miaowang123: one against... Winnipeg has been shorthanded a league-

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DUNEDIN, New Zealand -- The Western Force hung on with only 13 men on the field for the last 10 minutes to beat the Highlanders 31-29 in Super Rugby on Saturday. Dolph Schayes Jersey . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win. The victory followed last weeks 32-7 win over the Melbourne Rebels, giving the Perth-based Force their first back-to-back wins since April 2011. Replacement flyhalf Hayden Parker scored a try for the Highlanders in the final minute but missed a wide-angled conversion which would have given the Dunedin-based side a draw. The Force have now won six of their eight games against the Highlanders since their admission to Super Rugby in 2006. The Force took a 21-16 lead at halftime after a first half in which the lead changed hands four times. Hooker Nathan Charles, flyhalf Sias Ebersohn and McCalman each scored tries to give the visitors the early advantage. Winger Junior Rasolea then added the fourth, bonus point try in the 56th minute, giving the Force a 31-16 lead which allowed them to weather the Highlanders rally in the last quarter. The home side fought back with tries by Parker and centre Malakai Fekitoa, but couldnt bridge the gap, even with the Force short on men. Ebersohn scored a brilliant try from an intercept and kicked five goals from five attempts -- four conversions and a penalty -- for a personal tally of 16 points. "Its going well," Force captain Matt Hodgson said. "I think were playing some good football now, starting games strong and, like you saw there, finishing it off with 13 men." The Force play the unbeaten defending champion Chiefs in their next match. The Highlanders were unable to put concerted pressure on the Force and defended poorly at times, allowing the visitors to pull away. "We probably didnt play quite the right footy in that first half," captain Ben Smith said. "We let in a couple of soft tries which came back to bite us a bit." ------ Western Force 31 (Nathan Charles, Sias Ebersohn, Ben McCalman, Junior Rasolea tries; Sias Ebersohn 4 conversions, penalty), Highlanders 29 (Shaun Treeby, Malakai Fekitoa, Hayden Parker tries; Lima Sopaga conversion, 4 penalties). HT: 21-16. Kyle OQuinn Jersey . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race. Chris Webber Jersey . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.An experienced group of Hollywood screenwriters couldnt have scripted the high drama that unfolded on the ice in Winnipeg last Tuesday night. On an evening when the hometown Jets were playing a single home game in between road trips, the local squad turned in their most lopsided and convincing victory of the season, scoring a season-high in goals en route to an 8-2 mauling of the upstart Florida Panthers. It started with a pair of goals by forward Mathieu Perrault and eventually turned into a career night for the 27-year-old when he tallied four on the evening. Perreault, a product of Drummondville, Quebec is one of three players to score four times in a single game this month alone. Initially, David Backes of the St. Louis Blues did it in Arizona prior to Perreaults special night and late last week, Kyle Okposo of the Islanders joined them with a career-night, four-goal effort against Pittsburgh. But as Perreault was assembling his memorable night – which included a delay in the contest following his third goal that started a rain of hats from the stands to the ice – he nearly brought the roof down when he was denied on a breakaway for a fifth goal in the game by former Jets netminder Al Montoya, who relieved starter Roberto Luongo just under seven minutes into the second period. It was one of those nights, said Perreault, who once before scored four times in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears. But one that was obviously a lot of fun. Playing more than just a cameo role in the theatre of hockey entertainment in the game was defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who tallied three points and two goals in the onslaught. His efforts only helped to set-up the encore of the night at the final buzzer. For the Jets, the win was about two points and another step toward the post-season for the first time since the club landed in Winnipeg four years ago. But it also marked the 500th career NHL win for head coach Paul Maurice. He joined an elite fraternity in reaching that milestone and became the second youngest coach to 500 behind the legendary Scotty Bowman. Following the game, Maurice was humble but did share in thanking influential people in his career like Hartford/Carolina owner Peter Karmanos, the man that gave Maurice his first head coaching job in the NHL at the age of 28. He also thanked Jim Ruthherford, the GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who for many years held the same position with the Hurricanes organization while Maurice was its bench boss. George McGinnis Jersey. When the final buzzer sounded before another sellout crowd in the provincial capital, the emotions of the night continued past Tuesday. The Jets have now won four straight games since and Maurice was honoured with a standing ovation during Sundays victory over Arizona by yet another sellout crowd at the MTS Centre. I got a lot of nice calls and texts from people that have been a big part of your hockey life, said Maurice, who will turn 48 later this month. That kind of reconnection was great. Ive been very lucky and fortunate to work with some really good people. It was an evening that wont soon be forgotten by Winnipeg fans. In fact, it might have been worthy of at least an Oscar nomination or considered by the Academy. Simply put, the thespian skill displayed in all areas of what transpired last week are likely worthy of some sort of an award, or perhaps a sequel to consider. And with the way the club is playing for and under Maurice this season, it might not take very long to write. NOTES: Like them or not, the shootout is still part of an NHL game and that wont likely change for the foreseeable future, although the league is considering some alterations to the overtime period next season to reduce the frequency of shootouts in the game. Either way, both Buffalo and the New York Islanders might not want anything to change on that front as both are 6-1 in shootouts this season. Detroit might have a different perspective on the matter, however, with a 1-7 record... To date, there have been 21 penalty shots taken in the NHL this season, of which seven goals have been scored. The Jets have yet to be awarded a penalty shot this season nor assessed one against... Winnipeg has been shorthanded a league-leading 193 times this season, but find themselves in the Top 10 in penalty kill percentage... Winnipegs road record is a league-best 14-5-5... Both Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little are on pace for 30-goal and 60-point plus seasons. Little also has the best shooting percentage on the team, scoring nearly 20.7 per cent of the time he directs a shot at an opposition net. Meanwhile, Ladd has six power play and four game-winning goals - both team bests. ' ' '