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 cCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled at times in an injury-filled season. When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. Chris Kunitz and Beau Bennett scored goals 47 seconds apart midway through the third period and Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves and the Penguins clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. "I thought to a man we stepped up," coach Dan Bylsma said after his team ended a string of three regulation defeats. "Were fighting for every inch we can get right now. Tonight, this was exactly what weve talked about and wanted from this game. It was a playoff-type game, with playoff-type intensity." The Penguins are now at 99 points to move closer to clinching the Metropolitan Division title. But it was far from easy, particularly without star forward Evgeni Malkin (foot) and other injured mainstays such as Paul Martin, Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang. Bennett hadnt played in the past 50 games after surgery on his wrist. Yet he came up with the game-winning goal. "Skating on my own, its a lot of skill stuff," he said of the hours spent rehabbing the injury and trying to get back into game shape. "Its something thats grown my game even with being out. I felt pretty good out there." Fleury was at his best early -- and late. He made a terrific save on the first shift on Cam Atkinsons shot off a deflection. Then he made huge saves on Brandon Dubinsky and Atkinson during a scrum in front of the net in the final seconds. "He was outstanding all game," Bylsma said. After a chippy game with lots of hard checks and few great scoring chances, the Penguins finally broke a scoreless battle at 10:35. Sidney Crosby carried the puck through the neutral zone and slid a pass to Kunitz whose wrister from the top of the left circle avoided the outstretched stick of defenceman James Wisniewski to beat backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, who had stopped the first 28 shots he faced. It was Kunitzs 34th goal. Before that goal could be announced to a capacity crowd of 18,908, Bennett skated with the puck up the right wing on an odd-man rush. He tucked a hard wrist shot inside the far post for his second of the season at 11:22. "That first one, it shot through our defenceman and unfortunately I picked it up late," said McElhinney, who took over in place of the flu-ridden Sergei Bobrovsky. "The second one they capitalized on a 2-on-1. Its a simple game; sometimes its just a matter of getting the right bounces." McElhinney had 29 saves as Columbus dropped to 0-5 against the Penguins this season. "In four of those five games, its been good hockey," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It just came down to one or two plays -- and they were the team that made the plays." Wisniewski scored a power-play goal for Columbus with 3:06 left to cut the lead to 2-1. Pittsburgh hung on as Fleury stood tall in the last 10 seconds to turn away the potential tying goal. "I took a shot and we kept banging," said Dubinsky. "They collapsed on the net pretty hard and the puck squirted off to the side." The Blue Jackets came into the game in a four-way tie for a wild-card spot in the East. Despite the loss, the Blue Jackets still hold the first wild-card spot in the East. They own the tiebreaker against the other three teams with 80 points (Detroit, Washington, Toronto) due to wins in regulation. "We have to understand the urgency and desperation we have to come out with tomorrow (at Carolina)," Wisniewski said. Notes: The Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday that the Blue Jackets are 29th in the 30-team NHL in attendance, drawing 14,347 per game. Despite a 23 per cent increase in season-ticket sales to 8,600, attendance has actually dropped from last season (14,564). ... After a sunny, warm day in Columbus, a weatherman appearing on the monitors during the second intermission was loudly booed for predicting snow on Saturday. 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Known as an aggressive striker, Belfort (23-10) instead paced himself as the engaged in the early going and showed restraint by not overcommitting against the larger Rockhold (10-2). But when the opportunity presented itself, Belfort delivered an incredible spinning heel kick that landed flush on Rockholds chin and sent him toppling to the floor.ST. LOUIS – The steam oozed off of Dion Phaneuf in the minutes after yet another demoralizing loss, the 12th in 15 games for the sputtering Maple Leafs. It feels awful, said Torontos captain, displaying an unusual bit of public fire after a 3-0 defeat in St. Louis, the capper on an empty trip. It feels absolutely terrible. I dont know what more I can say than when you lose games, when you go through stretches like this, its awful. A hellish four-game road swing ended with four losses and amazingly, for a team that recently led the league in scoring, just a single goal scored. Toronto was outscored 12-1 on the week-long trip through L.A., Anaheim, San Jose and then St. Louis. Not one forward found the back of the net at all, Roman Polak posting the only goal Thursday in San Jose. Were cold as ice right now, said James van Riemsdyk, stuck on 19 goals this season. The list of Leafs gone dry is lengthy. Phil Kessel has just one even-strength goal in the past 18 games and only four total in that same span. Nazem Kadri has gone eight straight without scoring. David Clarkson has one goal in 20 games. Tyler Bozak has one in the past 11. Van Riemsdyk has found the back of the net in just one of the past eight games. Richard Panik hasnt scored in eight games. Mike Santorelli hasnt scored in six. A once devastating power-play - the foundation of offence for Kessel, Bozak and van Riemsdyk – has gone completely cold, 0-11 on the road trip and 2-21 in the past seven games. You cant really let it get to you, said van Riemsdyk, who shot a middle period opportunity over the net of Brian Elliott. As an offensive player youve got to stay confident, stay with it. These things happen; Ive never quite maybe seen it like this. Of late and despite their recent record, the Leafs have not actually played all that poorly. They kept it tight through every step of a difficult trip against a four-some of quality opponents. They limited shots and chances and held tight in terms of possession, but simply never could put the puck in the back of the net. Yeah, but the bottom line is you go home at the end of the night and you didnt win a game, Phaneuf said with some venom. You go home at the end of the night and we didnt win a game in four on a road trip. Yeah, we can draw on positives and we will draw on the positives, but youre asking me how I feel and I dont feel very good. Chasing a share of the division lead as recently as mid-December, the Leafs are now just hanging onto the sight of any playoff spot at all. They trail the Rangers and Bruins by seven points for the two wild card spots, now being nipped at by the Senators and Flyers. Just a day after his second coach in Toronto was fired, Kessel opined on what exactly captured his troubled tenure as a Leaf and it came down to stretches like this. Were always right there every year, Kessel said, and then all of a sudden we just hit these rough patches…You know youre going to lose a couple games here and there, but you cant go on long losing streaks like weve had in the past. I think that happens every year with us and weve just got to somehow kick that. And that may indeed define another failed Leafs season, a one-month run thats seen the club pick up just six of a possible 30 points (3-12-0). Five Points 1. Kadri on the Point One tweak the Leafs have made to jump-start their struggling power-play: re-inject Nazem Kadri onto the point of the first unit. They tried it briefly earlier in the year to no avail, but are looking to Kadri again for a different type of threat from where Phil Kessel operates on the left half-wall. I think we can play from both sides, Horachek said, citing the need for a balanced look, start using [Kadri] on the other side so theres two strong sides instead of just playing from one. Kadri, who hadnt played the point of the power-play since junior, says hes a lot more comfortable in the role this time around. Now I can survey my options a little quicker and know what to do, just feel comfortable backing up in the offensive zone, just little things like that, said Kadri, who is amid an eight-game goal drought. The changes go deeper than that though, especially in contrast to the 24-year-olds usual spot on the left half-wall of the teams second (largely unsuccessful) power-play grouping. You kinda gotta be a little bit of a safety valve on the point, Kadri explained, whereas on the half-wall everything is kind of working through you, and you have layers of structure that if you do turn the puck over theres hellp.dddddddddddd You have a little bit of that on the point, but youve got to be a little more safe and youve got to be an out for those guys down low. 2. Full Value? Roman Polak played the first 424 games of his NHL career in St. Louis, returning to the Scottrade Center for the first time on Saturday. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock observed before the game that neither team had seen the best of a summer trade which brought Polak to Toronto and Carl Gunnarsson to Missouri. I dont think either team has seen the true value of what the players can do because both players have been hurt, Hitchcock said. Polak missed 10 games this season with a knee injury; Gunnarsson limited early after offseason hip surgery and then more recently due to a concussion. I think you wouldve saw a bigger impact with [Roman] if he wouldve stayed healthy from his injury too, Hitchcock said. Polak has a certain element that unnerves the opposition and Gunnarsson has a good element that really makes him a good partner for Shattenkirk. We needed that type of partner for [Shattenkirk]. Its a good trade, but I dont think both teams have seen the full value until these players are both healthy. 3. Polak II Hitchcock said the Blues loved Polak, but needed a different element in Gunnarsson, one that was capable of stepping into their top-four and playing with the under-looked Kevin Shattenkirk – tops among NHL defenders in points entering Saturdays game. Its what you gotta give to get the element that was missing on our team, said Hitchcock. If there is one big shift for Polak in his transition to Toronto its how hes being used or more specifically, how much hes being used. The 28-year-old was a third pairing defender in St. Louis – averaging 17 minutes last season – but with the Leafs hes been strictly in a top-four role, even teaming with Dion Phaneuf on the teams top pair for a night in San Jose. Toronto doesnt have near the talent obviously of Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester at the top of its defence, thus requiring more out of Polak, who is averaging nearly 21 minutes or the most since his first full season in the league (2008-09). Its a different role just to play a little bit more minutes in the game, said Polak, who led the Leafs with more than 24 minutes opposite his former club. He appears better suited to the more limited role he had in St. Louis. Polak holds a 41 percent possession mark since his return from the knee injury last month. 4. Sitting Inked to a three-year deal in the summer, Stephane Robidas sat as a healthy scratch for the eighth time on Saturday night. A look at the numbers might reveal why hes been replaced by Korbinian Holzer for the better part of a month on the Leafs third pair. Even-Strength Possession since Dec. 17 (entering Saturdays game) Korbinian Holzer 49 percent Stephane Robidas 39 percent 5. Shattered David Booth thought his nose was shattered when the right elbow of Ducks defender Sami Vatanen flew up and hit him in the grill. It was just more a shock than anything, Booth said a couple days after the incident I wasnt expecting it. His nose was indeed broken, but curiously and fortunately for the 30-year-old, there was no hint of a concussion. Booth managed to suit up against the Blues sporting a full face shield. When first pegged by Vatanen – who was fined by the NHL – Booth lost balance, was noticeably disoriented and could not make to the bench, let alone the dressing room in Anaheim, without assistance. Booth says it was because of his vision. I couldnt open my eyes which was weird, he said. My eyes were just watering. I couldnt open them so I felt a little off-balance there on the ice, but I knew where I was, I knew what was going on, I just couldnt open my eyes and whenever you cant see you kind of feel off-balance. Stats-Pack 2-10-0 – Leafs record in their past 12 road games. 12-1 – Scoring differential for the Leafs on their four-game road trip. 2-21 – Toronto power-play in the past seven games. 7-12-3 – Leafs road record this season. 9th – Leafs league-ranking in offence this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2 Season: 19.2% (13th) PK: 3-3 Season: 82.6% (12th) Quote of the Night It feels awful. It feels absolutely terrible. I dont know what more I can say than when you lose games, when you go through stretches like this, its awful. - Dion Phaneuf on his feelings after a 3-0 loss in St. Louis. Up Next The Leafs return home to host the Hurricanes on Monday night. ' ' 'ares 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. ' ' '