faces an uphill climb to reach the knockout round following the

TORONTO - Star forward Connor McDavids cast is off, he has clearance for non-contact drills and is confident hell be ready to play in the upcoming world junior hockey championship.Now its just a matter of seeing how things go at the Canadian teams pre-tournament camp.McDavid hasnt played in a game since breaking a bone in his right hand on Nov. 12. The Erie Otters forward has been skating regularly but his cast wasnt removed until this week. The junior phenom will be examined by doctors on a regular basis and the team says theyre taking things day by day. But the goal is to get McDavid into at least one exhibition game before the tournament opener on Dec. 26.I can take full slapshots and all that, so the hand feels good, McDavid said Thursday afternoon at a downtown hotel. The wrist is not too stiff at all. So it should be all good.Thirty players have been invited to camp and 22 players will make the final team.The 17-year-old McDavid, who has 51 points in 18 games this season, is an early favourite to be selected first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. His presence would provide a big boost to a squad that hasnt won gold in five years.McDavid was sporting a yellow no-contact jersey during a 75-minute evening practice at MasterCard Centre. He was flying down the ice during drills but his puck-handling skills were a little rusty.I felt good, obviously a couple hiccups there with the puck, he said. I thought I was shooting it fine and I got better as the practice went on.Head coach Benoit Groulx said it would be nice to get McDavid into an exhibition game, but its most important to have him ready for the tournament. We will follow what the doctor says and how he reacts to shooting the puck and passing the puck, he said. But right now theres no rush. Were happy to have him here and well see how it plays out.McDavid was on last years team that finished fourth in Malmo, Sweden. Canadas first game at this years event will be played at Montreals Bell Centre against Slovakia.We want to be patient with him in order to have him at 100 per cent, Groulx said. We dont want to put Connor McDavid on the ice at 75 per cent. Thats why were patient and were going to have to wait and see how he reacts to practising.Other returning players include Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale, defencemen Chris Bigras of the Owen Sound Attack and Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders, and forwards Frederik Gauthier of the Rimouski Oceanic, Nic Petan of the Portland Winterhawks and Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice.There could still be a few late additions to the camp roster. NHL clubs have until the Dec. 19 roster freeze to decide whether they will loan players to the team. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin wont be joining the squad but there is a chance Curtis Lazar of the Ottawa Senators and Bo Horvat of the Vancouver Canucks could still be added.The players will practise again Friday before taking on the CIS Toronto Selects over the weekend.We have a good positive attitude, Fucale said. We had a good first practice. Its starting well.After the first few days in Toronto, the team will head down the highway for next weeks pre-competition camp in St. Catharines, Ont. We have the best of the best here, Groulx said. The best 30 players in the country. Theyre all talented. They have skills, they have size, they have speed, they can shoot and pass the puck. But its also about their attitude. What they can bring.Can they block shots? Can they forecheck hard? Can they track hard? Can they make the big plays when it matters the most? To me thats the difference between a good CHL player — because there are a lot of good CHL players — but weve got to have, on this team, world-class players. Guys that can adapt their game and elevate their play. This is what were looking for.Canada will play group stage games in Montreal and knockout games in Toronto. The tournament runs through Jan. 5.———Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. New England Patriots Shirts . This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. Patriots Jerseys 2019 . Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . Forward Iker Muniain scored the winner in the 70th minute after Bilbaos incessant pressure recovered the ball and sparked a counterattack inside Barcelonas half. Neymar was once again tagged to pick up Messis goal-scoring duties, but when he wasnt frustrated by slippery footing Bilbaos defence got the better of him. Fake Patriots Jerseys .Tzavelas opened the scoring in the 11th and Pereyra added another in the 51st. Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes. Patriots Jerseys 2020 . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep.Algeria, Russia set sights on knockout round (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TEAM 1410) Curitiba, Brazil - Russia and Algeria will close out the group stage of the World Cup on Thursday with a crucial Group H clash at the Arena da Baixada, with both sides hoping to secure a knockout round berth. Algeria enters the match riding a wave of unexpected confidence after pummeling South Korea, 4-2, in Porto Alegre on Sunday. The Desert Foxes opened the scoring after 26 minutes as Carl Medjani sent a long ball over the top to the feet of striker Islam Slimani, who did well to split two South Korean defenders and touch it past goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong. Two minutes later the Algerians doubled their advantage when Abdelmoumene Djabou served a perfect corner kick into the penalty area where Halliche got to the ball ahead of an out-of-position Jung and nodded it home with pace. Djabou then made it 3-0 for Algeria seven minutes before the intermission when he found himself alone in the box to accept a square ball from Slimani and slide it home for a three-goal halftime lead. South Korea got back into the match five minutes into the second half when Son Heung-Min collected a long pass from Ki Sung-Yueng, turned and beat Algeria goalkeeper Rais MBolhi through the legs. But Algeria regained the three goal lead in the 62nd minute as Sofiane Feghouli and Yacine Brahimi worked a nice one-two on the edge of the penalty area to send Brahimi through on goal and he finished by ripping a strike under Jung. Again South Korea pulled one back through Koo Ja-Cheol, but it wasnt enough as the Desert Foxes held on for the win. Vahid Halilhodzics side can advance to the round of 16 on Thursday with at least a draw. "I woulld like to dedicate this victory to the fans who were here and the Algerian people back home who have waited a long time for this victory.dddddddddddd It means a lot to us all," Halilhodzic said."Today the team played to its strengths. I told the players to keep it tight for the first 15 minutes and I felt that did extremely well and effectively in the first half - it was almost perfect. We slowed a little during the second half, why Im not sure. Now we have to try to get a good result against Russia and qualify for the round of 16. Anything is possible." Russia, meanwhile, faces an uphill climb to reach the knockout round following their 1-0 loss to Belgium in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. The first 80 minutes of the match produced little in the way of offensive output for either side, but Divock Origi gave the match its one moment of quality two minutes from time to hand Belgium its second win in as many games. Chelsea star Eden Hazard set the scoring play in motion when he ook possession of the ball on the left wing and dribbled to the end line, where he pulled a pass back to Origi, who struck it first-time into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Russia needs to win to have any chance of advancing. A one-goal win for Russia means that South Korea would have to beat Belgium by three, while a two-goal margin for Russia makes them a near lock to advance. Anything less than a win, however, and Fabio Capellos team will be eliminated. "I still believe we have a chance, but we now have no choice but to beat Algeria," said Capello. "Today we went out to win the match, but we got caught on the counter-attack - its as simple as that." ' ' '