For the first time in more than 30 years, Canada officially has a medal drought at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Canada dropped the bronze medal game to Russia by a score of 2-1 on Sunday, marking the first time it has failed to win a medal in back-to-back tournaments since the Program of Excellences inception in 1982. Russia stormed out to an early 2-0 lead over Canada on Sunday thanks to first period goals from Mikhail Grigorenko and Eduard Gimatov. It would provide the basis for a lead Russia would never surrender. Canada would get on the board mid-way through the third with defenceman Josh Morrissey giving the Canadian team some life, but it would not be enough as the Russians would beat Canada to claim bronze for a second straight year. Andrei Vasilevski turned away 28 of the 29 shots Canada threw at him on Sunday, improving his all-time World Junior record to 11-4 over the course of three tournaments. He was named Russias Player of the Game. Aaron Ekblad was named Canadas Player of the Game. Canadian goalkeeper Zach Fucale took over as starter after Canadas preliminary round loss to the Czech Republic and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the semifinal. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick expressed disappointment with the result despite his strong play. "This is absolutely not about me," he told TSN in a post-game interview. "This is just about the team winning and we came here for a reason and we didnt get it done." Canada has now gone five tournaments without bringing home World Junior gold. Their last gold came in 2009 when they claimed their fifth consecutive tournament, winning on home ice in Ottawa. The loss sets Canada up for a tough group at the 2015 World Juniors that will be hosted in Toronto and Montreal. With the fourth-place finish, Canada is set to once again be drawn with the United States. They will also be joined by defending gold medalists Finland as well as Slovakia and Germany. "For guys coming back next year its good motivation," said forward Curtis Lazar, who finished third in team scoring with three goals and four assists in seven games. "Its Canada, you want to get back on top. Its a tough tournament to win, thats the bottom line," Lazar added. This Canadian team has 11 players that would be eligible to play in next years tournament, including Lazar. However, 17-year-olds Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad are projected to go first and second in the 2014 NHL Draft and their availability for next years team would be questionable. It was a tough tournament for Canada, as the team surrendered the first goal in all but one of their games. But the bronze medal game saw a better overall effort for Canada than the one they put forth in the semifinal loss to Finland. "In this particular game you could make a case that Team Canada deserved a better fate but in the bigger picture of where they finished in the tournament I dont think you could say they deserved anything more than what they got, which is a fourth-place finish," TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie said. "In a difficult game to play, they had more emotion, they had more commitment and more chances to score and generated a lot more than they did in the semifinals against Finland, where they generated only three shots in the third period," McKenzie added. The tournament also saw head coach Brent Sutters perfect World Junior record shattered after Canada lost its preliminary round game to the Czech Republic 5-4 in a shootout. Sutter had gone 6-0 and won gold in both his previous coaching tenures in the 2005 tournament in Vancouver and Kelowna and the 2006 tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota. McKenzie believes Canadas troubles may have less to do with Canadas on-ice personnel and more to do with the mental approach the team takes to the high-profile competition, especially the knockout games. "Its more along the lines of [being] terrified to lose than [they] are determined to win," McKenzie observed of three years worth of semifinal defeats. Fucale would also acknowledge the weight of high expectations after the defeat. "Here its all about results," said the 18-year-old. "Canada expects more, we expect more from ourselves and you know we didnt get it done." Steve McNair Jersey . On Thursday, a judge said Varlamov could be released if he posted $5,000 bond and be allowed to travel with the team but he was ordered to stay away from his girlfriend, among other restrictions. Curley Culp Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Bruce-...ans-jersey/.com) - Intrastate rivals collide Saturday as the Texas State Bobcats hit the road to take on the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns in a non-conference battle at Frank Erwin Center. Derrick Henry Jersey . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Eddie George Jersey . A judge had summoned Clemens and Brian McNamee to federal court in Brooklyn for settlement talks aimed at heading off a trial in the defamation case. McNamees lawyer emerged saying an agreement wasnt likely. "I think this is a case where the lines are deeply drawn in the sand," said attorney Richard Emery.The surprising Columbus Blue Jackets will try to grab their first lead of the Eastern Conference first round series when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for tonights Game 5 at CONSOL Energy Center. The Blue Jackets entered this series against the Metropolitan Division champions as heavy underdogs, but they sit tied with the Penguins at two wins apiece. Columbus has arrived at this point with a pair of overtime victories, including a 4-3 triumph in Wednesdays Game 4 clash at Nationwide Arena that gave the franchise its first home playoff win. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, hopes to rebound after coughing up an early 3-0 lead in Wednesdays game. Holding leads has been an issue for both clubs in this postseason encounter. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this series is the first in league history in which four consecutive games have been won by a team which has trailed by at least two goals. Marc-Andre Fleury made 42 saves in Game 4, but the Penguins goaltender is aiming for a bounce-back performance on Saturday. The veteran backstop made a stickhandling blunder to allow Columbus to tie the game in the final minute of regulation before yielding a weak goal to Nick Foligno in overtime. "He was our best player in the (Game 4) last night. Unfortunately a mistake, the bouncing puck behind the net, cost us in the last 30 seconds of the game," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said of Fleury. "He was our best player in the game. He has to rebound now from that, as does our team." Although he helped Pittsburgh win a Stanley Cup title in 2009, Fleurys postseason struggles for the Pens over the last few seasons have been well- documented. Last spring, he was benched in the middle of Pittsburghs first- round series win over the New York Islanders and replaced by Tomas Vokoun as the starter for the rest of the playoffs. Vokoun is still with the Pittsburgh organization, but hasnt played an NHL game since last spring due to ongoing issues with a blood clot. Fleurys current backup Jeff Zatkoff has never played in the postseason. Fleury isnt Pittsburghs only problem in this series, as the club is still waiting for superstar forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to record their first goals of the 2014 playoffs. Both players have four assists through four games. "(Crosby and Malkin) are our best players," Bylsma said. "We need more from our whole team. We need more from them." Foligno, who sat out the first two games of this series due to injury, tallied the game-winner 2:49 into OT on Wednesday. He carried the pucck up the left wing through the neutral zone in a 1-on-1 with Pens defenseman Matt Niskanen, then released a long-distance shot from above the left circle.dddddddddddd The puck fluttered toward Fleury and dipped below his glove hand before hitting the net and ending the game. "I didnt think it would actually work, but it ended up working, so Im thanking my lucky stars tonight," Foligno said. Fleury also was responsible for a miscue leading to the Blue Jackets tying goal with less than 24 seconds remaining in regulation. He headed behind his net to play a Jack Johnson dump-in, but the puck hopped over his stick and found Ryan Johansen, who dished into the slot for a successful shot by Brandon Dubinsky. In a performance that was the polar opposite of Fleury, Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky started the game slowly and finished strong. Last seasons Vezina Trophy winner clocked in with 22 stops after giving up the games first three scores in a span of just over five minutes in the first period. Johansen and Boone Jenner notched the other goals for the Blue Jackets, who had gone 0-3 in Ohios capital in the postseason before Wednesdays triumph. Craig Adams, Chris Kunitz and James Neal tallied for the Penguins, who will try to bounce back with a better effort tonight on home ice to regain a lead in this best-of-seven battle. "The work, compete and battle level has been the most troubling thing from our team," Bylsma said. "Thats been the thing throughout this series thats been the most troubling. Thats got to be raised up to a level that is necessary at this time of year, this type of hockey, playoff hockey. We have ourselves in a series now. Its 2-2, best-of-three. We have to have that in our game and in our team if we are going to win this series." Prior to Game 4, the Blue Jackets scratched defenseman Ryan Murray with a right foot injury suffered when he took a shot to the skate in practice. Murray is questionable for Game 5, as is fellow defenseman Fedor Tyutin, who could be back in the lineup Saturday after missing the past two outings with an upper-body issue. Pittsburgh was 28-9-4 in the Steel City during the regular season, while the Blue Jackets were 21-17-3 as the visiting team. Columbus road win in Game 2, a 4-3 double-overtime victory, marked just the third time the Jackets won in Pittsburgh over 11 all-time meetings. Game 6 of this series is scheduled for Monday in Columbus. If needed, a decisive seventh game is set for Wednesday at CONSOL Energy Center. 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