Autogrammadressen » too much still for Indian

VANCOUVER - Joni Ortio had to overcome a lot more than the Vancouver Canucks to record the first shutout of his NHL career.The rookie goalie made 36 saves to help the Calgary Flames blank their Pacific Division rivals 1-0 on Saturday following a 48-hour ordeal that included lost baggage, a cancelled flight and a new pair of contact lenses.Ortio was recalled by the Flames from their AHL affiliate on Wednesday after Karri Ramo went down with an injury, but didnt join the team until Friday afternoon.It wasnt fun, Ill tell you that much, said Ortio. There was a huge snowstorm in Chicago and I kind of got stranded there and cancelled my flight and I went through Toronto and Winnipeg on my way to Calgary.I know shorter routes than that.To make matters worse, the airline lost his luggage — including his contacts — and sticks somewhere in transit.I dont know where, but I got replacement (contact lenses), said Ortio. My gear made it, thank God.The 23-year-old shook all that off to help Calgary (22-18-3) snap a three-game losing streak and pick up its first victory over Vancouver since March 2013.Ortio — who played his first game in the NHL this season and just the 10th of his career — is also the first Flames goalie to shut out the Canucks since Miikka Kiprusoff did it in a 1-0 victory back on Nov. 5, 2005.The pair also just happen to both be from Turku, Finland.When I was growing up, when I was little I looked up to (Kiprusoff) a lot when he was playing back home for my hometown team and then when he came over I kept following him, said Ortio, who backed up Jonas Hiller in Fridays 6-5 loss to the Florida Panthers. Hes been a big influence on my career for sure.It makes it more special. I think it was about time someone shut out the Canucks.Mikael Backlund scored in the first period for a Calgary team that came in 0-6-3 over its last nine against Vancouver.Joni didnt have it easy coming in here, tough couple travel days and didnt get much sleep so it was great to see him have a great performance, said Backlund. Obviously it pumps us up when he makes some big saves and without him we wouldnt have won the game. He was player of the game for sure.Eddie Lack stopped 22 shots for Vancouver (23-14-3), which has dropped two straight after going 5-1-1 over its previous seven outings.Lack — who came in with a 3-0-0 career record against Calgary — and No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller both werent feeling well on Saturday. Neither skated in the morning, but Lack was deemed the healthier of the two and got the nod.Sometimes I feel like you can have your best games when youre not feeling good, said Lack, his voice cracking. If I didnt feel good enough to play I would never play.Trailing 1-0 after giving up a goal early in the first and in possession of a 28-14 shot edge through two periods, the Canucks came out hard in the third, but Ortio was there when he had to be after Vancouver hit three posts in the games first 40 minutes.All I gave them was the iron, he joked. No, I got lucky there too but sometimes you just gotta earn your luck.Vancouver continued to press late, but Calgary found a way to hang on late despite playing its second game in as many nights thanks to their rookie netminder.Great performance, said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. I thought he was in control from the first shift, his rebound control was great, great focus, big win.Calgary led 1-0 after a first period mostly dominated by the Canucks and the home side continued on the front foot in the second.Daniel Sedin hit the Canucks second post on a short-handed 2-on-1 rush 1:30 into the period before Jannik Hansen rang another shot off the crossbar a few minutes later.Lack then had to be sharp after a puck in front of the Vancouver goal pinballed to Calgarys Brandon Bollig, who fired a quick shot on target.The Canucks thought they had tied the game with under five minutes to go, but the goal was waved off when Henrik Sedin was judged to have batted the puck in with a high stick.Daniel Sedin then had another chance late in the period, only to have Ortio again foil his effort — this time on a 2-on-1 break with the teams playing 4-on-4.Its frustrating, said Henrik Sedin, whose team was 2-3-0 on its five-game homestand. We know how big every point is. To not get two from this game is disappointing for sure.The Flames didnt have much of the puck in the first period, but grabbed a 1-0 lead at 5:38 on their first shot of the game when Backlund chipped a cross-crease feed from David Jones past Lack for his fourth of the season. Backlund now has three goals and two assists in three games after missing the previous 29 following abdominal surgery.Ortio faced 15 shots in the first period and had to be sharp with about seven minutes to go, stopping Nick Bonino at the side of the net after he took a nice feed from Chris Higgins.Both teams hit posts late in the period, with Flames forward Sean Monahan pinging a shot behind Lack before Bonino did the same against Ortio, who will have quite a story to tell about his first NHL shutout when his careers done.I guess I needed that adversity, he said. Stuff happens and you just have to put it behind you and not let it affect you.Notes: Calgarys last win at Rogers Arena before Saturday was all the way back on Dec. 23, 2011, when the Flames beat the Canucks 3-1. ... Vancouver now heads out on the road for five next five games, beginning Tuesday against the Nashville Predators. ... The Flames played their first of a five-game road trip that continues Thursday when they visit the Arizona Coyotes. ... Canucks defenceman Frank Corrado made his season debut after being called up from the AHL, taking the spot of Yannick Weber. ... Canucks forward Radim Vrbata was named to the NHL all-star game on Saturday, while Flames defenceman Mark Giordano will also play in the showcase event. Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau will take part in the skills competition. Joe Girardi Jersey . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. Roy White Yankees Jersey . -- Mixed martial arts fighter Cristiane Justino Santos has been suspended and fined for testing positive for steroids. https://www.cheapyankees.com/3061g-tyler...ey-yankees.html. -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. Tommy Kahnle Jersey . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. Johnny Damon Yankees Jersey . "I knew it was gone. I mean, I felt it," the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year said. "I havent felt like that in a while. I havent got extension on a ball in a pretty long time.NEW DELHI - When the Indian Super League kicked off, it certainly seemed to add the zing that football needed in a country which FIFA chief Sepp Blatter once called a sleeping giant of the game.But while the new eight-team league featuring big names such as Nicolas Anelka, Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires and Luis Garcia has lifted football to a level not seen here before, many observers are wondering whether it will be enough to help grow the domestic game in the long run.The tournament, which began in October and finishes in December, has big money and sponsors behind it — organized by IMG-Reliance in collaboration with Rupert Murdochs Star India group and the All India Football Federation.And interest among fans has been high through the first half of the tournament, with attendance averaging 22,639 per match, the highest for a football league in Asia.Indian football has never been packaged so well before, said Sukhvinder Singh, managing director of the football marketing consultancy Libero Sports. Its reached even people who do not follow football and some 70 million watched it on the first day. I feel its already the second best sports property here after crickets Indian Premier League.Part of the reason for its success has been the use of cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as well as a handful of Indian film stars, to market the league across the country.But despite the added glamour, some critics believe Indian football will not benefit greatly if the countrys top domestic league, the I-League, is left to rot.Brazilian great Zico, who helped lead the transformation of domestic football in Japan, said the existence of two separate leagues could be an impediment to the sports growth.In Japan, the difference was that everyone was playing in one league only and not two leagues like in India, said Zico, who is coaching the Goa club in the ISL. Here, some of the very good players are not playing in ISL.Top football officials such aas FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke and AIFF President Praful Patel insist the I-League remains Indias only league and the ISL is merely a tournament.ddddddddddddNarinder K. Bhatia, vice-president of the Delhi Soccer Association, fears that a clash of systems could negatively impact the game in the long run.State associations are being sidelined. I fear the football culture will suffer rather than improve as even the present feeder system will collapse, he said. On the one hand, people are getting to watch the likes of players like Messi on television, and on the other these semi-retired players. Do you think people will become fans of these players? Theyll forget our own players and past stars.Singh, too, is in favour of having just one league in the country.We have resourceful companies backing teams in either league and I would love to see them combined and play a six-to-eight month league, he said. I would ideally like a situation where everyone is working toward improving the grassroots and instilling club culture.Indian football journalist and author Mohammad Aminul Islam also doubts the new league will successfully raise the standard of football in India because its dominated by foreign players and, in his opinion, the quality of the matches has so far been mediocre.Brazilian midfielder Blumer is the leading scorer with eight goals, while players like Anelka and Del Piero clearly have too much still for Indian players, despite being past their primes.The ISL should have only one or two active marquee players in each team instead of several over-the-hill stars, Islam said. The ISL shouldve encouraged locals more than foreigners.As for the fans, many are happy to shell out 200 rupees (about $3) for the spectacle, even if the level of play isnt so great.Were not really backing teams, said student Aryan Singh after watching a game in New Delhi. Its only a matter of getting a feel of watching a football match live rather than cricket. ' ' '