MALMO, Sweden -- As the minutes ticked down on Canadas victory over the United States, the overwhelmingly Canadian crowd of 3,882 at the Isstadion chanted "Foo-KAL-eh!" That was for goaltender Zach Fucale, the key man in Tuesdays 3-2 win that gave Canada first place in its preliminary round group and a date with Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the world junior hockey championship. "It gave me a lot of energy," the 18-year-old said. "It was very special. "It just lifts you and you sort of play in the moment. It was good for me and the team." Fucale, given a second straight start after helping Canada to a 5-3 win over Slovakia on Saturday, couldnt recall ever having his name chanted quite that way. "Maybe a couple of thousand chanting against me," he offered with a laugh. "In Quebec City it happened. Maybe tonight a little louder." Connor McDavid and Curtis Lazar scored in the third period and Fucale stoned Connor Carrick on a breakaway. Stefan Matteau scored for the Americans with 2:15 left to play on a shot that eluded Fucales glove, but Canada shut the door the rest of the way to pull off a win in their toughest, most emotionally charged game of the tournament. American captain Riley Barber and Canadas Nic Petan traded goals in the second frame, after Fucale shone in a scoreless first period in which the Americans controlled the play and had a 13-6 shot advantage. Only a regulation time win would give Canada (3-0-1) first place over the U.S. (3-1-0). The Canadians will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Thursday at the Isstadion. As usual, coach Brent Sutter wasnt offering much insight about his teams upcoming opponent. "We now have 48 hours to prepare for our next opponent. Our focus over the next two days needs to be on this game and only on this game," was all he would say. The Swiss pulled off a 4-3 shootout win over Finland, but it didnt lift them out of fourth place in their group. What the win did, however, was give the Americans a very tough quarter-final opponent in Russia. The Canadian squad got all it needed to win -- solid goaltending, timely scoring and strong special teams play. The Americans went into the game with a whopping 58 per cent power play success rate (11-for-19), but were held scoreless during all three man advantages. Canada answered with Lazars power-play marker in five opportunities. "It was the first time weve been minus on special teams in four games and that was the difference," said American coach Don Lucia. Technically, Barbers goal at 3:29 of the second was short-handed. The teams were each down a man and Barber came around the net and caught Fucale moving the wrong way one second after Canadas Taylor Leiers slashing call expired. Some hard work by Anthony Mantha produced the tying goal at 12:49, as he used his long reach to push the puck to the left side where Petan trailed in late to beat Jon Gilles to an open side. Petan had scored the game-winner and an empty-net goal in Canadas 5-3 win over Slovakia on Monday. Mantha picked up his team-leading 10th point in four games. Canada killed a penalty to start the third and then got one just as their own power play ended 3:54 into the third when Josh Morrissey got the puck to the net and McDavid had two chances to slide it past Gilles. The 16-year-old McDavid was under pressure since his benching in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Czech Republic, and scoring a goal could go a long way to restoring confidence in the highly skilled Erie Otters forward. "Maybe a little bit," said McDavid. "As a hockey player you have to stay even keeled. Things happen in the game. The highs, the lows. You have to remain pretty confident. I think Ive done a pretty good job of that." Lazar was camped in front for the re-direct on a power play at 6:13 as the puck went from Derrick Pouliot to Jonathan Drouin to the Edmonton forward for his second goal in as many games. "Im really getting into my element," the Ottawa Senators prospect said. "Coach Sutters been moving me around. Ive played centre, right and left wing. Im still getting used to things, but it feels good to contribute." The game also saw big forward Frederik Gauthier moved from left wing to centre, where he drew praise from Sutter for winning several defensive zone faceoffs. But most of the post-game attention was on Fucale, the chatty goaltender who backstopped the Halifax Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup last spring. Fucale was dropped to backing up Jake Paterson after the first of three pre-tournament exhibition games, but it looks like hes Sutters man now. "Hes a confident young man and he stood tall," said Sutter. "We need that." Fucales teammates laugh about Fucales non-stop talking, even when hes by himself in the net during games. "I try to stay low key, but maybe I talk a lot," Fucale said. "I love Zach," said forward and fellow Montreal Canadiens prospect Charles Hudon. "I played with him peewee and bantam (in Boisbriand, Que.) and he had the same swagger. "He was always cocky. It was a good for him and I think the crowd loved it too." "It was unbelievable standing on the blue-line at the end of the game with the fans chanting Fucale," said McDavid. "I had chills and it wasnt for me, so I cant imagine how he felt. "You see a lot of goalies and theyre pretty weird. They have their routines and you cant talk to them, but hes really relaxed and honestly, he does have that swagger." Canada also got a boost with the return of big defenceman Griffin Reinhart after serving a four-game suspension for a slash at last years world juniors. Reinhart was counted on to be the leader on defence and he showed it with 20 minutes of ice time, mostly paired with Matt Dumba. He finally got to play at a world juniors with his younger brother, forward Sam Reinhart. The two were on the ice together a lot, especially while penalty killing. A. J. Hinch Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. Kansas City Royals Shirts . - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. https://www.cheaproyals.com/1557a-mike-m...sey-royals.html. Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. Jeff Suppan Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys .ca Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen, NFL Editor Ben Fisher, and Isaac Owusu discuss three hot fantasy football topics.Robert Griffin III spun away from a defender, eluded a sack, rolled out and tossed a 24-yard pass to keep a drive going.Yes, RG3 is back.Griffin threw for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and ran for 24 yards in his first game since dislocating his left ankle in Week 2. The Washington Redskins (3-6) lost at Minnesota 29-26 on Sunday, snapping a two-game winning streak led by third-string quarterback Colt McCoy.But now they have their dynamic playmaker under centre and the rest of the season will help determine whether Griffin has a future with the team.Let me play football, man. Let me play football, Griffin said. Thats our job to go out there and have fun and be the players we can be.Griffin was The Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 when he helped the Redskins overcome a 3-6 start to win seven straight games and the NFC East title. But he tore his ACL in a playoff loss to Seattle and has had three major leg injuries over six college and NFL seasons.Griffin is under contract through 2015, and the Redskins next spring will have to decide whether to exercise a team option for 2016. He has to prove he fits into coach Jay Grudens offence and can be a productive pocket passer and all-around player.Other players you should hear from in the second half:LeSean McCoy: After leading the NFL with a franchise-record 1,607 yards rushing in 2013, McCoy ran for only 192 yards and averaged just 2.7 yards per carry in the first month for Philadelphia.Critics said he lost a step. Some wondered why veteran Darren Sproles, who was running effectively, didnt get more carries.But McCoy responded with 430 yards in the next four games, including 117 in Sundays win at Houston. With Mark Sanchez taking over for injured quarterback Nick Foles, expect the Eagles to ride McCoy down the stretch.Every time I get 100 yards its a big deal, McCoy said. Im used to just doing it.___A.J. Green: The three-time Pro Bowl receiver caught a touchdown pass in Cincinnatis win on Sunday after missing three games with an injured big right toe.Green has only played in four games for the Bengals (5-2-1). He has 20 catches for 358 yards and three TDs. Getting Green healthy and more involved in the offence should help Andy Dalton get going. Dalton only has eight TD passes.Expect Green to team with Mohamed Sanu to bolster Cincinnatis passing attack for a playoff push.They wanted to work me in slowly, Green said after playing half the offensive snaps aagainst the Jaguars.dddddddddddd Ill be ready.___Calvin Johnson: The three-time All-Pro wide receiver has only 22 catches and hasnt played since Oct. 5 because of an ankle injury.Johnson started with a typical monster performance in Week 1, catching seven passes for 164 yards and two TDs in Detroits rout over the Giants. But he caught 15 passes for 184 yards and no TDs over the next four games.The Lions (6-2) have won three straight games without Johnson. Look for Megatron to return to form in the second half.___Jadeveon Clowney: The No. 1 overall pick has only played two games after sitting out the first six following arthroscopic knee surgery and missing the last one because of an unspecified illness.Clowney hasnt been on the field much since Houston drafted him in May. The outside linebacker had sports hernia surgery in the off-season and suffered a concussion during training camp before injuring his knee in the season opener.Clowney should give the Texans (4-5) a boost, providing another fierce pass rusher to complement two-time All-Pro J.J. Watt.___Mark Ingram: The former first-round pick has emerged as the go-to back in New Orleans. He became the first Saints running back to have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Deuce McAllister in 2006. Ingram is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has a team-high six touchdowns. Figure to see Drew Brees giving Ingram the ball more as the Saints (4-4) try to stay atop the NFC South.___Some players dont have a promising outlook after being busts in the first half. They are:Geno Smith: The second-year quarterback committed 12 turnovers (10 interceptions, two fumbles) before the New York Jets (1-8) turned to Michael Vick. Smith capped his dismal performance by throwing interceptions on three straight possessions in a loss to Buffalo on Oct. 25. Hes nursing a shoulder injury and will be carrying a clipboard when he returns.___Doug Martin: Since running for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie in 2012, Martin has 622 yards rushing and two TDs in two seasons with Tampa Bay. Hes missed 13 games because of injuries and is trending downward.___Zac Stacy: After a promising rookie year, Stacy has fallen to third behind Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham on St. Louis depth chart. He has 257 yards rushing and didnt get a carry in Sundays win over the 49ers.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi ' ' '