Tina Maze of Slovenia matched the time of Dominique Gisin, leading to an unprecedented tie for the Olympic gold medal in the womens downhill on Wednesday. Both skiers crossed the line at Rosa Khutor in one minute, 41.57 seconds. Gisin last won a downhill on the World Cup circuit nearly four years ago, but the 28-year-old served notice of her desire to win with the fastest time in the third training session at Sochi. Gisin led three Swiss skiers into the top 5 and became the fifth woman from her country to finish first in the womens Olympic downhill. The last was Michela Figini, who did it as a 17-year-old in 1984. Mazes result was less surprising, but history making. The 30-year-old, who enjoyed a dominant 2012-13 season, becomes Slovenias first ever Winter Olympics gold medallist in any sport. The country now has 11 medals in Winter Games competition through the years, including Mazes silvers in super-G and giant slalom four years ago in Vancouver. Lara Gut won the bronze. Gut, who has five World Cup wins this season, gave a stern challenge to her compatriot Gisin but finished 1-10th of a second behind. Three skiers later, Maze laid down her time to stun observers. Canadian Larisa Yurkiw finished 19th. The Owen Sound, Ont., native crossed in a time of 1:43.46. Yurkiw, 25, poured thousands into her Olympic dream and raised sponsorships when funding dried up following injury-plagued seasons. Several expected contenders did not factor. Julia Mancuso of the United States was eighth, while Maria-Hoefl Riesch of Germany and Elisabeth Goergl were out of the top 10. Mancuso and Goergl rounded out the podium at the 2010 Vancouver Games behind Lindsey Vonn, who isnt in Sochi due to knee surgery. Hoefl-Riesch was looking to become just the third skier to win four Olympic gold medals in her career, but shell have two more chances over the next 10 days. Meanwhile, Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland and Anna Fenninger of Austria skied off course. Both had been on the podium in the downhill this season. Fenningers run, coming right after Maze, signaled that there would likely be a historic tie. Swiss veteran Fabienne Suter was first out of the gate, and her time held up as the best until Gisin seven skiers later. Suter finished fifth, one spot behind Daniela Merighetti, the Italian who complained about the dangerous nature of the course after a mishap on the first day of Sochi downhill training last week. Frances Marie Marchand-Avrier, the fourth down the hill, lost her balance and crashed into the netting but was able to get up under her own power after a few minutes down. Carolina Ruiz Castillo of Spain skied off course, skidding just short of the net. The next womens alpine event is super-G on Saturday. Chad Ruhwedel Jersey . Former two-time Olympic gold medallist Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine in both her "A" and "B" samples, the German Olympic Committee said. Brian Dumoulin Jersey .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. http://www.penguinsauthenticofficial.com...umoulin-jersey/. 2015 Oscar nomination pending. Here is an open letter from Steven Stamkos to his fans: When I shot this final Moment Zero film last August, it was a fun few days on set with Coke Zero and Jordan Eberle in my hometown of Markham. Mario Lemieux Jersey . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright. Bryan Rust Penguins Jersey . Team officials did not indicate the extent of the injury Saturday, simply listing Rose with "left knee soreness." Rose has played two preseason games without any sign of problems. The first NBA game in South America now will be missing its biggest star.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild traded for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on Tuesday in conjunction with their decision to shut down ailing veteran Niklas Backstrom. The Wild sent a fourth-round draft pick to Edmonton to complete the deal one day before the NHL trade deadline. General manager Chuck Fletcher said the team must assume that neither Backstrom nor Josh Harding will be healthy enough to mind the net again this season. Rookie Darcy Kuemper has been stellar in their absence, but with a finishing stretch of 20 games in 37 days starting Saturday, hes not enough. "We have a lot of work ahead of us to get where we want to get to, but clearly having two quality goaltenders was very important," Fletcher said. Kuemper has started 15 straight games, so Bryzgalov is more for insurance, though hes certain to have his time, too. The Wild are 14-4-2 in 2014 and in firm control of the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. "I will do my job as best I can. Making the decisions on who is supposed to play is not my job," Bryzgalov said on a conference call. He added: "I look at this as a great opportunity for me to play, and yeah its like a new challenge." Backstrom has been bothered by injuries all season, most notably to his midsection that will probably prompt surgery, and the 36-year-old has a career-worst 3.02 goals-against average over 21 games. Fletcher told him Monday of their preference to hold him out until training camp. "His pain threshold is tremendous," Fletcher said. "Hes a competitive guy and I know hes really disappointed because the team has taken a really strong step the last couple months. Hes been through some of the lean times, and I know he wants to be a part of it but our goal for Nik is to get him healthy." Harding was superb early in the season, but the 2013 Masterton Trophy winner -- for sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance -- has not played at all in 2014 due to illness related to medication for multiple sclerosis. With not much more than a month left in the regular season and Harding not yet ready to resume skating, Fletcher said hes probably finished until the ffall, too.dddddddddddd The search for a replacement intensified in the last couple of days. Martin Brodeur and Jaroslav Halak also were potentially available via trade, but their price was far higher than what it took to nab Bryzgalov. The 33-year-old Russian has a 5-8-5 record in 20 games for the Oilers this season, with an ugly 3.01 goals-against average. Hes on an expiring contract, a requirement for the Wild. This is a rental, plain and simple. Thats largely because Kuemper has tied a Wild rookie record with 11 wins and since Jan. 7 has a 1.70 GAA with two shutouts and a .939 save percentage. "Weve always felt hed be a very good No. 1 goalie down the road, and we just didnt realize down the road would mean this January and February," Fletcher said. The pick sent to Edmonton was originally acquired last year from Buffalo in the trade that brought first-line right wing Jason Pominville to Minnesota. Bryzgalov has 38 games of playoff experience over five postseasons with Anaheim, Phoenix and Philadelphia, including three stellar starts against the Wild in the Western Conference quarterfinals in 2007. He stopped 73 of 77 shots in the first three games of that series, all Ducks victories. Bryzgalov struggled in defeat in the next game, Jean-Sebastien Giguere replaced him thereafter and the Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup. Bryzgalovs career record is 213-157-50, including a 42-20-6 mark for the Coyotes during the 2009-10 season, his best in the NHL. He had a 2.29 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Then came his ill-fated time in Philadelphia. The Flyers signed him to a $51 million, nine-year contract in 2011 and used a salary-cap compliance buyout to release him last June, just two seasons into the megadeal. General manager Paul Holmgren said then the contract was "a costly mistake." Bryzgalov didnt sign with the Oilers until last November. After signing goalie Ben Scrivens to a two-year contract extension last week, the Oilers took their first step away from Bryzgalov. Then they acquired goalie Viktor Fasth from Anaheim on Tuesday for a fifth-round draft pick this summer and a third-round selection in 2015. ' ' '