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TORONTO -- Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott felt his team had more than enough opportunity to pick up two points Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Torontos power play was held scoreless on three opportunities, including once in overtime, and the Marlies out-shot the Iowa Wild 39-27, but fell 2-1 in a shootout to the visitors. Carson MacMillan and Zack Phillips scored in the shootout to help Iowa snap a five-game skid. It was the Wilds fourth win in 11 games. "I think we had more than enough opportunity to put the game away," said Spott. "Very good players with empty nets and were hitting posts, were not getting pucks up and over (Wild starter, Johan) Gustafsson. "We had some glorious chances, that we didnt put in the back of the net. When you let a team like that -- thats desperate -- hang around, thats what the result is going to be." Toronto dropped to 1-1-0 on their current three-game, three-night stretch and had their three-game win streak snapped. MacMillan faked a slapshot and then beat Marlies starter Garret Sparks in the first round of the shootout. Then Phillips faked a shot, got Sparks moving before beating him glove-side in the third round. Jamie MacQueen scored in regulation for Iowa (26-30-10), while Gustafsson made 38 saves for his 12th win of the season. Peter Holland had the lone goal for Toronto (40-20-6). Sparks made 25 saves in his first loss since Jan. 25. The Marlies couldve had a fourth power-play opportunity, in the third period. Wild forward Brett Bulmer was assessed a roughing minor, but Brandon Kozun retaliated with a careless cross-check and negated the man advantage chance. When asked of Kozuns penalty, Spott responded, "I think he wont play tomorrow." With the win, the Wild earn a split in the season series. The Marlies won the only other meeting between the two teams 4-3 on Jan. 15 in Des Moines, Iowa. Holland tied it 1-1, with his ninth of the season, at 1:12 of the third period by picking up the rebound off of a Kenny Ryan shot and beating Gustafsson stick-side. "Kenny made a nice play, just coming down the right side and threw it off the pad," said Holland of the play. "I was lucky enough to kind of pick up the rebound, pull it across the net and tuck it in the far side." Toronto dropped to 5-12-4 when trailing after 40 minutes this season. MacQueen opened the scoring at 7:37 beating Sparks with a shot from the bottom of the face-off circle for his second of the season. Prior to MacQueens goal, Kris Foucault had a great scoring chance when his shot beat Sparks, but hit the post at 6:00 of the second. Holland had an excellent chance to open the scoring at 16:00 of the first period, but put his shot off the side of the net with Gustafsson out of position. "We missed a couple point-blank opportunities with open nets, putting it out the far side," said Holland agreeing with Spotts assessment. "Either that or hitting the post, a couple bounces go our way, its a different story." Toronto concludes their three-game, three night stretch, when they host the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday. The Marlies need three points to clinch a playoff spot as well as their third consecutive North Division title. Its something the Maple Leafs minor leaguers are focused on. "As we go forward here our job is to win the division and try to catch Grand Rapids for second in the conference and thats still our goal," said Spott. Added Holland: "Thats obviously our main objective here is to clinch as fast as we can. We dont want to take any of the teams we play lightly, but just work on things going into the playoffs. Give guys who dont get a lot of minutes a chance to play more. Its definitely something were focusing on." Notes: Rookie defenceman Eric Knodel made his professional debut replacing Korbinian Holzer for the Marlies. The Maple Leafs recalled forward Jerry DAmigo from the Marlies on Saturday. Marlies goaltender Drew MacIntyre was a healthy scratch as Christopher Gibson backed up Sparks. Spott said Holzer, MacIntyre and captain Trevor Smith were all given the day off to rest bumps and bruises. Custom Nashville Predators Jerseys . After the loss, White refused to make good on the bet, instead offering Hoyt tickets to a Bears game. Ryan Hartman Jersey . Szabados joined the Southern Professional Hockey League team last week. The 27-year-old goaltender from Edmonton backstopped the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold Feb. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Col...edators-jersey/. Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. Craig Smith Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Viktor Arvidsson Jersey . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey.TORONTO - The Raptors locker room was unnervingly quiet Friday evening, about how you would expect it after the implausible ending that sealed the teams fate in a double-overtime disaster. In the back corner sat an inconsolable John Salmons, the elephant in the room. Facing his locker, Salmons slouched forward in his chair, his head down in his hands and a long black towel draped over him. One by one his teammates came over to comfort him, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. He didnt move. He remained in that position, perfectly still for over 30 minutes. They win as a team and they lose as a team, but Salmons felt the brunt of it on this night. What seemed like a sure victory late in the second overtime period began to unravel when an exceptional player made an exceptional shot. With the Raptors up by eight, 49 seconds away from an improbable victory and season-sweep of the 50-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant banked in a 27-foot three-point jumper. Following another Thunder three - this one courtesy veteran assassin Derek Fisher - Salmons threw away an inbounds pass on the baseline, only to break up Durants runner and get sent to the line. With less than 10 seconds remaining, now up two, Salmons clanked both free throws, paving the way for the leagues leading scorer to do what he does best. Break hearts. "Great players make great plays," Dwane Casey said of Durant, moments after his 31-foot pull-up dagger gave the Thunder a 119-118 victory. Since coming over from Sacramento in December, Salmons has been praised for his poise and veteran savvy late in games, many of which hes helped them win. This was not his finest hour. "Hes a veteran (and) in those situations youve got to believe in him, that hes going to make those free throws," Casey said of Salmons, playing in place of Terrence Ross, who left the game with a hip contusion. "We had to go with John in that situation. Hes been one of our best defenders in that situation, but its not just one guy." The Raptors, now 1-6 in OT this season, need to close out these types of games. Salmons needs to be better down the stretch, they know it and so does he. It was three months ago, almost to this day that the Raptors pulled off their most impressive win of the season, a 104-98 victory in Oklahoma City. Coming off an OT win in Dallas a couple days prior and trailing by as many as 10 in the fourth, Toronto shocked the Thunder, who were undefeated at home at the time. "It helped kick start us going forward," Casey said of that night. "It helped our chemistry, it helped our togetherness it helped blend in the old and the new guys together." It would not have happened if not for Salmons. The 12-year vet spearheaded his new teams comeback, scoring nine points in the final quarter. After the game his teammates raved about his leadership and calming effect on the floor. Kyle Lowry gave him the game ball. Like Patrick Paterson - sttill out with an injured elbow - Greivis Vasquez, who was spectacular before fouling out Friday, and Chuck Hayes, Salmons fingerprints are all over the teams resurgence and that should not be forgotten, internally or externally.dddddddddddd The Raptors proved something to themselves in OKC that night. They proved that they belonged. Three months later, clinging onto the Easts third seed and top spot in the Atlantic Division, they fell just short of proving something to everybody else. For whatever reason the franchise and its fan base has been battered by losses of the devastating variety to the point in which theyre almost immune to them. Toronto has lost 10 straight overtime games at home, an NBA record. "It does (hurt)," Casey admitted, "but we cant let it." "We cant let this game (give us a) hangover. (Its) a big learning experience for our guys. Youre playing with one of the top teams in the league, one of the top players... and you give yourself a chance to win in (double) overtime." KD the magnificent It seems impossible to fathom that Friday once started off as a slow night for Durant. The Thunder forward made just three of his 12 first-half shots but once Russell Westbrook went down in the third quarter - colliding with Lowry and spraining his surgically repaired right knee - Durant, with the help of some generous officiating, completely took over. Durant scored 51 and finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line 19 times and extending his streak of 25 or more points to 34 games, longest since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. Amirs memorable game Playing in his 500th career contest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his team to victory. The Raptors forward recorded a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 12 of his 19 shots in 50 minutes of action. He also spent the bulk of the second half guarding Durant, per his own request made after Ross exited with the hip injury. "It was tough, man," he said, asked about defending the leagues leading scorer. "Hes my height, out there shooting from half court. Theres not too much you can do but double team that." "He did a great job," Casey added. "I felt for him. Hes hurt. He was all over him, draped over him. (Durant) made a tough shot. Theres nothing Amir did wrong." The stat For the first time since Jan. 13, 2013, the Raptors had four players score 20 or more points. Along with Johnson, DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 33 points, hitting all but one of his 16 free throws, while Lowry added 25 and Vasquez scored 21 off the bench. The quote "We couldnt go another overtime," Durant said. "I had to live with whatever happened. You had to get out of there. I wasnt trying to go to another overtime. I pulled up for it, it looked good when it left my hands and God guided that thing to the basket, man. That was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of." Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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