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VANCOUVER - Cody Hodgson felt the love of Vancouver Canucks fans on Saturday as he made a triumphant return to Rogers Arena. Hodgsons new team, the Buffalo Sabres, hung on to beat his former Vancouver squad 5-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,890 to remain unbeaten after three games with him in the lineup. "It felt a little weird passing by the home room and getting dressed in the visitors room," said Hodgson. "But once I was on the ice, I was just trying to stay focused on what I could do." He went without a point, but that didnt matter to his faithful followers as they welcomed him back five days after his surprise trade at Mondays deadline. Hodgson was the headliner in a surprise four-player deal that also sent depth defenceman Alexander Sulzer to the Sabres for 20-year-old rookie winger Zack Kassian and rearguard Marc-Andre Gragnani at the NHL trading. All four players suited up in their respective lineups. But Hodgson drew the loudest cheers. "The fans have always been real passionate and supportive here, and it was nice to get that welcome," said Hodgson. Cody-mania started in the morning as fans came early for a chance to get his autograph. Later, several spectators, mostly decked in blue Canucks jerseys, flocked to the Sabres end during the pre-game warmup, with some bearing signs expressing their love and support for Hodgson. A loud cheer erupted after public address John Ashbridge announced that Hodgson was in Buffalos starting lineup. One spectator sported a Canucks jersey with an inserted Sabres logo and held up a sign that read: "Never gave up on a big fish!" The sign also bore a picture of Hodgson and Cam Neely. It was a clear reference to the ineffective trade that the Canucks made when they sent Neely, a future hall of famer, to Boston for Barry Pederson. Former Canuck Sulzer also drew cheers. But the crowd showed little emotion for 20-year-old winger Zack Kassian, until he scored, and Gragnani, 24, who was buried in the minors during most of his four-season tenure with the Sabres. Kassian and Gragnani did not help their cause as they were on the ice together for two of Buffalos three goals in the first period. But Kassian endeared himself again later as he assisted on David Booths second goal of the game in the third period and then notched his first goal as a Canuck. He narrowed the gap to 4-3 before Hodgsons line produced an empty-netter by Tyler Ennis with 1:03 left in the game. "It feels good," said Kassian, who also had a game-high seven hits. "I think it takes a little pressure of my back, and now I can just play and try to get settled in away from the rink and focus on hockey." While Hodgson tried to say all the right things about the Canucks upon his return, Kassian took some shots at his former team following the game. "To be honest, I feel better in a couple of days here than I did in Buffalo. Its just the team atmosphere." Hodgson tested Vancouver starter Roberto Luongo in the first period and replacement Cory Schneider on a couple of dangerous changes, but was foiled by his former mates. "I played all right," said Hodgson. "I was just trying to focus and trying not to make too many mistakes and just play the way I can play. Obviously, its tough to focus." But Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had no complaints about Hodgson after the Sabres improved to 30-27-8. "He played well tonight," said Ruff. "He had some opportunities again. I know that there wasnt any finish. But I again thought that that line was one of our better lines. They got the empty-net goal for us. "Hes got no points to show for it, but Ive liked how well hes played in his own end, and Ive liked what hes done up ice." Ruff was also happy with the play of Sulzer, whose insertion marked a rare NHL occurrence as two Germans were paired on the blue-line together. Sabres defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, who departed Vancouver last summer as a free agent, had the last laugh on his former team by scoring the winning goal. He said Hodgson has played an important role with Sabres, who have a shortage of natural centres. "Obviously, it fills a need for us down the middle," said Ehrhoff of the trade. "Cody has had a great season here from what Ive heard. We need a playmaking centre, and he can be that player." nfl jerseys china . The Canadiens went 2-1-1, but the real story was the long awaited return of Andrei Markov. Despite being victimized by Tyler Ennis on Monday, Markovs performance was encouraging. cheap nfl jerseys . As for replacing R.A. Dickey, that will take a team effort. "I think if all five starters go out there and do their job, stay healthy, get to the goal of 200-plus innings then I think just that will fill R. http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/ . Mark Cueto scored a hat trick in his first World Cup appearance since the 2007 final and fellow wing Chris Ashton also crossed three times to take his tally to 14 in 16 internationals. England never threatened to match the 134-0 win it racked up against the same opponent a decade ago, but avoided being pulled into an arm wrestle with the Romanian forwards and cut out most of the breakdown infringements that marred its wins over Argentina and Georgia. wholesale nfl jerseys .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. cheap jerseys from china . JOHNS, N.Earlier this week, Ilir Latifi was a virtually unknown fighter with dreams of making the UFC. On Saturday, the Swede finds himself in the main event of a televised UFC event in Sweden. Latifi was vaulted into the spotlight after the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation refused to clear light-heavyweight Alexander (The Mauler) Gustafsson to fight because of a cut suffered late in training. That sent UFC officials scrambling to find an opponent for former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi to help fill its air time. They settled on Latifi, an occasional training partner of fellow Swede Gustafsson. "Its been a very intense week," said Latifi, who was only given the fight Tuesday. "What can I say? A lot of things happened." Latifi (8-2 with one no contest) wasnt preparing for a fight at the time but had been in the gym. "I always train," he said. (But) its different when you train for a fight." Still the 29-year-old, whose nickname is The Sledgehammer, calls it "am amazing opportunity for me to fight one of the best fighters in the world." Because of the late change in fighter, the main event will be three rounds instead of the normal five. Mousasi has been made a 14-1 favourite by one bookmaker. The UFC, opting to see the glass half-full, has suggested Latifi may be "poised to become MMAs Rocky." The six-foot-one Mousasi (33-3-2) will be facing a vastly different fighter than originally planned. Gustafsson (15-1) is a six-foot-five striker. Latifi is a five-foot-10 wrestler. "Maybe its going to make it more complicated for Mousasi," Latifi said, perhaps a little hopefully. "He was preparing for something else and hes now fighting a wrestler. Of course I think thats one advantage I have." Mousasis last loss was to Muhammed (King Mo) Lawal, a wrestler who kept him on the ground for most of the 2010 fight. Mousasi, whose background is kickboxing, lost his Strikeforce title in a five-round decision. On paper, the matchup would be a huge ask for Latifi even if he had proper preparation time. Born in Tehran and raised in the Nettherlands, the 27-year-old Mousasi has been a pro since 2003 and has fought in Strikeforce, Pride, K-1, Deep and Dream.dddddddddddd. He holds wins over Canadian Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef, Renato (Babalu) Sobral, Hector Lombard, Jakare Souza and Cyborg Santos. A native of Malmo, some 600 kilometres from Stockholm, Latifi divides his time between the two. He turned pro in 2008, having taken up MMA after ending his wrestling career. He comes into this fight having won his last three outings since dropping a decision to Emanuel Newton on a Shark Fights card in July 2011 in Frisco, Texas. Latifi usually teaches wrestling when he is not fighting, explaining that the opportunities to make money at MMA in Europe are not as good as in North America. But he is currently unemployed, another reason why Saturdays fight is welcome. Born in Malmo to Albanian parents, Latifi was a top amateur Greco-Roman wrestler in Sweden. But his competitive road was blocked by having Ara Abrahamian in the same weight class. "It was a rough time taking his place," said Latifi, who speaks Swedish, English and Albanian and can weigh as much as 230 pounds these days. Abrahamian is a two-time world champion who won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. But most know him from the 2008 Olympics when he refused to accept his bronze medal because of a controversial ruling in the semifinal. Abrahamian was disqualified from the Games and later banned for wrestling for two years, although that suspension was subsequently overturned. "A very nice guy," said Latifi. "I felt a lot when he lost because I knew that he deserved that medal and I knew all the (crap) happening in the judging." To a lesser extent, Latifi finds himself in the spotlight this week. "Its very different, with all the media," he acknowledged. "People have been calling me from all around the world. "I havent really understood it." The injury is a setback to Gustafsson, who would have moved a step closer to a 205-pound title shot with a win over Mousasi. The UFC likely wasnt too happy about it either. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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