Scott Harrington will play a key role on Canadas world junior hockey team during the next few weeks. He is considered one of the teams top shutdown defencemen and on Thursday was named an alternate captain. And, yet, the London Knight spent most of the selection camp in the shadows. Last year, he received the fewest media requests at the selection camp before making the team and then, finally, getting some love from the reporters on site. This year, you would think, would have been different considering Harringtons status as one of two returning blueliners. But Harrington, a quiet guy on and off the ice, was once again left mostly alone. "I wasnt looking forward to having an abundance of interviews so it doesnt bother me at all," said the native of Kingston, Ont. "Its kind of funny. We joked about it yesterday. I think I had a couple more than last year. Last year I was shutout completely. It was funny last year and its good that the joke continued this year." One of the reasons Harrington did not get many requests was because his spot on the team was assured coming in. He only played one game, on Tuesday, and spent the rest of the camp watching other players battle it out for the precious few roster spots up for grabs. "I didnt know Id be sitting out for the last two days, but we still got on the ice and practised in the morning before the games, but definitely different from last year when I played every game," said Harrington. "This was a bit of a blessing that I didnt have to play so I could save the legs a little bit. Its been a busy month in London." A busy and wildly-successful month. London has won 18 straight games and will try and break the franchise record for consecutive victories when they face the Owen Sound Attack on Friday night. Harrington will be monitoring the game closely from Calgary where Canada will practice on Saturday morning before hopping a plane to Europe. "I dont know if I can watch it," he said. "Ill for sure be refreshing the OHL website. Ive already talked to some of the guys today and its been special the last month and I think our team has really bonded well together. Winning 18 straight is, I dont think, something any of us dreamed of. Its difficult to do, especially in the OHL and the conference were win. Hopefully the guys can pull it off tonight." Harrington is Londons captain this season and that experience should help him with his leadership role on Team Canada. "Hes starting to understand the times that he needs to say something and the times he doesnt need to say something," said Knights assistant GM Rob Simpson earlier this month. "In the dressing room you wont hear much from him, but at key points, like going into the third period [in a tie game], we need a little bit of inspiration, he wont say a lot, but a sentence or two here and the guys really respect that and everyone in the dressing room will kind of perk up and be ready to go after that." Harrington is remaining humble despite his new leadership role both in London and with Team Canada. "Its a huge honour to represent some of my teammates and to be the defenceman wearing the A is pretty special," he said, "obviously there are a lot of guys on this team that wear letters and are captains on their club teams so to be chosen out of the group of them is pretty special." Wholesale NFL Jerseys . LOUIS -- It seems only natural that many St. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The Mariners acquired Morales in a December trade with the Los Angeles Angels for left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas. Morales batted .273 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs in 2012. http://www.cheapwholesalejerse... . -- NASCAR trotted out eight drivers Thursday who are all mathematically eligible to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. [url=http://www.cheapwholesalejerseysnflshop.com/]Wholesale Jerseys . Clevelands hustling centre needs surgery to repair a muscle that split near his right knee, which could cause him to miss two more months -- a major setback for a young Cavaliers team struggling through another miserable season. Cheap Jerseys From China . Mark Pysyk also scored for Edmonton, which won its first playoff series since the current version of the team started in 2007. Laurent Brossoit made 14 saves. Drew Czerwonka replied for the Ice, while Nathan Lieuwen stopped 15 shots. HOUSTON -- When All-Star shortstop Rafael Furcal went on the disabled list last month, the St. Louis Cardinals werent sure how they would fill his spot. Rookie Pete Kozma is proving to be a more than adequate replacement. Kozma hit a two-run homer, Lance Lynn pitched seven innings to earn his 17th win and the Cardinals strengthened their grip on a playoff spot with a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night. Yadier Molina added a solo shot as the Cardinals moved 3 1/2 games in front of Milwaukee and Los Angeles for the second NL wild card. The Brewers lost 12-2 at Washington earlier in the day, and the Dodgers were off. "I dont think anybody would look past us losing our starting shortstop, an All-Star, leadoff hitter for most of the season, and think that was not going to be impactful on our club," manager Mike Matheny said. "Pete was given the opportunity and he just jumped on it. Thats how most careers are started." Lynn (17-7) struck out nine and allowed one run and five hits. The right-hander is 4-0 with a sparkling 0.89 ERA in his last four outings, including a relief appearance against Milwaukee on Sept. 9. Three of his hits and both walks came in the first two innings. "He was in hot water the first two, guys all over the bases, but he worked his way through it and got better as he went," Matheny said. "Its just impressive when he gets his fastball going." Kozma extended St. Louis lead to 3-0 with his second major league homer in the second, a day after hitting his first one. Kozma, who is batting .298 in 18 games, said hes been helped by the encouragement of his teammates. "Theres a little extra, all the guys, you hear them cheering all the time, especially here because theres not that many fans here, so you can really hear them," he said. Molina hit his 21st homer to make it 4-1 in the fourth. Houston starter Fernando Abad (0-6) pitched 1 2-3 innings before leaving with a strained right oblique. He walked one and allowed a run. He was replaced by Fernando Rodriguez, who was charged with three runs and seven hits in a career-long 4 1-3 innings. Lynn improved to 4-0 in five career appearances against the Astros, and St. Louis beat Houston for the ninth straight time in front of a crowd of 12,584 -- the smallest crowd in the history of the 12-year-old ballpark. Daniel Descalso got St. Louis off to a fast start with a two-out RBI triple in the second inning. Kozmas homer bounced off the wall above the Crawford Boxes in left field. Molina looked healthy a day after he was out of the lineup with lower back spasms.dddddddddddd. The All-Star catcher was injured avoiding a pitch on Saturday. He fell face down to the ground in the seventh inning getting out of the way of an inside pitch, but jumped right back up, before eventually drawing a walk. Matheny wasnt surprised that Molina missed just one game with his injury. "He heals quick and he lies really good too when it comes to what it really feels like," Matheny said with a smile. "Hes just got a pain tolerance thats pretty impressive." Scott Moore had an RBI single in the second for Houston. Moore drove in Jason Castro, who reached on a wild pitch after he struck out leading off the inning. Matt Holliday helped the Cardinals put the game away with a two-run single in the seventh. Holliday, who left Sundays game in the ninth inning with tightness in his back, went 1 for 5 with three strikeouts. Jason Motte, who leads the NL with 40 saves, got a break after converting opportunities in each of the Cardinals previous seven wins to earn NL player of the week honours on Monday. Centre fielder Jon Jay, who doesnt have an error this season, robbed Castro of a hit in the fourth inning with a tricky catch. He leapt to stop it with his glove, but it bounced off. He got his bare hand on it, before bobbling it and falling to his knees to snag it before it hit the ground. He smiled and shook his head as he got to his feet as players in the St. Louis dugout raised their arms and cheered. "He continues to make catches that make you notice him," Matheny said. Monday was the second time in the last four games that a Houston starting pitcher lasted 1 2-3 innings before leaving with an injury. Edgar Gonzalez strained his right hamstring and left at the same point in Fridays game. NOTES: Cardinals 3B David Freese was on the lineup card, but was taken out after rolling his right ankle in pregame warmups in the batting cage. He was replaced by Matt Carpenter. ... Astros 3B Matt Dominguez was scratched because of a stomach virus. He was replaced by Brandon Laird. ... St. Louis 1B Lance Berkman, who had his second knee surgery of the season on Sept. 11, said there was a "slim chance" he could play again this season. "Im not ruling it out," he said. ... Houston OF J.D. Martinez will have surgery to repair an injured hamate bone in his left wrist on Wednesday. ... These teams continue the series on Tuesday when St. Louis left-hander Jaime Garcia opposes rookie Lucas Harrell. ' ' '