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A man-of-the-match effort from Mitchell Pearce in his return from injury has failed to lift Sydney Roosters out of the NRL doldrums, the Tricolours losing 24-20 to Canterbury at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.In just his fourth game this year due to injury and suspension, Pearce set up all three of the Roosters tries and saved another in a sublime effort in the opening match of round 17 before 7,741 fans.But it wasnt enough as poor defence cost the Roosters again.The Tricolours now need to win all of their last nine games to finish with 28 points, the usual cutoff point for the final eight.David Klemmer carried the ball forward for the Dogs all night and was their best alongside Brett Morris who scored two tries, as Daniel Tupou did for the Roosters.Canterbury move into the top four, but will only stay there for a day if Brisbane beat Melbourne on Friday night.On the back of 63 per cent of the ball in the opening quarter and a very controlled performance the Roosters unexpectedly led 12-0 with Pearce cranking the home sides attack into gear.Daniel Tupou sensationally snatched a Pearce bomb out of the cold night air for the games first try in the eighth minute.A Pearce offload in the 19th minute put Latrell Mitchell through the Dogs line and the rookie fullback stood up his opposite Will Hopoate and raced away to score.But handling errors and penalties then hurt the Tricolours. Curtis Rona skipped over for Canterburys first try in the 13th minute.Brett Morris first try of the night then drew the scores at 12-all after Moses Mbyes conversion.But the Roosters revival didnt continue after the break. Jake Friend dropped a pass from Pearce with the Bulldogs line open as Daniel Tupou did in the first half.The Bulldogs took full advantage.Josh Jackson forced his way over through some flimsy goal line defence in the 56th minute and the Dogs led for the first time of the night 18-14, after a Jackson Hastings penalty goal had broken the deadlock earlier in the half.When Brett Morris scored his second try on the hour courtesy of some more poor defence from Blake Ferguson, Canterbury led 24-14 and the Roosters looked done.Tupou scored his second try with three minutes to go to keep the match alive but the Dogs held out.Roosters fullback Latrell Mitchell suffered a knee injury in the second half and didnt return.Pearce could be in judiciary trouble over a high tackle on Josh Morris in the first half. Morris stayed down after the tackle, which wasnt penalised, but curiously didnt go off under the concussion rule.Hasler was happy with the Dogs efforts after their sixth win in seven games.It was a bit of an ugly game and a spoiling games, and games like that are always good to win, he said.In the second half we put ourselves in a good position to come up with the points.It was Brett Morris second double in two games in his return from injury.He is an amazing finisher, Dogs skipper James Graham said.Nine times out of 10 he comes up with it. Roosters coach Trent Robinson bemoaned his sides inability to go on with things after their early dominance.It was a great start from us in the first 30 minutes, he said.It was disappointing we let them back in before halftime.But the second half was messy right from the start.We played some football. There was enough there from us to win the game, but our defence wasnt good enough to win the game. Wholesale Custom Padres Shirts . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Authentic Custom Padres Jersey . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. http://www.custompadresjersey.com/ . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Wholesale Custom Padres Shirts . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Padres Jerseys China . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week.OTTAWA -- It might be a lot to ask, but the Ottawa Senators are hopeful Jason Spezza will be just what they need to get back into their playoff series with Pittsburgh. Spezza, who hasnt played since January 27 after undergoing back surgery for a herniated disc, will draw into Ottawas lineup Sunday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series that the Penguins lead 2-0. "Im excited to have a chance to play again," said Spezza. "I feel ready to play." The 29-year-old will immediately add depth to a struggling offence and power play. "Were excited about the skill that he brings back to our team and were looking forward to it," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. "We certainly feel that hes going to give us some help on the power play for sure. He can help us quite a bit there." The Senators power play has gone 1-for-7 through the first two games and its clear they would benefit from Spezzas abilities. Spezzas minutes will be monitored and MacLean eluded to the fact the amount could be higher or lower depending on the amount of power play time the Senators have. Spezza is expected to line up with Milan Michalek and possibly Colin Greening. Having Spezza back in the lineup gives the Senators offensive support, but almost more important is the emotional leverage it gives the team. "Hes such a skilled playmaker that if youre on the ice with him you know to keep your stick on the ice because he finds a way to get the puck to you," said Zack Smith. "When youre playing with guys like that youre just more prone to go to the net and go to those areas and be more confident." While hes ready emotionally and physically Spezza acknowledges that nothing hes done can truly compare to the speed and physicality of a playoff game. However, hes confident the work hes put in has prepared him for his return, and that what he may lack in being game-ready will be made up by excitement and anticipation. "Im going to try to use my excitement and try to make it a positive and not be worried about the negative." Spezza acknowledged timing could be the biggest adjustment when he hits the ice, but is hopeful it comes back pretty quick. "Basically Im just going to go out and work hard and be smart," said Spezza.dddddddddddd "I expect to play well. "I wouldnt play unless I felt I could help the team and contribute." Spezza had two goals and three assists in just five games during the regular season. Strangely enough Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary of Spezzas playoff debut where he had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win for the Senators over the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins know Spezza makes Ottawa a better team and while his return wont alter their game plan they will be aware of his presence. "Its going to be important to be in his face right away and make sure he doesnt have time and space," said Pittsburghs Kris Letang. "Hes got good hands so he can make you look really bad so if youre in his face and have a good gap you have a better chance of having success against him." The Senators are undefeated at Scotiabank Place in the playoffs this year and are hopeful to take advantage of home ice and a supportive crowd. "We play well at home so our expectation is to play well," said MacLean. "Our expectation is to give ourselves a chance to win. Its up to us to make this a playoff series and we need to win a game to make it a series." In the first two games the Penguins have easily been the better team in the early part of the game and the Senators would love nothing more than to be able to come out hard and steal the momentum with a strong start of their own. "We need to play to our identity," said MacLean. "We have to try and establish our game first. What hurt us in the first two games is not getting off to a (good) start and were down in the first three minutes of both games and catch up hockey is losing hockey." With the return of Spezza and the home crowd behind them the Penguins know the Senators will be at their best. "Theyre going to be desperate and we know this is going to be the toughest test yet," said Sidney Crosby. "We need to start well, but just a play a complete game and give ourselves a chance." Despite being pulled after allowing three goals in Fridays game Craig Anderson will get the start for Sundays game. ' ' '