Panthers on Friday

LONDON -- Canadas mixed wheelchair rugby team picked up a silver medal on Sunday, giving Canada one last piece of hardware at the 2012 London Paralympics. cheap jerseys . After a surprise and hard-fought semifinal win over the United States on Saturday, Canada fell 66-51 to Australia in the final. Ryley Batt led the Australians with 37 goals while Chris Bond added 15. "After the first loss to Australia, we looked at each other in the locker room and said, "We need to man up. We need to bring it" and from there we started the wave and just rode that wave," said Canadian veteran Mike Whitehead of Harrow, Ont. "We grew together as a team and were a much better team now than when we started." Edmontons Zak Madell led Canada with 11 goals. Kelowna, B.C., native Garrett Hickling -- Canadas flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies -- and Whitehead each added seven goals. The U.S. beat Japan 53-43 for bronze. Canada was unable to add any medals in the wheelchair marathon events. The mens event was won by Paralympic superstar David Weir of Britain, who was already household name in the host nation after winning the 800 metres, 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres. He blazed to the win in a time of one hour, 30 minutes, 20 seconds. Josh Cassidy of Guelph, Ont., placed 12th in a time of 1:33:06. "This is the toughest course Ive ever done but I gave it everything I had," Cassidy said. After recovering from a crash and having to fix a flat tire Michel Filteau of St. Jean Baptiste, Que., finished 26th in 1:47:39. Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., was the top Canadian in the womens race, finishing seventh overall in a time of 1:53:02. "I did all that I could, this summer I put all of my focus into my top speed," she said. "So on this course to slow down in the curves and then accelerate again was exhausting, especially after ten days of competition." Shirley Reilly of the U.S. was first in 1:46.33. Shelly Woods was one second behind, narrowly completing a marathon sweep for the host nation. Canada finished with 31 medals -- seven gold, 15 silver and nine bronze. Canada finished 20th in gold medals and 13th in overall medals. Later Sunday, Montreal swimmer Benoit Huot carried the Canadian flag into Olympic Stadium as part of the closing ceremony. Huot won three medals in the pool in London -- a gold, silver and bronze. "Its been a great journey, my fourth Games," Huot said Sunday. "Im really proud of what Ive done here in London." cheap cfl jerseys . Marchand had six points (four goals, two assists) over two games last week. He recorded his first career hat trick and first five-point game in an 8-0 rout of the Florida Panthers on Friday. cheap nfl jerseys canada . The Canadians won the 2,000-metre heat in five minutes and 19.35 seconds to break the previous worlds best (5:19.85) set at the 2004 Athens Olympics by the U.The Canadian womens eight placed first in their heat on Day 2 of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and advance straight to the A final. Canada established themselves early on in the race as the strongest team in the second heat of the womens eight event, facing strong squads from Romania and the Netherlands. "Theres a sense of belief now," said CTVOlympics rowing analyst and Olympian Barney Williams, describing the recent momentum of the experienced Canadian crew. "Lets go out and execute." &quoot;They want to send a message to the Americans," he added. cheap jerseys canada. They did just that, posting a faster time than the American crews heat 1 performance. The United States, defending Olympic champions and undefeated since 2006, won their heat with plenty of open water seperating them from the rest of the crew. Canada and the U.S. will now have a rest period as they prepare for the final showdown--a North American battle--on Day 6.              cheap jerseys ' ' '