Öffentlicher Bereich » odala midway through the quarter.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Vincent Violas first event as owner of the Florida Panthers opened in a manner worthy of a West Point graduate like himself, with a colour guard presenting a U.S. flag and an Army sergeant singing the national anthem. Viola sang along and clapped at the end. His enthusiasm was evident, as he hopes it will be in his new role. Viola was formally introduced as the Panthers principal owner, chairman and governor on Friday, after spending $250 million for the team and the operating rights to the BB&T Center, where Florida plays its home games. "We understand the privilege of the stewardship that ownership of a sports franchise really means," Viola said. "We dont really own anything. The players sweat, sacrifice their health in later years to do well on the ice, to provide the right feeling and connection to the fans. Its about the players and the fans and our service to those two respective groups that will determine our success. I really, truly believe that." Viola also gets the Saveology.com Iceplex where the Panthers train, along with teams development partnership with Boyd Gaming, an effort to put a casino adjacent to that arena. His acquisition of the Panthers happened quickly, starting about a month ago when he asked NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to have lunch. "A very nice lunch," Bettman said. Must have been, since Viola didnt wait around to complete the deal. He and his family -- his sons are hockey-mad -- plan to relocate to South Florida soon, and Viola said hes already assured general manager Dale Tallon that any resources the team needs to move closer to the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup will be available. As part of the deal, Douglas Cifu takes over as the Panthers vice chairman, partner and alternate governor. Team president Michael Yormark was promoted, now getting chief executive officer as part of his title. "When you think back at the 20-year history of this team ... there has been one constant," Bettman said. "South Florida has always been an important, terrific hockey market for us and weve had passionate, loyal fans for the Florida Panthers. Well, today, we open a new chapter." Viola is the chairman and CEO of Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm with offices in the U.S., Singapore and Ireland. Hes taking over a franchise that has been to the playoffs only once since 2000 and finished with the fewest points in the NHL last season. Then again, his resume shows hes never hidden from a challenge. Viola is a graduate of West Point, once chaired the New York Mercantile Exchange and was so moved by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks that he decided to found a centre devoted to helping military officials combat terrorism. Viola helped ensure that the mercantile exchange reopened quickly after the attacks on the World Trade Center, earning him a citation saying in part that "his actions embody the American Spirit in its most noble form." "With Vinnie as the principal owner, we are going to be looking at an era where I think there will be unprecedented commitment," Bettman said. "Vinnie represents a focus and a determination to bring out excellence, commitment, hard work, teamwork, and hell make sure that the resources that this club needs -- not only to be competitive, but to be a winning, successful team -- will be available to the club and to the players." Viola said he has a long hockey background, as a fan. The Brooklyn native was a New York Rangers fan going back to the early 1960s, when he couldnt afford a good seat at their games, or really one that allowed him any decent view of the ice. Eventually, his seat kept getting better. And he said watching the Panthers at the end of last season provided him with the intuition that the time was right to call Bettman and start thinking about getting a view from an owners suite. "Its poised to win," Viola said of the Panthers. "And Im committed." Discount Shoes Online Uk . -- Kansas City Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar will have Tommy John surgery that will sideline the pitcher for the season. Cheap Shoes Uk . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. http://www.cheapukshoes.com/ .ca. In Sundays Blackhawks-Penguins game, Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit on Chicagos Jonathan Toews. Now in my view, Orpik can be clearly seen leaving his feet while delivering a moderately high hit. Cheap Shoes Uk Sale . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Cheap Shoes Clearance Uk . 22 because of a bruised foot and have added forward Sean Collins to the roster on emergency recall from Springfield of the AHL.OTTAWA -- A week ago it was unthinkable, but the Ottawa Senators are back in playoff contention. Ales Hemsky scored the only goal of the shootout Monday night as the Senators earned a huge 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Hemsky moved in and fired a shot off the post and into the back of the net behind goaltender Cam Ward to give the Senators their third straight win, and fourth in their past fifth games. They have nine points over that stretch. As it stands now, the Senators are in 12th in the Eastern Conference four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently possess the second wild-card berth with 82 points. The Hurricanes are seven back. "All Im doing is going game-by-game still. We won today, now we have to get ready for Wednesday and again well see where we are at (in) 82 games," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. Craig Anderson stopped all three Carolina shooters, including Elias Lindholm with the final shot to earn the victory. Mika Zibanejad scored in regulation for the Senators (32-29-14) while Anderson made 30 saves. Jeff Skinner had the Carolina goal while Ward backstopped the Hurricanes (32-32-11) through regulation with 28 saves. Coincidental minor penalties in overtime meant the teams played two minutes of three-on-three hockey. Kyle Turris had the best opportunity for the Senators during that span but his shot went over the net. Alex Semin had Anderson beat on a two-on-one but his backhand went wide. "Structure wise we werent really sure what to do, but you need guys that are creative and are able to beat guys one-on-one because thats what it comes down to," Senators defenceman Marc Methot said of the rare three-on-three. "The guys handled it well." There was very little in the way of scoring opportunities through most of the third period. That changed in the final few minutes as both teams started to apply pressure as neither wanted the other to claim a bonus point in the tight playoff race. "There were definitely opportunities and a little spark at the end. The fans started getting into it knowing the pressure of the last five minutes and that any mistake could be in the back of the net," said Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal. "It raised the intensity of the game for sure.&" The way the first period started it seemed as though the goaltenders were going to have nightmares even before they went to bed.dddddddddddd The score was tied 1-1 before the five-minute mark and the non-defensive style was allowing for several opportunities on both sides. Zibanejad opened the scoring at 1:41 of the first period when he deflected a Patrick Wiercioch point shot past Ward. The play was reviewed but quickly announced that the call on the ice stood and it was in fact a goal. "Youve got to look at it as a lucky break on their side, and just get ready for the next shot," Ward said of the goal. "The puck was bouncing a little more than I would have liked, but other than that we gave our team a chance to win. Unfortunately, it doesnt feel good to lose in a shootout." Zibanejad continues to improve on his career-high numbers as he now has 14 goals and 29 points in 64 games. "Lately weve been taking it one game at a time. Its cliche but we are. And were doing whatever we can to make sure we get the points," said Zibanejad. "The pressure is not on us, the pressure is on the teams above us and by winning were putting more pressure on them." It wasnt all good news for the Senators though as Erik Karlsson gave the puck away behind his own goal and then was the last player to touch it before it went into the back of the Ottawa goal behind Anderson. Karlsson tried to sweep the puck around the boards behind the net but fanned on his attempt, giving skinner possession of the puck behind the goal. He danced from side-to-side before banking the puck off Karlsson and in to tie the game at the 4:03 mark. Notes- Jason Spezza, Bobby Ryan, Jared Cowen and Colin Greening were scratches for the Senators. Mike Komisarek, Radek Dvorak and Justin Peters were scratches for the HurricanesaThe Senators recalled Jean-Gabriel Pageau from Binghamton on MondayaSenators forward Kyle Turris was named the NHLs First Star of the Week Monday after collecting four goals and three assists in four gamesaJeff Skinner now has points in five straight games and recorded his 30th goal of the season MondayaThe Carolina Hurricanes are scheduled to play back-to-back games 20 times this season, second only to the ' ' '