Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild will be the captain of the U. cheap jerseys .S. mens hockey team at the Sochi Olympics. Minnesota defenceman Ryan Suter and centre Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings will be the alternate captains, U.S. general manager David Poile announced Friday. The 29-year-old Parise was an alternate captain at the Vancouver Olympics four years ago, scoring the goal that sent the gold-medal game into overtime. He has experience on U.S. national teams going back to 2002, and he welcomed the chance to take a leadership role in his second Olympics. "Its a special thing to be named captain of any team, but when its a national team, an Olympic team, its extra special," Parise said. "Weve got a lot of players who are great leaders. Im going to get a lot of help. Im going to need a lot of help. Its very humbling." U.S. coach Dan Bylsma said Parises work ethic and no-nonsense playing style are exemplary of the attitude he wants for his team. The Americans arent considered a gold-medal favourite, but a roster packed with NHL star power is expected to keep them in contention. "Were a team thats got a blue-collar mentality, and Zach embodies that," said Bylsma, also the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Every time we play against Zach Parise, there has been a work ethic, a never-quit, a determination, an abrasiveness about a hard-to-play-against type of player. And its every time regardless of the score (or) the situation our respective teams might be in. That is exactly how we want our team to play." Parises alternate captains have extensive leadership experience as well. Brown and Suter were both alternate captains to Jamie Langenbrunner on the U.S. team at the Vancouver Olympics. Brown is the longtime captain of the Kings and an international veteran, while Suter and Parise are both alternate captains of the Wild. Suters father, Bob, won a gold medal with the "Miracle on Ice" team in 1980. "Theres plenty of guys that wear letters with their own teams, so I dont think our team is going to be lacking in leadership at all," Parise said. "There are plenty of guys that are capable of doing that." The American team will hold its first practice in Sochi late on Feb. 10. Most players wont arrive until a few hours earlier, after the NHL begins its schedule break. Parise acknowledged the unique challenges of the Sochi Olympics, including the players adjustment to a hefty time change in just a few days before their first game against Slovakia on Feb. 13. He also recognized security concerns around the Olympics, calling it "unfortunate" that security "has dominated a lot of the conversation." "You have to put your trust in the Russian police and the security were sending over there as well," Parise said. "Were going to be in good hands. We can just relax, focus and concentrate on playing hockey." Cheap Brooklyn Nets Jerseys . Brad Richards scored twice on New Yorks previously anemic power play, Martin St. Louis had three assists in his best game since joining the Rangers last month, and Henrik Lundqvist kept the Carolina Hurricanes at bay in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday night. Cheap Los Angeles Galaxy Jerseys . "I like the toughness factor in certain situations where last year and two years ago wed get bumped, get hit [and] wouldnt respond," Casey said an hour and a half before facing the league-best Thunder, a team that hadnt yet lost at home.BUFFALO, N.Y. - Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan OReilly each had a goal and an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. Paul Statsny also scored and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 28 saves for the Avalanche, who bounced back from their first loss of the season against Detroit on Thursday. Cody Hodgson and Marcus Foligno scored for Buffalo, which got more than one goal for only the third time in 10 games this season. The Sabres remained winless in six home games after finishing up a stretch of four games in six days. The Avalanche scored four times in the first 32 minutes and that was more than enough against a Sabres team that has not scored that more than three regulation goals in a game this season. Foligno gave the Sabres some hope 1:05 into the third period, getting the rebound of Henrik Tallinders shot and lifting the puck over a fallen Giguere to cut Colorados lead to 4-2. The Sabres outshot the Avalanche 16-4 in the third period, but could not find the back of the net. A flurry of three close-range shots with just under six minutes left in the game were all blocked by Avalanche defenders. Statsny scored his first goal of the season to give the Avalanche a 4-1 lead 8:34 into the second period. Hodgson put Buffalo on the board 5:31 into the second, streaking up the right side and striking a slap shot from the top of the circle past Giguere. Cheap Boston Red Sox Jerseys. Duchene took a pass from OReilly in front of the net and converted a power play 56 seconds into the second period to make it 3-0. Landeskog gave Colorado a 2-0 lead with 8:03 left in the first period, weaving up centre ice on a delayed penalty and beating Ryan Miller with a wraparound. The Avalanche scored before the Sabres could get a shot on goal when Duchene came from behind the net and fed OReilly on the left side of the crease at 8:44 of the first period. The Sabres first shot on goal came with 5:50 left in the first period and drew a loud ovation from the crowd. Colorado outshot Buffalo 14-3 in the first period. It was the second time this season the Sabres have managed just three shots in a period. NOTES: Buffalo added rookie D Nikita Zadorov to the active roster Saturday and sent fellow first-round pick D Rasmus Ristolainen to AHL Rochester. Zadorov can play up to nine games with the Sabres before activating his entry-level contract. . Colorado rookie C Nathan MacKinnon, the first overall pick in this years draft, will face fellow Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby for the first time Monday when the Avalanche play in Pittsburgh. . Miller made 22 saves for Buffalo. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '