Gästeboard » elph made the most of the few scoring chances it had, an

TORONTO -- Its a secret Hayley Wickenheiser could no longer hide. The Canadian womens hockey star helped Canada win gold at the Sochi Olympics despite playing with a broken foot. The 35-year-old native of Shaunavon, Sask., was sporting a walking boot on her left foot at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday, where she was a guest speaker at the second annual Gatorade High Performance Hockey Summit. "Ive had a broken foot for about a year now so Im trying to fix it," Wickenheiser said. "Im wearing this boot so I can avoid having that surgery, hopefully. "I knew it was broken at the time (of Olympics), we just found out it was a little more serious break than we thought. It was just managing the pain." Wickenheiser did a masterful job of hiding the injury. There was never a hint or mention of it prior to the Sochi Games or even after Canadas dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game. But in an Olympic year Wickenheiser simply didnt have the luxury of time to rest her foot, so she worked around it. With the national teams season over, shes had her foot in the boot for the last two weeks, with six more to go. "After the Olympics . . . its kind of perfect timing to rest the foot and just be able to get healthy again," she said. "I spent a lot of time on the bike versus running and did some work around trying to stabilize the foot. "My medical team was really good with treatments to keep the swelling down. I just did a lot of things on one leg and tried to minimize the pounding on my foot in order to be able to get through the games. Now Ive had the chance to see where the damage is and with a couple of months rest I should be fine. I wasnt able to rest it before." This isnt the first time Wickenheiser has endured pain. She played in the 2006 Olympics with a broken wrist but was still the tournaments top scorer and MVP. In 2008, Sports Illustrated included Wickenheiser on its list of the 25 toughest athletes. Ironically, skating wasnt painful for Wickenheiser because of the support the skate boot provided her injured foot. "It wasnt too bad," she said. "But the running and training we had to adjust." Wickenheiser had two goals and three assists in five games at Sochi but played a huge role in Canadas overtime victory in the gold medal game. Wickenheiser had a breakaway in the extra session but was taken down by American Hilary Knight. Instead of granting Wickenheiser a penalty shot, British referee Joy Tottman gave Knight a minor penalty. Marie-Philip Poulin, who forced overtime by scoring with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, had the power-play winner to give Canada its stirring comeback victory and fourth straight Olympic womens hockey crown. "It was a dramatic finish, probably one for the ages and something Canadians will never forget," Wickenheiser said. "I wont forget. "It mightve been the defining moment of the Games this go-around from what everybody has been telling me. When you step back and hear the stories about how it impacted Canada, it really was one for the ages." The Olympic gold medal capped a tumultuous period for the Canadian team, which entered the Sochi Games with a new coach -- Kevin Dineen took over in December after Dan Church resigned -- and having lost four pre-tournament games to the rival Americans. "It was a lot of adversity," Wickenheiser said. "Our theme changed from, Dig a little deeper, to Unity and adversity. I think that sums it up. "We had a lot of things to overcome as a team and I think the reason behind our success was we had resiliency and we had a lot of preparation leading up to that which gave us the opportunity to come back in that final game. We were mentally tougher than our opponent." Three days later, the Canadian men capped a hockey sweep, downing Sweden 3-0 in a gold-medal game that had nowhere the drama or intrigue of the womens finale. "I think theres no doubt were the best in the world in mens and womens hockey," Wickenheiser said. "People say, The mens was boring, but it was boring (because) they were so good and so prepared and they played unselfishly unlike other countries with superstars so they found a way to do it. "I think thats really the defining mark of Canadian hockey." And call Wickenheiser, Canadas flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Sochi, a fan of hockey being played on the larger international ice surface. "I love it," she said. "For me, Id love to see the NHL on the bigger surface. "I think it would be amazing, I think it would be better hockey. Theres the talk that the trap would be easier to play on the big surface but I dont think so. I think it allows skill and speed to flourish." Wickenheiser has won five Olympic medals over her illustrious career (the other being silver from the 98 Nagano Games). Shed like a shot at another while again shouldering the heavy weight of expectation Canadians have for their hockey players when on the international stage. "I think its fair," Wickenheiser said of Canadians expectations. "We always say pressure is a privilege and you have an opportunity to win a gold medal because people think you can. "Id rather have that expectation than someone not believing in you or the country not expecting the best. We view it that we go to win gold medals and we know Canada expects that. Its fun to have that, you dont want it any other way, really, as an athlete." However, Wickenheiser, who last month was elected to the International Olympic Committees athlete commission, added at this stage of her career shes taking it one year at a time. "Ill probably go year by year, starting with next years world championship," she said. "I still love to play, I think I can still play at a high level and be the player I want to be so until I cant do that anymore Ill keep playing. "I love what I do for a living. Being an athlete is definitely the greatest thing about what I do. I dont know if theres anything Ill find after sport that will mimic what being an athlete is so you have to enjoy it while it lasts and try to remember you may never have these times again in your life." Chris Paul Jersey .Do you have to be that close? Federer snapped at a TV cameraman hovering nearby as he received medical advice after losing a set on Wednesday.For Nadal and Sharapova, the nuisance was coming from the lowly-ranked qualifiers across the net. Kevin Hervey Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Andre-Roberson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The 24-year-old Pruneau played his CIS football with the Montreal Carabins. The six-foot, 200-pound Montreal native had 41 tackles, 3. Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. Hamidou Diallo Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts (11-7) look for an opportunity to repeat as CFL champions when they host the surging Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) on Sunday.GUELPH, Ont. -- The Guelph Storm drew first blood in the Ontario Hockey League final, but head coach Scott Walker looked as if his team had just dropped the opener. Jason Dickinsons goal 57 seconds into overtime gave the Storm a 3-2 win over the North Bay Battalion on Thursday for a 1-0 series lead. But Walker was far from happy with his teams performance. "To be honest with you, we have to play better," Walker said. "We have to focus on winning our battles, skating more and we cant take for granted that were here. They (the Battalion) earned their spot and we earned our spot. We have to start skating and start playing. "We did it in the first and then it was like we werent satisfied. There was something more out there, something better. There isnt anything better than what we were doing in the first." The first period was all Guelph, as they outshot the Battalion 16-6 and beat them to pucks right from the opening faceoff. Holding the leagues most potent offence scoreless in the first period seemed to give North Bay more confidence as the game went on. Battalion head coach Stan Butler was happy with the way his team matched up against the heavily favoured Storm. "I thought we played hard and it was a pretty even game. Once you get in overtime, one shot and its done," Butler said. "They have a great team and thats the style we have to play. We have to play hard, we have to check up ice, track the puck hard and not give them time and space. "If we sit back and watch like we did in the first period and allow them time and space, theyll do serious damage." The Battalion benefited from the scoreless opening 20 minutes by taking iit to the Storm in the second.dddddddddddd They were rewarded early when Ben Thomson, on a power play, snapped a fat rebound past goalie Justin Nichols, who made 32 saves on the night, for a 1-0 lead at 3:06. But Guelphs Brock McGinn evened the scored a minute later. North Bay continued to play a tough defensive game, holding the Storm to just seven shots in the second period. The Battalion regained the lead 3:35 into the third, as Jamie Lewis wrist shot from the faceoff circle found the top corner past Nichols. But Guelph made the most of the few scoring chances it had, and came back to tie the game once again on its second shot of the third period. Robby Fabbri found Mitchell cruising over the blue-line and he ripped a wrist shot over Smith for his 11th goal of the playoffs at 12:23. With the goal, Mitchell moved ahead of teammate Kerby Rychel, into first place in playoff points with 24. Guelph ended the game on its first shot of the extra period, with Dickinson wristing a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle over Smiths glove for his sixth goal of the playoffs. Smith made 27 saves. Guelph finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play, while North Bay was 1-for-2 with the man advantage. North Bay captain Barclay Goodrow said the Battalion are looking forward to stepping back on the ice in less than 24 hours for a chance at evening the series before heading home for Game 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. "I think the advantage of playing back-to-back is you can get right back at it and you dont lose too much of the momentum you gained from the game before. Hopefully, we come out tomorrow and forget what happened tonight and keep on going." ' ' '