Hurricanes stun Bruins with three late goals
NEW YORK — The Carolina Hurricanes scored three goals in the final six minutes to rally past Stanley Cup champions Boston 4-2 in NHL at the RBC Center on Saturday.
The Hurricanes improved to 3-0 against Boston this season despite trailing the second-placed Bruins by 18 points in the Eastern Conference standings.
"It shows we can compete with anybody," Hurricanes defenseman Jay Harrison told reporters. "On any given night, the effort you put in can be successful.
"That should suggest to this whole locker room that we aren't far from stringing something together and being very competitive."
Boston opened the scoring six minutes into the second period on a rebound goal by Patrice Bergeron. The Hurricanes responded with a strong push back and tied the score four minutes later with a tip-in by Patrick Dwyer. to stay alive. But Nieminen refused to be denied, holding serve and breaking his fellow 30-year-old to take the second set 7-5 in a contest lasting just short of 80 minutes.
The only previous ATP title for the left-handed Niemenen, a beaten Sydney finalist in 2009, came in Auckland in 2006.
Persistent showers on Saturday had prevented any play between the unseeded Benneteau and Nieminen, who has been ranked as high as 13th.
The Australian Open, the year's first grand slam, starts in Melbourne today. — AFP