SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. Bruce Carter Jersey . -- World champion Mikaela Shiffrin straddled a gate in the final run, handing the slalom title to Canadian Anna Goodman on Sunday in the U.S. Alpine Championship. The 18-year-old Shiffrin, from Vail, Colo., had a 1.22-second lead after the opening run, but straddled the gate in the tight middle section in the second run. "I just caught a little bit of a weird groove and pressured on the wrong spot and my ski went on the other side. It happens," Shiffrin said. "I thought the conditions held up great, especially for how warm it is and the sun is hitting the hill basically all day. It was really good. "Everybodys going for it out there and theres some really good skiing. Its a great competition and a great way to end the season." Goodman, a student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, had the fastest second run. The native of Pointe-Claire, Que., recently won the NorAm slalom title. "I just tried to really go for it, especially at the bottom because on the first run I felt like thats where I lost a lot of time," Goodman said. "So, I just went as hard as I could and survived basically. "I finished the season winning the overall slalom NorAm and then I decided to take a trip to Germany to do the last World Cup. I barely qualified, but then I won the second run, so I that was a huge thing for me because Ive never won a run." Resi Stiegler of Jackson Hole, Wyo., was second, and Norways Tonje Sekse, also a Westminster student, finished third. "Im so bummed," Stiegler said. "I didnt think Mikaela was going to make a mistake, so I was just excited to come down in the top three. Then I was a little bummed that I didnt kick at the end. But its fun. It was a good group of girls and we all have a really good time together. Im just happy Im here. I havent skied a while because I hurt my back, so Im happy that today went all right. Its always fun to be on the podium." Katie Hartman of Breckenridge, Colo., won the combined title with the fastest total time from the super G and slalom. Lila Lapanja of Incline Village, Nev., was second, followed by Paula Moltzan of Lakeville, Minn. Henry Melton Jersey . Whether starting or coming off the bench, Johnson has always accepted his role in stride, part of whats made him the Raptors unsung hero for the better part of the last three seasons. Joseph Randle Jersey . Tuesday nights 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox fit that category perfectly. Michael Bourns two-run double in the seventh inning snapped a 3-all tie and extended Clevelands winning streak to a season-high five straight games. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche are back in the post-season. But they may have to move on without Matt Duchene. If Semyon Varlamov continues his breakout season, the Avalanche might not miss their leading scorer. Varlamov had a season-high 47 saves and Colorado clinched its first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Center John Mitchell had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who moved past Chicago into second place in the Central Division with 100 points in what might have been a costly victory. Duchene suffered a left knee injury on the opening shift Saturday when he collided with teammate Jamie McGinn near the Sharks blue line. He fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday. "Well know more after that," coach Patrick Roy said. "Its not good news for him and its not good news for us. Its the way its been all year." Despite the injuries -- Colorado has lost top-six forwards Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau -- the constant has been Varlamov. He came through again against the relentless Sharks, who threw 74 shots at him. Colorado blocked 25. "Im guessing he was the first star," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said of Varlamov. "He should be." Down a player, Varlamov made up for it with an outstanding performance. He stopped 20 shots in the third period, many during the final minutes when the Sharks were trying to get the equalizer. His 37 wins are the most in the NHL and a big reason the Avalanche reached 100 points for the first time in 10 years. "Hes been tremendous," captain Gabe Landeskog said. "I think its safe to say we wouldnt be here without him." Colorado was a mainstay in the playoffs when the franchise moved to Denver in 1995. After winning the Stanley Cup for a second time in 2001, the Avalanche reached the Western Conference finals the following season before heading into lean times. Now they have a chance to return to the glory years with a young, eager group. "Were certainly not satisfied with just squeaking into the playoffs, we want to do damage," Landeskog said. Mitchell moved upp to centre Colorados top line, and came through with a big power-play goal to give Colorado a 3-1 lead at 6:32 of the second period. Gavin Escobar Jersey. "It came right to me slow enough so I could get a forehand shot and I just one-timed it into the back of the net," Mitchell said. "I was just at the right place at the right time." Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod also scored for Colorado. Varlamovs strong play beforehand helped Colorado maintain a 2-1 lead. The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 11-3 in the second, many of those coming early when they were trying to tie it. Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle scored for the Sharks, who are 1-2-2 in their past five games but still hold a slim lead for first place in the Pacific over Anaheim. Goalie Alex Stalock had 19 saves for San Jose before being pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute. "I thought we played extremely well, thought we generated a lot of chances," Joe Thornton said. "Its just sometimes you dont win those types of games." Boyle cut the lead to 3-2 when he took a pass from James Sheppard and scored off Varlamovs left shoulder 2:03 after Mitchell. It was his 10th goal of the season. The Sharks got a chance to tie on a 4-on-3 power play after Ryan OReilly took his first penalty of the season, a minor for playing with a broken stick. Stastnys 26th goal 1:33 into the game gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. Pavelski tied it on the power play less than two minutes later with his 38th. The Sharks had another power-play chance midway through the first, but McLeod sneaked behind the defence, took a long pass from Nick Holden off Boyles glove and beat Stalock to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "I took my eye off the puck for a fraction of a second to make sure I wasnt going to get drilled," Boyle said. "I just caught a piece of it and missed it. Thats an unfortunate bounce." NOTES: Mitchell returned to the lineup after missing four games with a back injury. ... The Sharks reassigned F Freddie Hamilton to Worcester of the AHL on Friday. ... McGinn played after skipping practice Friday. He took a shot off his foot in Thursdays win over Vancouver. ' ' '
