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TORONTO -- Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott felt his team had more than enough opportunity to pick up two points Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Torontos power play was held scoreless on three opportunities, including once in overtime, and the Marlies out-shot the Iowa Wild 39-27, but fell 2-1 in a shootout to the visitors. Carson MacMillan and Zack Phillips scored in the shootout to help Iowa snap a five-game skid. It was the Wilds fourth win in 11 games. "I think we had more than enough opportunity to put the game away," said Spott. "Very good players with empty nets and were hitting posts, were not getting pucks up and over (Wild starter, Johan) Gustafsson. "We had some glorious chances, that we didnt put in the back of the net. When you let a team like that -- thats desperate -- hang around, thats what the result is going to be." Toronto dropped to 1-1-0 on their current three-game, three-night stretch and had their three-game win streak snapped. MacMillan faked a slapshot and then beat Marlies starter Garret Sparks in the first round of the shootout. Then Phillips faked a shot, got Sparks moving before beating him glove-side in the third round. Jamie MacQueen scored in regulation for Iowa (26-30-10), while Gustafsson made 38 saves for his 12th win of the season. Peter Holland had the lone goal for Toronto (40-20-6). Sparks made 25 saves in his first loss since Jan. 25. The Marlies couldve had a fourth power-play opportunity, in the third period. Wild forward Brett Bulmer was assessed a roughing minor, but Brandon Kozun retaliated with a careless cross-check and negated the man advantage chance. When asked of Kozuns penalty, Spott responded, "I think he wont play tomorrow." With the win, the Wild earn a split in the season series. The Marlies won the only other meeting between the two teams 4-3 on Jan. 15 in Des Moines, Iowa. Holland tied it 1-1, with his ninth of the season, at 1:12 of the third period by picking up the rebound off of a Kenny Ryan shot and beating Gustafsson stick-side. "Kenny made a nice play, just coming down the right side and threw it off the pad," said Holland of the play. "I was lucky enough to kind of pick up the rebound, pull it across the net and tuck it in the far side." Toronto dropped to 5-12-4 when trailing after 40 minutes this season. MacQueen opened the scoring at 7:37 beating Sparks with a shot from the bottom of the face-off circle for his second of the season. Prior to MacQueens goal, Kris Foucault had a great scoring chance when his shot beat Sparks, but hit the post at 6:00 of the second. Holland had an excellent chance to open the scoring at 16:00 of the first period, but put his shot off the side of the net with Gustafsson out of position. "We missed a couple point-blank opportunities with open nets, putting it out the far side," said Holland agreeing with Spotts assessment. "Either that or hitting the post, a couple bounces go our way, its a different story." Toronto concludes their three-game, three night stretch, when they host the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday. The Marlies need three points to clinch a playoff spot as well as their third consecutive North Division title. Its something the Maple Leafs minor leaguers are focused on. "As we go forward here our job is to win the division and try to catch Grand Rapids for second in the conference and thats still our goal," said Spott. Added Holland: "Thats obviously our main objective here is to clinch as fast as we can. We dont want to take any of the teams we play lightly, but just work on things going into the playoffs. Give guys who dont get a lot of minutes a chance to play more. Its definitely something were focusing on." Notes: Rookie defenceman Eric Knodel made his professional debut replacing Korbinian Holzer for the Marlies. The Maple Leafs recalled forward Jerry DAmigo from the Marlies on Saturday. Marlies goaltender Drew MacIntyre was a healthy scratch as Christopher Gibson backed up Sparks. Spott said Holzer, MacIntyre and captain Trevor Smith were all given the day off to rest bumps and bruises. Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Kopen . Rico dove horizontally to meet Andoni Iraolas precise long cross from the right to score his second league goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Aritz Aduriz netted Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced on a poor clearance by Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, sending a low shot rolling past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Nike Air Presto Kopen .Fucale will not only be one of the local boys, he is also a Montreal Canadiens draft pick and will have a huge cheering section when Canada opens the tournament Dec. http://www.airforce1schoenen.com/ . Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Nike Cortez Kopen .com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. Nike Cortez Goedkoop . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before.In preserving Bruins forward Shawn Thorntons 15 game suspension on appeal, Commissioner Gary Bettman concluded that the attack on Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik was "a bad act with a bad result, and neither will be tolerated in our game." Bettman very clearly confirms that protecting the brains of players is of paramount importance, and decisive action will be taken to discourage excessive and unnecessary force that may result in irreversible brain damage. Thornton will now have seven days to appeal Bettmans decision to an independent arbitrator. This is brand new under the CBA and has never been done. So if we do see an appeal, we will break new ground (and/or ice). The Hearing: Who Was There? The hearing was held at the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP. Thats the firm that acted for the NHL during the lockout. Very good law firm. Apart from Thornton appearing at the hearing, his agent Anton Thun, NHLPA representatives Roman Stoykewych, David Sinclair and Maria Dennis, and Boston General Manager Peter Chiarelli were all in attendance. Thun and Chiarelli were called by the Union to testify. On the NHL side were members of the League office, including Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, David Zimmerman, Julie Grand and Brendan Shanahan (who was called to testify), as well as Joseph Baumgarten from Proskauer Rose. While Thornton has an agent, the NHLPA handles the hearing. The agent can help with arguments, but ultimately the Union is in charge of the appeal and does the talking. NHLPA: What They Argued The NHLPA did not dispute that a suspension was warranted, but rather argued that the suspension was too long. So the NHLPA focused on length and not whether a wrong was committed. In fact, at the hearing, the NHLPA and Thornton acknowledged that the act was "quite serious", "harmful", and resulted in "significant" injury. Bettman writes that the NHLPA was aiming for a suspension closer to 10 to 12 games. In doing so, the Union relied on the leagues past practice for similar incidents, Thorntons clean record and the act lacking premeditation. Overall, the NHLPA argued that the "punishment was excessive." Bettman Disagrees In preserving the length of the suspension, Bettman relied heavily on the intentional nature of the act together with its "highly dangerous nature" and the "extent of the injury." As per the NHL CBA, the league considers a number of factors when determining the length of a suspension, including the following: (1) the excessive and unnecessary nature of the act, (2) the injury sustained, (3) whether the player has a rap sheet or is a repeat offender, and (4) the circumstances of the game. The league can also consider any other relevant surrounding circumstances. Bettman ruled that Thornton engaged in intentionally excessive force. He skated the length of the ice, slew footed Orpik, dragged him to the ice from behind and punched him multiple times in the face. Orpik, Bettman writes, "never had a chance to fairly confront his opponent, much less an opportunity to defend himself..dddddddddddd" As well, Orpiks injury was also key in maintaining the suspension. Bettman noted that there was still no "definitive date for his return" and that there is "uncertainty as to his future condition." Bettman also ruled that the act constituted "retribution" for Orpik declining Thorntons invitation to fight after Orpiks hit on Louis Eriksson. For the Commissioner, that also supported upholding the suspension. The fact that Thornton had no prior history of suspensions was recognized by Bettman. Indeed, the Commissioner expressed that it was "certainly possible" to argue for a more "severe punishment." So it looks like Thorntons clean record may have resulted in a shorter suspension. Bettman also relied on one more key factor: the human brain. It is recognized that players may suffer irreversible brain damage as a result of blows to the head. Consequently, the league must take active and decisive steps to safeguard the brains of its players. That includes imposing punishments that are designed to strongly discourage behavior that threatens the long-term health of its players. The league would argue that failing to firmly discipline players puts all players at risk. Hockey is an inherently dangerous sport and that will never change. Still, contact that is not part of the game will be scrutinized. Indeed, the 200 plus NFL concussion lawsuits, the NHL class action concussion lawsuit and the Derek Boogaard lawsuit weighed heavily on the decision making process. The league simply cannot be seen as soft on brain damage with this mass of litigation gathering around sports. So the legal side of this case was inescapably important. Some have argued that the nature of Thorntons act just doesnt match up with past lengthy suspensions because Thornton used his glove to punish Orpik rather than his stick or skate. This type of argument is a red herring and ignores the bigger issue at play: its not how the harm is delivered but rather what harm is inflicted. Times have changed and penalties must be aligned with evolving sensibilities. Indeed, Bettman wrote in his Decision that a player "who today blatantly flouts the rules in a manner that causes a head injury can and should expect to be severely disciplined." Why So Long For Bettman Decision? Thorntons hearing was on December 20. So it took 4 days for the Commissioner to issue his decision. In part, a reason for the delay was that the NHL wanted to get the decision just right given the possibility the case could be appealed to an independent arbitrator. The NHL wanted to make sure, in part, that its reasons were well-reasoned, considered and thoughtful. So Whats The Takeway? The extent of the harm delivered together with the weight of the concussion lawsuits and evolving sensibilities conspired to preserve Thorntons suspension. Bettmans decision was not only predictable, but it was also prudent and ultimately correct. And for these reasons, and as I wrote here, Thorntons chances of success on appeal to an independent arbitrator are bleak. ' ' '