TORONTO – Standing just a few steps from the ice, a pace or two away from the Marlies dressing room, Ben Scrivens is explaining the intricate wiring of his thought process. Hes only a few months removed from a bold 2011-2012 campaign which saw him post microscopic, league-leading numbers en route to a surprising berth in the Calder Cup final. With those weighty accomplishments however come expectation and this fall the sizeable expectations are nothing less than a repeat of last season. Hes on the cusp of a job in the NHL, but with that league locked out and looking hopeless, hes got no choice but to raise the bar at Ricoh Coliseum and beyond that in Syracuse, Hamilton, Peoria, Adirondack and wherever else. Searching for the proper analogy to describe his way of thinking in midst of a critical third pro season, Scrivens finally lands on baseball. “Whats your goal, a .300 average?” he asks rhetorically. “Well yeah that can be your goal, it can .350, .250, whatever it is, but youre not going into the game saying ‘Okay Ive got to hit a home run in the second, you go into the game saying ‘I want to stretch out my at-bats, I want to be selective with my pitches, dont swing at the first pitch. Its simple, but its the only way that you can follow a plan is making it simple and repeatable.” Scrivens is not the type to jot down goals on a sheet of paper, crossing them off upon completion at the end of the year. Instead, hes the one to lay all the puzzle pieces on the table, dissecting what patterns and strategies will be necessary to ‘make whole the picture on the front of the box. “If you focus on the process then youre not readjusting your goals every time that youve achieved something,” he explained, sounding more like the author of a self-help book than a promising goaltender. “You look at it in hindsight as ‘Okay, thats what I accomplished and this is the way that I accomplished it so next year Im going to focus on these things again and hopefully try and replicate and maybe become more consistent.” Admittedly “trying to minimize the valleys and maximize the peaks” Scrivens aspires for a more stable approach this season. A “huge proponent of a cyclical way of thinking” the 26-year-old believes less in luck than in logic and reality, confident that the breaks of the game will even out at some point. Hes inclined to stream-line his focus from save to save rather than a scoped out set of big picture ambitions and clearly-defined objectives. Watching the Alberta native up close over the past two seasons, Marlies coach Dallas Eakins is steeped in the pressure that surrounds his number one goaltender, the weight of repeating and even exceeding last years success. But hes loath to run from it and insists upon the same from Scrivens. “Listen, I dont like limits on anyone,” said Eakins. “If you can run a six-minute mile, well lets go run a five-and-a-half mile. If you can climb a mountain thats 10,000 feet, go find one thats 12,000…I want these guys to push their limits. Even if he was MVP of the season last year and we wouldve won the championship, I want him to be better this year.” After last season wrapped up, coach and goaltender conversed and ultimately concluded that Scrivens league-leading goals against average (2.04) could have actually been lower. “Its something that our organization is very proud about and Im proud of Ben individually for that and he should be proud as well,” said Eakins of the mark. “But we look back at the season and he went through about a four or five week-span where there was a bunch of goals he definitely wanted back. He couldve been even lower there.” After three starts this fall, Scrivens has allowed seven goals on 60 shots (.896 save percentage), winning once and losing twice. Drawing near in his rear-view mirror are back-ups Jussi Rynnas and Mark Owuya, the former posting a shutout in his first start of the season this past Saturday. Scrivens wont consume himself with numbers and remains glued to the process, but after swimming in the NHL waters for 11 games with the Leafs last season, its clear that his mindset has altered slightly from a year prior. With the lockout ongoing, however, his sights admittedly cannot stray past the next save with the Marlies. “Obviously this year wouldve been a different mind-set and a different approach for the season,” he said. “It wouldve been less of a set yourself up for a chance to get called up and more of a steal someones job, not that its available for the taking or its going to be given to you. But I now have a little bit more experience at [the NHL] level and a few more accolades down here. I feel like Im ready to make the jump and Ive got to earn it at this point.” Gary Cahill Soccer Jersey . Then linebacker Lawrence Timmons provided a reminder that -- Ben Roethlisberger or no Ben Roethlisberger -- Pittsburghs identity begins and ends with defence. Timmons intercepted Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel on the second snap of overtime and Shaun Suisham of Wallaceburg, Ont. Glen Johnson England Jersey . The Atlanta Braves called it frustrating. Stults combined with two relievers on a five-hitter, Chase Headley homered and drove in two runs and the Padres beat Atlanta 4-1 on Monday night. htt... . With 16 first round matches postponed and showers predicted for the rest of the week, the Wimbledon warmup could already be facing a Monday final for a second straight year. [url=http://www.englandsoccershop.co.uk/Rickie-Lambert-World-Cup-Jersey.html]Ric... Lambert Soccer Jersey . On Tuesday, both sides finally got their wish. After a 5 1/2-week absence from the Colts off-season workouts, the No. 1 overall draft pick showed up in a red No. Glen Johnson World Cup Jersey . Canadas biggest football prize is travelling across the country by train to celebrate the Cups 100th anniversary.Malcolm Subban of the Belleville Bulls has been named Canadas starting goaltender for their World Junior pre-competition game against Finland on Thursday. Catch the game live on TSN and TSN.ca Thursday at 9:30am et/6:30am pt. The game will be repeated on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. As stated by head coach Steve Spott, the starters job is an open competition between Subban and Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack. The Boston Bruins prospect, who is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban, has a 15-7-3 record, 2.17 goals-against average and .932 save percentage with Belleville this season. Jake Paterson of the Saginaw Spirit is the teams alternate goaltender, as this years sqquad has brought a third goaltender for insurance against injury and because of the travel distance to south-central Russia.dddddddddddd Canada will be without forward Jonathan Huberdeau for Thursdays contest, as the Saint John Sea Dogs forward was suspended four games by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League earlier this month. The IIHF will honour the suspension, which means Huberdeau must sit out all IIHF games until the Sea Dogs play their fourth game, which concludes Thursday. Huberdeaus suspension opens the door for Ty Rattie to jump up to the first line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Canada opens the world junior tournament on Boxing Day against Germany (TSN, TSN Mobile TV and TSN.ca at 4am et/1am pt). ' ' '