HAMILTON, Ont. -- The only role that the Hamilton Bulldogs have left to play is that of the spoiler, and on Saturday, they nearly made victims of the Rochester Americans. Phil Varone scored the shootout winner as the Americans overcame a third-period collapse for a crucial 4-3 win against the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action. Hamilton head coach Sylvain Lefebvre said he was pleased with his teams performance, even if it came in a losing effort. "Kudos to the guys, because although we came up short, it was great to see them show some grit and fight back against a team that needed those points," he said. Colton Gillies, Kevin Porter and Brady Irwin scored in regulation for the Americans (35-27-10), who extended their lead on the ninth-place Charlotte Checkers to three points in the Western Conference playoff race. Andrey Makarov made 35 saves for Rochester. Connor Crisp, Joonas Nattinen and Gabriel Dumont had goals for the Bulldogs (32-35-7) and Robert Mayer stopped 38 shots. Varone skated in slowly and out-waited Mayer before sliding the puck in at the far post. All three Rochester skaters scored in the shootout, while all three Hamilton attempts were denied by Makarov. The first quality chance in regulation time was by the Bulldogs five minutes into the first period, as the combination of Christian Thomas and Sven Andrighetto had several opportunities to shovel the puck past Makarov at point-blank range. But the Rochester goaltender successfully fought through a crowd to kick their weak shots aside. A burst of speed from Andrighetto paved the way as Hamilton opened the scoring at 15:01 of the first period. He raced past the defender along the right wing and managed to get a low shot off that Makarov could only kick into the path of the supporting Crisp, who easily slotted the puck into the gaping net. Just over two minutes later, the Americans tied it when Tim Schaller gloved down a clearing attempt by Nathan Beaulieu and found Gillies unmarked in the low slot. The forward had plenty of time and space in which to operate, and chipped a high shot over Mayers far shoulder at 17:07. Rochester capitalized on a strange bounce to take the lead just 11 seconds into the second period. A routine dump-in play by Matt McKenzie turned into something more when the puck ricocheted off a stanchion behind Mayers net and slid to Porter in front. He scored easily with Mayer scrambling to recover his position. Rochester doubled its lead at 7:08 of the period when Schaller received a centring pass and fired a low slap shot that Mayer knocked to his left, where Irwin was waiting to slot the puck in from close range. Despite trailing by two goals, the Bulldogs crucially killed two penalties, a 5-on-3 midway through the second and a double-minor to end the period, to keep the possibility of a comeback alive. "Penalty kills are always huge, when you can escape, especially the four-minute call," said Crisp. "We got some help there with the penalty against Rochester, but since Ive been with this team, our penalty killing has been really good." The Bulldogs closed to within a goal early in the third period, when Nattinen and Jack Nevins combined to overpower the Americans in the low slot. After Nevins outmuscled two Rochester defenders to get a backhanded shot on net, Nattinen gathered the loose puck and out-waited Makarov before lifting a high shot over his near shoulder at 5:07. Nattinen spoke highly of his young linemate, who he believes to have all the tools to succeed in the AHL. "(Nevins) seems like a really good player," he said. "You can see though, that hes used to playing bigger minutes. Hes good with the puck and makes good decisions. "He can definitely play in this league." Dumont completed the Bulldogs comeback at 10:56, springing a 2-on-1 break alongside Louis Leblanc and deciding to keep the puck, before snapping a hard wrist shot high and past Makarov at the far post. Hamilton piled the pressure on Rochester in the final minutes of the third, and it took the considerable effort of Makarov, and his left post, to send the game to extra time. Hamilton was 0-for-2 on the power play while Rochester went 0-for-4. Nike Tanjun Outlet . J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win. Nike Tanjun Cheap .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. http://www.cheapniketanjun.net/ . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. Nike Tanjun Shoes On Sale . -- LeGarrette Blount wasnt satisfied with three short touchdown runs, not against a team coming off the second greatest comeback in playoff history. Cheap Nike Tanjun Online . PETERSBURG, Fla.LONDON -- West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka was charged by the English Football Association on Tuesday for performing a gesture considered to be anti-Semitic while celebrating a goal. The former France international has until Thursday to respond to the charge, and is facing a minimum five-game Premier League ban under the FAs anti-discrimination sanctions. West Brom said Anelka is now "considering his options," adding that its internal inquiry will conclude when the FA process is over. The gesture, which is known in France as a "quenelle" and has been described as an "inverted Nazi salute," involves pointing one straightened arm downward while touching the shoulder with the opposite hand. It was popularized by a French comedian whose performances are considered anti-Semitic. Dieudonne MBala MBala denies anti-Semitism claims, but he has been convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred or anti-Semitism over the years. This month, Dieudonne agreed to abandon a controversial show banned in several French cities after angering the government. Anti-racism group Kick It Out said the FA has "spent a longer time than desirable" before charging Anelka over the incident in the globally-televised match against West Ham on Dec. 28. Anelka said after the West Ham game that the gesture was meant to show support for Dieudonne, and it was "anti-system" rather than anti-Semitic. While accepting that Anelka is not anti-Semitic, Britains Jewish security organization warned Tuesday that the "quenelle" could be directed at Jews more as a result of its use in a match. "Anelka has introduced a very ugly phenomenon into British football," the Community Security Trust said. The 34-year-old Anelka had already agreed not to perform the gesture again but has not apologized. "Anelka made a gesture which was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper," the FA said in a statement. "It is further alleged that this iis an aggravated breach .dddddddddddd.. that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief." The FA introduced a minimum five-game ban for racism last year in the wake of high-profile cases that saw Liverpool striker Luis Suarez suspended for eight games and Chelsea captain John Terry for four. A three-person FA independent regulatory commission will deal with Anelkas case, and the European Jewish Congress is demanding "the strongest punishment possible." "The FA must send a very strong message that offences made against the Jewish community should be treated in the same away as offences against any other minority," EJC President Moshe Kantor said. "Anti-Semitism is a growing phenomenon in Europe, and in particular surrounding football stadiums, and hate against Jews, as with any other type of hate and intolerance, should be stamped out without demonstrating leniency to the perpetrators." West Broms shirt sponsor announced it wont be renewing their deal when it expires at the end of this season as a result of the controversy. Anelka is one of the most talented and controversial players France has produced. After growing up in a Parisian suburb, Anelka started his career at Paris Saint-Germain and was quickly spotted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who signed him in 1997. Anelkas sometimes nonchalant attitude and apparent lack of commitment to the team started to anger the Arsenal fans, who gave him the nickname "Le Sulk." Anelka left Arsenal in 1999 for Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League, before moving to PSG, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, Bolton and Chelsea. Anelka caused the biggest controversy of his career representing France when he was sent home from the 2010 World Cup after insulting then-coach Raymond Domenech in the dressing room. His reputation had reached its nadir, but the stubborn Anelka refused to apologize and ended his international career in the wake of the scandal. ' ' '