e his win in the season-opener for the St. Louis Blues.Less than 24 hours after Allen earned the victory in the Blues 5-2 triumph over the Blackhawks

ST. LOUIS -- Jake Allen did not get much of a chance to celebrate his win in the season-opener for the St. Louis Blues.Less than 24 hours after Allen earned the victory in the Blues 5-2 triumph over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night in Chicago, he will be back in goal when the Blues return home Thursday night to host the Minnesota Wild.Its a great start, still a long ways to go, but heading in the right direction, Allen said. For us to come out on top in the first game, get momentum and play tomorrow (Thursday) in our home opener, it was huge for us.Allen, taking over as the Blues number-one goalie this season after Brian Elliott was traded to Calgary, faced only 19 shots in the win in Chicago, 10 of which came in the third period. It was the first time the Blues had limited the Blackhawks to less than 20 shots in Chicago since a 17-shot game on Feb. 25, 2007.The Blues offense was led by Vladimir Tarasenko, who had two goals and an assist. His first goal was one of three power-play goals by the Blues, the first time they had done that in a game in Chicago since 2004.Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny also finished with three point nights, each scoring a power-play goal and adding two assists.It was the kind of game coach Ken Hitchcock hopes to see often this season.Were looking forward to the emergence of some of these younger guys, Hitchcock said. Its going to be fun to see. We know there is going to be some rough water, but there also is a ton of growth here.Thursday nights game will be the season-opener for the Wild, whose biggest offseason change was bringing in a new coach, Bruce Boudreau, who was fired after coaching at Anaheim for five years.Boudreaus first task is to try to get the Wild back into the playoffs, after they finished fifth last year in the Central Division and failed to advance to the postseason for the first time in five years.The Wild were 2/3 in the pre-season as they began learning and adapting to Boudreaus system.Those kind of coaches dont come available that often, and we were able to get him and we were able to get him pretty quick, forward Jason Pominville told NHL.com. Hes been around, won a lot of games and usually has a good offensive team. As a player, he was an offensive guy, so he should bring some good ideas to our group.One newcomer who could provide an offensive boost is forward Teemu Pulkkinen, 24, who was claimed off waivers from Detroit on Tuesday. He scored 11 goals in 67 games the last two seasons for the Red Wings.Hes played a top-six role at every level, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher told NHL.com. It remains to be seen whether he can do it at the NHL level, but thats the opportunity wed like to give him, and wed certainly like to see if he can do it. Nike Dunk Cheap China .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Nike Dunk Shoes Online . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http://www.nikedunkcheap.com/ . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Nike Dunks For Sale Online . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Cheap Nike Dunks For Sale . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- For a team outside the Power Five, East Carolina has done a great job of taking down some marquee programs.The Pirates have won six of their past eight Power Five matchups, including last weeks 33-30 victory over North Carolina State. Next up, the Pirates (2-0) take on a Southeastern Conference opponent in South Carolina (1-1).East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery said the challenge for his team is using the confidence gained from defeating the Wolfpack at each practice, film session and workout until the team arrives at South Carolina for Saturdays game.Im not really concerned with last week as much as people probably think, the first-year Pirates coach said. It means a lot more outside of the building than it does in the building because were in season. Were so focused on the day and thats kind of the way were trying to raise our kids.Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp, also in his first season, couldnt agree more with his counterpart. South Carolina is searching for consistency on offense and defense and it matters little that this will be his first time on the Williams-Brice sidelines since taking over the permanent job from Steve Spurrier.South Carolina has yet to score in the opening half, trailing Vanderbilt 10-0 and Mississippi State 24-0 at the break. The Gamecocks rallied to beat the Commodores 13-10, but fell last week in Starkville, 27-14.At the end of the day, its about playing the right way, Muschamp said. Its about playing with effort and toughness and discipline and representing this university the right way, and we didnt the other nightEast Carolina, part of the American Athletic Conference, completes a three-game stretch against Power Five teams next week at Virginia Tech. Montgomery knows it will be difficult to add to the programs Power Five success.Were going into a big-time SEC environment aggainst a big-time SEC school with a big-time SEC coach and some big-time SEC talent, he said.ddddddddddddWe are looking forward to the challenge of going on the road with our guys.---Some things to watch when East Carolina faces South Carolina:WHOS QB? Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp is again playing coy with his starting quarterback choice. Senior Perry Orth started the first two games, but freshman Brandon McIlwain played the entire second half against Mississippi State and led his team to two touchdowns. Smart money says McIlwain will see his first start at sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium for the teams home opener.ZAYS STREAK: East Carolina receiver Zay Jones has caught at least one pass in 37 straight games is fourth among current Football Bowl Subdivision wide outs. The senior has 258 career catches, most among active FBS receivers.SOUTH CAROLINAS RUN GAME: The Gamecocks have started slowly on the ground this season, ranking 124th out of 128 FBS programs with 155 yards on 61 carries -- less than 2.5 yards per rush. Freshman A.J. Turner leads with 102 yards. Nobody likes to see that, guard Zack Bailey said. We know thats on us.FAST START: East Carolina quarterback Philip Nelson, who started nine games at Minnesota in 2013, has picked things up quickly with the Pirates. He threw for 398 yards and five TDs in an opening win over Western Carolina and 297 yards with a touchdown to beat North Carolina State.BAD HOME RUN: Things havent gone well at home recently for South Carolina. Besides losing their past two openers at home, the Gamecocks closed last years 3-9 season with consecutive defeats to FCS opponent Citadel and then-No. 1 Clemson.---OnlineAP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '