ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- The St Johns IceCaps got an early preview of what it will take to win in the post-season. Jerome Samson scored the eventual winner as St. Johns defeated the visiting Springfield Falcons 3-1 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. The IceCaps currently sit in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Springfield, while the Falcons are just one of two clubs in the East to have already clinched a playoff spot. "That is the kind of team, the kind of squad, we are going to have to beat in the playoffs down the road," said Samson. "The kind of game we played, to be hanging around 3-0 and almost get the shutout, it shows a lot and builds up our confidence." Samsons goal came on what he described as a "broken play" at 10:55 of the second period and gave St. Johns a two-goal advantage. "I took a shot off a defenceman and then the puck was kind of scrambling and then (Brenden) Kichton ended up behind the net," said Samson. "I got open on the side of the net and the goalie was kind of swimming in the crease a little bit, so that helped me. It was a huge goal for us, to get the two-goal lead." John Albert had a pair of goals for the IceCaps (42-22-6) while Tyler Beskorowany made 23 saves for the victory. Patrick McNeill replied for the Falcons (44-21-6). Jeremy Smith stopped 28 shots in defeat. Albert opened the scoring for the IceCaps when he picked up a loose puck off a rebound and buried a low wrist shot 4:34 into the first period. Albert added his second, finishing off a 2-on-1 give-and-go with captain Jason Jaffray 15:13 into the second period. McNeill put the Falcons on the board with a point shot that hit off a skate on the way through with 4:33 left in regulation time. St. Johns head coach Keith McCambridge was satisfied with his clubs effort, especially in the defensive zone, just one night after allowing eight goals against in a loss to Springfield. "I was impressed with the level we played at," he said. "I thought our attention (towards) the areas we thought we had to get better at, (things) that we werent at our peak performance in with regards to last night-- we were able to get offensive opportunities and keep pucks out of our net by bearing down and making sure we are strong in front of net." Justin Coleman Jersey .C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C. Amani Oruwariye Jersey . "Youre not really spending time to sit back and analyze what your competitions doing and things like that," Anthopoulos said. "Youre so focused on what were trying to get done." Ultimately, while the landscape around them changed with trades both major and minor, the Blue Jays did nothing before Thursdays non-waiver deadline. http://www.wholesalelionsjerseys.com/?ta...n-thomas-jersey. The three goals bring Messis career tally for Barcelona to 371 in all games -- including friendlies -- breaking the club record of 369 held by Paulino Alcantara since 1927. The 26-year-old Messi was already the clubs all-time leading scorer in official games. Messi assured Barcelonas fans they will enjoy his goals for years to come, saying "as long as people want me, I will stay here. Beau Benzschawel Jersey . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. Kenny Golladay Jersey . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The next measuring stick for top-ranked Michigan State is No. 16 North Carolina on Wednesday as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. "Were going to have to play a lot better this week," Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo said after his team routed Mount St. Marys 98-65 Friday. "What a privilege and an honour to be able to play two of the most winningest programs in the history of the NCAA in Kentucky and North Carolina in a seven-, eight-game stretch." The Spartans (7-0) expect an equally tough challenge as they faced against then-No. 1 Kentucky which resulted in a 78-74 Spartans victory. "Theyre (the Tar Heels) a pretty good team," said Keith Appling who led the Spartans with 17 points off the bench. "Were going to be ready. Were going to need to do all the little things in order to come out with a win. We know how good they are." The Spartans wrapped up another successful early part of the season -- the last time they lost at home in November was to a David Robinson-led Navy team on Nov. 29, 1986. With Fridays victory, Michigan State has won 74 straight games against unranked non-conference opponents at home. Michigan State -- which is off to its best start since opening the 2000-01 season with a 12-0 mark -- did not start Appling, Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson due to showing up late to a required class. "Ive got a lot of jobs in this job, and one of them is to graduate guys and one is to stay accountable," Izzo said. "It was a minor little thing but it was over a class that they needed to be at. They were told that and they decided to try their way, and their way didnt work." It was the first time Appling missed a start at Michigan State since his freshman year. "It was really a wake-up call, lesson learned," Appling said.dddddddddddd "I was just glad that we were able to come out and play the way we did the second half and come out with the win." The Spartans also did not play leading-scorer Gary Harris to rest his ankle that has bothered him since injuring it during the summer. Harris, who averaged 17.7 points, sat on the bench in his warm-ups and is expected to play against North Carolina. The Mountaineers were able to lead twice by one point and kept it close before Michigan States three usual starters entered the game with 14:12 left in the opening half. The Spartans then went on a 33-19 run to take a 50-38 halftime lead -- the most points Michigan State had allowed in the first 20 minutes this season. "Michigan State, obviously the No. 1 team in the country, definitely played like it today," said Mountaineers coach Jamion Christian. "Quite honestly, watching them from afar for a lot of years you can see why theyre so talented and so good every year." Michigan State turned up its defence and began running at will in the second half en route to leading by as much as 33 points. The Spartans finished the game hitting 63.1 per cent of its field goals while Mount St. Marys was limited to 32.8 per cent shooting, including only 9 of 32 in the second half. Will Miller scored 15 points for the Mountaineers (2-6) who were facing the No. 1 team for only the