ST. Hoyt Wilhelm Jersey . JOHNS, N.L. -- Jason Jaffray scored 52 seconds into the game, and Eddie Pasquale made 36 saves to lead the St. Johns IceCaps over the Manchester Monarchs 4-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. "We got off to a good start and scored that early goal," IceCaps forward Adam Lowry said. "Then we got back on our heels a bit in the third period. We did a good job keeping their shots to the outside in the third." Despite being outshot 18-7 in the third period, partially due to having to kill three penalties, Pasquale kept the IceCaps in the game. Head coach Keith McCambridge was happy with the teams penalty kill. "In the third period especially, our penalty kill was tested," McCambridge said. "The foundation for all penalty kills is making sure your goaltender is the best guy (out there). I thought Eddie (Pasquale) made some huge saves for us to be able to keep momentum." One player who is making the most of his penalty kill opportunities, according to McCambridge, is Adam Lowry. "Hes really good and hes been good all season," he said. "He possesses long range and takes up a lot of ice, and he is able to read well on the forecheck. Lowry is a player that has a lot of intelligence on where to be on the ice and hes been key for us." Lowry is happy to have an expanded role with the IceCaps, which allows him to be killing penalties and learning from veterans. "Its good any time your role is increased with the team, you want to make the most of it," Lowry said. "(Patrice) Cormier and Jaffray have helped me out a lot on the penalty kill and knowing where to be." Jerome Samson scored two goals, and John Albert had one for the IceCaps (20-15-3), who won their second in a row. Nick Deslauriers replied for the Monarchs (25-11-6). Jaffray opened the scoring when he tapped in a rebound off an Andrew Gordon slapshot. Albert made it 2-0 with a short-handed goal when he cut across the net and beat Jean-Francois Berube with a backhand shot at 7:56of the second period. Samson got his first goal of the game on the power play at 11:20 of the second, to make it 3-0. The Monarchs got on the board at 14:17 of the second period when Jordan Weal tipped a pass across the crease to Deslauriers, who scored into a practically empty net. Samson added an empty netter for the IceCaps with 14 seconds left. Berube made 27 saves for Manchester. St. Johns was 1 for 4 with the man advantage, and the Monarchs were 0 for 5. Frank Robinson Jersey . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. Tippy Martinez Jersey . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute.OKLAHOMA CITY - Tony Parker is dinged up again, and his status is unclear heading into the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The San Antonio Spurs All-Star point guard did not play in the second half or overtime of the Western Conference finals-clinching win over Oklahoma City on Saturday because of a sore left ankle. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesnt know what shape Parker will be in for Game 1 on Thursday in San Antonio. "I have no idea," Popovich said Saturday night. "I dont know what the deal is." Popovich said Parker sprained the ankle in Game 4 and aggravated it in Game 5. Popovich considered starting Manu Ginobili at point guard in Game 6 against the Thunder because Parker was having trouble during pregame. At halftime, Popovich made the decision to hold him out. "He came to me about eight minutes on the clock (before the second half) and said he couldnt go," Popovich said. "He couldnt cut. He was limping on it. He couldnt cut sideways or forward really." Popovich said he thought playing Parker in the second half would have hurt the team in the long term. "I didnt want him to be a hero because he was 50 per cent or less, we thought," Popovich said. "Thats probably bad for the team if you think about it. It was a tough decision to try to figure out whether to play him, and if you lose the game and it affects him for Monday night, then youre going to feel like you made an unwise choice." Parker has been plagued by injuries this year. He averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 50 per cent from the field during the regular season, but he missed 22 games. He strained his left hamstring in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals aagainst Portland and did not return. Anthony Santander Jersey. The Spurs won that game easily to clinch the series. Once again, his teammates bought him some rest. Had the Spurs lost Game 6, they would have faced an elimination game at home Monday against the Thunder. "We didnt know how much Tony was hurt in his ankle," forward Boris Diaw said. "But we didnt want to go to Game 7, and we didnt know if he would be ready to play if we did or if he would be 100 per cent, so we tried to get it over with tonight." Still, the Spurs have proven all season they can win without key players, posting the NBAs best record despite a series of injuries. "We have to continue to play basketball regardless of who is on the floor and our reserves did a great job - Cory (Joseph), Patty (Mills) - they stepped in and continued to run the offence and push the pace and playing good defence on their guards as well," guard Danny Green said. Joseph started the second half of Game 6 against Oklahoma City and helped engineer a 37-point third quarter. "Cory was very good," Ginobili said. "I mean, its hard to play when you dont have many opportunities to play in close games and stuff. But he did very well in Game 3 and 4 here. He always brings the juice, aggressiveness, competitiveness. He attacks the rim well. I think he made a few key plays." The Spurs said they excel without their stars because they are about a system, rather than individuals. "We have been doing what we did the whole year, which is passing the ball to each other, getting some movement, getting pace and getting into a good rhythm," Diaw said. "Always trying to set up a good shot for a teammate." ' ' '