Kritik und Anregungen » them soar to the su

SASKATOON -- After watching his bloodied linemate helped from the ice, Chase De Leo did all he could to make one of his best friends feel a little better -- help the Portland Winterhawks make the semifinal at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. De Leo gave Portland the lead for good in the third and the Winterhawks scored three times in the period to defeat the Saskatoon Blades 4-2 in the tournaments final round-robin game. With the score tied 1-1 after two, De Leo jammed a loose puck past Blades goalie Andrey Makarov at 4:08 as Portland (2-1) now moves on to Fridays semifinal. After the game, thoughts on the Portland side quickly turned to Winterhawks right-winger Taylor Leier, who suffered what appeared to be a blow to the head on a hit from Blades defenceman Dalton Thrower just inside the Saskatoon blue-line in the first period. A bloodied Leier, who is from Saskatoon, stayed facedown for a few minutes before being helped off the ice and did not return. The was no penalty on the play, but the Canadian Hockey League said in a release after the game that it was reviewing the incident. "You dont want to see a teammate go down, especially one of my best friends and linemates. Its a scary thing," said De Leo, who now has two goals at the tournament. "Its not something you want to see and obviously the boys are going to get some energy and motivation to battle back for him." Not surprisingly, Winterhawks coach Travis Green and Blades counterpart Lorne Molleken had different interpretations of the hit. "Its pretty obvious where the shot comes. It hits him in the head and there is a jump to it as well. The video is pretty obvious," Green said. "We lost one of our better players to a hit that I thought should have been a major." Molleken, meanwhile, called the hit "unfortunate" but added that he thought Thrower caught Leier in the chest with his shoulder. Winterhawks players disagreed. "When you see a teammate go down like that youre not going to stand by and watch but at this point in the tournament and how big of a game it was, we cant take any stupid penalties," said Portland forward Ty Rattie, who scored his fourth goal. "(Leier) got his head hit. It was a hit to the head." The host Blades (1-2), who were swept out of the Western Hockey League playoffs in the first round and have never won a Memorial Cup, now have a tough task with three games in four nights. A win on Wednesday would have meant a bye to the final, but Saskatoon now faces a Thursday tiebreaker game against the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights (1-2). "Going through adversity is nothing new for this team. Weve had our ups and downs this year and were looking forward to proving ourselves again and taking the long way around," said Saskatoon overage forward Josh Nicholls, who had a goal and an assist. "This a typical Blades way of doing things -- taking that long way. Hopefully we get the job done and take three straight." The winner of the Saskatoon-London game will meet Portland in Fridays semi. With the Winterhawks victory, the Halifax Mooseheads (2-1) clinched a berth directly into Sundays final to decide the CHL champion. Derrick Pouliot and Brenden Leipsic had the other goals for Portland (2-1), which got 29 saves from Mac Carruth. Nicolas Petan added two assists for the WHL champions. Shane McColgan also scored for Saskatoon, while Makarov stopped 30 shots in taking the loss. "It was a big win," Green said. "I thought their team came out hard like we expected early, tried to be physical on us and we withheld and I thought we slowly took over the game." After De Leo scored to give Portland the lead in the third, Leipsic added an insurance goal for Portland at 6:27, ripping a shot from the slot into the top corner past Makarov. Rattie made it 4-1 with his fourth of the tournament at 10:16, beating Makarov to the glove side off the rush. "We knew it was going to be hard and to get three quick bingos like that was big for the boys," Rattie said. "(It) gave us a little bit more confidence and a little bit more leeway on defence." Nicholls scored at 16:27 to cut the deficit to two, but the Blades would get no closer. "Portland did a good job against us in a lot of areas but these teams are all skilled teams and when we get into that game its going to be difficult on us so we have to play a simplified game," Molleken said. "We have to play a north game and make sure our forecheck is good but tonight we let Carruth handle far too many pucks." Following a scoreless first period, the teams traded goals in the second. Pouliot opened the scoring at 6:44 after jumping on a Blades turnover and firing a shot from the sideboards that fooled Makarov through the five-hole. Saskatoon got a 5-on-3 power play later in the period and didnt generate much of anything until McColgan, who hit the post moments earlier, fired a shot past Carruth that deflected in off a Winterhawks player in front with a second left on the second penalty to tie the score at 11:20. Portland had a golden opportunity to retake the lead when Blades left-winger Michael Ferland took a double minor for high sticking with just over four minutes remaining in the period. Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones, the No. 1 ranked North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting ahead of Junes draft, had a good chance off the rush but fired wide as the Blades weathered the storm and were saluted off the ice by a standing ovation from the crowd of 9,239 at the Credit Union Centre. Coming off Sundays emotional 5-2 victory over Halifax, the Blades said prior to the game that their focus would be to get on the body early and they did just that, hitting the Winterhawks at every opportunity in the first period -- including Throwers crushing blow on Leier. The Blades, who have had their share of doubters this season, dont have much time to refocus ahead of Thursdays tiebreaker. "Things are just going to increase in tempo here. It all counts now because lose and youre done. There is no tomorrow anymore so weve really got to strap up and put our work boots on," defenceman Duncan Siemens. "Were a hard-nosed team. We have some skill up front but the majority of team is meat and potatoes. Weve got to go to those hard areas and score those greasy goals." Notes: The Winterhawks have won two Memorial Cups (1983, 1998). The Blades have never won a CHL title. ... Former NHL tough guy and Blades alumni Joe Kocur was in attendance. 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Stamford Bridge hosts the biggest game of the Premier League this weekend.Its top of the table Chelsea (9-1-2) against London rivals Tottenham (6-6-0) -- the only team yet to taste defeat in the English top-flight.But its not just the context of this season that makes Saturdays derby such a tantalising fixture.The most recent meeting of these teams became known as the Battle of the Bridge and will go down in the folklore of both clubs. Chelseas recovery from two goals down to draw 2-2 mathematically ended Tottenhams dream of a title challenge that had long since been ended by Leicester Citys unstoppable march.But it wasnt just the loss of what would have been Spurs first title in over half a century that makes the encounter so memorable. Tottenham were shown nine yellow cards in that match -- the most by any team in Premier League history -- as they went down fighting, almost literally at times. The card tally could and should have seen reds along with those nine yellows, while Mousa Dembeles eye gouge on Diego Costa saw him hit with a lengthy six-game suspension.Thats the context going into Saturdays game, but Chelsea are a different prospect under Antonio Conte this season and it will take more than just physicality to contain them. It took the Italian a while to implement his style at the Bridge, but the teams switch to a 3-4-3 formation just under two months ago has transformed Chelsea. The back-three shape has impressed as the Blues have picked up six straight wins and six straight clean-sheets -- a run that has seen them soar to the summit of the Premier League and boost them into contention for the title.The new formation is very good for the team, its a great system for us, attacking midfielder Pedro said. We feel very good on the pitch, we are happy with our situation and we hope to continue in the right way. Now we must go game by game.Right wing-back Victor Moses has been a revelation in the system, providing attacking threat and defensive solidity in his position, but coach Conte hasnt bbeen surprised by his impact -- only that he has failed to make such a splash previously in his Chelsea career.dddddddddddd.I could see his potential from the first days of the summer training camp, Conte said. Moses has important qualities: technique, physical strength, the ability to cover 70 metres of the pitch. I find it incredible that someone like him has been underestimated.A lack of European competition is another advantage for Chelsea, with Conte able to train his team throughout the week without a distraction, while Saturdays opponents Spurs (in contrast) have been weighed down by their Champions League commitments so far this season.Tottenham crashed out of the competition with a 2-1 defeat away in Monaco on Tuesday evening, but manager Mauricio Pochettino was keen to move on and pick his players up after the loss.Now we need our heads up and to lift ourselves, the Argentine coach said. Chelsea have had a clear week to prepare for us, and now we can start to prepare for Chelsea. Its an advantage but we need to be ready, we need to be strong and like always, to show character and to be competitive.Chelsea have no reported injury concerns, but Tottenham have a problem at left-back with Danny Rose suspended and Ben Davies out injured. Erik Lamela and Toby Alderweireld are also out, with the pair highly likely to have started if fit.Tottenham have conceded only four goals away from home this season -- a league low -- but are coming up against the team with the second-best defensive record in the league and an attack that has sparked into life of late.Form, fitness and preparation would all point to a Chelsea win, which would continue a remarkable trend in this fixture. Spurs have not won at Stamford Bridge in any competition since 1990. Thats a run of 29 games without a win, and just six of Tottenhams 23 Premier League players used this season were even born then. ' ' '