CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames have competition in goal at training camp for the first time in years. The retirement of workhorse Miikka Kiprusoff left a void in net as the Flames prepare for the 2013-14 NHL season. Kiprusoff was Calgarys undisputed No. 1 after backstopping the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup final. The softspoken Finn played seven seasons of 70-plus games during his tenure in Calgary and was considered the backbone of the team. There isnt an obvious frontrunner to replace Kiprusoff. The battle to be the Flames starter is expected to be between Joey MacDonald of Pictou, N.S., Karri Ramo of Finland and Swiss native Reto Berra. Laurent Broissoit of Port Alberni, B.C., and another Finnish product, Joni Ortio, round out the five goalies at training camp, but lack the pro experience of the other three. Calgarys camp opened Wednesday with physical testing at the University of Calgary kinesiology lab. The first exhibition game is Saturday at the Saddledome against the Edmonton Oilers. Albertas NHL clubs will split their squads and host games in each city. The Flames open the regular season on the road Oct. 3 against the Washington Capitals. Their home opener is Oct. 6 versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames havent reached the playoffs in four seasons. The trading of longtime captain Jarome Iginla last season and the departure of Kiprusoff marks a new era for the hockey club. MacDonald was Kiprusoffs backup after the Flames plucked him off waivers in February. The 33-year-old is the most experienced goalie at camp with 122 NHL games split between Calgary, Detroit, Toronto, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. MacDonalds record in the lockout-shortened season was 8-9-1 with a goals-against average of 2.87 and a save percentage of .902. "Most years coming to camp, most teams have their clear-cut number one," MacDonald said. "Being in Detroit for so long, you always had an old guy there that you had to battle. This year, its going to be exciting. The opportunity is there and its going to be an exciting team." He started three of Calgarys last four games of the season and signed a one-year contract in April that will pay him $925,000 this season. Ramo, 27, played 48 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning between 2006 and 2009 and also has American Hockey League experience. Hes spent the last four years in Russia in the KHL. "Tampas testing was two days and now its one day so I guess the rules have changed a little bit," Ramo observed. "Now its about showing what you can do." The Flames picked up Ramos rights from the Montreal Canadiens in 2012 in the same deal that returned forward Mike Cammalleri to Calgary. Current Flames general manager Jay Feaster was the GM in Tampa Bay when the Lightning drafted Ramo in the sixth round in 2004. Feaster signed Ramo to a US$5.5-million, two-year contract in July. Kiprusoff is Ramos goaltending hero, although the Finns paths havent crossed much. Ramo has met him, but doesnt know if hell have a chance to ask Kiprusoffs advice about playing in Calgary. "I really looked up to him when I was younger," Ramo said. "He was one of the biggest idols for me. It would be really nice to play with him, but theres not that chance anymore." Berra, 26, fills the net at six foot four and 194 pounds. Calgary gained his rights in the deal that sent defenceman Jay Bouwmeester to St. Louis in April. The Flames then signed Berra to a one-year contract with a base salary of $765,000. All of Berras pro hockey experience has been in the Swiss leagues, so he travelled to the Flames summer development camp in July and returned to North America two weeks ago to learn the smaller ice. "For sure, its a big difference, the ice in Europe and the ice here, but now I think Im good to go," Berra said. "For a goalie its nice because you probably get more shots. "Everything is close to the net and maybe they try to shoot more than anything. I like to have a lot of shots." Berras 29-save shutout lifted Switzerland to a 3-0 win over the United States in the semifinal of this years world championship in Stockholm. "It was pretty big. It was really a good game for me," he recalled. Switzerland went with former NHL veteran Martin Gerber in the final against the host Swedes, who won the gold. Calgarys unsettled goaltending situation will make training camp feel different for the veteran Flames. "That will be an adjustment," Cammalleri admitted. "Thats the first thing that comes to my mind with Miikka. Not many goaltenders have backstopped a franchise that consistently for that long. "I guess it adds to the whole idea of turning the page and new opportunities for different guys. As a team we want to be great defensively and our goaltender is going to be part of that so itll be some healthy competition back there." Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . In Englands first game since its worst-ever World Cup showing, Roy Hodgsons side rarely looked like scoring against unambitious opposition and the breakthrough in the friendly only came when Raheem Sterling was tripped in the penalty area. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. The motion to expand the stadiums capacity passed through by a count of 39-3, with Toronto mayor Rob Ford being among those in opposition. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys .com) - Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. PHOENIX - Going into Fridays game the Raptors had one noticeable advantage over the surprisingly competitive Suns - their size. The Raptors owned the NBAs seventh-best rebounding rate and ranked fourth on the offensive glass while the Suns, a team that starts two point guards and plays mostly outside of the paint, have struggled on the boards despite their hot start to the season. For Toronto, the game plan was simple. "Try to make them pay for playing small," Dwane Casey emphasized after morning shoot around. It turned out to be easier said than done. "Thats an area that was a strength of ours, rebounding, but now its one of our weaknesses," Casey said after his team was out-rebounded 53-36, including an 18-11 disparity on the offensive boards, in a 106-97 loss, the Raptors fifth straight. Caseys club misjudged this Suns team like others have done early in the season. As Toronto found out, their stature can be misleading. Their toughness set the tone and the Raptors, for all of the mismatches they planned to exploit, were in over their heads once again. "Its about toughness, its about attention to detail, its about being locked in and knowing your guy is coming in behind you," Casey exclaimed. "When you give them 18 more bullets, you cant win in this league." The Raptors played frustrated, which didnt necessarily translate to that desperate style of play that Caseys been looking for. Markieff Morris jawed at Jonas Valanciunas, baiting him into a double technical, Kyle Lowry pouted and complained until he was whistled for a tech of his own and former Raptors castoff PJ Tucker got under the skin of DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay all night. The Suns did a lot of talking, but they backed it all up. Morris missed just three of his 14 attempts recording a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds and Tucker scored 18 to go along with a career-best 13 boards. "This team is a very physical team," Casey said of the Suns. "Their wing players are very physical. They are tough match-ups and you have to meet that physicality with physicality and we didnt do it on the boards." With a roster designed to be bad while incoming visionary Ryan McDonough collects picks and cap space, rookie head coach Jeff Hornacek has the Suns playing hard despite being outmatched in the talent department most every night - not unlike the team that overachieved iin Caseys first year with the Raptors.dddddddddddd On the opposite end of the spectrum, nothing is going right for the Raptors. The team still sits dead last in the league in assists (they recorded just 15 on Friday) and their primary shot-takers cant seem to knock down shots. Gay and DeRozan combined to shoot 11-for-30 on a night in which both were oddly ineffective and often unnoticeable. Efficiency be damned on some nights, but generally one or the other - recently its been DeRozan more often than not - manages to put points on the board. It was not the case on Friday. Most concerning for Gay continues to be his missed shots around the rim, an ongoing trend this season. Gay was just two-for-seven in the painted area against the Suns and his percentages around the bucket have dropped significantly compared to his career norm. "Its tough because hes getting hit, but he has to hit first," Casey said of Gays struggles in the paint. "Hes not getting the benefit of the calls, but some of them are not fouls. He has to go in there and hit first and think about dunking the ball rather than finessing." Johnson fills in for injured Hansbrough The Raptors certainly missed the toughness of Tyler Hansbrough, who exited the game just two and a half minutes in after taking an inadvertent elbow from Channing Frye and spraining his left shoulder. He did not return and is considered day-to-day. In his place, Amir Johnson, who lost his starting gig to Hansbrough last week, stepped up and chipped in a season-best 22 points in 33 minutes off the bench. It was the second-straight game in which Johnson resembled his old self, a positive sign for this team moving forward, especially if Hansbrough is forced to miss time. Looking ahead, or not looking ahead Prior to the game, Casey insisted he and his team would not be distracted by a boisterous announcement made by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers earlier in the day. Bryant, who has been recovering from his Achilles injury, will make his season debut in Los Angeles against the Raptors on Sunday. "I heard that," Casey admitted. "But I know Im not [looking ahead] and I havent heard our guys mention anything about it as far as looking ahead to Sunday." "We have no right to look ahead," he exclaimed before the loss. "Weve got to be the hungry team, weve got to be the desperate team tonight." ' ' '