- If the time to the MasterCard

LONDON, Ont. Dylan Strome Jersey . - If the time to the MasterCard Memorial Cup felt long for the host London Knights, it felt even longer for goaltender Anthony Stolarz. The Knights had five weeks to kill between their second-round elimination in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs and Fridays Cup opener against the Val-dOr Foreurs. It was over seven weeks for Stolarz because of an eight-game suspension for slashing a Windsor Spitfire in a first-round game March 25. Jake Patterson finished out Londons playoff run, which lasted six more games. The OHL waived the final two games of Stolarzs suspension so he could play in the Memorial Cup. "To be honest, I just want to go out there and compete," said the 20-year-old from Jackson, N.J. "Obviously not playing, I think it was 56 days, was a little bit of a challenge, but I think over the last three and a half weeks of practice weve competed and battled and we couldnt be any more ready for this tournament." Stolarz backstopped the Knights to an OHL title in 2013 with a 13-4-1 post-season record. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect posted a goals-against average of 2.53 and a save percentage was .923. But the 19-year-old Patterson, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., played more games for the Knights this season. Stolarz represented the U.S. at the world junior hockey championship in January and was then sidelined for 17 games with a severe leg laceration. Patterson went 22-9-0-3 in the regular season and 2-4 in the playoffs. Pattersons experience combined with Stolarzs lack of recent games made Londons goaltending situation hazy for the Memorial Cup, until Knights coach Dale Hunter confirmed he would go with Stolarz as his No. 1 again. "It was a tough decision, but Stolz is the guy," Hunter said. "Both of them have been very good in practice. "Stolz has been solid for us before he got hurt, and in the playoffs. Suspension and injury put him back, but three or four weeks have honed his game up really good." Stolarz and Patterson both have previous Memorial Cup experience. Stolarz started last years tournament in Saskatoon, but the six-foot-six goalie appeared to tire after the long playoff run. Patterson finished the tournament giving up one goal in a tiebreaker win over the host Blades and stopping 32 of 34 shots in a 2-1 semifinal loss to Portland. So if Stolarz cant recover his game quickly, Patterson is waiting in the wings. "You have to prepare for anything," Patterson said. "If Stoles were to get sick during the season or if I were to get sick and he had to start last minute, Im sure both of us would be ready. Its kind of the same situation right now." Hunter recruited former NHL goaltender Jeff Hackett to work with both goaltenders in their Memorial Cup preparation. "We did a lot of game-oriented drills where wed focus on plays that happen so often, rebounds, tips from the point," Stolarz said. "Working on things like that got us really prepared for the tournament." Ulf Nilsson Jersey . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. Coyotes Jerseys 2020 . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday.SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan refused to dwell on any negatives that came out of a wild finish. Joe Pavelski scored with just under 20 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau tallied in the shootout, lifting the San Jose Sharks to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. "Pav has been a real clutch player over the past two weeks for us, hes kind of the go-to guy right now, he seems to be getting it done," McLelland said. "He did it again tonight for us. Were happy for him and for us." Erik Johnson and Jamie McGinn scored goals 12 seconds apart in the final two minutes to put the Avalanche ahead. Asked about Niemi giving up the two quick goals, McLellan responded, "You know what, its Christmas. Lets all go home and enjoy it, and Ill answer those questions when we come back." Johnsons extra-man goal slipped under the left shoulder of Sharks goalie Antti Niemi to knot things, and McGinns goal also came with an extra skater as he beat Niemi to the stick side. "It was a high to tie it, a high to go ahead and then a crashing low when they tied it," Johnson said. "It was a strange game probably from the perspective of both teams. A very strange game at the end." Pavelski tied it after taking a pass from Joe Thornton, who has an 11-game point streak against the Avalanche. Matt Irwin scored a power-play goal late in the second period to put the Sharks ahead 3-2 and set up the wild finish. "We all knew we had about a minute and whatever left to get the tying goal," Irwin said. "The leadership group did a great job. They got out there and they capitalized. Joe made a great play to Joe. Thats what those guys do." Jason Demers and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who have won four of six. "It was a crazy ending," Burns said. "Im suree coaches dont like seeing that too often. Peter Mueller Jersey. I think we get angry a little bit, but as a group I think were pretty confident and it was just a matter of who was going to step up and get that next goal." Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog also scored for the Avalanche, who lost for the third time in four games. Niemi made 29 saves to record his 19th victory and improve to 7-1-3 against Colorado. Semyon Varlamov stopped 41 shots to lose for the fourth time in eight games against the Sharks. "Its too bad, but at the same time we showed a lot of character," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "We played well in the third period. We scored two big goals and then they made a great play to tie it." In the first of four meetings between the teams, two fights in the first nine minutes set the stage for a physical game. MacKinnons power-play goal midway through the first period gave the Avalanche the early lead. Ryan OReillys pass set up MacKinnons goal, a shot that beat Niemi to the glove side. Demers scored his second goal in two games, beating Varlamov over the right shoulder and tying the game at 1-1 with six minutes left in the first period. Landeskog scored his first goal in 11 games in the final minute to put Colorado ahead 2-1 after one period. Burns scored after taking a drop pass from Thornton six minutes into the second period to make it 2-2. NOTES: Sharks rookie F Tomas Hertl will undergo knee surgery sometime this week, the injury a result of a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Kings Dustin Brown. "Its going to be longer than a month," Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. Hertl will also miss playing in the Olympics with the Czech Republic. . Avalanche D Jan Hejda played in his 500th career game. . Avalanche D Tyson Barrie had his career-high four-game point streak snapped. . Thornton has 49 points in 40 games against Colorado. ' ' '