e signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jor

TORONTO -- The artistry Justin Mapp displayed in scoring Montreals lone goal drew rave reviews from even Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen on Wednesday night. Trevor Booker Jersey . Mapp danced through Torontos defence to score on Montreals only shot on net as the Impact salvaged a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship against a TFC side missing star striker Jermain Defoe. "Hes a lovely man, he goes about his business quietly," Nelsen said of Mapp. "That was a classy classy goal, to tell you the truth, and the only way I think really they were going to score, to break us down. "Sometimes you have to tip your hat." Defender Doneil Henry scored the lone goal for Toronto. The draw could be considered a victory for Montreal, since road goals carry more weight. If next Wednesdays second leg in Montreal was to end in a 0-0 tie, the Impact would win based on Mapps goal at BMO Field. "Coming away, the first leg, you score an away goal, its very important," said Impact coach Frank Klopas. "But also I felt we finished the game the second half, we played some good soccer, we had some good opportunities, and so its a good result on the road. But nothings done yet." The draw was the latest chapter in a Canadian Championship battle between these two teams. Toronto has won four of the six titles, Montreal has won the other two, including the inaugural tournament in 2008, and then last year. The winner earns the right to represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto dominated possession for most of the night, and had five shots on net to the Impacts one in front of 18,269 mostly red-clad TFC fans at BMO Field. Nelsen sat Defoe because the former Tottenham Hotspur star was feeling "a wee bit tight." The coach admitted that, with the lineup he fielded, he was looking ahead to Saturdays Major League Soccer game against the visiting Columbus Crew. "But in saying that, I put out the team that I thought should have won that game," Nelsen said. "We gave a lot of guys a chance to prove themselves, and it looked a bit like they hadnt played together, sometimes it wasnt pretty. But they worked hard." Henry leapt to head home a corner from Daniel Lovitz in the 20th minute, a blistering shot from the top of the six-yard box that Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush had little chance of stopping. The goal was a positive -- finally -- for Henry, whos been mired in negatives lately. Most recently, in Torontos 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City, a foul by the Toronto defender inside the box cost the team a Kansas City penalty shot. "For Doneil, he showed his character," Nelsen said. "Obviously hes had a couple of tough ones that everybody likes to remind him of. Its the ability to get back on the horse and get back in the arena that I love about the kid." Mapp tied the game in the 70th, dribbling through Torontos back line and beating a lunging Steven Caldwell to fire a shot past keeper Joe Bendik. "Just collected it on the right side, started driving toward the top of the box. . . ultimately nobody put pressure on the ball and I found myself at the top of the 18 and just had a go. Snuck in," Mapp said. "Nice of him to say," he added, when told of Nelsens praise. "Just trying to stay consistent and do my job each week. Its been tough for us, just trying to play my part, and hopefully it continues." "Tough" is an understatement for a Montreal team that has been struggling mightily this MLS season, looking nothing like the squad that made the playoffs last season. Montreal sits dead last in the league with one win, six losses and four draws. Toronto FC is 4-4-1. But the Impact picked up their pace in the second half, and are in the drivers seat heading into Wednesdays game. "It was tough, (Toronto) had a little more bite (in the first half), winning all the second balls, the soccer really wasnt pretty from either team," Mapp said. "But its Toronto-Montreal Cup final and at halftime, we just said Look, leave it all out there, and good or bad, you just dont know when youll have this chance again." Klopas raged about the refereeing in his post-game news conference. "For me to come here again and complain with the referees. Two clear hand balls in the box, for me its embarrassing. Its embarrassing," he said. "It was a good game played by both teams. . . but me the referees, to be talking about two clear hand balls. . "If youre going to have a final, at least let the players decide, not the referees making calls like this. For me, its an embarrassment." Nelsen said he had little sympathy for the opposing coach. "Talk about bad calls, weve been on the back end of a few of them this season, so Im not going to feel too bad for Frank," Nelsen said. Toronto controlled possession for much of a game that saw few scoring chances by either side. Dwayne De Rosario, who is tied for the tournaments all-time lead in goals with four and won back-to-back tournament MVP honours (2009 and 10), almost put Toronto up by two goals in the 58th minute when he rung a hard shot off the crossbar from about 25 yards out, drawing groans from the crowd. DeRosario sat on the turf in disbelief at his bad luck. De Rosario had another great chance in the 70th, lobbing a high ball over the head of Bush, who was well out of his net. But Heath Pearce was there to head the ball off the goal-line. De Rosario would have a third chance in the 84th minute, when Toronto was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but he fired it high of the net. Lovitz had perhaps the best opportunity in the first half, one-timing a rebound off a beautiful cross from Ashtone Morgan. But he launched it well over the top of the crossbar. Toronto, which is 7-1-3 all-time against the Impact in Canadian Championship action, defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps to make the final, while Montreal edged second-division side FC Edmonton to earn its spot. Timofey Mozgov Jersey .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. Caris LeVert Jersey . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. http://www.nbanetsauthority.com/sean-kilpatrick-nets-jersey-c-8/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6.The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues all augmented their free agent classes by signing some European free agents. Numbers Game examines the signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jori Lehtera. The Maple Leafs Sign: C Petri Kontiola and LW Leo Komarov. Komarov is a familiar face for the Maple Leafs, a 27-year-old winger who was a regular in the Leafs lineup in 2012-2013 before returning to the KHL for a nice payday last season. Komarov had a strong year in the KHL, with Moscow Dynamo, leading the team with 34 points in 52 games, and he played for Finland in both the Olympics and the World Championships. Komarov didnt score much in his first go-round with the Leafs, tallying nine points in 42 games, but there may be more offence to his game than that. Usage would play a big part in whether or not Komarov is ever a factor offensively, but hes being brought back to Toronto more for his attitude than production. Komarov is a relentless pest, who hits a lot and gets under opponents skin. To his credit, he did have solid relative possession stats for the Leafs a couple of years ago. Heres the issue with Komarov, though. If he is capable of contributing offensively, and could fill a top-nine role, then it could justify the four-year, $11.8-million contract he received. If hes the same energetic fourth-liner that he was a couple of years ago -- a distinct possibility -- then hes vastly overpaid. Kontiola is a 29-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004 and played a dozen games with the Blackhawks in 2007-2008, registering five assists and, in that small sample, putting up great possession stats. In two AHL seasons, Kontiola scored 140 points in 159 (regular season plus playoff) games, before heading to the KHL, where he has scored 152 points in 204 games over the past four seasons, the last three with Chelyabinsk Traktor. He had 14 points in 16 games playing for Finland at the Olympics and in the World Championships. With that track record, its possible that Kontiola could contribute some offence for the Maple Leafs but, as a 29-year-old who has barely seen NHL action, he could also be a spare part. The good news is that, signed to a contract for $1.1-million for one season, hes a low-risk investment. If he wins a spot in the lineup and contributes, they can work on an extension; if he doesnt, no big deal. The Canadiens Sign: RW Jiri Sekac. 22-year-old Jiri Sekac was suddenly a hot name on the free agent market this spring after a nice season in the KHL, scoring 11 goals and 28 pointss in 47 games for Prague Lev, leading his team in points per game (0. DAngelo Russell Jersey. .60). As a junior, Sekac played a little in North America, earning zero points in eight games with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL as a 17-year-old before joining Youngstown of the USHL, where he scored 56 points in 96 games. Understandably, with that production, he wasnt considered a hot NHL prospect and went to the KHL, where he scored 21 points in 83 games over two seasons before breaking out last season. Signed for two years, at an entry-level of max of $925,000 per season (plus bonuses), Sekac is rapidly-improving and his potential drew lots of interest throughout the league, but it would be premature -- considering hes had basically one productive scoring season in three years -- to put big expectations on his scoring significantly for Montreal next season. However, if Sekac found a spot in Montreals top nine, maybe he could contribute some offence as a rookie. The Blues Sign: C Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, 26, was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2008 and has played all of 14 (regular season plus playoff games) in North America since, managing three points with Peoria in the 2008-2009 season. Since then, however, Lehtera has been very productive as a playmaking centre. In the past three seasons, playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL, Lehtera has tallied 39 goals and 118 points in 125 games (with zero goals and eight points in 13 playoff games). The 6-foot-2 centre had 12 points in 10 games at the World Championships this year, as well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit out of place against high-level competition. Coming to North America may require some adjustment, but Lehtera is going to have an opportunity to put up points right out of the game, slated to skate on the Blues second line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on his wings. With quality playing time on a strong team, Lehtera could make an impact right away. 50 points seems a reasonable expectation, but theres upside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very reasonable price if he ends up fulfilling a top-six role for the Blues. His presence, along with Paul Stastny, allows the Blues to move David Backes and Patrik Berglund to the wing, giving the team outstanding depth up front. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap NFL Gear Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '