death of her father John in 1986 from cancer, although she continued

HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut brought Hockey East to Hartford with a big upset Wednesday night.Playing their first season in one of the nations premier conferences, the Huskies stunned No. 3 Boston College 1-0 before 8,089 fans who turned out for the teams home opener at the XL Center.Rob Nichols made 35 saves for UConn (2-4-2, 1-2 Hockey East) against the five-time national champions.Evan Richardson, a BC transfer, had the only goal. He stepped into the left faceoff circle and beat goalie Thatcher Demko on a power play in the first period. The crowd broke into towel-waving cheers as Brass Bonanza, the old Hartford Whalers fight song, blared from the speakers.Fans were on their feet for the last 2 minutes of the game, as Nichols faced a barrage of shots from the Eagles (4-3, 1-2) before being mobbed by his teammates at the final horn.That was pretty special to be a part of, Richardson said. As a player, you try not to let that get into your head, but youve got to kind of take a minute, look around and realize what youre doing is pretty fun.The win was the Huskies first in Hockey East and the first time they beat a top-5 opponent.Boston College had not been shut out in 106 games, since January 2012. UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh was an assistant coach on that BC team.Tonight was a really amazing night, Cavanaugh said.His mentor, Boston College coach Jerry York, agreed.We saw a fan base tonight that was very excited. We saw a venue that was difficult to play in because of that, he said.UConn plans to play in Hartford for the next several years, until a 5,000-seat arena can be built on the schools campus in Storrs, about 30 miles away.The downtown arena, which hosts some Huskies basketball games and was once home to the Whalers, underwent a $35 million renovation this summer. The building seats 15,000, but UConn was turning fans away at the door. The school has the arena configured for about 6,000 fans, with giant curtains blocking access to much of the upper bowl in an attempt to create a more intimate atmosphere.I dont think it fills the void of the Whalers, but this is definitely a plus for us, said 27-year-old Sloan Sandler of Bloomfield, who wore a Whalers jersey to her first UConn game. Were going to try and come as often as possible.Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who graduated from Boston College, attended the game with his family. He said he will push for UConn to continue to play the bulk of its Hockey East games in Hartford, even after the on-campus arena is built.I think tonight is a great demonstration of why — the ability to draw more people here than are going to be drawn for hockey out there, he said.UConn has spent two years making the transition to Hockey East from a non-scholarship Division I program in the Atlantic Hockey Association. Since 1998, the Huskies had played in a 2,000-seat, on-campus rink with metal bleachers.Cavanaugh said he believes the school, which has won 13 national mens and womens basketball championships, has the potential to be a hockey draw wherever it plays and for a long time.I dont want to be the Macarena or the Hustle or a one-hit wonder, he said. I want to be the team thats continually packing this building and a team thats competing for national championships. Vans Old Skool Australia . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Vans Australia . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. http://www.cheapoldskoolaustralia.com/ . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza. Wholesale Vans Shoes .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. Vans Australia Sale .Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been neck and neck all season, with 17 points separating the rivals and double points on offer for the race.Tensions between them have spilled over during the campaign and the pairs fragile relationship was evident during Thursdays pre-race news conference, when Rosberg goaded Hamilton by advising him to race cleanly.Pasadena, CA - Two of the preseason favorites to play in the first-ever College Football Playoff found their way to postseason Nirvana, as the second-ranked Florida State Seminoles and third-ranked Oregon Ducks will square off in the 2015 Rose Bowl on New Years Day. You can watch the game live starting at 5pm et/2pm pt on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5. A spot opposite either Ohio State or Alabama in the College Football Championship Game on Jan. 12 awaits the winner of this highly anticipated matchup. Jimbo Fishers Seminoles are the defending national champions and all they have done is win 29 straight games since 2012. Florida State ran the table in 2013 en route to the national title and is in prime position to make it two years in a row, after going 13-0 in 2014, with yet another ACC crown under its belt. The teams success over the last two years has fortified Fishers status as one of the nations premier coaches. He was recently rewarded for his efforts with an eight-year contract extension through 2022. Florida State is a very special place, Fisher said. I appreciate the support of the administration in accomplishing some great things. ... I look forward to continuing to build on what we are establishing. Florida State is 27-14-2 all-time in the postseason, and has won six straight bowl games, including last years thrilling 34-31 win over Auburn in the BCS Championship Game. Mark Helfrichs Ducks have just one blemish on the season and that came early on against a tough Arizona squad, 31-24 on Oct. 2. Since then, the team has reeled off eight straight victories, including exacting sweet revenge on those Wildcats, routing Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game (51-13) to solidify its spot in the four-team playoff. Oregon is 12-15 all-time in bowl games and has won three straight postseason bouts, including last years 30-7 drubbing of Texas in the Alamo Bowl. This marks OUs seventh appearance in the Rose Bowl, with the team sporting a mere 2-4 record in the event all-time. This is the first time these two teams have met on the football field. Winning pretty is not a prerequisite to playing for a national championship these days and thats a good thing, because FSU has not done a lot of that in 2014. Still, the teams offensive success, especially in crucial times, has driven it to its current standing and last years Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston has been the main reason why. Despite a ton of off-the-field distractions that may haunt Winston into his NFL career, there have been very few on-the-field issues, as the redshirt sophomore has produced, especially in crunch time. Winston has completed an efficient 65.4 percent of his passes in 2014, for 3,559 yards and 24 TDs. While his 17 interceptions have seemed problematic, he has come up big at the right time and kept FSUs win streak alive. It certainly helps to have a pair or receiving outlets like WR Rashad Greene and TE Nick OLeary to count on. Greene, FSUs all-time leading receiver, had another hugely productive year, hauling in 93 balls, for 1,306 yards and seven TDs. OLeary, a First-Team All-American, took home the Mackey Award as the nations top tight end after catching 47 balls, for 614 yards and six scores. Karlos Williams was supposed to have a monster year for FSU on the ground, but instead posted modest numbers with 609 yards and 10 TDs on 4.4 yards per carry. What it did do however, is allow freshman Dalvin Cook to get on the field. The 6-0, 200-pound youngster averageed nearly six yards per carry and finished with a team-high 905 yards, with eight TDs.dddddddddddd Of course, the offensive success is made possible by one of the nations premier offensive lines, anchored by First-Team All-American guard Tre Jackson. Special teams has played an important role as well, headlined by First-Team All-American place kicker Roberto Aguayo. FSUs defense has taken a step back from last years fearsome group, with the team allowing 378.3 yards per game on 5.3 yards per play. The Noles were able to force timely turnovers with 24 on the season, but there was really no dominant upfield rusher to speak of, as Florida State finished with just 17 sacks in 12 games. Still, there are playmakers at each level of the defense, starting with linebackers Reggie Northrup and Terrance Smith. Northrup led the team in total tackles with 113 stops, while adding one INT, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Smith was second on the team with 85 stops and two forced fumbles. The secondary is highlighted by NFL-caliber cover corner P.J. Williams (60 tackles, 1 INT), while up front, the pressure comes from Mario Edwards Jr. (44 tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks) and Eddie Goldman (35 tackles, 8 TFL, 4 sacks). The Seminoles will need to be focused defensively for a full 60 minutes, as Helfrich is sure to cut star quarterback Marcus Mariota loose. The junior signal caller ran away with the Heisman Trophy this season, capping off the most celebrated individual season in Oregon history. He was OUs first-ever Heisman winner and took home three other national player of the year honors, along with two QB awards Mariota completed nearly 70 percent of his passes in 2014 (.683), for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns. Of his 372 throws this season, only two were intercepted. He also found time to finish second on the team in rushing with 669 yards and an additional 14 scores. While Mariota was the face of the offense, there were plenty of other strong seasons by the Ducks. Tailback Royce Freeman rumbled for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading a ground game that churned out 237.3 yards per game. In the passing game, Mariotas favorite targets have been Byron Marshall (621 receptions, 814 yards, 5 TDs) and Devon Allen (41 receptions, 684 yards, 7 TDs), although Dwayne Stanford (37 rec, 557 yds, 6 TDs) and Pharoah Brown (25 rec, 420 yds, 6 TDs) had great success as well. The Ducks werent the best defense around this season, giving up 413.8 yards per game, but a lot of that yardage came in garbage time with the outcome having already been determined most weeks. With 34 sacks and 24 takeaways, Oregon was still a dangerous unit with big-play ability. Some of that playmaking status has been lost with the recent knee injury suffered by star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, but others can step up and fill the void in the postseason. Erick Dargen comes to mind, as the senior defensive back proved to be a ball- hawk this season with a team-best 82 tackles, six interceptions and one forced fumble. Other Oregon defenders of note include senior linebacker Tony Washington (49 tackles, 10 TFL, 5 sacks) and junior linebacker Christian French (22 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks). Helfrich is certainly impressed with what Florida State has been able to accomplish over the last two years. It just doesnt happen, Helfrich said. Its so difficult to have everyone focused for seven days in a row. When you get to 29 weeks, thats extremely, extremely impressive. ' ' '