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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- A stalemate left both the Vancouver Whitecaps and the San Jose Earthquakes on the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff race. Neither the Whitecaps nor the Earthquakes could find the back of the net in a scoreless draw that kept both teams tied on points in seventh place, and five points out of the final playoff spot. "It was a hard fought match and exciting game," said Vancouver coach Martin Rennie. "Both teams were fully committed to getting the win and putting everything into it. It was like a playoff game." The Whitecaps (10-10-8) out-possessed the Earthquakes (10-11-8) on the night, but the forward duo of Kenny Miller and Camilo Sanvezzo were held without a goal for the fifth straight game. "It was a fair result," said Miller. "We came here looking to get three points, but we didnt get the win, so the result is disappointing." Vancouver had hoped to make a move up the table with a win against struggling San Jose, but they instead needed to ward off 22 shots by the home side. An injury to defender Brad Rusin midway through the first half forced Rennie to bring in Jay DeMerit on defence, but the change did not disrupt the solid display put on by the Whitecaps. "It was a good battle," said DeMerit. "We knew coming in it wouldnt be easy and we would need to stick together. To come away with a point in a hard place to play and to keep a clean sheet was a step in the right direction for us." With six games remaining in their season and the last playoff spot currently held by the Portland Timbers, any result against San Jose was going to be valuable. "Its important that we play like that now through the end of the season," said Rennie, "and if we do that we are in with a great chance to finish where we want to finish." With only one win in their last eight matches, against the Earthquakes back on Aug. 10, the Whitecaps were desperate to start off strong in San Jose. In the 16th minute Young-Pyo Lee, a constant threat down the right side of the field early in the match, cut a cross toward the far post that an overlapping Jordan Harvey narrowly missed. It would be the last good scoring chance for the Whitecaps of the first half. The Earthquakes pinned Vancouver back in its own end of the better part of a quarter hour, but the visitors persevered at every turn. A corner kick by San Jose in the 19th minute was headed on target by Alan Gordon, forcing a smart save from goalkeeper David Ousted whose rebound was clumsily blasted over the crossbar by Clarence Goodson. The constant attack by the Earthquakes took its toll on the Whitecaps defence as Rusin, making his first start since collecting a sprained ankle at Portland on August 3, exited the match in the 31st minute. DeMerit, himself just back after a long recovery from an Achilles tendon injury suffered on opening day, stepped in for Rusin. A strong individual effort from Miller in the 45th minute nearly made up for a timid first half by Vancouver. Taking the ball away from Victor Bernardez along the left sideline, Miller drove the endline before unleashing a low shot that goalkeeper Jon Busch was able to get a touch on. The rebound bounced back to Miller, but his awkward follow-up volley flew wide of the target. The halftime whistle from referee Jair Marrufo came a minute later, and the Whitecaps retreated to the locker-room fortunate to have the game still scoreless. Despite an advantage in possession of 57 per cent, Vancouver was outshot 10-6 by San Jose in the first half. The Whitecaps, with two shots on goal in the opening half, nearly made their third a charm in the 58th minute off a corner-kick opportunity. After Camilos delivery pinged through the area, Harvey pounced on a loose ball and fired it on target, but Cordell Cato made a big stop in front of his goalkeeper to deny the Vancouver defender his fifth goal of the season. Vancouver was on the defensive for much of the second half as San Jose tried again and again to find a weakness in the Whitecaps defence. As the match drifted into four minutes of stoppage time, Vancouver had two close opportunities to steal all three points from the hosts. In the 91st minute, second-half substitute Darren Mattocks created a clear shot from the top of the area, but he sent it wide. Jun Marques Davidson followed suit a minute later, as the midfielder collected a pass from Miller and sent a low shot wide of the far post. San Jose threw everything they had forward in the dying moments of the match, but the resilient Whitecaps, with every man behind the ball on defence, preserved the scoreless draw. With the result, Vancouver stayed level with San Jose on 38 points, but the visitors have a game in hand on the Earthquakes. The Whitecaps next travel to Montreal to face the playoff-bound Impact next Saturday. http://www.lightninghockeyshop.us/Vincent-Lecavalier-Jersey/ . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. http://www.lightninghockeyshop.us/ . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. http://www.lightninghockeyshop.us/Ben-Bishop-Jersey/ . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. http://www.lightninghockeyshop.us/Nikita-Kucherov-Jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.lightninghockeyshop.us/Jason-Garrison-Jersey/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Winnipeg Jets will try to continue to take advantage of home ice when they host the struggling San Jose Sharks tonight at the MTS Centre. Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg. The Jets are coming off Fridays 5-0 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators. Winnipeg scored four times in the opening period and Ondrej Pavelec made sure the early offense stood up for the win, as he turned away 41 shots to post his first shutout of the season. Bryan Little added a pair of goals to fuel Winnipegs offensive onslaught. Olli Jokinen, Eric Tangradi and Devin Setoguchi also tallied for the Jets, who won for just the third time in their last 10 games. "I thought we played a good first period. I thought we were fortunate to score four goals," said Jets head coach Claude Noel. "I thought our goalie was very good. A night like tonight well take the 5-0 game but it wasnt necessarily a clinic, but well take the win." The win improved Winnipegs home record to 5-5-1 this season. The Sharks are sporting identical 5-1-2 marks at both home and on the road. San Jose has won six of the past seven games in this series. The Sharks won their one and only game in Winnipeg since the Jets relocated from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season, earning a 2-0 victory at the MTS Centre on Jan. 12, 2012. The sliding Sharks hope a trip away from Northern California can get them back on track, as they begin a five-game swing.dddddddddddd The Sharks sprinted out of the gate to a 10-1-1 start to the season, but have since dropped four in a row, going 0-1-3 during the cold spell. The lone regulation setback during the slide came in San Joses last game, a 4-2 loss on Thursday to the Vancouver Canucks. The loss to Vancouver came in the finale of a three-game homestand. Five of the games six goals were scored in the first period and the Canucks held a 3-2 edge after 20 minutes. Mike Brown and Joe Thornton scored for the Sharks, while Antti Niemi gave up all four goals on 13 shots before being pulled early in the second period. Alex Stalock stopped all 21 shots he faced in relief. "I dont think we played very well in the first or second, and we just couldnt catch up in the third," said Thornton. "Were too talented to be losing games like this." San Joses current five-game road trip matches the clubs longest swing of the season and features stops in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Chicago. The Sharks wont play their next home game until hosting Tampa Bay on Nov. 21. While the Sharks try to regain their winning touch on Sunday, the Jets will try to keep going in the right direction. Winnipeg had lost three straight and six of seven before recording victories in two of its past three trips to the ice. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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