Glückwunschforum » the Sooners became the

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings. In their first game back from the Olympic break, Jonas Hiller and the Ducks handled the pressure splendidly. Hiller made 18 saves in his fifth shutout of the season, Andrew Cogliano scored in the opening minutes, and the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks returned with a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. With help from a few Blues shots off his posts, Hiller came back strong from the break after posting two shutouts for Switzerland in Sochi. Coglianos early goal off a neutral-zone turnover stood up in a hard-hitting, choppy game between two of the NHLs best teams. "We learned we can keep up with one of the toughest teams in the league," said Hiller, who matched his career high for shutouts in a season. "On a close game, everybody tries to play as tight as possible. You know you cant let up at all." The Ducks were the NHLs final team to resume play, giving extra rest to gold medallists Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and bronze medallist Teemu Selanne. Anaheim likely needed the break after losing three of its last four before the Olympics, getting shut out twice during just its second significant skid of the entire season. Coach Bruce Boudreau earned his 300th career victory as Anaheim swept the season series with the Blues. With 89 points from 61 games, the Ducks are five points ahead of St. Louis, Chicago and Pittsburgh in the overall NHL standings. "It was a good first game for us in terms of the competition," Cogliano said. "It was really high-paced. Its good to jump into a game like that. ... To hold them to 18 shots is something were proud of." Cogliano put the Ducks ahead just 3:39 in with a breakaway goal set up by Saku Koivus pass. The speedy Coglianos goal was his 18th, matching his career high with 21 games left in the regular season. Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots for the Blues just a few hours after St. Louis acquired star goalie Ryan Miller in a five-player trade with the Buffalo Sabres that included goalie Jaroslav Halak. St. Louis still hasnt scored after the break, taking its first two shutout losses of the season. Vancouver also beat the Blues 1-0 on Wednesday night. "Weve just got to put a couple in the net and well get going," Blues defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "Were creating the chances. Were doing a great job of that. But theyre one of the toughest teams. Thats a team were probably going to have to compete against down the road." The Blues made a major move for their post-season stretch about three hours before the puck dropped in Anaheim, acquiring Miller and agitator Steve Ott from Buffalo in a deal for Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, two draft picks and Halak, the Slovak Olympian who has been with St. Louis since 2010. "Its tough when friends leave, when you get to know families and get in personal relationships with those guys," said St. Louis captain David Backes, Millers teammate with the U.S. Olympic team. "But from a hockey standpoint, the management and ownership is really committed to winning, and winning now, and thats partly shown in the move weve made. Ryan Miller is an all-world goalie that has shown it time and time again." Miller and Ott wont join St. Louis until this weekend in Phoenix, so the Blues backup goalie was Jeff Tyni, the Ducks locker room attendant. Both teams attempted to make up for their post-break rust with aggressive physical play. Backes and Perry fought in the first period, extending their personal feud. Adding to the Canada-U.S. rivalry vibe, Getzlaf and T.J. Oshie also nearly dropped gloves during the same prolonged scuffle. NOTES: Ducks C Mathieu Perreault left the game early in the third period with an upper-body injury after taking a big hit. ... Stewart was traded on a Blues-Ducks gameday for the second time. St. Louis acquired Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk from Colorado on Feb. 19, 2011, and Stewart made his Blues debut against Anaheim later in the day. ... The Ducks scratched F Jakob Silfverberg, who won a silver medal for Sweden last weekend. D Sami Vatanen, who won bronze with Finland and led the Olympic tournament with five assists, is back with Anaheims AHL affiliate in Norfolk. Cheap Basketball Shoes Australia . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Cheap Basketball Shoes Online . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. http://www.wholesalebasketballshoesaustralia.com/.J. - The New Jersey Devils know the odds are against them as they chase a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Cheap Basketball Shoes For Sale . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Cheap Basketball Shoes Wholesale . McCutchen was cut before the series opener against Seattle on Monday night, when Lewis was set for his first start for Texas since July 18, 2012. Texas selected Lewis contract from Triple-A Round Rock.Torontos Melvin Ejim accomplished much more than just one record-setting game this season. The Iowa State senior forward has a unique top-10 standing in the Big 12. The 6-foot-6 Ejim was named Monday as The Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year. He joined Kansas Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., the leagues Freshman of the Year, as unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selections. Ejim, whose 48-point game against TCU last month set a Big 12 single-game scoring record, is the leagues only player in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. He ranks second in both categories, averaging 18.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. "To see the progression of Melvins basketball career from where he came in as a freshman, very raw ... it just shows when you put a lot of work into your game, its going to pay off, and it certainly helps with your culture," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said of the A-student history major. "Hes a great leader and young guys see what hes doing and the impact that has on our team and our program." Only Iowa State had two first-team players. Ejim was joined in the top five by 6-4 senior teammate DeAndre Kane, a transfer from Marshall who was the unanimous pick for Newcomer of the Year. Kane averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists. "Three great years at Marshall, but had never reached the tournament," Hoiberg said. "I know that was huge for him, and hes going to get that opportunity." Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart and West Virginia junior guard Juwan Staten, the Big 12s leader with 18.4 points and 5.94 assists per game, rounded out the first-team selections that matched the coaches picks released Sunday. Smart was the AP Big 12s top player and top freshman last year, when he was only the third player to win both of those awards in the same season. His scoring average was better this season at 17.9 points and he led the league with 2.7 steals a game,, but also was suspended three games during conference play after shoving a fan at Texas Tech.dddddddddddd Oklahomas Lon Kruger, who led the Sooners to a No. 2 seed in this weeks conference tournament, was selected as the AP Big 12 Coach of the Year with 11 of the 18 votes from a panel of AP sports writers and sportscasters who cover the league on a regular basis Ejim got 11 votes for top player, becoming the first Iowa State player to win that AP award since Jamaal Tinsley in 2001, a year after Cyclones standout Marcus Fizer. Wiggins, who capped the regular season with 41 points Saturday in a loss at West Virginia, got four Player of the Year votes, and the remaining votes were split by Kane, Smart and 7-foot Kansas freshman centre Joel Embiid. Wiggins got 17 votes for Freshman of The Year. Embiid, who got the other vote for top freshman, headed up the AP All-Big 12 second team that also includes Oklahoma States Markel Brown, Kansas State freshman Marcus Foster, Oklahoma sophomore Buddy Hield and Baylors Cory Jefferson. Kruger is 58-36 in his three years at Oklahoma, and last season with the Sooners became the first NCAA Division I coach to take five different programs to the NCAA tournament. They finished the regular season with a 97-67 win at TCU, their fifth win in six games. "Its always satisfying when your guys play well and play with enthusiasm and get good results," Kruger said. "This league is so deep ... if we can be in that group right after Kansas, were in a very good group of basketball teams, so I feel good about it." Kansas coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks clinched their 10th Big 12 title in a row with a young group, got five votes for top coach. Texas Rick Barnes got the other two. In their voting, Big 12 coaches also tabbed Ejim as top player, Kane top newcomer and Wiggins as the leagues outstanding freshman. They differed on the top coach, selecting Barnes. ' ' '