Schwarzesbrett » make his first NHL appearance. C

HOUSTON -- Syracuse coach Scott Shafer wishes his team could have held its big lead over Minnesota and cruised to an easy win in the Texas Bowl on Friday night. But he found it fitting that the Orange had to eke out the victory considering the number of close games they played this season. Terrel Hunt scrambled 12 yards for a touchdown with 1:14 remaining to lift Syracuse to a 21-17 victory over the Golden Gophers. "It would have nice if we could have just knocked them out and won by 17 or something," Shafer said. "Thats kind of not our way this year. I think it was appropriate that we won in that fashion." Brisly Estime set up Hunts touchdown with a 70-yard punt return. Estime would have scored if not for a tackle by punter Peter Mortell. "Brisly is a quick as a jitterbug," Shafer said. "We felt that he could give us something." It was the second-longest punt return in Texas Bowl history. "We probably out-punted our coverage," Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said. Syracuse (7-6) led 14-3 entering the fourth quarter before Mitch Leidner threw two touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion to put the Gophers up 17-14. After the Orange regained the lead, Minnesota attempted two long passes to the end zone on the final plays. The first slipped through Drew Wolitarskys arms and the second, as time expired, was knocked down near the end zone. Minnesota (8-5) got a boost to start the second half when Kill returned to the sideline for the first time since Sept. 28 before Syracuse came back to send the Gophers to their sixth consecutive bowl loss and second straight in this bowl. Kill began the game in the press box, where he has observed his team since returning from a leave of absence because of epilepsy. Kill has had five seizures on game day in two-plus seasons at Minnesota. He took the leave of absence in October and returned a couple of weeks later. "I felt I would do anything I can to help," Kill said about joining his team on the sideline. "Im not sure if it helped or not. Evidently, it didnt because we didnt win the game." Hunt finished with 188 yards passing and 74 rushing with two scores to earn Most Valuable Player honours and a 10-gallon cowboy hat. Leidner finished with 205 yards passing, Maxx Williams had five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown and Wolitarsky had 94 yards receiving and a score. Syracuse attempted a 45-yard field goal with about 3 1/2 minutes left, but it sailed wide right. Robert Welsh sacked Leidner on third down on the next drive to force a punt and set up the winning drive. The Gophers took their first lead when Syracuse bit on a play-action fake that left Wolitarsky wide open for a 55-yard touchdown pass that made it 15-14 early in the fourth quarter. Leidner then hit Mike Henry for the 2-point conversion to push the lead to 17-14. Players and coaches on the sideline jumped around wildly after the touchdown, while Kill smiled and stood nearly still amid the chaos. Hunt was penalized for intentional grounding on third down of the ensuing drive by Syracuse forcing a fourth-and-25 and a punt by the Orange. Jerome Smith rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse and Estime had five receptions for 47 yards. Minnesota cut it to 14-9 when Williams got in front of two defenders for a 20-yard touchdown reception from Leidner on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was the Gophers first touchdown on offence since the second quarter of a 24-10 win over Penn State on Nov. 9. Minnesota attempted a 2-point conversion, but Leidner was sacked. The Orange used a clock-eating 15-play drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Hunt to push the lead to 14-3 with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Syracuse used run after run to pound the ball on that drive and had an 18-yard run by Smith and a 17-yard scamper by George Morris to keep it going. Syracuse took a 7-0 lead when Smith scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter. That drive was helped by a nifty catch by Christopher Clark, who stretched out to grab a 19-yard reception with a defender in his face just before stepping out of bounds. Minnesota cut it to 7-3 on Chris Hawthornes 41-yard field goal by as time expired in the first half. Fake Nike Jerseys .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. Fake Jerseys For Sale . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo. http://www.fakejersey.com/fake-hockey-jerseys/ .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Fake Basketball Jerseys . -- Darrelle Revis says at least 26 teams called after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fake Soccer Jerseys . A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool.OTTAWA -- Johan Franzen has no explanation for his success in Ottawa, but cant deny he definitely enjoys playing in the nations capital. The Detroit Red Wings winger was at his best once again scoring three goals in a 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. Franzen, who returned to the Red Wings lineup Wednesday after playing just one of the past 24 games due to a concussion, has previously enjoyed success against the Senators. In February 2011, Franzen scored five goals against the Senators. "I like playing here," said Franzen. "We have Erik Karlsson on the other side and we grew up in the same little town so its always fun to play him. Its something special every time. Im just happy to keep him from the scoreboard. Its always fun to play him." Detroit coach Mike Babcock is pleased to see Franzen having success. "Hes an important player for us," said Babcock. "He has the ability, he has the touch. Lots of guys play real hard and cant score (Franzen) can score." It appears he also has the ability to get under his opponents skin. Ottawas Chris Neil went after Franzen late in the game and while nothing came of it Franzen was less than impressed. "He tried to hit me and he couldnt move me so I think he got a little upset," said Franzen. "I have no clue. He usually shows up when the game is over and tries to be the hero. He puts his cape on and goes and flies out there. I dont know." Riley Sheahan, Tomas Jurco and Tomas Tatar also scored for Detroit. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 37 shots. With the win the Red Wings (28-20-12) have a five-point lead over the Senators (26-23-11) for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference standings. "Coming back from the break and you start 2-0 its way better than the opposite way," said Babcock. "We know were in a battle for our playoff life. We understand that so getting off to a good start is imperative." The Senators had little explanation for their performance. "Its an extremely disappointing loss," said Ottawa captain Jason Spezza. "We knew that it was a very important game for us and to lose it by that score is obviously not what we were looking for." Bobby Ryan scored the lone goal for the Senators, who were playing their first game since the Olympic break. Robin Lehner allowed six goals on 15 shots before Andrew Hammond made his NHL debut, stopping all nine shots he faced. Things fell apart for the Senators in a nine-minute span in the first period. Ryan had a goal called back after it was ruled that he kicked it in and then the Senators leading goal scorer missed two great chances on the power play. Things began to unravel after the Red Wings scored on consecutive shots. Ottawaas Cody Ceci gave the puck up deep in the Senators end as he made a no-look behind-the-back pass that landed right on the stick of Sheahan who ripped a shot past Lehner.dddddddddddd Just 29 seconds later Franzen scored his first as he was left all alone to give Detroit a 2-0 lead. Franzen then made it 3-0 with a power-play goal as once again he was left alone, this time on the opposite side of the ice. Following the game Lehner could not hide his disappointment. "They got a few goals pretty fast and then it snowballed," said Lehner. "I think weve all got to do better in our zone and Ive got to do better. It was one of the most toughest games Ive played personally, but its over now. Theres not much to say." Detroit made it 4-0 on a delayed penalty call with two minutes remaining in the period. Niklas Kronwall, who finished with three assists, had a shot from just inside the blue-line deflected and ended up on Jurcos stick, who roofed it over Lehner. The 18,931 on hand at Canadian Tire Centre were so disappointed they booed the home team off the ice. Senators coach Paul MacLean had few words to explain his teams performance. "We played a lot better than the score maybe indicated, but the score is what it is and you cant change that," said MacLean. When asked who was the best player MacLean couldnt help but say "Johan Franzen I think. I think were all tied for the worst." Franzen completed his hat trick early in the second period. Ryan finally got the Senators on board at the four-minute mark of the second, but any celebration was short-lived as Detroit made it 6-1 as Tatar beat Lehner from in close. That marked the end of Lehners appearance, opening the door for Hammond to make his first NHL appearance. Craig Anderson was unavailable due to the birth of his second child. Despite the surprise appearance Hammond held his own and made a number of big saves. "Not letting anything in was a good start," said Hammond. "Any kid from Canada growing up playing hockey its their dream to play in the NHL and its pretty special for me to be one of those guys thats lucky enough now to say Ive played in the NHL. Its very special." This was the fourth and final meeting between the teams as they split the season series. Notes: D Patrick Wiercioch, D Joe Corvo and LW Matt Kassian were a healthy scratch for the Senatorsa RW Patrick Eaves, RW Todd Bertuzzi and RW Daniel Cleary were a healthy scratch for the Red Wingsa A number of Canadian Olympians were recognized prior to the game including Detroit head coach Mike Babcock and General Manager Ken Holland. Thursdays game marked Daniel Alfredssons second appearance at Canadian Tire Centre since signing with the Red Wings last summer. ' ' '