Freischaltung » the night for last.In the 84th minute, Folds

ST. PAUL, Minn -- If it were up to Team USA architect Dean Lombardi, the players who make up the American roster that will compete in the upcoming World Cup of Hockey would have more than a short training camp to bond.Theres some jealousy in the general managers voice when he points out the fact that the 1996 World Cup-champion American team had a month to golf, bond and come together before winning it all.Thats not the case this time around. Its two frickin days, he said. Were not going to mess around.To help prepare, Team USAs management and coaching staff spent time in Minnesota before camps finalizing plans to try to repeat the success of 96. At the conclusion of the meetings, Lombardi chatted with ESPN.coms Craig Custance about the upcoming tournament:ESPN.com: What was the focus of the meetings in St. Paul?Lombardi: Obviously, with the five or six coaches, we had a couple of things to do. One, we gave them an overview on what our philosophy was in terms of selecting the team. As we all know, there are almost no wrong answers when you put together a team with this much talent.I thought it was good for [Team USA head coach] John [Tortorellas] assistants to understand what our thinking was. And then the second thing was Johns area -- putting a team of top players together. Its critical that guys accept their roles. Also, when you essentially have an All-Star coaching staff it can be beneficial -- or you can end up with a gong show.Its the same thing as your team. It was important that [Tortorella] designate the [coaching] roles and make their responsibilities clear. Each guy started putting that together.ESPN.com: You mentioned your philosophy in putting together this roster. Theres been criticism of how you built this team ...Lombardi: When isnt there?ESPN.com: Yeah, but you took on more risk than others in some of your player selections. Does that add more pressure on you?Lombardi: Using 96 as a model, its no different than putting together an NHL team. We made it very clear -- all the work I did prior to it, going through it last August in those preliminary meetings -- that this had to be about team and identity.?So much went into this that you cant begin to explain, but that said you have to stay within a certain theme and philosophy. We could have gone another direction philosophically; I just come back to the word identity. I thought [identity] was critical if we were going to win this thing.?This was a lot harder than I thought. Forget the size of the staff we had -- we had a lot of scouts out there. Youre splitting hairs. It really had to be about team because there were so many good players and there wasnt a lot of separation.It was a great experience. I didnt think it was going to be this difficult. We had to micromanage. We got down to the final one, we sat tighter and it was so close. You come back -- who fits right in? Whats the character? Will they fit into the team? That was always your tiebreaker.ESPN.com: How they fit in with the team was the tiebreaker?Lombardi: Yeah. Thats the other thing that was frustrating. The team in 96 was together for 30 days. We tried to do [team-bonding] things and werent allowed to because of the union. We cant afford to waste time. You cant have any maintenance. Its too short a tournament. You have no preparation.ESPN.com: Theres a belief that you built this team specifically to beat Canada. Is that a fair conclusion?Lombardi: Yeah. I mean, theyre the best. Who are we kidding? You want to be politically correct? No, theyre the best. Its like right now, youve got to beat the [Pittsburgh] Penguins. Thats just the way it is. There are really good teams but theyre clearly always the favorite going in. So, yeah.ESPN.com: So how big is the gap right now between Canada and the U.S.?Lombardi: Its kind of funny. You look at the young guys coming -- it goes in cycles ... I think there are some areas, without getting into it, why you had to go back to team and identity [when picking players]. A lot of people, the whole idea, thats coming with the center ice. One of the things we asked ourselves ... who is the top [center]? You know? Now you are seeing a few coming like Jack Eichel.ESPN.com: But now you dont have access to the top young American centers because theyre playing for Team North America.Lombardi: Yeah. Even Canada went through a period where its No. 1 defenseman since Chris Pronger wasnt there, and then boom, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo come along. Back then, the Americans had the [top] defensemen, if you looked at it closely.It goes in cycles. The fairly obvious biggest thing is the middle doesnt have the top [guys]. That said, a guy like Joe Pavelski?is one of the top players. He finally got his recognition this year. If you were playing against him, you know how good this guy is. Its not totally fair to say this guy is not a No. 1 center.ESPN.com:?He has to be your captain, right?Lombardi: John [Tortorella] is going to take care of that. You can try to pump it out of him.Editors note: Joe Pavelski was named Team USAs captain on Wednesday. Vapormax Flyknit 2 Outlet . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Vans Shoes Wholesale .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. http://www.nikeshoesoutletwholesale.com/air-force-1-sale/air-force-1-low-sale.html . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Vapormax Plus Clearance . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Adidas NMD Outlet . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. AUBURN, Ala. - The 13th-ranked Auburn soccer team scripted a perfected night for its seniors in a 3-1 victory over Tennessee on Thursday at the Auburn Soccer Complex. The Tigers (13-5-0, 9-2-0 SEC) matched the program record for conference wins in a season after picking up their ninth league win in dominating fashion.We always want to send the seniors off in the right way, said head coach Karen Hoppa. Its just an incredible senior class and to be able to get them all into the game and get a result from them on senior night, they deserve it. I was proud of our team for making sure to send this group out the right way.Auburn held a commanding lead in shots over Tennessee (10-8-1, 5-5-1) throughout the 90 minutes, 21-3.The Volunteers, however, opened the scoring as they converted on a corner to take an early 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the match.Nine minutes later, Kristen Dodson knotted the match up at 1-1 with her 11th goal of the season. Dodson beat two defenders and placed a shot up and over the goalie as the Aurora, Ill. native was falling down to level the contest.The match remained 1-1 at the intermission, despite the Tigers holding a 10-2 advantage in shots.I thought we really grew into the first half, stated Hoppa. We gave up a goal on a corner and it was a great goal by their player, but I felt the first half we got better as the half went on and to get Kristens [Dodson] goal to go into halftime 1-1 was huge. That gave us confidence heading into the second half. We just stayed with the gameplan and I was proud of our team to not get frustrated, and they stayed with it.Bri Folds nearly gave the hosts the lead in the 50th minute when she had two shots on goal saved by the outstretched arms of the opposing goalkeeper.ddddddddddddAuburn then went ahead in the 81st minute when Brooke Ramsier played a through ball that found her sister Casie Ramsier, and she did the rest. The senior held off a defender and slotted home her seventh goal of the season and what eventually was credited as her 11th-career game-winner, matching the program record set by Katy Frierson (2008-11) and Sarah Steinmann (2001-04).I just got the ball from Brooke [Ramsier], turned and saw a lot of space in front of me, said Casie Ramsier. Kristen [Dodson] made a great run that opened up the middle, I saw my chance and took it.Ramsiers winner also marked her 32nd career goal, moving the Dallas, Texas native into third place on the programs all-time leaderboard.The Tigers werent done scoring yet as Folds saved her best shot of the night for last.In the 84th minute, Folds took a pass from Dani Solaru and tucked a highlight-reel shot into the upper-90 to add insurance to Auburns lead.The Tigers held on in the final moments to notch their seventh home win of the season.Before the match, the senior class of Kiana Clarke, Haley Gerken, Brooke Ramsier, Casie Ramsier, Alyse Scott and Samantha Solaru were honored for leaving their mark on the program.With the win, Auburn officially locked up the No. 2 seed in next weeks SEC Tournament. The Tigers will face either No. 7 seed Tennessee or No. 10 seed Ole Miss on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Orange Beach, Ala. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. and all conference tournament matches will be televised on the SEC Network. ' ' '