CALGARY -- A preoccupied Canadian womens hockey team fell 5-1 to the United States on Thursday as the Canadians tried to come to grips with the sudden resignation of their head coach. cheap nfl jerseys . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February. Assistant coaches Danielle Goyette and Lisa Haley are co-coaching the team until Churchs replacement is named. The loss snapped Canadas three-game winning streak against the Americans since losing to the them in this years final at the world championship in April. Canada mustered just 10 shots on U.S. goalie Jessie Vetter in the first two periods and 16 overall at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary. Alex Carpenter, Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight and Meghan Duggan scored with Megan Bozek adding an empty netter for the U.S. Defenceman Tara Watchorn scored the lone goal for Canada after they fell behind 3-0. Goaltender Shannon Szabados stopped 24-of-28 shots. "It was an emotional day," Montreal forward Caroline Ouellette said. "A lot of different feelings around the team. "I suspect thats always the case when a head coach steps down in the NHL. Its just never happened to us. I think we have some people who are feeling mixed emotions. "Thats not an excuse. We clearly were not the better team tonight. Theres a lot of areas of our play that were exposed and that we werent good at. Our passing wasnt sharp, our changes, and those are details we cannot have go that bad. "Maybe we were cruising a little bit having three successful games against them. They took what made us successful in the past games and shoved it at us. They were better on the forecheck and quicker on loose pucks." Goyette, who won gold medals in womens hockey with Canada in 2002 and 2006, pointed out major distractions can happen at the Olympics and the team must learn to play through it. "Any situation like that can happen at the Olympics," she said. "It could happen at the world championship. If something happens really major, we have to be able to turn the switch for two and a half hours and play the game and take care of business." Canadas all-time leading scorer Hayley Wickenheiser suffered a lower-body injury on her second shift. The forward went down in the neutral zone, got up slowly and skated in pain to the bench. She briefly returned to the ice late in the first period, but did not appear the rest of the game. "The doctor had a quick look at her," Haley said. "She doesnt feel its anything too serious. Obviously theyre going to take another look at it tomorrow to see how it responds, but everybody is pretty optimistic its going to be a day-to-day thing." Canada and the U.S. scheduled six exhibition games against each other prior to the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Canada won the first two and also beat the Americans 4-2 in the preliminary round of the Four Nations Cup tournament in November. The two sides meet again Dec. 20 in Grand Forks, N.D., Dec. 28 in St. Paul, Minn., and Dec. 30 in Toronto. The U.S. was also upset 3-0 by Finland in the Four Nations tournament, so they were highly motivated to beat Canada at home on Thursday. The Americans have individual speed and skill, which makes them lethal on the power play. They scored twice with a man advantage. "Weve just been working on getting better," U.S. head coach Katey Stone. "We need to get better in our end. That has been the primary focus since November, honestly. Not throwing pucks around and chasing pucks. Trying to possess as many pucks as we can and working our way up the ice zone by zone. "It sounds really dull, but its paying dividends for us. Weve got plenty of kids who are creative offensively, explosive offensively. We let them go, but weve got to take care of their own end." Canadas team game has been superior because the women play high-tempo games against male midget triple-A teams. But the host teams game was disjointed Thursday. "We have to respect Dan Churchs decision, but at the same time we have to go to work," Goyette said. "But, hey, were human. Right now its difficult for the team and difficult for everybody around the team "Tonight it was hard to focus, but we cant use that as an excuse. I dont think we played the game tonight. I think we were watching the game and it cost us." jerseys from china .ca MLB Power Rankings, ahead of the Oakland As and resurgent Atlanta Braves. nfl jerseys china . It was Wozniaks second defeat at Roland Garros by a world No. 1 after going out a year ago to then-top player Caroline Wozniacki. "Ive got to bring my game up a notch at the key moments," said Wozniak, who marked a personal anniversary in Paris.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Jason Collins ignoring homophobic slurs, Sam Tagesons big day with the San Jose Sharks, Alex Rodriguez in the news again, and Sidney Crosbys Hart Trophy case. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is up to Jason Collins of the Brooklyn Nets. Remember Jason Collins? Big guy, sets screens, commits fouls, plays defence, and recently the first openly gay player in any of North Americas four major sports leagues. He never did much as a player; he still doesnt. And in his first 10 games since signing with Brooklyn, Collins hasnt been a distraction, hasnt created a media circus, and says that only one opposing player has thrown homophobic slurs his way. And how Collins reacted to that was important. He could have named names, damaged the guys reputation, and cost him a big league fine. Instead, in the manner of Jackie Robinson, Collins ignored the slurs. He just played, with dignity. By doing nothing Jason Collins showed that nameless idiot what mattered, and that it wasnt him. Steve Simmons, Sun Media My thumb is up to the San Jose Sharks, and not because theyre my pick to win the Stanley Cup. Well get to that in another show. This week the Sharks made the most meaningful transaction since the trade deadline. They signed 17-year-old Sam Tageson to a one-day contract, and turned one day into a lifetime of memories for many. Tageson was born with a debilitating heart condition that prevents strenuous activity. But against his doctors advice, he has never stopped playing hockey. The Sharks signed him to a one-day deal, had him practice with the teamm, dress with the club, hang around the players, and then skate out through that gigantic shark head and stand at the blue line for the national anthem. cheap jerseys. The crowd, the bench, the building, went crazy. For one night, there was crying in hockey and everybody loved it. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050 My thumb is down to Alex Rodgriguez, who once again is embroiled in controversy, this time over supposed unpaid legal fees racked up while he was trying to defend himself from the season-long suspension. If you thought we could look forward to this baseball season to some respite from more A-Rod controversy, well, think again. Theres some disputing the legitimacy of this weeks reports, with suggestions that A-Rod fully intends to pay his bills. And since he has a net worth reported at more than 300 million, why wouldnt we give him the benefit of the doubt? Wait a minute … Alex Rodriguez? Benefit of the doubt? Oh, nevermind. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up in agreement with Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, who thinks Sidney Crosby is due to win the Hart Trophy for the second time, though I will take issue with Bylsma when he says there is "no question" that Crosby is the NHLs most valuable player. I do think theres a question – Im not sure why when the Penguins captain is running away with the scoring race and has appeared in all of Pittsburghs 70 games to lead the Pens to a certain Metropolitan Division title, but NHL watchers seem to want to consider other candidates. One problem with that - theres no answer to the question: who else should win? The next time you want Crosby to be better, name someone who is. Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Authentic China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '