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  February 27, 2018 10:03 PM PST

  GLENDALE, Ariz. Ryan Suter Jersey . -- Dan Raudabaugh threw six touchdown passes and the Philadelphia Soul won their second ArenaBowl title, beating the Arizona Rattlers 56-42 on Friday night.Raudabaugh was 20 of 36 for 278 yards. Shaun Kauleinamoku was selected the game MVP after leading the Soul in receiving with eight catches for 110 yards and three touchdowns.I couldnt be more proud of this team and this organization, Soul coach Clint Dolezel said. We have worked extremely hard for six months to get to this point and it is fantastic to see our hard work pay off.Philadelphia improved to 2-2 in championship games. The Soul beat San Jose in 2008 and lost to Arizona in 2012 and 2013.Congratulations to Philadelphia, Rattlers coach Kevin Guy said. I thought they played a hard game. ... We thought we were going to give them a ball game and we did. We had a chance to go up there in the fourth quarter and take the lead, but we fell short.The game was played at Gila River Arena, home of the NHLs Arizona Coyotes, because the WNBAs Phoenix Mercury had a game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.Arizonas Nick Davila was 23 of 38 for 281 yards and four touchdowns. Maurice Purify had nine receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns.With Philadelphia leading 56-42, the Rattlers were in position to make it a one-possession game, but James Romain intercepted Davilas pass in the end zone with 48 seconds left.The Soul raced to a 21-0 lead. Raudabaugh opened the scoring on the first possession with a 16-yard pass to Darius Reynolds. Dwayne Hollis returned a fumble 49 yards for a touchdown, and Tracy Belton recovered the kickoff in the end zone for another score.We got behind early, Guy said. We came out and fumbled on the 1-yard line. I thought our guys showed great character trying to get back in the game. Minnesota Wild Jerseys . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Joel Eriksson Ek Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. http://www.authentichockeyshopwild.com/customized . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. To suggest this is an intriguing season for the St. Louis Blues would be understating things.This is a team, I would humbly opine, that is at an interesting crossroads.After reaching the Western Conference finals last season and unburdening themselves of some playoff demons in doing so, the Blues finally turned a powerhouse regular season into a spring of substance.But of interest to me now is where this team goes from here. Are the Blues taking that next step? Or is their window beginning to close? For one, this is Ken Hitchcocks last season behind the St. Louis bench -- with the team making the unusual arrangement that newly hired associate coach Mike Yeo will take over next season.Theres also the transition of leadership with longtime captain David Backes leaving via free agency, as did clutch playoff performer Troy Brouwer. And those departures came a year after star winger?T.J. Oshie was traded.This, more than ever, is now the team of new captain Alex Pietrangelo as well as Alexander Steen, one of the teams alternate captains and respected leaders.A bit of a change -- obviously Backes was the big piece that was here for a while, Pietrangelo said over the phone Wednesday from Edmonton. But if you look at the fact that Hitch is still here, you got myself, Steener, [Kevin Shattenkirk], [Patrik Berglund], [Jaden Schwartz] -- theres a bunch of guys, pretty much the same core thats been here a long stretch. While there has been change, at the same time for the most part its the same group of guys, with the same coaching philosophies. Pretty much the same identity weve had, just a bit younger.Yes, the core is a bit younger. Which is a good thing. Superstar winger Vladimir Tarasenko can take more ownership now of this team, ditto for two-way winger Schwartz. Center Paul Stastny has been terrific early on this season, feeding off his solid playoff performance of last spring.Nobody is going to pretend to be Backes, the fiery leader who would drop the gloves at a moments notice, the ultimate alpha male who left it all on the ice for the Blues over 10 seasons.But there are other ways to lead, too.Im not going to change who I am, said Pietrangelo, who last month helped Team Canada win the World Cup. I said the same thing to the guys: If Im not who I usually am, I expect these guys to let me know. Obviously, they gave me the C because they dont mind who I am. Im going to continue to be the same person. Im not going to change my personality.Nor are the Blues changing how they play all that much. Sure, they want to be a bit faster -- the San Jose Sharks made them look sllow while beating them in the conference finals -- but this is still Blues hockey that can suffocate you by coming in waves. Gustav Olofsson Jersey. Theyre off to a fast start with seven out of eight points in four games.Theyre big, skilled and play a heavy game, said one Western Conference general manager who recently saw them play. This is still Hitchs team, so they play his style of hockey.The players insist having Hitchcocks replacement standing next to him during every game is no big deal.When you think about it, obviously its an odd situation, but Mike has been great, Pietrangelo said. Hes the first one to tell you that Hitch is the coach. The best part about Mike, he even told me and some of the other guys, he wants to learn from Hitch and wants to take this year to understand why a guy like Hitch has been so successful. You know, Im treating Hitch as the head coach and Mike is the assistant. It starts with me. If I dont do that, its not fair to Hitch. Different dynamic, obviously, but well deal with the transition in the summer when the time comes. So far it really hasnt come up. Mike has been nothing but professional, and that makes it a lot easier.Former executive Craig Button doesnt see anything unusual about the arrangement.This is a good succession plan, said Button, a former GM of the?Calgary Flames. Organizations, outside professional sports teams, do it all the time and it is not only important, it allows for an orderly transition. We only hear of firings in sport, and then that leads to other changes and the inevitable feeling-out process for players and coaching staff.There will be familiarity with Mike for the players, it will allow Mike to know the players better and, most importantly, it doesnt force player changes based on lack of knowledge. A new coach that knows the team can keep the group moving forward and continue the process that Doug believes in.A long season is ahead. But the intrigue with this team is undeniable. Can they take the next step?We made some big strides last year getting to the Western Conference finals, but after that excitement, and knowing we made it that far, that wears off and you wonder what went wrong [after losing] and how you get to that next level,? Pietrangelo said. That was a big topic of conversation throughout the summer and going into the season.The big thing for us is building and getting to our best hockey as quickly as we can and carrying that into the playoffs like we did last year. ' ' '