e game at 90-90 on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in the contest

MINSK, Belarus -- Wanting Team Canada to improve game by game at the world hockey championship, coach Dave Tippett thought the quarter-final effort against Finland was the best yet. It was also the last, as a couple of third-period mistakes led to a 3-2 loss Thursday at Chizhovka Arena and Canadas elimination from the tournament. "I use a phrase all the time that every play counts," Tippett said. "Every play counts and unfortunately we had a couple go against us." The play that counted the most for Canada was a turnover by defenceman Tyler Myers, who tried to pass it off the wall to Kyle Turris. Jori Lehtera got in the way, setting up Iiro Pakarinen for the game-winner with just 3:08 left. A downtrodden Myers said everyone saw what happened and didnt feel he needed to explain. Turris, who scored Canadas first goal, took the blame. "I was yelling at him, Im open in the middle, Im open in the middle, and when he passed to the middle, the guy stepped in between," Turris said. "It was my fault. I was yelling at him to move it to me, and the guy stepped in the way and went the other way. I should have had it." It was a game that Canada felt it should have had. Holding a 2-1 lead after two periods on goals by Turris and Mark Scheifele, the Canadians were in control despite a strong game from Finnish goaltender Pekka Rinne. One bad bounce 28 seconds into the third changed everything. Finlands Juuso Hietanen let a slapshot fly that hit Ben Scrivenss right arm, the back of his blocker, and then the shaft of his stick before trickling over the goal-line. "Its a terrible goal to give up," said Scrivens, who stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced. "Its deflating for the team. Thats squarely on me. Its really tough to swallow right now." This was the fifth straight year Canada lost in the quarter-finals at this tournament. Making it more difficult to accept was that this squad of NHL third-liners and potential stars of the future bounced back perfectly from an opening shootout loss to France. Six straight victories followed. The Finland game easily could have been one, too. "We still had our shifts in their end, our chances," captain Kevin Bieksa said. "We had a couple breakdowns. We knew going into this game that the Finns were a team that would sit back and capitalize on our mistakes, and they made us pay tonight." Tippett addressed his players after the loss but couldnt offer much in the way of an uplifting sentiment. "Its a tough situation for everybody," Tippett said. "Its not the result you want. We came here to win, we didnt come here to lose in the quarter-finals. Theres not much to say. We didnt accomplish what we wanted to accomplish." All because of a few bad breaks. Finlands first goal 6:06 in, which came on the power play with Myers in the box for roughing, happened after an attempted point shot deflected off penalty-killer Joel Wards stick and right to Olli Palola for his third of the tournament. That didnt deflate Canada, which kept putting pucks on Rinne, who finished with 36 saves on 38 shots. The attempts came from everywhere and almost everyone, as 17 of 20 skaters had at least one on net. "I thought we played some really good hockey throughout the whole game," Myers said. "I think we were right there. It was our game to lose. Its never a good feeling to have it happen like that." One problem was going 0-for-5 on the power play. Had Canada buried a couple of those chances, like Brayden Schenns shot very early that hit the crossbar, it would have been a very different game. Canadas players and Tippett were quick to credit the Finns, who played their brand of hockey well and pounced on mistakes. "We worked extremely hard (for) 60 minutes," Hietanen said. "We knew that we were going to get our chances and now we scored a couple goals." Finland coach Erkka Westerlund was proud of how his team responded and came back from the 2-1 deficit. "In (the) third period we showed the mental strength," Westerlund said. "We call it in Finland sisu." The third period was Canadas weakest of the game. "Its frustrating. I thought we had a great first two periods, we were outshooting them badly, had great opportunities," Turris said. "If we played the way we did in the first two to finish the game, I think we would have come out with a better outcome." Instead, Scrivens lamented Finlands goaltending being better than his and not holding up his end of the bargain to teammates. And Myers was left with the same feelings he had much of this NHL season with the Buffalo Sabres. "Its never fun losing," Myers said. "I did too much of that this year." This wasnt a loss that had Canadas players wondering about their overall play. But that was no consolation. "Its just the way it is," Tippett said. "We played a good game tonight. Unfortunately, we lost." Notes: Alex Burrows returned to Canadas lineup after missing the final two preliminary-round games with a leg injury. Burrows was the 13th forward and played just 4:11 with no shifts in the third period. ... Finlands roster features just three NHL players: Rinne, Olli Jokinen of the Winnipeg Jets and Erik Haula of the Minnesota Wild. Cheap Nike Air Max Tn Australia . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. Nike Vapormax Flyknit 2 Australia . -- Having already fallen behind because of the NFL lockout, Blaine Gabbert couldnt afford a lengthy holdout. http://www.vapormaxaustraliashoes.com/air-vapormax-plus-australia/men-s-shoe.html . - The Baltimore Ravens have hired Steve Spagnuolo to be their secondary coach and assistant head coach. Vapormax Shoes Wholesale . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Nike Vapormax Womens Australia . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into.Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Korver scored 22 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc to help the Atlanta Hawks to a 104-97 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Paul Millsap and Al Horford each chipped in with 14 points and DeMarre Carroll added 13 for the Hawks, who have won three straight and 12 of their last 13. Dennis Schroder tallied eight points with six rebounds and six assists in the place of Jeff Teague, who missed the game with a strained left hamstring. Houston lost back-to-back home games for the first time since November of last season and also had a 19-game home winning streak against Eastern Conference opponents halted. Dwight Howard paced the Rockets with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while James Harden supplied 18 points and a career-high 14 assists. Jason Terry and Patrick Beverley each had 14 points in the loss. Harden left the game briefly in the first half with a strained hamstring but returned to action. The Rockets acquired Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Alexey Shved from the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, but both players were inactive. Houston dealt Troy Daniels and some cash to acquire the two wings. The Rockets waived Francisco Garcia to make room for their newest additions. Houston charged back into the game with a late surge in the third quarter and it remained a back-and-forth affair in the fourth. The first half we were just slow to everything and they were knocking ddown shots, said Harden.dddddddddddd (Then) we started playing our brand of basketball. Beverley tied the game at 90-90 on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in the contest. Terry then committed a traveling violation before Horford found Millsap inside for a bucket and Kyle Korver nailed a triple on the following possession to make it a five-point game with 1:29 to play. Terrys floater was off the mark out of a timeout, then Schroder netted a pair of free throws at the other end to increase the cushion. They are a great team, they have great players and they have great spacing. We probably didnt adjust well enough (in the third), said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. I thought the first half was really how we want to play on both ends. Houston trailed 32-26 after the first and 52-40 at the half, then Harden opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to jump-start a 9-0 burst that closed the gap. Atlanta countered, however, with six straight points and built its lead back to 12 minutes later on a Horford basket at the midway point. The Rockets finished the final 2:38 of the frame on a 13-4 run that tied the game up at 74-74 entering the fourth. Game Notes Atlanta wraps up its three-game road trip in Dallas on Monday ... The Hawks had lost four straight in Houston ... Atlanta shot 51 percent from the floor and held the Rockets to 39 percent shooting ... Houston had a 43-37 edge on the glass. ' ' '