MONTREAL -- Rachel Homan and Team Canada have served notice theyre ready to defend their title at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. [url=http://www.shirtscustom.us/]Custom Shirts Cheap[/url] . The defending champions grabbed the early lead and held on for a 9-6 win in nine ends over Quebecs Allison R

MONTREAL -- Rachel Homan and Team Canada have served notice theyre ready to defend their title at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Custom Shirts Cheap . The defending champions grabbed the early lead and held on for a 9-6 win in nine ends over Quebecs Allison Ross on Sunday to emerge from the second day of play at the Maurice Richard Arena as the lone team yet to lose a match. "Its where I hoped wed be," said 24-year-old Homan (3-0). "You never know whats going to happen, but the teams playing really well. Weve just got to keep rolling." With previous victories of 8-3 over Manitoba and 9-3 over Ontario, both in eight ends, they have piled up points against some highly-regarded teams without yet having to go the full 10 ends. But Homan and the team were most concerned about giving up three to Quebec (0-4) in the second, which drew a roar from the 2,281 in the seats. "We gave up three in two, but thats alright -- mistakes will happen," said Homan. "Were learning the ice and different draws will be different weights." "I underthrew two halfway hits and that didnt turn out well and then Rachel threw one we thought was good but it sailed off," said Team Canada third Emma Miskew. "We got tricked a little on either the speed or the weight. "We didnt throw any more finesse shots after that because it tricked us a little." The evening draws saw two matches go to extra ends as both New Brunswick and P.E.I. pulled off victories. New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (2-1) scored a single in the 11th end to take a 4-3 win over British Columbias 22-year-old skip Kesa Van Osch (1-3). And Kim Dolan (1-2) of P.E.I got her first victory of the tournament, 7-6 over Quebec in 11 ends. In the other late draws, Newfoundlands Heather Strong (3-1) edged Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-2) 6-5. Koltun scored singles in the ninth and 10th ends but fell short of the comeback. And Albertas Val Sweeting (3-1) scored three in the sixth end en route to a 5-4 victory over Nova Scotias Heather Smith (1-2). The afternoon draw saw some wild finishes. Stefanie Lawton (2-1) of Saskatchewan tied her game up with two in the ninth and then stole two in the 10th to win 8-6 over Sweeting. "Tied up coming home, without hammer, we know what we have to do," said Lawton, whose side gave up two in the 10th to lose 5-4 to Manitoba in the morning draw. "We have to put up two guards and get one on the button. "We got away with one when they kissed the guard and bit and I was able to put another on top of that and put the pressure on them. Theres going to be lots of games that will be battles. You just have to keep plugging away." Another cliffhanger saw Manitobas Chelsea Carey (2-1) get the point she needed in the 10th to defeat the B.C. side 7-6. And Ontarios Allison Flaxey (1-2) scored two in the 10th and a steal of one in an extra end to down Newfoundland by 8-7. Homan won last years Scotties as skip of Team Ontario, beating Jennifer Jones Winnipeg rink in the final. Jones isnt at this years tournament, having won an ultra-competitive qualifying tournament to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Other top teams bowed out in their provincial championships, some citing mental fatigue from trying to make the Olympic team. But Homans side was spared that because they qualified automatically for the Scotties as the defending champions. "That definitely helped us," said Miskew. "Theres a lot of new faces here, but its nice to see a lot of young teams here." "We definitely have room to improve. We had a bad end but we were able to bounce back, so that was important for us. It seems every game you get a little better and thats our goal." Team Canada is part of the youth movement. Homan and Miskew are both 24, while second Alison Kreviazuk is 25. Theyve been playing together since they were young kids. Lead Lisa Weagle, 28, joined them later. Building a big lead in the morning draw against Ontario allowed them to give some playing time to their alternate, Stephanie LeDrew, who substituted for Weagle for the final two ends. "Its good to have her throw some shots and see the lines," Homan said of LeDrew. "You never know during a week if youre going to have to use her or not. "Hopefully not. Hopefully shell just be there to cheer us on, but its good to get her in early." LeDrew normally plays for Hollie Nicols Toronto rink, but she was brought in as an alternate by Homan for last years Scotties in Kingston, Ont., as well as for the 2013 womens world championship in Riga, Latvia. She got into three matches last year. "I know what it is to be prepared to jump in at a moments notice," said LeDrew. "I actually went for a jog around the arena in the sixth end to be prepared to go in the seventh, so I was warmed up and ready to rock." LeDrew said it is usually a team decision to get the alternate some playing time. "It tends to be on the ice between ends, if they have a big lead going," she said. "They see it as a good opportunity to throw the alternate in. "They also want to get me in because I have to play in two games, for at least one end in each game, in order to be eligible for the jewelry (prizes) at the end of the week -- the diamonds. So theyre being good to me." The match also pitted sister against sister as Alison Kreviazuk faced Lynn Kreviazuk, the Ontario second. "Actually, I havent played against Lynn in a few years, so this was kind of a first for me," Alison Kreviazuk said of her 22-year-old sister. "We get along great, so theres nothing negative. "They played really well, they just had a few bad breaks. I know shell pick it up for the next one." The morning draw saw more one-sided wins as Yukon downed P.E.I. by 10-3 in eight ends. Nova Scotia, beat New Brunswick by 12-2, also in eight ends. Yukon scored five in the eighth end to prompt P.E.I. to concede, while Nova Scotia had ends of four and five points in their romp over New Brunswick. Custom Shirts Outlet ." The game can be seen live on TSN starting with Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m et/3:30 p.m. pt. The Patriots, who had a bye in Week 10, will look to continue the offensive success they had a week earlier when New England scored 55 points and racked up 610 yards of total offense in a 55-31 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Best Custom Shirts . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. http://www.shirtscustom.us/ . Then youve got to worry about the other up and coming teams in the two weaker divisions in the "Junior Circuit".MINSK, Belarus -- Three-thousand kilometres from where he grew up in Toronto, Geoff Platt couldnt have felt more at home. Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. Not long after, fans were chanting his name. "Its an emotion that Im not sure Ive achieved ever in my career, just because of the atmosphere and the electricity in the building," Platt said. "It just runs through your veins and grabs a hold of you." Along with goaltender Kevin Lalande, Platt is one of two Canadian-born players representing host Belarus at the world hockey championship and playing major roles in what might be the best international showing in the countrys history. Led by Canadian-born coach Glen Hanlon, Belarus is in the quarter-finals for just the third time and the first since 2009. This is the biggest event Belarus has ever hosted, so Minsk has been partying for two weeks. And this team is giving locals another reason to celebrate. "You have to understand the magnitude (of) what this means to them," Hanlon said. "Its bigger than just a game. This is their chance to show everybody." By show everybody, Hanlon means the city, which is decked out in IIHF signs welcoming the world and reminding them in the form of giant bison mascots that hockey is happening here. Inside the 15,000-seat Minsk Arena, home of the KHLs Dynamo Minsk, good hockey has been happening for Belarus. Lalande, a native of Ottawa who plays for Dynamo and gained citizenship, has been stellar and Platt has added timely offence. But the Canadian imports want the credit to go to leading scorers Mikhail Grabovski and Sergei Kostitsyn. "Players are playing for this symbol, and it means a lot more to them to represent their country than probably a National Hockey League team or any club team around the world," Platt said, pointing to the Belarusian coat of arms on his chest. "Youre seeing that with Sergei Kostitsyn, Mikhail Grabovski just really taking their game to a level Im sure theyve almost never played at." Grabovski beamed with pride when talking about what this tournament means to him. Hes showing that to Hanlon, who first coached him as a 21-year-old at the world championships in Vienna in 2005. The Grabovski at this tournament is an other-worldly player. "I dont even look at Mikhail anymore because I know hes going to play great," Hanlon said. "I never get tired of saying, Good game, Mikhail." Hanlon is limited in what he can say to some of his players because of the language barrier. He understands Russian and Belarusian and is trying to learn to speak both languages, even though he doesnt have to. The former Washington Capitals coach and longtime NHL goaltender, whos in his second stint as coach of the Belarusian national team, has someone with him at almost all times who speaks English. At his news conferences with local media, the Brandon, Man., native answers in English, occasionally splicing in Belarusian words and pausing to let the interpreter next to him do his work. "Ive taken lessons, Ive done all of it," Hanlon said. "I have a better handle on it. Ive gone home here after every friendly tournament, so I take all my books, put them in my backpack like the college student on spring break and I end up dealing with my 12-year-old son and my wife and I sort of break away from it for a couple weeks." Hanlons wife and son still live in Vancouver, and because shes a teacher and hes a skier and hockey player they dont accompany him to Europe. "Hed rather play his own hockey than watch me coach," Hanlon said. Everyone in Belarus is watching Hanlon coach with keen interest. In Minsk, televisions all over the city have tournament games on, whether Belarus is playing or not. Inside Minsk Arena, one section is full of fans jumping up and down and doing chants normally reserved for soccer matches. Others whistle and fill the building with the kind of noise Lalande and Platt have no comparison for and Hanlon can only relate to the old Chicago Stadium. "When you go into somewhere like Beell Centre or Madison Square Garden, its pretty loud but it dies off after a while," Hanlon said. Wholesale Custom Shirts. "Here its sustained for the whole 2 1/2 hours of the game. Im not kidding: You cant hear a word down there. Im screaming and Im yelling at my players whos up and everything. "From before the game starts till after its over, its like a festival." Its a festival thats special to the Belarusian players, whether theyre from Novopolotsk in the north like Dmitry Korobov, or Ontario like Lalande and Platt. How they got here wasnt a matter of having Belarusian ancestry. Anyone who plays for Dynamo Minsk for two seasons is eligible for citizenship. "I got to keep my Canadian citizenship, so there wasnt really any downside," said Lalande, who began the tournament as a backup but has played too well for Hanlon not to start him. "At first it just made the travelling a lot easier in Russia, I didnt need a visa and saved a couple pages in my Canadian passport. But when Glen was named the head coach, we had a couple conversations together. He made it clear from the start that he wanted me to be a part of this." "Whether Id play or not he didnt know, but hes been very supportive. I owe everything to him for this chance." Lalande and Platt each praised the local players for accepting them while also noting theres a comfort level in having each other and an English-speaking coach around for this run. But Hanlon, who previously coached the Slovak national team, learned from his season with Jokerit in Finland that having Canadians on his team isnt easy. "Being an import coach you want to go out of your way so that the Canadians are respected," he said. "The last thing you want to do is look like youre favouring them." "So you want them to work for everything that they get, and I try to keep my space from them. I dont want to give anybody any reason to think that these players are going to get special treatment from me." No special treatment, but this experience has been special for Platt and Lalande, even though theyre not playing for their home country. Platt, who played 46 NHL games for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks, won a gold medal for Canada at the under-18 world championships in 2003. Platt hasnt represented Canada since and has moved on. "Not putting on the Canadian jersey now is just a chapter that sits in the past in my career," the 28-year-old said. "I was very fortunate to wear the Canadian jersey and win a gold medal at the under-18 level, and now this is a realistic goal to be playing with Belarus and to be competing at this level. Its really fun when were successful." Belarus was plenty successful in the preliminary round, going 4-3 to finish third in its group, ahead of Finland, Switzerland and Latvia and set up a quarter-final game against Sweden on Thursday night. Even if Sweden ends Belaruss run, the host teams performance wont be forgotten any time soon. When a victory over Latvia clinched a spot in the quarter-finals, Platt called it a "very rare opportunity for Belarusian ice hockey" that his teammates capitalized on. Lalande couldnt come up with words to describe his emotions. "We did it for ourselves because we believed," Lalande said, crediting fans who made a real impact on the team. "I think all of the Minsk and the whole countrys behind us right now. ... Were playing for us and were playing for them and its a tremendous feeling to be able to win in this fashion for them." Thats Hanlons priority, too. More than six years after being fired by the Capitals on U.S. Thanksgiving Day, he has no plans to return to coaching in the NHL and has invested a lot of time and energy on European hockey. Hanlon still keeps track of whats going on in North America and watches games because hes interested, but now the 57-year-old also checks on scores from leagues around Europe. Hes still a Canadian citizen, but the prospect of playing his native country doesnt mean anything to him anymore. "Whats special for me is winning for Belarus," Hanlon said. "Thats whats special." ' ' '