LARNACA, Cyprus -- Another big game with France, another disappointment for the Canadian womens soccer team.
Vikings Jersey . The French defeated defending champion Canada 2-0 in the final of the Cyprus Cup on Tuesday, but Canadian coach John Herdman said the team has made up considerable ground since the French knocked Canada out of the World Cup last summer. "It was one of those games, the French were better on the day, but I think a lot of positives to come, the girls finished strong and certainly were in the game," Herdman said. "France just came through with that little bit more quality. "The gap is not insurmountable, and I think in three months well be ready." France dominated the Canadian women in a 4-0 win at the World Cup in Germany last July, eliminating Canadas hopes of advancing out of the preliminary round. This time goals by Marie-Laure Delie and Louisa Necib -- the second via penalty -- were enough to sink Canada at the G.S.Z. Stadium. Delie intercepted a pass as Canada was trying to work the ball up from the backline in the first half. She scored from 16 yards out in the 31st minute. Necibs penalty came in the 62nd minute after a foul called on Rhian Wilkinson. "I think if Im being biased, according to Rhian Wilkinson, she didnt touch the player," Herdman said. "But that happens in football and we probably should have had a penalty at the other end which was really disappointing, we had just as good a shout for one." The French are ranked sixth in the world, one spot above Canada. The two teams came into the final each with 3-0-0 records after winning their respective pools. The French had outscored their opponents 8-1 while Canada had an 8-2 edge. Herdman called the tournament final a solid performance by his team. "They finished really strong, they finished stronger than the French, which I think bodes well moving into the Olympics," Herdman said. "This is a team that still isnt at full strength, and not at its peak fitness. "Its exciting times, I think the gap is there, theres no doubt theres a gap technically and we certainly struggled to break the French down in deep areas. But in terms of possession stats, we had more of the ball than the French." Herdman noted that the team is without forward Jonelle Filigno and midfielder Diane Matheson, who are injured. Melissa Tancredi did play, becoming the 16th player to make her 75th appearance for Canada. Canada arrived in Cyprus as the tournament defending champion and has made the final every year, winning it in 2008, 2010 and last year. Canada and France have met eight times. Each team is 3-3-2.
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Jeff Locke Jersey . -- Milos Raonic and Aleksandra Wozniak continued successful injury comebacks as each advanced into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday to next face reigning Grand Slam champions.At the age of 46, Dominik Hasek was still playing hockey. He put on his goalie pads for the final time Feb. 27, 2011 in the KHL. At the age of 49, "the Dominator" is expected to be part of the class of 2014 at the Hockey Hall of Fame, which will be announced this afternoon on TSN2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. Though nothing is guaranteed, the six-time Vezina Trophy-winner should be a lock. "For me its a no-brainer," former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said earlier this year. Hasek won one Stanley Cup as a starter with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, then split time with Chris Osgood and became the backup in the playoffs for the 2008 title. He came close to the Cup in 1999 with Buffalo, only to be beaten by the Dallas Stars on Brett Hulls foot-in-the-crease overtime goal. Haseks best years came with the Sabres, when he had seven straight seasons with a save percentage of .930 or higher. He finished with 234 career regular-season victories in Buffalo and 389 over his 16-year NHL career. Veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun "knew all along" Hasek would be great from watching him play in their native Czech Republic. "It took him a little bit just because of his style and all that to convince people here," Vokoun said in a phone interview. "I definitely consider him, if hes not the best, one of the top three to ever play. ... He definitely deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer." Swedish centre Peter Forsberg is also expected to get the call to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. American-born centre Mike Modano leads the other new candidates and is the most likely to be inducted, ahead of three-time Cup-winner and first-ballot dark horse Mark Recchi. Forsberg, who began his career with the Quebec Nordiques following the blockbuster Eric Lindros trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, went on to win two Cups with the Colorado Avalanche.
Anthony Barr Jersey. He finished with 885 points in 708 regular-season games as his career was cut short by foot injuries. With 1,374 points over 21 seasons, Modano became the most prolific American-born scorer in NHL history. Late coach Pat Burns remains a candidate in the "builder" category, a year after Fred Shero was posthumously elected 38 years after leading the Flyers to back-to-back Cups. Burns, a three-time Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year, died in November 2010 at the age of 58. This is the first year John Davidson is serving as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, replacing Jim Gregory. Bobby Clarke, David Poile and Luc Robitaille were appointed to the committee for the first time. Clarkes addition raised the question of whether Lindros would stand a better chance of being elected. Despite a contentious relationship with the Lindros family, the longtime Flyers general manager is considered a proponent of his Hall of Fame case. Lindros has similar numbers to Forsberg — 865 points in 760 games over 13 seasons — and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1994-95. The three-time Canadian Olympian and world junior standouts resume isnt as Hall of Fame-worthy as Haseks. The goaltender is all but certain to be inducted Nov. 10. "I appreciate it, its very nice to be among all these big players," Hasek said recently when asked about impeding election to the Hall of Fame. "I appreciate to be one day, maybe, in the Hockey Hall of Fame, however ... it was never my goal when I was playing hockey." ' ' '