BEIJING -- Kevin Koes curling team accomplished what has been a rare feat this season, winning its opening game at the 2014 world mens curling championship. Koes Calgary squad of third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft, and lead Nolan Thiessen methodically cruised to a 6-3 victory Saturday over Denmarks Rasmus Stjerne. "We lost the first game at the (Canadian Curling) trials, we lost our first game at the provincials and we lost our first game at the (Tim Hortons) Brier," Rycroft said, laughing. "Coach (John) Dunn said, I dont want that to happen again. "Mission accomplished: 1-and-0." It took some time for both teams to adjust to ice conditions in an arena more noted for hosting the 2008 Olympic volleyball competition. Canada pounced on Danish misses in the third end to score two, then stole single points in the following two ends to take control. Canadas airtight defence went to work the rest of the way. "If youre up, your shots are usually simpler, and with the ice being tricky, thats a big advantage," said Koe. "If youre having to play come-arounds and freezes to get back into it, those arent easy to begin with, let alone when the ice is tricky, so if you can throw them hard, which we like to do, thats always a good sign." Stjerne, who skipped the Danes to a fourth-place finish at the 2013 worlds in Victoria, said Canada is a "tough team to come back on." "They never gave us an inch," Stjerne said. "I felt like we had a couple opportunities to get a deuce, but we never took advantage and it bit us in the end." Canada returns to the ice Sunday morning against Japans Yusuke Morozumi, a 9-5 loser to Norways Thomas Ulsrud on Saturday night. "You know what? (The Danes) are a good team, they made the playoffs last year, so theyre one of the better teams here," said Koe, who was scored at 96 per cent for the night. "And weve got off to a slow start everywhere this year, so to get the win under our belt feels good." In other Saturday games, Oskar Eriksson of Sweden (2-0) topped Pete Fenson of the U.S. (0-2) 8-6, while Johnny Jahr of Germany, who was 0-9 at the Olympics, improved to 2-0 with a 9-5 win over Evgeny Arkhipov of Russia (1-1). Earlier Saturday, Russia edged Switzerlands Peter de Cruz 8-7, Jiri Snitil of the Czech Republic downed the U.S. 9-7, Germany beat Chinas Rui Liu 11-5 and Sweden doubled Scotlands Ewan MacDonald 8-4. Koe won gold in his only previous appearance at the world championship, taking top spot at the 2010 tournament in Cortina DAmpezzo, Italy. Koe had a strong performance at the Tim Hortons Brier earlier this month and is enjoying another solid year on the World Curling Tour. Canada has won gold three of the last four world championships. Jeff Stoughton was victorious in 2011 in Regina and Glenn Howard won at Basel, Switzerland in 2012. Kyle Higashioka Jersey . Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago. Adam Ottavino Yankees Jersey . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapyankees.com/2271g-domin...ey-yankees.html. Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. CC Sabathia Yankees Jersey . Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game in the sixth inning, following a two-out solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion led off the seventh with a homer to tie the game 3-3 and, with two out in the seventh, Munenori Kawasaki came through with the two-out single to score pinch-runner Steve Tolleson with what proved to be the winning run. Ben Heller Yankees Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Keeping The Captain? Brian Giontas agent Steve Bartlett told La Presse on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens want to keep their captain - an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - in the fold, while sources tell the paper that the two sides will start talks this week.St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Kesler had two goals and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks nabbed a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday. Tim Jackman posted a goal and an assist while Jakob Silfverberg and Matt Beleskey each scored for the Ducks, who have won their past three. Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 25 shots. We did what we do best and thats play below the circles, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. We took advantage of it and [Beleskey], whos had a pretty hot hand this year, scored again. Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Justin Fontaine and Jonas Brodin all scored for the Wild, who were coming off a win over Montreal on Wednesday. Darcy Kuemper allowed all five goals on 18 shots. Well have to discuss [how comfortable the team is with Kuemper], Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Obviously, we have to make sure were strong there. Well evaluate that carefully. Minnesota went up 4-3 on Fontaines goal at 2:07 in the final period, a slap shot from the right wing for his second of the year. Anaheim, though, tied the game just 90 seconds later as Jackmans shot from the low left circle snuck past Kuemper. Just under five minutes later, the Ducks took the lead for good as Ryan Getzlaf sent a backhand pass from the left side of the net to the low left circle where Beleskeys one-timer found the back of the net for a 5-4 lead. Minnesota pulled Kuemper from the net after the goal aand Niklas Backstrom held the fort, stopping three shots the rest of the way.dddddddddddd The Wild, though, were unable to net the equalizer as the Ducks escaped with the victory. Anaheim scored just 1:31 in as Kesler buried a wrister on a short break, and it was a 2-0 game at 11:44 of the first as Andrew Cogliano swept the puck on net from the right side and Silfverberg snapped home the rebound. The Ducks took a 3-0 lead at 2:28 of the second when Kesler came down the middle and drifted to the right where he beat Kuemper with a wrister under the glove. Minnesota, though, scored a pair of power-play goals separated by 11 seconds as Koivu scored on a 5-on-3, when his shot from a sharp angle at the right side hit off the skate of a Duck and went in. Parise then scored shortly after the faceoff when he skated down the left wing and snapped a wrister between the legs of Andersen. Brodin tied the game with 2:11 to play in the second as his heavy wrister from the slot went through a screen and into the right corner for his first of the season. Game Notes Anaheim forward Corey Perry left the game with a lower-body injury halfway through the first period ... Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter missed a second straight game with the mumps ... Anaheim plays at Winnipeg on Sunday ... Anaheim took a 2-1 win at home against Minnesota on Oct. 17. ' ' '