BUFFALO, N. http://www.buccaneersstore.us.com/13-nike-elite-mike-evans-womens-jersey-nfl-tampa-bay-buccaneers-drift-fashion-red.html .Y. -- A castoff in Buffalo, Andrej Sekera is proving to be a big contributor in Carolina. The Hurricanes defenceman scored the go-ahead goal with 10:10 remaining, and added two assists in a 5-3 win over the Sabres on Thursday night, in Sekeras first game against his former team. "You always have memories. I spent seven years here. Its a big part of my life," said Sekera, who was traded to Carolina in June after having difficulty earning a regular role in Buffalo. "At the end of the day, it was a business. I got traded. Im trying to help Carolina win every game. And every win feels good." Sekera is more than doing his part. The goal was his eighth of the season after he combined for 17 in 339 career games with the Sabres. And his two assists upped his points total to 28 -- tops among Carolina defencemen, and one short of his career high. "Its very possible he could be our MVP so far this year," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said of Sekera. "From Day 1, until now, hes been our most consistent player." Alexander Semin scored twice to give him six goals in four games. Jeff Skinner and Jiri Tlusty, with an empty-netter, also scored in a game Carolina (22-19-9) overcame three one-goal deficits and improved to 8-3 in its past 11. Cody Hodgson, Tyler Ennis and Brian Flynn scored for Buffalo (13-29-7), which dropped to 0-3-2 in its past five games. Sabres captain Steve Ott was disappointed by how Buffalo let up against an opponent playing on consecutive nights, following Carolinas 3-2 win at Philadelphia. "You have a tired team that comes in and you should be the aggressor come the third period," Ott said. "I thought the first two were strong, but the third period I felt like they outworked us. And it shouldnt have been that way." The Sabres appeared to take control in the opening minute of the third period, when Ennis one-timed in a rebound from the left circle. The Hurricanes struck back by scoring twice over a 2:25 span. Semin tied it at the 7:25 mark. It was set up by captain Eric Staal, who out-muscled Sabres defenceman Henrik Tallinder for the puck behind the Buffalo net. Staal fed a pass into the lower right circle, from where Semin sneaked a shot that beat Jhonas Enroth on the short side. Sekeras goal came as he worked the puck across the top and waited for an opening. With teammate Riley Nash parked in front, Sekera blasted a shot that sneaked in through Enroths legs. Hurricanes goalie Anton Khudobin then made sure the lead stood up in finishing with 26 saves. He got his left pad out to stop Ennis low shot with 50 seconds remaining. Khudobins best save came in the first period, when he stuck out his right pad to foil Zemgus Girgensons, who was in alone on a short-handed breakaway. "It was a great comeback," Khodobin said. "Even after they had the third goal right at the start of the third period, it didnt break us. Guys stuck with the plan." Carolina improved to 4-0-1 in its past five trips to Buffalo, and 8-1-2 in its past 11 meetings against the Sabres. Sekera got an opportunity to clarify what some Sabres fans perceived to be a disparaging comment he made about Buffalo in September. He was quoted as saying, "I think everything is better than Buffalo." Sekera said he was referring to the weather, not the city. "Definitely was taken out of context," he said. "I meant that every city is better than Buffalo weather-wise, not living-wise. I spent seven years here so I wont be burying any people in the organization. They brought me in this league. They made me the player I am right now." The weather in the northeast has affected the Hurricanes. Their game at Philadelphia was pushed back a day because of wintry weather. And Carolinas first scheduled game at Buffalo on Jan. 7 was postponed to Feb. 25 because of a blizzard. NOTES: The Sabres are starting to find their offence. They have scored three or more in regulation in each of their past five games for their best streak since doing that in eight straight games from March 19-April 3, 2012. ... Sabres C Phil Varone had an assist in making his NHL debut a day after being called up from AHL Rochester. ... Hurricanes LW Drayson Bowman returned after missing four games with a lower body injury. Buccaneers Vincent Jackson Camo Jersey . The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering. Buccaneers Mike Evans Orange Jersey . - Kofi Opare scored his first career goal midway through the second half, and the Los Angeles Galaxy pulled out a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night.LONDON -- Sergej Gontcharov sums up the status of Ukraines bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in one word: uncertain. The Ukrainian city of Lviv was among the five contenders that submitted applicant files to the International Olympic Committee by Fridays deadline. With Ukraine engulfed in political crisis and its strategic Crimean peninsula under Russian control, its unclear whether Lviv will be able to keep pursuing its Olympic campaign. "Obviously so much is connected to what is going on in the country," Gontcharov, the CEO of the Lviv bid, told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. "As of now, there are more urgent and more important things that have to be clarified." Competing with Lviv for the 2022 Olympics are Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; and Oslo. The five delivered their applicant files to the IOC this week, outlining their vision and concept for the games, in the first phase of the bid process. The IOC executive board will decide which cities go through to the final phase at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 7-9. The full IOC will select the host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "We did our job by submitting the files to the best of our ability and now we have to wait and see," Gontcharov said. "Hopefully the situation calms down quickly and is resolved peacefully. Then we will enter into more detailed and more concrete talks with the new government." Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games. Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Games. Krakow would hold some ski events across the border in Slovakia. Almaty is a strong contender, bidding for a second straight time after failing to make the cut for 2014. Lvivs bid has been buffeted by the upheaval in Ukraine, including the anti-government protests and outbursts of violence that led pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych to flee last month. Russian troops have since moved into Crimea, where the public will vote Sunday on whether to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia. How long Lviv remains in the race is anyones guess. "Im not here telling fairytales," Gontcharov said by telephone. Buccaneers Gerald McCoy Authentic Jersey. "Of course, its very uncertain. The concept itself is based on great demand and potential. Whether we will be able to realize it now is unclear at the moment, too uncertain." Gontcharov was in Lausanne on Thursday to meet with IOC officials and confirm the bid files had arrived by shipment. Just getting that far was an achievement. "We worked very hard to complete the applicant file," he said. "Its all been a very big challenge. So many times we had to cancel some events that were planned in promotion of the bid, such as the logo launch and different social events. Every time when we thought the situation has calmed down, there was a new escalation." While most bid cities work hard to promote their case, Lviv is keeping a low profile while Ukraine remains in turmoil. "All the nice words and slogans and so on that we have prepared, theres no sense in it," Gontcharov said. Lviv is located in western Ukraine, where much of the population favours ties with the European Union. Many in eastern Ukraine have closer economic and traditional ties to Russia. The Lviv bid also has offices in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The offices, located near Independence Square, were closed for two days during last months deadly clashes between demonstrators and police. "We came back to our offices and found three bullets," Gontcharov said. "It was very difficult to concentrate on the project." A key requirement for any Olympic bid is government backing and financial guarantees -- something that has been thrown into doubt for Lviv by the changes and instability in Ukraine. "Of course (the bid) depends on the government highly, and right now the government has other priorities," Gontcharov said. An IOC panel will examine the files of the 2022 bid cities and submit a report to the executive board before its decision in July on the short list of finalists. "It is a short time frame but if you have followed the events in Ukraine, from one day to the other there can be so many things happening," Gontcharov said. ' ' '
