SOCHI, Russia – Hours before his team would battle for an opportunity to play for gold here in Sochi, Canadian head coach Mike Babcock had an opportunity to meet with two members of the womens squad – Hayley Wickenheiser and Shannon Szabados – that rallied for gold of their own in historic fashion just a night earlier. "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. The line between victory and failure was painfully thin at Bolshoy Ice Dome in a Friday evening clash of the tournaments two deepest teams, but ultimately Carey Price on the prowl, another Jamie Benn marker and a stiff Canadian defensive effort prevailed in a tight 1-0 win. "If we were to think about that result and visualize it at the start of the day, wed say, mission accomplished," Price remarked afterward. Their scoring struggles may have continued in victory – just four goals of offence in the past nine periods of regulation – but what Canada continued to do exceptionally well is defend, holding a potent U.S. team completely off the board. The Americans entered the night as the tournaments most fearsome offensive attack, scoring 20 goals in their first four games including five alone from Phil Kessel. But they were stifled by the Canadians, who have allowed, incredibly, just three goals and only two at even-strength. "Thats been something from Day 1 that weve really believed in and trust that thats a big part of having success here," said Sidney Crosby. "You see the games from every team at this point are pretty tight. Thats a common theme. And theres not much separating each team." Though the pace was absolutely frantic, the Canadians generally managed the feared American speed. Much of that effort came from simply controlling possession, forcing the likes of Kessel and Patrick Kane to defend a lot more than theyd like. "We forced them to play in the defensive zone a lot," said Crosby. "Theyve got a lot of guys who are skilled and create a lot of speed, but I think we did a good job of keeping them in there for at least 20 seconds in shifts. Hopefully that played a part in taking away their energy offensively." Toews and linemates, Jeff Carter and Patrick Marleau, drew the assignment of the slowing the Kessel line – which also featured Joe Pavelski, who had the most goals in the NHL since Jan. 1 and James van Riemsdyk – and did so in part by back-checking with fevered passion, a commitment that was shared by the rest of the Canadian forward contingent. Kessel had a rush or two of consequence early, but was held to four shots and none in the final frame. "It was just work ethic," said Toews. "It was good sticks, I think we had active sticks … we didnt stop moving our feet, and we were committed to doing the job right. Our penalty kill was great tonight, too. Those are the things, whether youre winning a Stanley Cup or an Olympic gold medal, those are the things you need to do." Zach Parise led the U.S. with eight shots and had one of the better opportunities to score in the second, redirecting a Patrick Kane pass attempt on Price, one of 31 shots turned aside by the 26-year-old in his first Olympic shutout. Price was facing the biggest and most scrutinized test of his career and he aced it, outdueling the always impressive Jonathan Quick. A stoic and unwavering personality, Price, a native of Anahim Lake, B.C., was cool in his fourth start of these Games and made the difficult look effortless. Maybe his most impressive stop of the evening saw John Carlson robbed by the glove in a scoreless opening frame. "I thought he was great," said Babcock. "The game was close. Its 1-0, its tight, and all those shots coming he had to make big saves, just like Quick did. Its not like there wasnt chances tonight. There was chances both ways, its just that the goalies are so good in todays world it makes it hard to get pucks by them." "Im just soaking in this moment right now," said Price, who owns a .963 save percentage thus far. Benn proved the only player on either team to score. The 24-year-old scored his second goal (and second game-winner) by redirecting a Jay Bouwmeester point shot past Quick, who was often awesome himself in turning aside 36 shots, including all 16 in a busy first frame. Only four Canadian forwards have scored with a game to go and if there is a concern heading into Sundays final with Sweden, its just that. Like the quarterfinal game against Latvia, there were numerous chances against the Americans on this night with only one resulting in a goal. Patrice Bergeron had an early backhand opportunity eschewed by Quicks blocker. Carter was stopped by the pads moments later. Two good chances for Patrick Sharp, who offered energy on an effective fourth line with Matt Duchene and Rick Nash, also failed to materialize into anything other than a shot or two on goal. "Weve had unbelievable opportunities and still havent finished," Babcock. "Were going to finish. We just hope we dont run out of time." A journey that started six months ago at an orientation camp in Calgary will conclude Sunday against the injury-riddled, overlooked and still dangerous Swedes, who topped Finland in the other semifinal. In line with Babcocks desired mantra at these Olympics, the Canadians have gotten better every day and know that will have to continue if theyre to repeat with gold for the first time in more than 60 years and also join the undeterred womens squad, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to capture their fourth consecutive gold on Thursday night. "Each and every level of the Stanley Cup playoffs, youve got to keep getting better and its the same here," said Babcock, who will face four of his Red Wing players in the gold medal match. "What I do know about the Swedes and I know lots of them actually, theyre good players and they play with no ego and itll be about the team. Theyve been really good here. Theyre going to be a hard test. We understand that." Cheap Dillon Brooks Jersey . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. http://www.cheapgrizzliesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-allen-iverson-jersey . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Cheap Chandler Parsons Jersey .com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league. Cheap Marc Gasol Jersey .In a statement released Friday, the Catalan club said the Brazil stars recovery would be monitored to determine when he can begin training again.NEW YORK -- Rick Nash scored the winning goal with 1:42 left, on New Yorks third shot of the third period, and the Rangers clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the NHL-worst Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Nash fired a one-timer off a cross-zone feed from Martin St. Louis, and sent the puck past Hacketts glove to break the 1-1 tie for his 26th goal. The Rangers then killed a late penalty against Brian Boyle, the third Sabres power play of the third period. Drew Stafford gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the second, and Benoit Pouliot tied in in the final minute of the frame. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots in the win, New Yorks last home game of the season. The Rangers final game is at Montreal on Saturday. Hackett made 28 saves for the Sabres, 2-15-1 in their last 18 games. The Rangers dominated the Sabres 18-1 in shots in the second period, yet had only a 1-1 tie to show for it. Buffalo recorded the first five shots of the game, and New York didnt record its first until Pouliots partial breakaway 7:30 in. However, the Rangers had a 27-13 edge through 40 minutes. The Sabres made the most of their only second-period shot and grabbedd a 1-0 lead on it with 10:54 left in the period.dddddddddddd Buffalo defenceman Mike Weber drifted backward with the puck from the right circle toward the blue line, and flipped a shot toward the Rangers net. Stafford, stationed in front of Lundqvist, got enough of his stick on it to deflect it into the net for his 16th goal of the season. New York did nothing with its two power plays in the first period or its next two in the second after a two-goal performance with the man advantage Tuesday against Carolina. It took until there were only 30.4 seconds left in the middle frame to get even with the Sabres. Hackett had been tough up until then, including shaking off a hard one-timer off the stick of Brad Richards that struck him flush in the forehead portion of his mask with 2:11 remaining in the period. After being briefly attended to on the ice by medical personnel, Hackett got up off his knees and stayed in the game. Pouliot took a pass across the Sabres zone in the left circle and fired a drive past Hackett to tie it. It was Pouliots 15th goal of the season and third in five games. NOTES: Lundqvist had a run of 26 minutes, 32 seconds between saves -- spanning from the first period until the third. ... Stafford and Sabres D Henrik Tallinder both returned to the lineup after missing four games each due to injury. Stafford has six goals and nine points in his past 13 games. ... The Rangers didnt record their first shot in the third period until Carl Hagelins attempt with 6:20 left. ... New York didnt take a penalty until the third period. In Tuesdays win, the Rangers were unpenalized in a full game for the first time since Jan. 10, 2012, against Phoenix. 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