CORTINA DAMPEZZO, Italy -- Defending overall World Cup champion Tina Maze finally got her first victory of the season, winning the prestigious Cortina downhill Saturday to signal a return to form just in time for the Sochi Olympics. The Slovenian clocked 1 minute, 37.79 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course, which was bathed in sunshine, then performed her trademark handstand celebration during the podium proceedings. "There were a lot of emotions," Maze said. "It was a really long time. ... When I find the right feeling like I found it today I can ski fast." Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland finished second, 0.27 seconds behind, and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was third, 0.38 back. Maze had a record-breaking season a year ago with 11 wins. This season, she had only three podium results -- until this race. "When you win a lot you dont learn much," Maze said. "With my ups and downs its a lot of learning." Two weeks ago, Maze made a staff change in her personal team, which is run by her boyfriend and coach Andrea Massi. They replaced Walter Ronconi with former Switzerland coach Mauro Pini. The switch seems to have paid off and the timing couldnt have been better -- in the final downhill before the Sochi Games, where the womens downhill is scheduled for Feb. 12. Pini urged Maze to put more emotion into her skiing. "That was really good because Andrea was always saying to ski without feelings," Maze said. "But sometimes thats not possible. "(Pini) brought a lot of peace to our team because compared to Andrea and I hes one step in front of us," Maze added. "And thats what we were expecting from someone in that position. He came really motivated and that makes us easygoing and we have more energy for ourselves." Pini was formerly Lara Guts personal coach and he led the Swiss mens squad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when Didier Defago won gold in downhill. He then coached the Swiss womens team and more recently was a TV commentator. "I could sense a good feeling from the first words we shared with each other," Pini said. "Tina never forgot how to ski. She was always capable, she just needed to focus her energy better and get rid of those negative vibes." "At this level a couple different words here or there can create all the difference," Pini added. "Its not like we had to start over from scratch." With the skies perfectly clear to show off the jagged peaks that provide some of the most spectacular scenery in the Dolomite Range, Maria Hoefl-Riesch finished fourth to follow up her victory in Fridays downhill. The German said she felt some pain in her left knee after landing a jump awkwardly a day earlier. Still, Hoefl-Riesch maintained her lead in the overall and downhill standings. In another strong showing from the U.S. Ski Team without injured Lindsey Vonn, Stacey Cook matched her fifth-place finish from Friday and teammate Julia Mancuso placed seventh to match her best result of the season from a super-G two days earlier. "It always stings when you are so close to the podium, but I know this is a positive move heading toward Sochi," Cook said. This was the third of four races in four days. Elisabeth Goergl won a super-G on Thursday and another super-G is scheduled for Sunday. Weirather finished fourth and second in the opening two races this week. "Its hard to have four good races in a row but I will try," she said. Two of the races were originally scheduled for last weekend in Cortina but were wiped out by heavy snowfall. The other two were moved from Garmisch-Partenkirchen due to a lack of snow in the German resort. The womens circuit then moves to Kranjska Gora for a giant slalom and slalom next weekend -- the final races before Sochi and Mazes home event. "Im really excited to ski that slope," Maze said
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.C. - The housecleaning continues for the B.SOCHI, Russia - Jonathan Toews doesnt know where hell keep this Olympic gold medal. His mom and dad have the other one from four years ago back home in Winnipeg. "Maybe Ill hang em up together," he says. Toews has not yet reached the age of 26. He already owns two Stanley Cups and now his second gold on the grand Olympic stage - all in the last four years. He also boasts gold from two World Juniors and another from the 2007 Worlds. He scored the first goal in Canadas 3-0 triumph over Sweden in Sundays gold medal match and further cemented himself as one of the defining - if not the defining - winners and crunch-time players of his generation. He was the best player on the biggest stage in Vancouver and remained right up there again this time around in Sochi. That winning feeling never seems to get old. "I think every time you get the chance," said Toews, gold medal still around his neck afterward, "theres still that feeling of nerves that you dont want to pass up the chance to win. You want to do it again. You never know how many chances youre going to get so you want to do the best you can to bring it home. Im just lucky to be part of these teams that want to win as bad as I do." That burning desire to win is what makes Toews such a special player and leader at a wise-beyond-his-years age of 25. Its why the Chicago Blackhawks pinned him with the captaincy at the tender age of 20, this after just a single season in the NHL. He is both willing and able to do whatever it takes to win. Score a goal. Kill a penalty. Win a faceoff. Shut down the oppositions top offensive force. Toews can and will do it all. On this day against the Swedes, it was scoring the elusive first goal and eventual game-winner. Toews, who led the forwards with over 19 minutes, hadnt scored before that in these Olympics, but there he was redirecting a terrific pass from Jeff Carter and setting the tone for Canada. "I know Johnny cares so much about hockey," said Canadian and Blackhawks teammate Duncan Keith, also a winner of two Cups and two Olympic gold medals. "He lives and breathes hockey. Thats the way he is as a person. That sort of stuff doesnt surprise me at all." In the semifinal against the Americans, he was shutting down the previously unstoppable Phil Kessel, keeping the eventual tournament scoring leader (tied with Erik Karlsson) off the board entirely in a tense 1-0 win.dddddddddddd In fact, it was the line of Toews, Carter and Patrick Marleau that keyed in on the oppositions best throughout the entire tournament. The trio was a driving force in Canadas dominant defensive effort, one that saw them yield exactly three goals in six games and not one in either the semifinal or final. "Hes a winner," said Alex Pietrangelo, less than two years younger than Toews, but worlds apart in experience. "Resume speaks for itself. Obviously a great leader. Plays the game the right way. Plays the game hard, every practice, every game. Great guy to learn from, great guy to follow." Toews is so respected around the league for his winning accomplishments that even Sidney Crosby, the games top player, checked with his Chicago counterpart before accepting the captaincy for Team Canada. He wanted to make sure Toews, a winner of two Cups to just one for Crosby, was okay with it. For first-time Olympians like Pietrangelo and Matt Duchene, Toews and Crosby were the two to watch here in Sochi, the two to follow on the difficult path to gold, the second in as many Olympics for Canada. "Him and Sid are the two guys I probably look up most to in the league," said Duchene. "You want to follow in the footsteps of those guys." Stepping into the lineup for the injured John Tavares in Fridays semifinal against the U.S., Duchene said he looked to Toews and Crosby for leadership. "...they were kind of my calming factors. I looked at them and saw how they were dealing with it and thought okay, thats where I want to go as an individual so this is how I have to act and how I have to deal with it. "I didnt have any nerves the last two games and that was pretty amazing." For the second time in as many gold medal games it was Toews and Crosby both scoring for Canada - the latter on a breakaway against Lundqvist - both elevating their play under the most pressure-infused of situations. Both knew nothing less than gold was good enough, either for the nation or themselves as individuals. "This is old hat for them this game here," Duchene said with a growing smile. "This probably ranks in the top five biggest games ever [for them], not number one like me by a mile. Its pretty cool. Those are the guys you want to be like as you get older." ' ' '
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