MALMO, Sweden - Ending a four-year run without a gold medal wont be easy for Canada at the world junior hockey championship. The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. "Youve got to expect theyll be structured and hard working," coach Brent Sutter said Wednesday after a one-hour skate at the cosy Isstadion, where they face the Germans on Thursday. "Theyll be ready to play. "That game is the biggest game to date we have. It doesnt matter our opponent, its how we have to play. Lets make sure were responsible." You can watch all the action live on TSN beginning at 7am et/4am pt. Pre-tournament exhibition games against Finland, Sweden and Switzerland showed that while the Canadian squad — led by Halifax Mooseheads star Jonathan Drouin — will be among the better teams in the 10-team event, it doesnt have the speed and offensive flash of some of the 15 Canadian teams that won gold in the past. The host team Sweden, with at least 10 players returning from a squad that won silver last year in Ufa, Russia, looks like the team to beat, especially after the 3-0 beating they put on Canada in an exhibition game last week. The Swedes are in the opposite first-round group and will play at the newer, much larger Malmo Arena. Canada has only three players back from the 2013 tournament. They include Drouin, Jake Paterson (who didnt dress for any games in Ufa as the third goalie), and defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who is suspended for the first three games this year from a slashing incident in last years semifinals. The loss in Ufa ended Canadas 14-year run of top-three finishes at the tournament officially called the IIHF world under-20 championship. This years squad is younger than most, and should be a showcase for three players not even eligible to be drafted by the NHL yet. First among them is Connor McDavid, the dazzling 16-year-old playmaker and scoring star of the Erie Otters who will not be eligible for the draft until 2015. There is also forward Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice, the younger brother of Griffin Reinhart, along with big defenceman Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts. They may go one-two in the 2014 draft. Sutter has McDavid and Reinhart on the wings with centre Bo Horvat, an imposing Vancouver Canucks prospect from the London Knights. They were the only line to stay together through the teams three pre-tournament games. Reinhart turned 18 in November and is not a true "underage" junior, and Sutter uses him as he would a seasoned veteran. In exhibition play, he played the power play and on the penalty kill. In one instance when Canada was short-handed two men, he was the lone forward on the ice. "Hes an all-purpose player," said Sutter. "He just knows how to play the game. "Hes an intelligent player and his paying attention to details in all sorts of situations is very high. As a coach, youre very comfortable playing him in whatever situation that occurs." Reinhart is used to the ice time with Kootenay and was a captain on Canadian under-18 teams, so he likes the responsibility Sutter has given him. "It gives you confidence for opening night," he said. "We took some games to find our mentality and what well bring to the first one. "We feel confident in our game right now. The focus has turned onto the first game against Germany and were looking forward to it." The exhibition games were a test for Drouin, the third overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning last June. Sutter blasted him for a weak showing against Sweden, even though it was Drouins first game since suffering a concussion in a league game with Halifax on Dec. 8. He was moved from left wing to centre for the final exhibition against the Swiss and played better. "Brent said some stuff," said Drouin, who will likely centre big winger Anthony Mantha and the defensively solid Taylor Leier of the Portland Winterhawks. "I know I played bad and didnt help the team. "I had to step up my game against the Swiss and I think I did. I feel better. The first game was a little rough. Its been three weeks (since he played) and its different from major junior. Its way more fast, but I think the second game was better." Another question to be settled was in goal, and Sutter believes hes found his man in Paterson of the Saginaw Spirit, who will start against Germany. The Mooseheads Zach Fucale will start the tournament as the backup, but Sutter expects both will see action in the tournament. Other lines are likely to have Nic Petan of Portland between Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Kerby Rychel of the Gueph Storm; and captain Scott Laughton of the Oshawa Generals with Frederik Gauthier of the Rimouski Oceanic and Josh Anderson of the Knights. Charles Hudon of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens may slot in the Drouin line. The defence will likely be rearranged when Griffin Reinhart returns Dec. 31 against the Americans. Sutter has been trying various combinations for a group that includes Ekblad, Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild, Chris Bigras of the Owen Sound Attack, McDavids Erie teammate Adam Pelech, Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders and Derrick Pouliot of Portland. Without a high-powered attack, there has been much talk of playing "Boston Bruins hockey," which despite popular perception does not mean hammering everyone who moves, but rather working the puck up the ice in tight, five-man units and playing a controlled two-way game. "It is the makeup of our team," said Sutter, who won gold with a similar group in 2006. "We have to support each other. "We cant be a spread-out team thats playing one zone and two zones ahead. We have to be coming out of zones together and using each other. When one guy has the puck, the other four have to be options and be available for plays. And we have to be smart when were hitting the red line. We cant have turnovers." The game against Germany is a chance to see flashy forward Leon Draisaitl, who is Morrisseys teammate in Prince Albert. Draisaitl is a projected top-10 pick in 2014. They played against one another at the under-18 championship, and Morrissey said they have been joking about meeting again at the world juniors. "Hes a really skilled player," the Calgary native said. "Weve become almost best friends on our team. "Hes got phenomenal vision. I think he plays like (Anze) Kopitar. He likes (Pavel) Datsyuk a lot. All I can say is hes an unreal player." . 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"Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland.ST. LOUIS - Both teams all but cleared their benches trying to end it. One of the St. Louis Cardinals substitutes finally came through. Adron Chambers singled home the winning run in the 14th inning for his first RBI of the season, and the Cardinals outlasted the Pittsburgh Pirates and cut into their NL Central lead with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night. "Oh man, that was amazing," Chambers said. "If any one of these guys got that, theyd be jumping for joy just like I am inside." Sam Freeman (1-0) allowed a walk in a scoreless 14th for the Cardinals, who saddled the Pirates with their fourth straight loss and pulled within two games of them with a win in the 4-hour, 55-minute game. "We had a lot of guys step up," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "That was a big, big win. It was one of those ones you just felt you had to win somehow." Pittsburgh had four hits the first time through the order against Adam Wainwright and led 3-0 after two innings on homers by Andrew McCutchen and Jordy Mercer. They had six hits the rest of the way and couldnt quite recover from left fielder Starling Martes dropped fly ball in the ninth. "Hes probably not in a good place right now," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Theres some hard lessons learned up here from time to time." Hurdle didnt want to put it all on Marte. "We got nicked for a run. We had to play five more after that," Hurdle said. "We threw everything out there, they threw everything out there. "We let one probably get away from us." Both teams had chances in extra innings before the Cardinals, who had dropped four of five, cashed in. Jon Jay singled off Jared Hughes (2-3) with one out in the 14th with his fourth hit. Jay stole second and then raced home and barely eluded the tag on Martes relay to the plate. Hughes was the Pirates seventh pitcher. The Cardinals used six. "If you were to know the outcome of the game, youd prefer to save your arms in the bullpen," Pirates starter Charlie Morton said. "Theyve been so good. You just hope to not put too much of a load on them." The Pirates loaded the bases with one out in the 13th before Seth Maness got Josh Harrison to ground into a double play. Pittsburgh got two key outs in extra innings by forcing Maness to bat. Right fielder Josh Wilson was moved into a five-man infield before participating in a rare 6-9-3 double play to end the 11th. Jeanmar Gomez finished his third scoreless inning by striking out Maness with the bases loaded in the 13th. Maness was inserted into the cleanup spot following a double switch, replacing Matt Holliday, who slipped returning from a secondary lead aand injured an ankle.dddddddddddd X-rays were negative. "I obviously need a little help up there," Maness said. "Ill be a little more prepared next time." The Cardinals forced extra innings and gave Mark Melancon a blown save, aided by Marte, who dropped Daniel Descalsos routine fly ball for a two-base error with one out in the ninth. Descalso scored the tying run on Allen Craigs single. Wainwright was the first National League pitcher to 13 wins but is 0-2 in four starts since then. He has worked seven innings in all of them although he needed 122 pitches against the Pirates. He allowed three runs and five hits with six strikeouts and a season-high three walks. Jay had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who have been offensively challenged while going 2-5 on a 10-game homestand entering the Pirates series. David Freese is 2 for 13 with the bases loaded after shattering his bat grounding into a double play that got the Cardinals on the board in the sixth. Morton threw one pitch behind Freese not long after getting a visit from pitching coach Ray Searage. The Pirates defence was perfectly placed behind reliever Bryan Morris for pinch-hitter Matt Adams lineout to second baseman Neil Walker in shallow right field with two on to end the eighth. Wainwright got three extra days rest after lacking a put-away pitch in recent efforts. He still had to fight for outs, needing 33 pitches to get out of the first, although the Pirates had just two hits off him after Mercers homer in the second. Andrew Lambo was 0-3 with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout in his major league debut for the Pirates. He got the start after Jose Tabata was scratched with flu-like symptoms. Lambo has hit 31 homers at Double-A and Triple-A this year, tied for the most in the minors. Morton allowed two runs in six innings against a team that has punished him. He entered 2-6 with a 6.30 ERA against St. Louis and has lost five consecutive decisions. Notes: Cardinals C Yadier Molina took part in most field activities for the second day and plans on playing Thursday, the first day he is eligible to come off the DL from a right knee injury. St. Louis was 5-7 the first 12 games without Molina, who told reporters it has been tough watching. ... Wednesdays starters Francisco Liriano (12-5, 2.83) and St. Louis rookie Shelby Miller (11-7, 2.89) are both among the NL ERA leaders. Miller lasted just two pitches in his last outing when he was drilled on his pitching elbow on a liner by the Dodgers Carl Crawford, but escaped with a bruise. ... Marte was hit by a pitch for the 20th time this season, when he led off the fifth. Before the game, Hurdle referred to Marte as a "Pinata." Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '