SAINT JOHN, N. Steve Yzerman Jersey .B. -- A pair of quick wins for Canadas Rachel Homan at the Ford World Womens Curling Championship on Monday allowed the host country to both regain their confidence and conserve energy for later in the tournament. Allison Pottinger of the United States shook hands after just six ends when Canada held a commanding 9-3 lead. Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club team downed Denmarks Madeleine Dupont 8-4 earlier in a game than went eight ends. "Its definitely nice to get some rest after playing some shorter games," Homan said. "Its nice to get some extra rest when you can." Canada was tied for second at 4-1 with Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson behind unbeaten Binia Feltscher of Switzerland at 5-0. The logjam of countries at 3-2 included the U.S., Chinas Liu Sijia, Russias Anna Sidorova and South Koreas Ji-sun Kim. Scotlands Kerry Barr was 2-3 ahead of Denmark, Latvias Evita Regza and Germany Oona Lehmann at 1-4. The Czech Republics Anna Kubeskova was winless in five games. The top four teams at the conclusion of playoffs Thursday advance to the playoffs. Homan felt she had a read on the ice at Harbour Station by Monday night having played on all four sheets and in the morning, afternoon and evening draws. Another reason the abbreviated game against the U.S. on Monday evening was welcomed by Canada is because they are right back on the ice Tuesday morning against Latvia before facing Scotland in the evening. Homan, vice Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle won the bronze medal at last years world curling championship in Riga, Latvia, after starting 2-3 there. Monday was a big bounce for the Canadians after demoralizing loss to the Swiss the previous day, when it was Canada giving up four points in steals and shaking hands after eight ends. Homan felt their communication was missing in that game. The skip misread the ice early against the Americans, but the Canadians were able to solve it via discussion. "Lisa was missing a couple early and she said is it me? I said no, its completely my ice. So she believed in how she was throwing," Homan explained. "If we didnt have that communication, she would have tried to change the way she was throwing and Id give her more ice and shed miss again. "We made sure when we were missing we knew why and were communicating that to each other." Pottinger was born in Brampton, Ont., and learned to curl in Otterburn Park, Que., but the 40-year-old is representing the U.S. for the 11th time at the womens world championship. She won a silver medal playing third for Patti Lank, another transplanted Canadian from Midale, Sask., when the world championship was last held in Saint John, N.B., in 1999. "Everyone is always so nice when were here. A woman today brought me ketchup chips and Smarties," Pottinger said of two items that are difficult to find in the U.S. "Its terrific. I had them between games." Pottinger made a clutch raise against four Canadian stones in the third end to score a point and trail 2-1, but the fourth end was disastrous for the Americans. With Canada laying two, Pottinger ticked on a guard to let Homan add another counter to the rings. The American skip attempted to draw through a port to get to the four-foot rings, but was well short of the house. Homan had half the house for a target and drew in for four points and a 6-1 lead in front of 1,914 at Harbour Station. "We threw it pretty hard, but just out there in the frost it didnt have a chance," Pottinger said. "It never got there." The Americans got two back in the fifth, but called it a day when Homan collected another three in the sixth. "To get the two back was kind of nice, but at that point every end is the 10th end," Pottinger said. "You dont want them to get away from you and its hard to play five 10th ends against that kind of team." "That was so not good that I think its an off game and you forget about it. Chuck it in the bag." Homan and her teammates are all under the age of 28. Like the Brad Jacobs team that won the mens Olympic gold last month, theyre considered the new generation of Canadian curling stars. A year after graduating from the junior ranks, Homans team made the playoffs in their first national womens championship in 2011. They won the Canadian title last year by beating Winnipegs Jennifer Jones, now the reigning Olympic womens gold medallist after her unbeaten run in Sochi. Homan and company were considered a team to beat at Decembers Olympic trials along with Jones. Homan and her teammates either quit their jobs, took a leave or scaled back work hours in the months leading into those trials to prepare. They rented a suite in Winnipeg away from the MTS Centre so they could cook and eat their own meals during the competition. But Homan lost the semifinal 10-4 to Sherry Middaugh. Homans coach Earle Morris now wonders in hindsight if they "over-prepared" for trials. "I think what we did was we probably practised a bit too much," he said. "A couple of the girls quit their jobs, one of the girls took a leave of absence. They really made it a focused priority and maybe we focused too much on the trials. "We really tried to leave no stone unturned. Because it was our first trials, we prepared as best we could based on what we thought would be difference-makers. If we had to do it again, wed probably do it a little differently. Take maybe a more relaxed approach and not emphasize it too much." The best medicine for their trials disappointment was to participate in the Continental Cup in Las Vegas in January. They played with Jones, Jacobs and other top North American teams in a Ryder-Cup style competition against European curling teams. "We all re-connected with the sport," Miskew said. "It was really tough after the trials to feel a love for curling. "We were able to go out and enjoy the sport again. Before that, it was practising without much of a purpose because it feels weird after you put so much time into something. It changed when we went there and it felt better." That experience set the table for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal, where Homan went 13-0 en route to a second straight Canadian title and a return trip to the world championship. "Continental Cup was perfect," Homan said. "We played mixed, mixed doubles and it was just a lot of fun." "We definitely needed it. We got to press the re-set button and focus again for the Scotties." Luke Glendening Red Wings Jersey . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Detroit Red Wings Jerseys . -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena to a $25 million, five-year contract Saturday. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/danny-dekeyser-jersey/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who trains out of San Diego, will fight bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey on July 5 in the co-main event of UFC 175 in Las Vegas.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Keeping pace in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage just got a lot harder for the Montreal Impact. Montreal fell 3-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday, and now need a big victory next week over CD Heredia to stay alive. "Weve done it before," said Impact forward Andrew Wenger. "We feel we can still make a statement." Goals from Chris Wondolowski, Marvin Chavez and Shea Salinas allowed the Earthquakes (1-2-0) to draw level with the Impact (1-2-0) in their group. Montreal featured a strong starting 11, but the visitors couldnt capitalize on their own offensive chances at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Impact, coming off a 2-1 loss against Columbus in MLS action last weekend, allowed a pair of key defensive miscues for San Jose to capture its first CCL victory. "We had the better of the play," said forward Andrew Wenger, "but we just werent sharp on many instances in the back and in the attacking third and that made the difference. We switched off at a couple of key times." The odds are against Montreal as Heredia sits atop the table with six points. The Impact have to beat the Guatemalan side next Tuesday and then need a narrow victory by San Jose against Heredia to advance. A win or tie in Montreal secures Group 5 for Heredia and a trip to next springs knockout rounds. "Weve been in this situation before just to get into the tournament," said Montreal captain Davy Arnaud. "We needed a big result against Toronto at home and it seems like we are going to need the same thing this Tuesday. Its good to know that we have done it before in a tough game, and there is no reason we cant do it again." Before that, the Impact play host on Saturday to the Vancouver Whitecaps as Montreal hopes to continue its push to the MLS playoffs. Only after that bit of business will the Impact look ahead the visit of Heredia. The teams trading good scoring chances during a cagey 10 minutes to start the match as Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush made a foot save on Steven Lenharts seventh-minute glancing header and defender Jason Hernandez made a sliding block on Wengers eighth-minute blast. The Earthquakes broke the deadlock in the 21st minute through a long throw-in by defender Dan Gargan deep in the Impact half of the field. Lenhart met the ball for an uncontested flick-on header at the edge of the six-yard box that reached Wondolowski for the simplest of taap-ins and a 1-0 advantage. Jonathan Ericsson Jersey. Arnaud picked up a yellow card in the 23rd minute for a take down of Earthquakes midfielder Chavez on a counterattack, but San Jose could not capitalize on the restart. A 30-yard free-kick attempt from Patrice Bernier 10 minutes later forced David Bingham into his first save of the night. Hassoun Camara, trying to earn his team a chance at an equalizer in the 35th minute, appeared to have been tripped by Justin Morrow in the Earthquakes penalty box, but Honduran referee Armando Castro instead issued Camara a yellow card for embellishment. Twice in the last 10 minutes of the first half the Impact had solid chances to find an equalizer. In the 38th minute, a well-placed cross from Wenger found forward partner Daniele Paponi near the penalty spot, but he one-timed his shot well wide of the intended target. A stoppage time foray by Arnaud deep along the left touchline gave the Impact captain plenty of space to blast a cross through the six-yard box, but an alert Morrow was present to clear the ball off the goal-line and prevent Justin Mapp from drawing Montreal level. The Earthquakes doubled their lead in the 57th minute through a brilliant shot from Chavez. After Bernier had weakly cleared a ball from within the Montreal box, Chavez collected with his right foot and volleyed with his left foot a shot out of the reach of Bush and into the upper corner of the net to put San Jose up 2-0. A yellow card earned for kicking a dead ball out of bounds by Andres Romero in the 62nd minute signalled the Impacts growing frustration. Needing more firepower on offence, the Impact introduced Felipe for Arnaud in the 63rd minute and Marco Di Vaio for Paponi in the 64th minute. Speedster Sanna Nyassi subbed in for Arnaud 10 minutes later. The changes spurred more in the attacking third from Montreal, but it also left them vulnerable to the counterattack. The home side capitalized in the 84th minute when second-half substitute Salinas powered a shot past through the legs of Bush from close range to push the San Jose lead to 3-0. Montreal never recovered and fell to its second straight CCL defeat. "Through the run of play, we had the better chances," said Arnaud. "When you go on the road and play against a team like San Jose, you cant afford to give up set piece goals. We created enough tonight and played well enough tonight not to walk out of here losing 3-0." ' ' '