Alles Andere » Terrel Hunt scrambled 12 yards for a touchdown

HOUSTON -- Syracuse coach Scott Shafer wishes his team could have held its big lead over Minnesota and cruised to an easy win in the Texas Bowl on Friday night. But he found it fitting that the Orange had to eke out the victory considering the number of close games they played this season. Terrel Hunt scrambled 12 yards for a touchdown with 1:14 remaining to lift Syracuse to a 21-17 victory over the Golden Gophers. "It would have nice if we could have just knocked them out and won by 17 or something," Shafer said. "Thats kind of not our way this year. I think it was appropriate that we won in that fashion." Brisly Estime set up Hunts touchdown with a 70-yard punt return. Estime would have scored if not for a tackle by punter Peter Mortell. "Brisly is a quick as a jitterbug," Shafer said. "We felt that he could give us something." It was the second-longest punt return in Texas Bowl history. "We probably out-punted our coverage," Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said. Syracuse (7-6) led 14-3 entering the fourth quarter before Mitch Leidner threw two touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion to put the Gophers up 17-14. After the Orange regained the lead, Minnesota attempted two long passes to the end zone on the final plays. The first slipped through Drew Wolitarskys arms and the second, as time expired, was knocked down near the end zone. Minnesota (8-5) got a boost to start the second half when Kill returned to the sideline for the first time since Sept. 28 before Syracuse came back to send the Gophers to their sixth consecutive bowl loss and second straight in this bowl. Kill began the game in the press box, where he has observed his team since returning from a leave of absence because of epilepsy. Kill has had five seizures on game day in two-plus seasons at Minnesota. He took the leave of absence in October and returned a couple of weeks later. "I felt I would do anything I can to help," Kill said about joining his team on the sideline. "Im not sure if it helped or not. Evidently, it didnt because we didnt win the game." Hunt finished with 188 yards passing and 74 rushing with two scores to earn Most Valuable Player honours and a 10-gallon cowboy hat. Leidner finished with 205 yards passing, Maxx Williams had five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown and Wolitarsky had 94 yards receiving and a score. Syracuse attempted a 45-yard field goal with about 3 1/2 minutes left, but it sailed wide right. Robert Welsh sacked Leidner on third down on the next drive to force a punt and set up the winning drive. The Gophers took their first lead when Syracuse bit on a play-action fake that left Wolitarsky wide open for a 55-yard touchdown pass that made it 15-14 early in the fourth quarter. Leidner then hit Mike Henry for the 2-point conversion to push the lead to 17-14. Players and coaches on the sideline jumped around wildly after the touchdown, while Kill smiled and stood nearly still amid the chaos. Hunt was penalized for intentional grounding on third down of the ensuing drive by Syracuse forcing a fourth-and-25 and a punt by the Orange. Jerome Smith rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse and Estime had five receptions for 47 yards. Minnesota cut it to 14-9 when Williams got in front of two defenders for a 20-yard touchdown reception from Leidner on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was the Gophers first touchdown on offence since the second quarter of a 24-10 win over Penn State on Nov. 9. Minnesota attempted a 2-point conversion, but Leidner was sacked. The Orange used a clock-eating 15-play drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Hunt to push the lead to 14-3 with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Syracuse used run after run to pound the ball on that drive and had an 18-yard run by Smith and a 17-yard scamper by George Morris to keep it going. Syracuse took a 7-0 lead when Smith scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter. That drive was helped by a nifty catch by Christopher Clark, who stretched out to grab a 19-yard reception with a defender in his face just before stepping out of bounds. Minnesota cut it to 7-3 on Chris Hawthornes 41-yard field goal by as time expired in the first half. Tyler Flowers Jersey .C. United on Wednesday night. Forward Bright Dike scored the games only goal in the 85th minute on a foggy night in Bradenton, Fla. Nick Markakis Jersey . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/josh-tomlin-braves-jersey/ .ca. Kerry, In Mondays Habs/Bruins game, there were three questionable/brutal calls against the Habs late in the game - Tomas Plekanec, then Douglas Murray, then Brendan Gallagher. Kevin Gausman Jersey . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. Nick Markakis Braves Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger have the latest on the future homes of Jarome Iginla, Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek as well as updates on the top potential NCAA free agent and the NHLs search for fresh officiating. Jarome Iginla has been one of the stories of this season individually. Hes been a great fit in Boston and his 28 goals leads the team. Does he end up there beyond this year and re-sign? Darren Dreger: Thats certainly the hope of the Boston Bruins and of Jarome Iginla as well. I know Peter Chiarelli, the Bruins general manager, reached out to Don Meehan from Newport Sports last week. Theres been no official back-and-forth in terms of dialogue or a negotiation and the reality is that the Bruins dont have the tag room or the cap space to close this deal in-season. But, most definitely, Chiarelli and the Bruins want to extend Iginlas stay. He loves Boston. They love him in Boston. I think a deal gets done. Pierre LeBrun: Another top-line right-winger whos slated to be a UFA come July 1 is Ales Hemsky, who came over at the trade deadline to help the Ottawa Senators. Now, he has helped them, even though the Senators have struggled. Ottawa has seen enough of Hemsky that in the very near future they are interested in reaching out to his representatives to see if hes interested in staying on and to talk about an extension. Obviously, the money has to be right for the budget-conscious Senators, but right now Bryan Murray would like to bring Hemsky back for next season. Does Ryan Miller stay in St. Louis? LeBrun: That is what Doug Armstrong and the St. Louis Blues would love to do. Theyve already reached out to Mike Liut, the agent for Ryan Miller, and told Miller: ‘Once this season is over, we want to bring you back. They are being aggressive in their overtures and telling this player that they do not want him to go to the July 1 market. They believe he is a long-term fit for their team which will contend for a number of years. Bob McKenzie: The conventional wisdom among the hockey community is that one of the reasons Miller wants to wait until free agency on July 1 is to see if theres any interest from the Anaheim Ducks. There was all sorts of speculation that the Ducks tried to make a trade with the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season for Miller, but that it fell through and they werent able to do it.dddddddddddd. Millers wife is an actress. She does all sorts of work in Hollywood and the possibility of being on a California team might be something that is really good for Ryan Miller. So, well wait and see where that goes. Its college free agent signing season. The most sought-after right now is Christian Folin, a 63”, 210-pound defenceman from Sweden who plays for the River Hawks and UMass. Who are the front-runners to get him? McKenzie: The Philadelphia Flyers, the Minnesota Wild, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers are amongst the teams believed to have the best chance to try to get Christian Folin out of UMass Lowell. Now, I should point something out. Firstly, theyre playing in the NCAA tournament Friday night against Minnesota State. If they lose, hes got a decision to make. He has not yet fully committed to making the decision that hes coming out of college. The likelihood is that he is, but he hasnt made that decision just yet. Lots of teams are getting the sense now that theyre out of it and that those teams I just mentioned are the front-runners. The NHL is apparently seeking officials... Dreger: Theyre calling it the NHL Exposure Combine and the belief is that theyre hoping to bring in upwards of 60 high-level prospects. Theyre going to collect these, literally, from around the world, but yes, they will send invites to certain universities and NCAA colleges for those graduating hockey players who perhaps want to pursue a career as an NHL on-ice official. Theyll hold the combine in August in Buffalo. There will be considerable physical testing but its all part of trying to expand the search and every other year, theyll do an amateur version. McKenzie: I smell a reality show coming: “So You Wanna Be a Ref?” Pierre LeBrun has a quick one-timer for us on Thomas Vanek. LeBrun: Vanek is obviously loving his time in Montreal so far but I spoke with his agent Steve Bartlett earlier on Tuesday who said the plan has not deviated. They told the Sabres last summer that theyre going to July 1. They told the Islanders after he got traded that its going to July 1 and that remains the plan right now. Lets see if a little playoff magic might change his mind. ' ' '