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he Aussies didnt have it easy, ho
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ABBOTSFORD, B. Kendall Gill Jersey .C. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins are back atop the Western Conference thanks to a gritty come-from-behind win Saturday night. The Griffins scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Abbotsford Heat 5-2 in American Hockey League action. With his club down 2-0 after 20 minutes of action, head coach Jeff Blashill made a goaltending change that seemed to spark his club. Tom McCollum allowed two goals on 10 shots, but Petr Mrazek came in and stopped all 13 shots he faced. "It wasnt Tommys fault for the goals, but it was one of those things where you want to change it up to change the momentum," said Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan. "Petr came in and did well. It was huge for us." David McIntyre gave the Griffins the lead for the first time in the game at 8:39 of the third when he redirected Nick Jensens point shot from the side of the net. "The play was started by Jordan Tootoo, getting the puck into the zone," said McIntyre. "It was a great pass from Nick Jensen. It was right on the tape, it was real easy for me." Andrj Nestrasil, Teemu Pulkkinen, Hoggan and Tootoo also scored for Grand Rapids (35-17-5), which has won five consecutive games and moved past Texas - whos game Saturday was suspended - for first in the Western Conference. "Weve been up and down since the All-Star break," said Hoggan. "We were flat in the first but stuck with it. It was a big win for us (because) thats a good team over there." Max Reinhart had two first-period goals for Abbotsford (33-18-6), which is winless in four games. Joey MacDonald made 37 saves in the loss. "They do a great job in the offensive zone of forechecking, and in the neutral zone - theyre sound system-wise," said Heat captain Dean Arsene. "We just had too many turnovers, and a skilled team like that in transition, they just ate us up." Reinhart got the Heat on the board early, deflecting Arsenes point shot past McCollum at the 1:23 mark. The North Vancouver, B.C., native scored his second of the night with just 12 seconds to go in the first period when he finished off a give-and-go with Corey Locke, beating McCollum short side, top corner. Thats when Grand Rapids changed goaltenders. "I would have probably done the same," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward of his counterparts decision. "He needed a change, a spark. We got to McCollum. We (previously) beat him (in Grand Rapids), so (Blashill) probably felt it was time for that change. They did a good job of keeping the game 2-0. We had a couple of looks to go up 3-0 but we didnt make those things happen, even when Mrazek was in net." Nestrasil got Grand Rapids on the board at 13:20 of the second period. After a pair of Abbotsford players failed to clear the puck it bounced right to the Czech Republic native, who quickly beat MacDonald glove side for his seventh of the season. The Griffins tied the game at 4:34 of the third period. From behind the net, Hoggan quickly stuffed the puck between the post and MacDonalds skate. It was just the second goal the captain scored since Christmas. "We racked up a lot of shots, we just kept getting pucks to the net," said Hoggan. "Joey Mac played the puck behind the net but I ended up having some space to walk out front." McIntyre scored to put the visitors up four minutes later. "It was a good pass from Jensen, backdoor," said Hoggan. "We were struggling to score goals, so it was nice to get five tonight." Tootoo scored an insurance marker with 4:09 to go in the game, picking the corner with a wrist shot from the face-off dot. "Obviously (Tootoo) is a grizzled veteran," said McIntyre. "Hes played a lot of big games so he knows what it takes to win. That was a great shot." Pulkkinen added an empty netter with less than two minutes to play, giving him five goals in three games. Kenyon Martin Jersey .Connor Graham, Alex Lintuniemi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (11-8-2). Liam Herbst made 21 saves for the win.Brendan Lemieux had both of Barries (10-10-2) goals. Rick Barry Jersey .com) - The NBA will be on display overseas Thursday with the New York Knicks taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at O2 Arena in London.QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Georges St-Pierre may be the king of MMA in Quebec but Patrick (The Predator) Cote is also UFC royalty in La Belle Province. The 34-year-old welterweight, in his 10th year in the UFC, will walk into the cage for the 15th time Wednesday night when he takes on Australian Kyle Noke in a battle of rival coaches from "The Ultimate Fighter Nations" reality TV show. Englands Michael Bisping, ranked No. 5 among middleweight contenders, faces No. 8 Tim Kennedy in the main event at the Colisee Pepsi. Cote, wearing a Quebec Nordiques cap, received rapturous applause at a public workout Sunday at a Quebec City mall. The five-foot-11 Cote — a native of Rimouski who now lives outside of Montreal — has remade himself into a welterweight, studying nutrition himself to ease the weight cut from 205-210 pounds to 170 pounds. Clearly comfortable in his own skin these days, he credits the people around him for easing his path. He used to work with just a trainer — now he has a team that includes a sports psychiatrist and nutritionist. "I dont do anything by myself now," he said. "I have a specialist in everything. Right now its easier for me to train. I just follow what they tell me to do." Cote (20-8 including 6-8 in the UFC) showed off his flexibility at the workout, bending a leg up like a figure skater. "I feel awesome," said Cote, who spent three weeks in Thailand during his training camp. "For this fight, I feel I have no worries. I have a free mind. Im not nervous at all. Im just going there to do my thing." For Tom Wright, managing director for UFC operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Cote showed his leadership skills during the six-week taping of the TV show. They already knew he was popular. "Pat was chosen because we also know he has a very strong following here ... And hes been our go-to person on broadcasts." While Cote has been in and out of the UFC as a fighter, he has been ever-present as the organizations French-language commentator. He also is an MMA and boxing analyst on the TVA network. "Not only is he comfortable at it, hes very good at it," said Wright. "He knows his stuff." A trailblazer in Canadian mixed martial arts, Cote has also proved to be a survivor. The former soldier — he served in Bosnia — started his UFC career in the deep end, bumped up a weight class and moved to the UFC 50 main event from the undercard on short notice after light-heavyweight star Tito Ortizs opponent dropped out. At the time, Cotes screensaver just happened to be a shot of Ortiz. Cote lost by decision but acquitted himself well, even wobbling Ortiz at one point — a photo of which replaced the screensaver shot of Ortiz for some time after. Cote lost his next three UFC fights, winning two more outside the organization before being shhunted into Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which featured fighters looking for a second chance. Micheal Ray Richardson Jersey. The Canadian made into the final, only to lose a chance at a title shot when he was beaten by Travis Lutter. Cote went on to win his next five fights, including four in the UFC, to earn a championship bout against Anderson Silva. He took the Brazilian to the third round at UFC 90 in October 2008 before losing by TKO when he had to quit due to a knee injury. Two knee surgeries followed and Cote did not fight again until May 2010. Back-to-back losses and he was dumped from the UFC again. Cote won four straight outside the UFC to earn his ticket back. He lost a decision to Cung Le but has won his last two outings, dropping down to welterweight last time out in March 2013 to beat Bobby Voelker at UFC 158. Preparation for and taping of the TUF Nations show kept both Cote and Noke on the sidelines. Cote has not fought since Voelker while Noke, who also had to overcome shoulder surgery and a hand issue, has been idle since a November 2012 win over Charlie (The Spaniard) Brenneman. The Brenneman bout was the six-foot-two Nokes first at welterweight. Cote and Noke (20-6-1 including 4-2 in the UFC) were the picture of professionalism during the taping, with no drama between the two. "We understood the superstars of the show were the fighters," said Cote. "We both went into the show with the same mentality of it was more about the fighters than us," echoed Noke, who was a cast member on Season 11 of the show. Cote saw four of his fighters advance to the two finals, meaning that the first Canadian TUF winners will be crowned Wednesday. The Aussies didnt have it easy, however. They had to compete in hostile territory in Canada and had to hit the ground running with no time afforded to recover from jet lag. Noke, 34, is still in Cotes backyard but has no complaints. "A fights a fight, doesnt matter where it is," he said philosophically. Nokes resume famously includes a stint as a security officer for the late Steve Irwin, known as the "Crocodile Hunter." "That was a great experience for me," said the native of Australias Sunshine Coast who now fights out of Albuquerque, N.M. "Something I still look back on now and cant really believe I did. Steve was a great guy, he was a great inspiration to be around "I think he really helped me as well in my fighting. The passion that he showed for everything, he just brought that out around people ... He was a great person, a great motivator for me. Theres no doubt I wouldnt be where I am today if it wasnt for Steve." Away from the cage and the studio, Cote is involved in real estate investments and Kore Fit Living, a sports equipment and nutrition company. During the summer, he likes to spend time on the golf course and on his boat. ' ' '