MINSK, Belarus -- From a disallowed goal to a penalty kill in the final minutes, Team Canada didnt enjoy a lot of easy moments i

MINSK, Belarus -- From a disallowed goal to a penalty kill in the final minutes, Team Canada didnt enjoy a lot of easy moments in beating Norway 3-2. James Develin Jersey . But thats exactly how coach Dave Tippett wanted it, as his team got the regulation victory it needed Tuesday to finish first in Group A at the world hockey championship. "We played well, and I like that we got pushed right to the end," Tippett said. "If it wouldve been a 5-1 or 6-1 game, maybe you get into bad habits, you just kind of float through it. This pushed us as a team, and the harder you get pushed as a team the better you get in a short amount of time. I like the fact that we won the game, obviously, but I like the fact that it was a close game." It was close because Norway took the lead, and then Canada had a would-be goal by Kevin Bieksa waved off for goaltender interference because Jonathan Huberdeau had his stick in the crease. And it remained close even after Joel Ward scored the second of his two goals, the eventual game winner, midway through the third because Norway didnt go away. Canada outshot Norway 42-16 and only beat goaltender Steffen Soberg three times, on Wards two on the power play and Mark Scheifeles at even strength. Meanwhile, James Reimer gave up goals to Anders Bastiansen and Mads Hansen that came about from defensive miscues but still improved to 3-0-1 in the tournament. "This is one of those games where you really just have to grind it out and battle because they protect so well, they collapse so well, and sometimes you just pass the puck around the outside but you cant really get to the good scoring areas," Reimer said. "I think were just happy to grind this one out." Canada, which finished the preliminary round with 18 points and a 6-0-1 record, will face Finland in Group B in the quarter-final round Thursday. Along the way, the Canadians outscored opponents 28-13, and their only blemish was a shootout loss to France. Tippett seemed pleased with his teams progression to this point. "Most of our players didnt play for three weeks and as you get back into game shape, your game starts to elevate," he said. "Every game our players continue to pick up a step." Finishing first in the group assured Canada of avoiding powerhouse Russia until a potential gold-medal game Sunday. The United States, led by Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones, could wind up on Canadas side of the bracket, pending the result of Russia-Belarus on Tuesday night. The chance to pass Sweden for first place almost slipped away Tuesday against Norway at Chizhovka-Arena. Canada fell behind on a power-play goal by Bastiansen and then had to overcome some frustration later in the first. It looked like Bieksa scored a power-play goal at the 15:01 mark, but it was waved off apparently because Huberdeau had his stick in the crease. Tippett said the referee wouldnt come over to explain the decision, which seemed to stem from the IIHF rule that an attacking player cannot have even his stick blade in the crease when the puck goes into the net. "I didnt think my skate was in the crease. I guess it was the stick," Huberdeau said. "I dont know the call, but it was the call and you cant do anything. Its not a big deal." It wouldve been a much bigger deal had it cost Canada the chance to win in regulation. But with seven power plays, including five after Bieksas goal was disallowed, there were plenty of opportunities to keep it from being the reason for a loss. "We were not going to let one call ruin the whole day for us," said Ward, who now has six goals and is tied with teammate Cody Hodgson and Frances Antoine Roussel for second in the tournament behind Russias Viktor Tikhonov. Canada managed to grind away at Norway enough, and Tippett had special praise for the fourth line of Ward, Scheifele and Sean Monahan. "We had lots of opportunities, but (the Norwegians) kept the game very tight," Tippett said. "They did a good job penalty-killing against us, and I was proud of our guys to just keep pushing, not get frustrated and hopefully wed find the chances we needed to win." Once they did, the Canadians could start to look ahead to elimination play. "Get some playoffs going here," Reimer said. "To get going to the quarter-finals here, I think were jelling well as a team. We have some good chemistry. Hopefully things bode well in the playoffs." NOTES -- Alex Burrows missed his second straight game with a charley horse suffered in a knee-on-knee hit Friday against Italy. Tippett said he skated each of the past two days, would practise with the team the next time it was on the ice and would be ready to play in Thursdays quarter-final game. ... Reimer approached Soberg, who made 39 saves on 42 shots, after the game to ask why he wasnt playing in the NHL. Soberg was a 2011 fourth-round pick of the Washington Capitals and refused to come to North America to play for the WHLs Swift Current Broncos, opting instead to continue playing in Norway. The Capitals lost Sobergs rights last summer, making him an NHL free agent. Kyle Van Noy Jersey . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Stephen Gostkowski Jersey . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. http://www.patriotsauthenticshop.com/Patriots-Phillip-Dorsett-Draft-Jersey/ .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.MADRID, Spain -- Second-ranked Li Na started her Madrid Open campaign by overcoming a stubborn opponent just as third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska did to reach the second round on Monday. Lis clay debut began with an encouraging 6-1, 7-6 (7) victory over Belgiums Kirsten Flipkens before Radwanska also advanced thanks to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. Li, the Australian Open champion, survived two set points by Flipkens, and eventually took the tiebreaker to avoid another surprise first-round exit like last year. Li goes up against fellow Chinese player Zheng Jie next. Bouchard came out on the losing end of a tough match against third-ranked Radwanska, as the Polish player earned her 25th match win of the season. "The tiebreak was the biggest key," said Radwanska, who goes on to play Svetlana Kuznetsova. "I did a couple of good shots in the tiebreak and managed to win that, and that gave me more confidence in the second set." Kuznetsova held off Alize Cornet of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 as the Russian continued her good run, including reaching the final in Portugal on Saturday. Also, Caroline Wozniacki was a 6-2, 6-2 victor over Ekaterina Makarova while Spanish player Carla Suarez Navarro followed up from winning her first career title in Portugal with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over Yvonne Meusburger of Austria. Ninth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia was bounced 6-4, 6-0 by Samantha Stosur of Australia. A minutes silencee was scheduled to be held at the Magic Boxs Manolo Santana centre court before the evening match in remembrance of Elena Baltacha, a former top-50 British womens player who died of liver cancer on Sunday. Danny Shelton Jersey. In mens first-round play, ninth-seeded John Isner beat Russian qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (8), 6-4, with the American securing the only break in a match heavy on baseline groundstrokes. Kei Nishikori followed up his Barcelona Open triumph with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Ivan Dodig of Croatia. Nishikori said working with former French Open champion Michael Chang boosted his confidence on this surface as he won his first career clay title in Barcelona. "I did well last week in Barcelona and Im getting better on clay, so hopefully I can go further this week," the 12th-ranked Japanese player said. "There was just one bad game, on my serve at 3-2 in the second set. Otherwise, it was an almost perfect match." Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Gilles Simon emerged from another all-French matchup, after Benoit Paire retired, to play Roger Federer next. Stanislas Wawrinka, who is looking to follow-up his Monte Carlos Masters triumph, opens in the Spanish capital against Dominic Thiem after the Austrian beat Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 6-4, 6-2. Other winners were Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, and Spanish players Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. Wholesale Jerseys 2018 NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Black China NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap White NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys China NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Throwback Cheap Stitched Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Hoodies NFL Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China NFL Jerseys White Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Stitched Jerseys ' ' '