OTTAWA -- Expectations are high for the Ottawa Senators this season, so head coach Paul MacLean can be excused for being a little nervous when he finally gets a chance to see his revamped regular-season roster in action. Joplo Bartu . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Senators are expected to be a playoff team this season, with new acquisitions Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur bolstering the forward lines and captain Jason Spezza and defenceman Erik Karlsson back from injury. "(Friday) nights the first time we really get tested as a group so were a little bit scared, little bit excited, more excited than scared," MacLean said. "We feel were a capable team, but we have to come here and do our work every day and when we do that I think well like where were going to be." Spezza is well aware of the expectations, and as captain he takes accountability in making sure the team is prepared. "Theres lots of optimism and high expectations for us," said Spezza. "With that comes the responsibility of making sure were ready to play every night so its a good challenge for us and a good challenging way to start the season as well." Spezza suffered a mild groin sprain in training camp and was restricted to just two pre-season games, but says he feels good and is looking forward to getting the season underway and seeing how he, Ryan and Milan Michalek execute as a line. "We expect to produce and how quickly we gel as a line is probably going to impact how we do in these first six games so wed like to get off to a good start," Spezza said. "Wed like to get on the board early and get some wins, but for us we just need to learn through our games." After missing most of last season due to a partially lacerated Achilles, Karlsson knows many will be watching to see if the 23-year-old can return to his Norris-Trophy winning form. "I think everyones really excited to finally get going again, especially the guys that missed a lot of time last year," Karlsson said. "Im one of them and Ive been looking forward to this all summer and (Friday) its finally time." MacLean is looking forward to seeing how his team fares against two division rivals after a lengthy training camp. "It gets us right into it which is what we want to do," MacLean said. "We dont want to be tiptoeing around or testing the water we want to get in there and get playing, get involved in the game right away and obviously Buffalo and Toronto being division games right off the bat a so for us its going to get us into the start of the season and get us right into the (division) battle." The Sabres opened the regular season Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings with a 2-1 loss and know the Senators will offer another challenge. "Weve seen them a lot last year," said Sabres captain Steve Ott. "Obviously with having Spezza back full-time and Bobby Ryan now, it gives them another element. Theyre a really good hockey club. Its going to be a good test for us. "Those are the top-echelon teams - Detroit and Ottawa - theyre good measuring sticks for our club." After spending the last few days practising while most of the league got underway Craig Anderson is excited to get the start against the Sabres. "Were ready to get going here," said Anderson. "(Friday) it starts for real. Weve got to show up and the games start to count so theres a little bit of excitement in the room around getting the season started and making sure we get off on the right foot." Fridays game will mark Spezzas official debut as team captain. "Its a huge honour and it cant be understated how big of an honour it is to be a captain in this league," he said. "Im excited about the challenges ahead for me of being the captain and playing a regular season game with the C on will definitely be special." When asked if he cheered on former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson when Detroit played Buffalo on Wednesday, Spezza was quick to reply: "I love Alf, were good friends, but theyre in our division. I only cheer for the Senators." Notes: MacLean said he would wait until Saturday before deciding whether or not Anderson will play back-to-back gamesaAnderson says he wont give much thought to facing-off against Ryan Miller, should he get the start, despite the fact both are being considered to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Winter Games. Lamar Holmes . Her 64-save performance limited the damage as the Canadian women emerged with a 7-0 victory. Obydennova spent the post-game ceremony bent over in exhaustion. Steve Bartkowski . Louis Cardinals have agreed on a four-year contract, giving the All-Star a fresh start after his Biogenesis drug suspension last summer.CANCUN, Mexico -- Four minutes into Wednesdays Cancun Challenge championship game and Wisconsins Sam Dekker had four points and four rebounds. After 12 minutes, he had eight rebounds and eight points, and the No. 10-ranked Badgers had just scored 18 unanswered points against West Virginia. Dekker finished with a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Wisconsin beat the Mountaineers 70-63 to remain unbeaten and win the tournament championship. "He hits some big threes," said Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, whose team is off to its best start ever under his stewardship. "I think hes getting better and he hit some big shots for us. He got on the glass, he was pretty active." With 15 assists, Wisconsin (7-0) played team ball -- four players scored in double digits -- while West Virginia (5-2) was led by Eron Harris, with a game-high 27 points and a career-high seven 3-pointers, and Juwan Staten, with 18 points. "He was hunting it down," Ryan said of Harris. "The way he was shooting, it was like, holy smokes. But I thought we forced him into giving it up a few times, more than maybe he was comfortable with." Ben Brust scored 16 points for Wisconsin, Josh Gasser had 11, Frank Kaminsky had 10, and the Badgers made 16 of 17 free-throw attempts. Both teams scored 11 3-pointers and traded treys down the stretch. It was a tight game in the first period until 11:03, when Gasser hit one of his two 3-pointers and sparked an 18-point run that ended with a slam dunk by Dekker, who had eight rebounds in the period. Wisconsin got the ball inside to score 10 points in the paint in the first period, setting up shots with eight assists, while West Virginia was content to shoot from the perimeter and was only 6 of 20 from the floor in the first 12 minutes. Dekker led with eight points in the period and Kaminsky scored seven, including a left-handed bank shot while double-teamed to make the score 25-13. Brust and Gasser each had eight points in the period. Harris led West Virginia with 14 points and Juwan Staten had 12. Harris hit 4 of 9 3-pointers to keep the Mountaineers in contention and helped narrow Wisconsins lead to six with 42 seconds to play in the period. Jake Matthews. . After draining a 3 to stop the Wisconsin run and scoring the Mountaineers first points in just over 5 minutes, Harris clapped his hands in an attempt to rally his team. But Wisconsin kept its lead, and Dekker sank two free throws to give the Badgers a 39-31 halftime lead. Wisconsin maintained a seven-point lead in the second half, but West Virginia kept chipping away by going 3 for 3 beyond the arc. Remi Dibo made it a four-point game by hitting a 3-pointer at the 10:16 mark. West Virginia began stepping up its intensity on defence and the game got more physical. The Mountaineers had a chance to make it a two-point game but Kevin Noreen turned the ball over on a bad pass in an alley-oop attempt to Dibo. West Virginia began getting into foul trouble and put Wisconsin into the double bonus with 6:49 to play. Devon Williams and Kevin Noreen were benched with four fouls each, and Wisconsin took advantage of its free-throw attempts. Traevon Jackson hit two to make it 54-46 and Dekker made two to increase the Wisconsin lead to seven with 6:11 to go. West Virginia had its chances but couldnt capitalize when it counted. They got a needed stop, but turned the ball over on a travel. Harris made it a four-point game by hitting two free throws with 3:56 to play, but Wisconsins Jackson replied with a pass inside to Kaminsky for a dunk to defeat the Mountaineers zone and make it 61-55. Then Dekker hit a 3-pointer to make it a nine-point game. Harris responded with a 3 of his own with 2:25 to play, but Dekker hit his third three of night to give Wisconsin a nine-point lead with under a minute to play. Harris hit his seventh 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds to play, but Wisconsins lead was too much to overcome. Wisconsin made it to the finals by beating Bowling Green 88-64 on Thursday, Oral Roberts 76-67 on Saturday and Saint Louis 63-57 on Tuesday. West Virginia beat Georgia Southern 101-68 on Thursday, Presbyterian 88-55 on Saturday and Old Dominion 78-60 on Tuesday. ' ' '
