to UFC but a 5-1 underdog in the fight of his life. "My strategy against Jon Jones is simple, go out there and be myself and knock this guy out," he said. "Ive been training my whole life for this." Jones, a former college wrestler and the brother of two NFL players, nearly suffered a broken arm in his win over Belfort and broke a toe against Sonnen. Winning while hurt, then turning around the Gustafsson bout in the final two rounds, proved to Jones he can win under any circumstances. "After that Gustafsson fight, Im even more confident in my will," he said. "I know I have a lot of will. I know that Im armed with that going into this battle on Saturday night. Jones has two brothers in the NFL, including Arthur, a Super Bowl champion with the Ravens who now plays for the Colts. Arthur Jones will be at Baltimore Arena with some of his former teammates rooting on his brother for the feel of a hometown advantage. "They supported our family while he was here and thats why I wanted to fight here," Jon Jones said. "I hope his leaving doesnt change anything because I still love the fans and the support they have given to me and our family." ' ' '