NEWS » Spezza skated in ahead of the defense.

Nobody knows quite what to expect when an anticipated record crowd settles in Saturday for No. 17 Tennessees showdown against Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway, which has been temporarily converted into a football stadium.Tennessee linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. acknowledges that its going to be different playing in this setting.In my head, its kind of hard to envision, Kirkland said. Im definitely excited for the experience. Its kind of once in a lifetime.The uncertainty extends to the game itself.Tennessee is an 11 +-point favorite but had to erase a 10-point halftime deficit to edge Appalachian State 20-13 in overtime last week. Virginia Tech won its opener 36-13 over Liberty to usher in Justin Fuentes coaching tenure while unveiling an up-tempo offense that bore little resemblance to predecessor Frank Beamers run-oriented attacks.Appalachian States near-upset of Tennessee has created doubt about whether the Volunteers are as good as their preseason top-10 ranking. Virginia Tech still must show that its offense can have similar success against tougher competition than Liberty.The only thing the players are sure of is that the unusual environment should create a memorable moment.More than 150,000 fans are expected to pack the speedway for a matchup billed as the Battle at Bristol. That would shatter the NCAA single-game record of 115,109 set in 2013 at Michigan Stadium for a Michigan victory over Notre Dame.Both teams have emphasized the importance of maintaining focused and not getting distracted by the atmosphere at Bristol, Tennessee, located roughly halfway between the two schools.Its going to be an awesome experience, Virginia Tech running back Sam Rogers said. I cant wait to get out there. Obviously its being hyped up as the biggest college football game in history, but ... weve just got to take it just like any other game. I feel like we wouldnt be a good team if we prepared differently for different games.---Here are some things to watch when Tennessee faces Virginia Tech at the Bristol Motor Speedway.UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENT: The sheer size of Bristol Motor Speedway means that assistant coaches working from the box will be much farther away from the field than usual. Both of Tennessees coordinators and Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen typically work from the box, while Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster roams the sidelines. I dont think (working) from the press box is going to be a problem, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. Its not necessarily the width from the field, its the length in the end-zone seats, I think thats going to be the major issue. If I were calling a game from the end zone and the ball were on the other side of the field, that would be a disaster, but where were going to be sitting, I think its not going to be any problem at all. With most of the fans also farther away from the field than they normally would be Kirkland wonders if that could lead to less crowd noise than usual.EVANS ENCORE: Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College transfer Jerod Evans threw four touchdown passes without an interception in his Virginia Tech debut. Evans faces a much tougher test Saturday in his first game against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.WILL DOBBS BOUNCE BACK?: Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs was held to negative rushing yards last week took a punishing shot to the chest in overtime while reaching for the goal line, a play that led to teammate Jalen Hurds fumble recovery in the end zone. Dobbs says hes feeling fine and will be ready to go Saturday, and Tennessee coach Butch Jones says the senior quarterback is 100 percent healthy.REEVES-MAYBINS RETURN: Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is back to lead the Vols defense Saturday after getting ejected from the Appalachian State game in the first quarter due to a targeting penalty. Reeves-Maybin topped Tennessee in tackles last season and tied for the team lead in 2014.FUMBLING CONCERNS: Both teams must take better care of the ball. Virginia Tech had five fumbles against Liberty and lost four of them. Tennessee fumbled four times against Appalachian State, though the Vols only lost one.---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr. in Blacksburg, Virginia, contributed to this report.---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.orgNikola Mirotic Pelicans Jersey . 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Zylan Cheatham Pelicans Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals.DALLAS -- It had been so long since the Dallas Stars won a game in overtime that coach Lindy Ruff conducted a brief lesson on the bench after the third period on Monday night.The tutorial took hold. Jamie Benn flicked in a goal 1:23 into overtime, lifting Dallas over the Minnesota Wild 3-2.The Stars had lost five straight overtime games and nine in a row going back to last season. Their last overtime win at home was on Nov. 14, 2015 -- also 3-2 against the Wild.Going into overtime, Ruff was thinking first about defense.I even went through a quick review before the overtime started again, just on the defensive side, he said. Just to emphasize the points in case we were stuck in our end.The reminder worked, as Tyler Seguin won a puck battle in his own end to spring the play the other way. Benn took a cross-ice pass from Seguin in the left faceoff circle and shot over goalie Darcy Kuempers right shoulder.Kuemper said he was distracted by Jordie Benn on the goal.The pass came across, its on his one-time and there was a guy coming on the back door that just backed me off a little bit. He made a great shot, put it upstairs short side.Dallas twice took one-goal leads, but the Wild answered each time.The Stars Jamie Oleksiak scored his first in more than two years on a rebound at 7:19 of the second period. Nino Niederreiter tied the game on the power play at 17:22 of the second.Brett Ritchie gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 1:01 of the third, but 3 minutes later, Erik Haula scored for Minnesota.We did fight back twice, something we havent done a lot of, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. Its a hard-earned point in here. The points are going to be very valuable to come by because its going to be tight.Kuemper made 29 saves. Antti Niemi had 27 for the Stars.In front of Niemi was a revamped defense.Julius Honka, Dallas first-round draft pick in 2014, made his NHL debut and assisted on Ritchies goal.ddddddddddddEsa Lindell was recalled from Texas of the AHL with Honka, and Oleksiak was playing in only his sixth game this season.John Klingberg, who had played in every game this season, and Stephen Johns were healthy scratches. Johnny Oduya went on injured reserve before the game with a lower-body injury.Our puck movement last game (a 5-2 loss to Edmonton), things we did with the puck, Ruff said in explaining the changes.The unit was up against a Minnesota team averaging less than two goals per game. The Wild have scored more than two goals only once in the last nine games, six of them losses.After a scoreless first period, Dallas applied pressure early in the second.Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves and Jason Spezza skated in ahead of the defense. Trailing the play, defenseman Oleksiak put his stick on the rebound of Spezzas shot and backhanded the puck into the net.Oleksiaks goal was his second in 84 career games. He had not scored in 55 games since his first on Oct. 28, 2014.Game notesWild LW Zach Parise returned after missing Saturdays game because of strep throat. ... Oleksiak and Minnesota RW Chris Stewart received major penalties for fighting at 6:34 of the first period. ... Ritchie has four points (two goals, two assists) in four career games against the Wild. In 12 games in November, Eaves has 12 points (eight goals, four assists). ... Mikko Koivus assist on Niederreiters goal was the 400th of his career. He has a team-high 28 points against the Stars in 36 games. ... Haula has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games vs. Dallas.UP NEXTWild: Return home to play Winnipeg on Wednesday night.Stars: Travel to Nashville to play on Wednesday night. ' ' '