NEWS » s," Mozeliak said. "Hes fine, all right? We knew he

SASKATOON - Nathan MacKinnon says he may never score a bigger goal. Bold words for a player with a bright NHL future, but fans of the Halifax Mooseheads would probably agree. MacKinnon had a hat trick, including a title-clinching goal into an empty net, and Jonathan Drouin had a sublime five-assist performance as Halifax held off a late Portland rally to defeat the Winterhawks 6-4 in the final of the MasterCard Memorial Cup. Leading 5-2 with under six minutes to go, the Mooseheads watched as Portland cut it to 5-4 with 1:14 left. Thats when MacKinnon, a 17-year-old with maturity beyond his years, scored into an empty net to send Halifax to its first Canadian Hockey League title. "I might not score a bigger goal in my life," said MacKinnon, who added two assists and was named tournaments most valuable player after scoring a tournament-best seven goals and six assists in four games. "Its just ... 22 seconds left. We won it. Were champions. "The empty netter will be in my mind forever." After the game, players mingled with family on the ice as a small but vocal group of travelling Mooseheads fans chanted, cheered and banged on the glass in the near-empty Credit Union Centre. "Its unbelievable. I grew up in Halifax. Ive watched this team go through hard times and good times," MacKinnon added. "After that second period there was a little doubt creeping into our mind but at the same time we had a pretty solid third period. They made it close again but its all worth it." Konrad Abeltshauser added two goals and an assist, while Martin Frk had a goal and two assists for Halifax, which got 40 saves from Zachary Fucale as a team from the QMJHL won the Memorial Cup for the third straight year. "Right now theres so much going through my mind," Fucale said. "Its that feeling you cant describe. "It felt like the longest game ever but now it seems as if it went so fast, as if the past two years just flew by. This feels as if its not even real. This is crazy." Mooseheads coach Dominique Ducharme said his best players excel when the games mean the most. "Nathan, Jonathan and Fucale ... those guys, they like big moments," he said. "They like playing in big games and they want to be difference makers and tonight they were. "Those guys like facing big teams and big moments and big challenges. Tonight they just showed that theyre big-time players." Ty Rattie had a goal and three assists, while Nicolas Petan added a goal and two assists for the Winterhawks. Seth Jones and Brendan Leipsic also scored for Portland, while Mac Carruth made 35 stops for the Western Hockey League champions. "Its not kind of disappointing, its very disappointing," said Winterhawks coach Travis Green, whose team was down 3-0 after the first period. "I thought we showed a lot of heart coming back. We made a late push but it wasnt enough." Leading 3-2 in the third, MacKinnon gave his team some breathing room at 7:36 with his tournament-leading sixth goal by chipping a puck past a fallen Carruth. Abeltshauser then followed up on a MacKinnon rush to bury a rebound at 11:11 to make it 5-2. Leipsic got one back for Portland at 14:32 and Rattie scored with 1:14 left to cut the deficit to one, but MacKinnon iced the game with 22.4 seconds remaining before the Mooseheads spilled onto to the ice to celebrate at the final buzzer. "Its probably the greatest game Ive ever played. Its just the greatest moment," Drouin said. "Its unbelievable. Winning the Memorial Cup with this group of guys is remarkable. "Well remember this game for probably the rest of our lives." Down 3-0 after a disastrous first period, the Winterhawks came out with renewed vigour in the second, outshooting the Mooseheads 18-6 and scoring twice. Portland got its first while killing a penalty when Rattie jumped on a Halifax turnover in the Mooseheads end and fed Petan, who beat Fucale with a backhand move at 10:36. The Winterhawks, who won the WHL title despite the season-long suspension of coach and general manager Mike Johnston for transgressions that included financial perks for players and their families, looked to have cut the deficit to one later in the period, but after a video review it was judged Rattie directed the puck into the net with his glove. No review would be needed a few minutes later with the teams playing 4-on-4 when Jones, a defenceman who is the No. 1 ranked North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting ahead of Junes draft, roofed a shot on Fucale from in tight with 1:19 left in the period. The Mooseheads, who lost just six games in the regular season and once in the playoffs as the CHLs top-ranked team before earning a bye right to the final of this tournament, were a step ahead in the first period. "They came out hard," Rattie said. "We stuck together like we have all year. We came out in the second period, third period and played our game." After Stephen MacAulay, Frk and MacKinnon couldnt connect for Halifax on three glorious chances in front of Carruth, Abeltshauser got Halifax on the board at 6:31. The overage German defenceman, playing his final game for the Mooseheads, ripped a one-timer off a feed from Drouin from the point past a screened Carruth up high on the power play. MacKinnon, who is second on the NHLs Central Scouting list behind Jones and also had a hat trick and an assist in Halifaxs 7-4 victory over Portland in the round robin, made it 2-0 just 89 seconds later, snapping a quick shot past Carruth from the slot. The Mooseheads stretched their lead to three at 15:59 on a rocket of a one-timer from Frk off another feed from Drouin that beat a helpless Carruth upstairs. Drouin, who was named CHL player of the year on Saturday, is ranked No. 3 behind Jones and MacKinnon ahead of the draft. Carruth, an emotional goalie who wears his heart on his sleeve, kept the score at 3-0 in the final minute of the period with two big saves, but Portland still found itself in a big hole before rallying in the second. "We werent sharp," Winterhawks defenceman Derrick Pouliot said. "It took us a period to wake up and by then it was real tough to come back." Meanwhile, the Mooseheads are looking forward to sharing their first championship with their fans back home. "Im proud of everyone and so happy for the people of Halifax who supported the organization for so long," Ducharme said. "This year was just incredible and to come back to Halifax with that trophy and share it with them is going to great." Notes: Fucale, Pouliot, Abeltshauser, MacKinnon, Frk and Rattie were named to the tournament all-star team. Saskatoon Blades goalie Andrey Makarov was named the top goalie, while London Knights centre Bo Horvat won the sportsmanship award. ... Saint John won the Memorial Cup in 2011, while Shawinigan took the title last year. ... Carruth allowed all seven Halifax goals on 35 shots in Portlands loss to Halifax in the round robin. ... Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Saskatoon Blades alumni Wendel Clark dropped the puck at the ceremonial faceoff. ... Portland won the Memorial Cup in 1983 and 1998. ... Attendance at the Credit Union Centre was 11,488. Wholesale Mens Triple White Nike Air VaporMax Plus White/Platinum 924453-100 . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Wholesale Mens/Womens Nike Air VaporMax 2.0 White/Black 942842-103 . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. http://www.wholesalevapormaxplus.com/wholesale-men-s-nike-air-vapormax-plus-wolf-grey-black-white-924453-007.html . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Vapormax Flyknit 2.0 Black . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Vapormax 97 Metallic Cashmere For Sale .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. ST. LOUIS -- Jake Westbrook has been trying to ignore elbow pain since spring training. The St. Louis pitcher and the team finally decided it was time for a break. "Ive pitched through a lot of stuff through my career," Westbrook said Sunday. "It just kind of got a little more inflamed than I would have liked my last start." The Cardinals will place the right-hander on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation and plan to select the contract of left-hander John Gast in time for Tuesday nights game against the New York Mets. "Im 35, so I probably have more problems," Westbrook said. "I dont think its anything to be super-alarmed about." General manager John Mozeliak said Westbrook likely would miss two starts after complaining about the elbow in his last outing, but emphasized it was a minor injury. He said after the 35-year-old pitcher got a cortisone injection on Friday that hed certainly not be able to make his next start. "Its really not that big of a deal," Moozeliak said.dddddddddddd "Its just something that we didnt want to push it, didnt want it to become a big problem." Mozeliak bristled at the mention of reconstructive elbow surgery for Westbrook, who missed the post-season last year with an oblique injury. "Dont put words in peoples mouths," Mozeliak said. "Hes fine, all right? We knew he couldnt start Tuesday." Westbrooks last outing was his shortest of the season. He allowed three earned runs on nine hits in 5 1-3 innings and got no decision in a 5-4 win. To make room for Gast on the major league roster, the team said injured closer Jason Motte will be moved to the 60-day disabled list while rehabilitating from reconstructive elbow surgery. Westbrook is 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in seven starts. His DL move is retroactive to May 9. The 24-year-old Gast was the teams minor league player of the month in April, going 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA in six starts at Triple-A Memphis. He began the season with 32 consecutive scoreless innings. ' ' '