TORONTO -- In the Vah River valley in western Slovakia is the town of Trencin.In the town of Trencin are the homes of three of the countrys greatest hockey icons.Every summer, Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik will regularly bump into one another and hang out.Sometimes theyll drop by Gaboriks hockey camp, which takes place in the arena that Gaborik built with his own money to give back to the town that gave him the game.Sometimes the Stanley Cup makes a visit, and the three stars and their friends and families will troop on up to Trencin Castle, which sits on a cliff overlooking the area, and celebrate their hockey glory and their shared past even though theyve never been NHL teammates. Chara now plays for the Boston Bruins, Hossa for the Chicago Blackhawks and Gaborik for the Los Angeles Kings.At the World Cup of Hockey, theyve again been united as members of Team Europe. As they prepare for Sundays matchup against Sweden (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) after unexpectedly qualifying for the semifinals, one wonders if they might get a chance to celebrate another victory in the town they call home. This weekends semifinal winners will face off in a best-of-three series for the championship.It might not happen again, said Gaborik, the youngest of the Trencin trio at 34. Our generation on the national level is kind of dying down a little bit, so its definitely cool to hopefully play minimum three games here. It would be awesome to get it to that next level.Team Europe is the oldest team in the World Cup. Its identity is starkly juxtaposed against the theme of this tournament, which has been all about the promise of the future, the allure of young talent such as Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid and Patrik Laine.But these three Slovak giants also remind us of the beauty of experience.Once you get to know them, its pretty clear why theyve been in the league for so long and how they handle themselves, said Anze Kopitar of Slovenia, Team Europe captain and also Gaboriks teammate with the Kings. Its just small little details or small little pieces that put the bigger picture together, and thats why they are who they are.Combined, the three have played in 3,444 regular-season NHL games. They are the owners of five Stanley Cup rings. And if I can be a bit cheeky, they are the core of what might be termed the Old Guns squad here at the World Cup of Hockey.Its something new for everybody, this project, said Hossa, 37, who will enter the coming NHL season with 499 career goals. Its lots of fun to be here.Former NHL All-Star Miroslav Satan played a few games in Trencin during a brief contract dispute in the late 1990s. He recalled playing a game with a teenage Gaborik for the town team in the Slovak elite league. The talented Gaborik scored five goals, and Satan jokes that we need to ask who set up four of those goals.Later Satan would play with Chara at the 2000 world championships, where Slovakia finished second to capture its first international hockey medal, a moment that still burns brightly for him.As the general manager of Team Europe, it was natural for him to reach out to his old pals from Trencin to help form the nucleus of a team about which no one really had a clue what it might become.These days it has become a team that is one win away from a surprise berth in the finals.I think we expected big things from them, and so far theyve delivered, Satan said. Theyre playing well. You look at that team, they are our core, they are guys whove won Stanley Cups before. We knew we could ask them to do a lot, and so far theyve been doing it.Like the North America under-24 team that generated so much attention but didnt advance from the preliminary round, Team Europe is a concept that might be one-and-done. Regardless, its something the three Slovaks have embraced wholeheartedly.First few days was getting to know each other and make sure everybody understands the concept and everything. After that it was cool, said Gaborik, who scored the first goal of the 3-0 win over the United States in the first game of the tournament. Its like an NHL team, kind of. You know you have a lot of nationalities on an NHL team, so its nothing new to us.Head coach Ralph Krueger admitted he felt there might be a little more pushback from the veteran players, especially given they had played so long for their native Slovakia. But the opposite has been true.I think whats surprised me the most is just how easy theyve been to manage, Krueger said. Its been amazing. ... Theyre almost like assistant coaches for us the whole time.In the beginning, when the NHL and the players union first contemplated how to fill out the tournament roster, they went to Chara to gauge his response. That his opinion was so valued is a measure of the respect Chara, 39, has, not just in Slovakia but in the game.Not only has he embraced the idea, he has led the team, rebounding from a shaky start during pretournament games to become a force on the blue line.Youve got to have fun playing, Chara said. Maybe its because of the importance of the tournament, the excitement of playing big games against the best players. I think its a combination of that and obviously being on a new team. Its just exciting, and winning is exciting. Its fun.At some point time will run out on these three, as it does on all athletes, even the great ones.And so an opportunity like this, a chance to suit up with longtime friends against the best in the world, even if the jersey and some of the teammates are foreign, is to be cherished.Just as the opportunity to watch them do it should be cherished.Cheap Soccer Jerseys Online . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. http://www.cheapsoccerjerseys.co/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Soccer Jerseys For Sale . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less.MERIDA, Venezuela -- Nicolas Otamendi saved Argentina from a huge embarrassment in World Cup qualifying, scoring in the 83rd minute Tuesday to salvage a 2-2 draw at last-place Venezuela.Venezuela almost snatched the victory in the 89th when Mikel Villanueva hit the post to the right of beaten Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero.Argentina played without Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who had a groin injury. Messi scored Argentinas only goal last week in the 1-0 win over Uruguay.Venezuela is the perennial doormat in South American football. It had only one point from its first seven matches in qualifying, and its the only team in the South American confederation to never have reached the World Cup finals.Argentina lost the World Cup final two years ago against Germany, and has been the losing finalist in the last two Copa America tournaments -- the South American championship.Juan Anor gave Venezuela a 1-0 lead in the 34th. Working on the right side, he fired a left-foot shot high into the far corner from 20 meters (yards). Josef Martinez made it 2-0 in the 52nd. Lucas Pratto scored for Argentina in the 57th in a match played in on-and-off rain.Argentina improved to 15 points in eight matches, and Venezuela has 2.---URUGUAY 4, PARAGUAY 0Uruguay took over leadership in South American qualifying, improving to 16 points with the convincinv win.Edinson Cavani scored in the 18th and 54th to lead the romp over Paraguay. Cristian Rodriguez added anotherr in the 42nd and Luis Suarez scored on a penalty in first-half stoppage time.ddddddddddddParaguay stayed on 12 points.---CHILE 0, BOLIVIA 0Chile is winless in its last two matches. Chile has won the last two Copa America tournaments, beating Argentina each time on penalties in the final. Chile improved to 11 points and Bolivia moved up to 7.---BRAZIL 2, COLOMBIA 1Neymar scored the winner in the 74th minute, firing a perfect left-foot shot into the far corner behind Colombia keeper David Ospina.Miranda gave Brazil a 1-0 lead on a quick header in the 2nd. But Colombia equalized with an own-goal by Marquinhos in the 36th in a match played in the Amazon city of Manaus. Marquinhos leaped high and headed the ball in, jumping in the middle of a pack of Colombia players.Brazil improved to 15 points with its second straight win under new coach Tite. Colombia stayed on 13.---PERU 2, ECUADOR 1Midfielder Renato Tapia scored in the 78th minute to give Peru its first victory of the qualifying campaign.Christian Cueva put Peru ahead from the penalty spot in the 19th minute before Gabriel Achilier equalized in the 31st.Ecuadors Michael Arroyo was sent off in second-half stoppage time.Ecuador is fifth in the standings -- which would yield a playoff for a berth in Russia 2018 -- but does have a game in hand on the top four teams. ' ' '