Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - The 19th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels will close out their non-conference schedule on Tuesday evening, as they welcome the William & Mary Tribe to the Dean E. Smith Center. Roy Williams Tar Heels have a little bit of momentum building as they head in to the new year and conference play in the ACC. At 9-3 overall, UNC has reeled off three straight wins, including a big showdown with nationally-ranked Ohio State in Chicago on Dec. 20 (82-74). The team followed that up with an impressive blowout of UAB in Chapel Hill this past weekend, 89-58. UNC alum Tony Shaver is the head man at William & Mary and his Tribe have struggled of late after a strong start to the season. The team, which is now 6-4 on the year, has suffered losses in three of its last four games, including a 69-62 setback at Old Dominion last time out. North Carolina holds 19-3 advantage in the all-time series with William & Mary. The Tribe havent beaten the Tar Heels since 1977 and have lost seven straight to UNC since then. William & Marys scoring output belies an efficient team at the offensive end. The Tribe are averaging a modest 69.7 ppg on the year, but are doing so on a solid .482 shooting, which includes an impressive .402 from behind the arc. Senior guard Marcus Thornton is a big reason for the offensive success, as he is averaging a hefty 19.3 ppg, while converting 30-of-67 shots from long range. Omar Prewitt is a distant second in the scoring column for William & Mary at 10.8 ppg and is followed closely by Daniel Dixon and his 10.7 ppg. The Tribe hit nine 3-pointers and shot the ball at a 45.7-percent clip against Old Dominion, but were abused on the boards, getting outrebounded by the Monarchs, 41-24. Thornton led the way once again in the scoring column for the Tribe with 22 points. Dixon finished with 16 and Prewitt poured in 15 in the losing effort. The Tribes accuracy from the floor will be put to the test against UNC, which ranks in the top-10 nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.351), while allowing just 65.1 ppg. North Carolina is even more dangerous thanks to the ability to fill up the basket to the tune of 80.9 ppg. The Tar Heels also enforce their will on the glass, with a +9.2 rebounding margin. Star guard Marcus Paige is the teams top scorer at 13.6 ppg. Kennedy Meeks is the resident muscle down low with a near double-double of 13.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per outing. Brice Johnson (11.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg) rounds out the double- digit scoring threats for UNC, although Justin Jackson (9.8 ppg) and J.P. Tokoto (8.6 ppg) are eager to join the group. The Tar Heels held the Blazers to just nine field goals in the first half and raced out to a 21-point lead a the break (44-23). A similar fate befell UAB in the second half, as the visitors managed a mere .281 shooting effort over the final 20 minutes in the lopsided affair. North Carolina had a balanced attack, as six players logged double digits in the scoring column. Paige led the charge with 16 points. Meeks just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Jackson tallied 13 points, followed by Johnson (11 pts), Isaiah Hicks (11 pts) and Nate Britt (10 pts). Nike Air Max 90 Blue .C. -- The shot that would have beaten No. Nike Air Max 90 White . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. http://www.airmax90outletonline.com/. -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Nike Air Max 90 Black . The (14-15-5) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 33 points. They trail sixth place Nashville and fifth place Dallas by two points. Nike Shoes Air Max 90 Womens . The game got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Jets as Oliver Ekman-Larsson found a wide open net from the slot and opened the scoring for the Coyotes a lead in the first period, but Olli Jokinen answered back just over half a minute later.VANCOUVER -- A feeble power play has sucked the life out of the Vancouver Canucks at times this season. Another night of missed chances left the door open for the Nashville Predators to capitalize on a man advantage of their own. Nick Spaling scored the winner on the power play midway through the third period Thursday as the Predators defeated the Canucks 2-1. Vancouvers 25th-ranked power play finished 0 for 5, including a four-minute man advantage in the first period that could have significantly altered the games complexion. Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis had a tough game, missing chance after chance from the side of the Nashville net on that sequence. "We had some great looks on the power play early on. We had probably four backdoor opportunities that we didnt finish on," said Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan. "I thought our power play did everything tonight except put it in the net." Despite Sullivans positive take, Vancouver is now just 2 for 30 with the man advantage over its last eight games. "We had good chances, good looks. I thought we moved the puck well," said Daniel Sedin, who has now gone 11 games without scoring. "In the end it doesnt really matter right now. Weve got to get some goals. "Its up to us in here to make it happen. No excuses." Craig Smith had the other goal for Nashville (23-22-7), while Carter Hutton made 32 saves as the Predators picked up their fourth victory in the last five outings. Spaling also had an assist. "We got some good goaltending, Carter was really good on those backdoor plays," said Predators coach Barry Trotz, whose team improved to 1-21-2 when trailing after two periods. "They were executing that pretty well. We were having trouble trying to stop that and he got over there a couple times. "It was a good character test. That was huge for us to get through the first period." Chris Higgins had the only goal for Vancouver (26-17-9), which got 24 stops from Roberto Luongo. The Canucks, who still hold down the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, saw their modest two-game winning streak come to an end. Down 1-0 after two periods, Nashville tied it at 3:28 of the third when Smith ripped a shot upstairs past Luongo from the faceoff dot off a feed from Spaling for his team-leading 16th goal of the season. "Going into the third when youve got a lead the least you can do is bring it to overtime. Its disappointing," said Luongo. "I need to make a better play on the first one, be more patient on the wrap and read that play a bit better." The Predators kept pushing as the period wore on, with their sixth-ranked power play getting a couple of chances. The Canucks penalty kill -- which sits second in the NHL this season -- held firm until Seth Jones connected with Spaling at 12:38. Jones fired a shot from the point that Spaling tipped past Luongo with just three seconds left on the Nashville man advantage to give the Predators their first lead. Vancouver had another power-play chance late, but couldnt find a way past Hutton. ";The NHL is about a lot of low scoring games," said Luongo.dddddddddddd "Weve got to find ways to win them. Weve got to find ways to bring these games to overtime. Weve got to find ways to protect leads. When we get scored on weve got to keep playing. "Its a tough one to lose going into the third with the lead." After a scoreless first period, Higgins broke the deadlock at 9:09 of the second with his 13th of the season on a nifty deflection. Canucks forward Dale Weise floated a shot towards the Nashville net that Higgins tipped up and over a helpless Hutton for his first goal in seven games. All 13 of Higgins goals have come at even strength and Thursdays effort was just Vancouvers sixth overall in the last six contests. The Canucks power play continued to miss the mark in the second, with defenceman Jason Garrison blasting a shot from the point midway though the period that Hutton handled. "I thought this particular game, the power play had better puck movement and even though we didnt score we got some momentum off of it because at least they had some looks and they had some opportunities, which for me is progress in the right direction," said Sullivan. "The next step is we have to finish. We have to put it in the net." The Canucks were again without head coach John Tortorella, who served the second game of his 15-day suspension for attempting to get into the Calgary Flames locker-room after Saturdays line brawl. Vancouver was also missing captain Henrik Sedin and fellow forward Mike Santorelli. Thought to be nursing rib and finger injuries, Sedin saw his iron man streak of 679 straight games come to an end when he sat out Tuesdays 2-1 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Santorelli, meanwhile, missed his third in a row, also with an upper-body injury. Despite their recent run of good form, the Predators still sit eight points back of the final wild card spot in the conference behind the Canucks and Minnesota Wild. "This team has been really resilient all year," said Trotz. "Its been a little bit of an uphill battle all year. This team has got a lot of backbone, a lot of character and this group cares about each other so when things are a little bit rough they dig in and thats a great quality to have." Notes: Michael Del Zotto, acquired from the New York Rangers on Wednesday for fellow defenceman Kevin Klein, wore No. 18 for Nashville and played alongside Jones. ... Canucks defenceman Ryan Stanton returned to the lineup after missing the last 15 games with an ankle injury. Earlier in the day, the Canucks assigned forward Jordan Schroeder to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint. Hes been out since October following ankle surgery. ... The Canucks downed the Predators 3-1 in Nashville on Dec. 1. The teams play the final game of the regular season series March 19 at Rogers Arena. ... The Canucks play the second game of a four-game homestand on Sunday against the Phoenix Coyotes. ... The Predators continue a four-game road trip on Friday against the Calgary Flames. ' ' '