ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- The Portland Pirates surged to a four-goal lead in the first period and never looked back, snapping the St. Johns IceCaps nine-game winning streak with a 7-4 decision Friday night in American Hockey League action. IceCaps forward Patrice Cormier blamed the loss on the slow start and a lack of focus early in the game, but he also said the team will move on. "It was a pretty awful start and they scored four," Cormier said. "OK, we had a bad start, who cares? The only thing we can do now is keep playing (our game). We know how to play -- dont start being selfish. "We started to chip in and chip out (the puck) and doing the little things." The IceCaps played better through the second period, leaving Cormier to believe a comeback was possible. "We knew when it was 4-2, coming into the third, that we had a chance," he said. "We were right there, it was 5-4 with 11 minutes left. I would take that any day after starting (down) 4-0." Jordan Martinook had a goal and two assists, and six other Portland skaters found the back of the net in the dominant Pirates win. Tobias Rieder and Jordan Szwarz had a goal and an assist apiece for Portland (22-29-10), while Brandon Yip, Phil Lane, Lucas Lessio, and Darian Dziurzynski also scored. Cormier, Adam Lowry, J.C. Lipon and Will ONeill replied for St. Johns (37-20-4). Rieder opened the scoring for the Pirates at the 7:50 mark of the first period, cutting across from the right faceoff dot to beat IceCaps goalie Michael Hutchinson under his blocker arm. Yip added a goal for the Pirates from the left faceoff dot, scoring on a strong wrist shot high glove at the 11:20 mark of the first period. Jordon Southorn sent a slapshot from the point, which Szwarz tipped home for Portland at the 13:24 mark of the first period. The Pirates scored again, through Dziurzynski, who found the puck behind the net and scored on a wraparound, past a sprawling Hutchinson with 57 seconds left in the first. IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge said the key to was to score one and go from there. "Youve got to look to get one," McCambridge said. " Youre in your home building and you have to build off that momentum. "We didnt have the sharpness we needed in that first period. We knew they were going to come out (hard). We were on our heels in that first period." The IceCaps found the scoresheet 5:11 into the second period, as Lowry broke into the zone and toe-dragged in the slot before scoring a high wrister. ONeill scored a slapshot for the IceCaps from the point on the power play, 7:13 into the second period. Pirates forward Lucas Lessio scored a wraparound at the 1:06 of the third period, on the power play. Cormier brought the IceCaps within two, scoring from in the slot. He spun around and roofed a wrist shot 2:09 into the third period. Lipon cleaned up a loose puck in the slot, scoring on a high wrist shot 5:18 into the third period for St. Johns, but the Pirates re-took a two-goal lead when Lane trailed in and scored in the slot at the 12:08 mark of the third period. Martinook added an empty netter for the Pirates with 36 seconds left. Louis Domingue made 26 saves for Portland. Hutchinson stopped 26. Nike Shoes Clearance Outlet .com) - They didnt meet in the regular season, so Sam Houston State might be saying it won the de facto title game between the two Southland Conference co-champions Saturday. Wholesale Lebron James Shoes . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.c...x-95-shoes.html. At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Nike Vapormax Outlet .com) - The Vancouver Canucks hope an upcoming stretch of home games will be enough to get the club into the postseason. Paul George Shoes Replica Paypal . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand.MONTREAL -- All things considered, Chelsea Carey would rather be in Sochi, Russia. But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. And Carey is making the most of it, taking her record to 7-1 after an 8-4 victory over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (5-4) on Wednesday night. Earlier, the Carey rink trounced Quebecs Allison Ross (1-8) by 15-3. The 15 points tied the Scotties record set in 1989, when Alberta beat Newfoundland 15-6. Carey reached the Manitoba finals twice, losing in 2011 to Cathy Overton-Clapham and in 2012 to Jennifer Jones, the four-time Scotties champion who will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Games. "We wanted to be here badly and lost a couple of heartbreakers and thats no fun, but it wasnt the only thing for us," said Carey. "The (Olympic) trials was our first goal and this was our second goal." Her only loss so far was an 8-3 setback this week to defending champion Rachel Homans seemingly unstoppable Canada team. Homans Ottawa foursome extended its unbeaten string to eight games with a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Islands Kim Dolan. They have outscored their opponents 62-26 and have yet to play a full 10 ends. Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton (7-1) posted an 8-6 win over Nova Scotia (3-6) and Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-5) completed a sweep of her sides two games on Wednesday with a 12-2 victory over the Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-8). Flaxey had the upset of the day in the afternoon draw with a 6-5 win over Albertas Val Sweeting (6-3). Carey put together her team with lead Lindsay Titheridge, second Kristen Foster and third Kristy McDonald specifically to take a shot at the Olympics. The rink has been among Canadas best for a few years, winning often in national and regional events, and did well enough to earn an invitation to the Canadian Olympic trials in Winnipeg. When that dream died with a fourth-place finish, Carey admits it was tough to find the energy to go to last months provincial championship, let alone win it. "I took a week off and didnt throw," she said. "I forced myself to go back, but I wanted no part of it. "I was just going through the motions. It took a long time to get our heads back there, but wed played in a lot of provincials before and we knew going into the trials that it was something wed have to transition to. It wasnt easy, but we did a good enough job to pull off the win there." Once she got her Manitoba team jacket and got to Montreal, she was thrilled to finally have a chance to represent her province at the Scotties. On the team website, Carey describes herself as "Unemployed, AKA Starving Curler." She worked as a sales representative for a mattress company for six years, but was finally told to choose between curling and her job. "It was the yeear of the trials and Im not going to pick that job over curling," she said.dddddddddddd. "My initial thought was to get a new job, but with trials in December its hard to start a new job and say I need six weeks of holidays. "Ive been unemployed since then. It will have to change after this because I cant pay my bills." Manitobas win over Quebec had some wondering if curling needs a mercy rule. It was Quebecs worst beating since a 13-1 setback to Alberta in 1991. A rule obliges teams to play at least eight ends no matter how badly theyre trailing. "Im not so sure I believe in the eight-end rule," said Manitobas McDonald. "If things arent going well, the other team should be able to get out when they feel its time. "Theyre a good team. Theyre much better than that. But theyre just having a tough go. When things go sour, they go sour." Ross had plenty of support among the 1,790 spectators at the Maurice Richard Arena, but her squad has been off the target consistently all week. She was also missing second Brittany ORourke to the flu bug that has sidelined several players and officials during the week. "Todays game was tough for sure," said Ross, whose team also lost 6-5 to B.C. in the morning draw. "We didnt play well at all." Flaxey turned around what had been a dismal week with her win over Alberta. Ontario held off a charge that saw Alberta score two in the ninth end. She took out Sweetings stone on the button in the 10th to prevent a steal and secure the victory. "We havent been playing as well as we could have all week," said Flaxey, the 2001 Manitoba junior champion now based out of Listowel, Ont. "To show that we are a good, solid team and that we belong with the favourites and can play with the favourites, it shows people why were here." Ontario is all but eliminated from playoff contention, but can still play the role of spoiler with three round-robin games remaining, including a match Thursday afternoon with Manitoba. "Its all we have left so youve got to love doing it," said Flaxey. "Weve got a couple of tough ones left and hopefully we can at least shake things up." The afternoon draw saw Homan put up a 7-3 victory over British Columbia (5-4). Homan has a shot at being the first skip to go undefeated in the tournament since B.C.s Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones went undefeated in the round robin last year but lost to Homan in the final. "Im confident we can win the rest of our games," said Homan. "You have to be confident in your abilities. "You put in the practice and the hours and the work. I believe 100 per cent in our team. Were in a good spot now and we have to keep playing the way were playing." Lawton downed Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-4) by 7-3. Other early matches saw Alberta top Newfoundland 9-5, New Brunswick beat P.E.I. 9-6 and Nova Scotia down Yukon 7-3. ' ' '