TORONTO -- Most people thought that culling together players from eight different nations to comprise Team Europe would turn out to be a sideshow. Many believed that the patchwork squad would become the laughingstock of the World Cup of Hockey.That most definitely has not been the case, and now Team Europe has a chance to eliminate one of the top contenders to win this tournament when it faces Team Sweden in the semifinals on Sunday at Air Canada Centre (1 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN app). Team Europe finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record, including victories over Team USA and the Czech Republic, before losing to Canada.The Europeans 3-0 win over the U.S. in the opener for both teams stunned everyone in the hockey world and jump-started Europes run to the semifinals. Prior to this best-on-best tournament, no one knew what to expect from Team Europe, but its evident this team has come together both on and off the ice and is motivated to reach the finals. In its final preseason game, Team Europe trounced Sweden 6-2 and scored five goals on 22 shots against Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.Now that the Europeans believe in themselves, theyll be even tougher to eliminate. Coach Ralph Krueger has pushed all the right buttons and Team Europe is poised to win. Sweden (2-0-1) is still considered a strong favorite, however. The Swedes defeated Russia and Finland, but dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Team North America.Best playersSweden: Without a doubt, Lundqvist has been Swedens best player. Despite missing the first game of this tournament against Russia because of the flu, he has been outstanding the past two games and has proven why he should still be considered a world-class goalie. He has made a total of 81 saves on 85 shots the past two games, and will need to continue to stand on his head against Team Europe if Sweden is to advance to the finals. This tournament is likely the last time Lundqvist, 34, will represent his country in international competition. Hes proud of his international success and wants to end it with a World Cup of Hockey championship.Europe: Its tough to single out one player on this roster. The reason this team reached the semifinals is because it believes in the team concept. In order for Europe to advance, forward Mats Zuccarello needs to produce. He has one goal and two assists for three points in three games, but Europe needs more from him and his line.Matchup to watchSwedens third line of Carl Hagelin, Marcus Kruger and?Jakob Silfverberg?has been a solid, shutdown unit in this tournament. This threesome has used its speed and forechecking ability, including a little bit of grit, to slow down the oppositions top lines. That will likely be the case again against Team Europe. Expect that line to match up against Europes top unit of Marian Hossa, Anze Kopitar and Tomas Tatar.We saw how Hagelin, Kruger and Silfverberg were able to neutralize Team North Americas top line, including?Connor McDavid, after the young squad jumped out to an early lead. Sweden needs to play a more patient game than it did against Team North America. Once the Swedes settled things down and controlled the play, they held the attack for the final two periods of regulation before the loss in OT. Sweden needs to control the puck and not turn it over, which is something the team has done a few times in this tournament. Also, special teams will become a big factor in this game. Sweden uncharacteristically went 0-for-5 on the power play against Team North America. Meanwhile, Europe is 11-for-12 on the penalty kill in this tournament.PredictionPrior to the start of this tournament, many people, including me, picked Sweden to win it all. I still believe Swedens depth, ability to score, overall team defense and the fact that Lundqvist has been solid will equal a win over Team Europe and set up a three-game championship series against the winner of the Canada-Russia semifinal. I believe it will be a low-scoring game, but that Lundqvist will stand on his head once again.?Sweden wins 2-0. . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. [url=http://www.superstarschoenenkopen.be/adidas-yeezy-kopen-belgie/adidas-yeezy... Boost 350 Bestellen . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. [url=http://www.superstarschoenenkopen.be/]Adidas Superstar Kopen . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge.DALLAS -- Tyler Seguin wants to become the new face of the Dallas Stars. Hell have to wipe a little egg off it first. That process started at an introductory news conference Tuesday when the dynamic young forward with a penchant for Twitter controversy apologized again for an anti-gay comment that showed up on his account over the weekend. The 21-year-old former No. 2 overall pick also reiterated that his account was hacked -- but acknowledged that even he wouldnt believe that explanation if it came from someone else. Timing was a problem, too. The tweet showed up within a week of Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli saying Seguin needed to be a "better pro" -- and just two days after he was traded to the Stars. The Twitter comment could be viewed as anti-Texas, too. "I understand why that would have been the perfect time for somebody to do that," said Seguin, who has suspended his account. "Im looking forward to moving on and earning the respect of everyone else." Seguin acknowledged he was the source of a gay slur on Twitter in April. He said he "wasnt thinking" then and that his Twitter account has since been hacked twice. He says his phone was in his pocket each time it happened, and multiple accounts, including email and iTunes, were improperly accessed. New Stars general manager Jim Nill says he is taking the centerpiece of his first major trade at his word. Its not often a player goes on the block just three years after going No. 2 in the draft, but there have been reports that the Bruins werent happy with Seguins exploits off the ice. "Who are we to judge when you dont know," Nill said. "And I think that why Im excited about today is I think its a great chance for Tyler to turn the page. Hes starting a new career here in Dallas. We had a great talk about it. Hes the only one that knows what happened. I just think its time to move on and go from there." Nill gave up one of Dallas steadiest scorers, winger Loui Eriksson, andd three younger players to get Seguin, another centre in Rich Peverley and defenceman Ryan Button.dddddddddddd A day later, Nill got Shawn Horcoff from Edmonton for defenceman Philip Larsen and a seventh-round pick in 2016. Horcoff, who played his first 12 seasons for the Oilers, had ties to Nill through a pair of Canadian national teams that won world championships. Jamie Benn is still in place after leading the Stars in scoring last season, and he will get to move to his more natural position on the wing with all the centres Nill has added. Kari Lehtonen is the starting goalie coming off a strong season. Otherwise, the roster has seen a significant makeover. "Weve made a lot of changes," Nill said. "You just dont go down to Walmart or Kmart and pull something off the shelf. Its an everyday thing and you just keep working at it. We were fortunate. At the right time, the right players became available." Nill also hired a new coach, replacing Glen Gulutzan with Lindy Ruff as the Stars try to end a five-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history dating to 1967 in Minnesota. "Everyone knows its a great city to live and to play, but the biggest thing is we want to get back to winning here," said Horcoff, who played in the 2006 Stanley Cup finals with Edmonton. "When I first came in the league, thats what the Dallas Stars were all about. It was a tough building to come in and play." Mike Modano was the face of the franchise then and is an adviser now. He attended Tuesdays event and met Seguin for the first time. A day earlier, he tried to ease the mind of Stars President Jim Lites about the Twitter trouble. "All Mo said to me, a bit tongue in cheek, but he said, Thank the lord there werent cellphones or social media when I was 21," Lites said. "Thats not to let anybody off the hook. I dont want to make light of anything. Its one of those deals you live and learn and get better." And avoid Twitter for a while. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '