Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Holtmann has been appointed as Butlers permanent head coach after serving in an interim capacity for the past three months. Holtmann took over the Bulldogs head coaching duties when Brandon Miller was granted an indefinite leave of absence on Oct. 2 to deal with a medical issue. The school revealed Friday, while simultaneously announcing Holtmanns promotion, that Miller will not be returning to the program. We want to thank Brandon Miller for his many contributions to Butler over the last 18 months, and wish him well, said Butler director of athletics Barry Collier. Out of respect for Brandon and his privacy, we will have no additional comment. Butler won eight of its first nine games, including a 74-66 decision over then-No. 5 North Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, under Holtmanns direction and were ranked as high as 15th in the national polls earlier this season. The Bulldogs will take a 10-4 record into Saturdays Big East matchup at No. 15 St. Johns at Madison Square Garden. Chris has provided important leadership and coached successfully in a difficult situation, said Collier. He has fully embraced the Butler Way and we are confident in the future of our basketball program with Chris at the helm. Holtmann had previously been the head coach at Gardner-Webb for three seasons (2010-13) prior to joining Millers staff for the 2013-14 campaign. Swell Traveller NZ .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair. Swell Bottle Wood Collection . Pearce had a career-high four hits and drove in two runs, and Wei-Yin Chen shut down Texas again as the Orioles completed a four-game sweep of the Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night. http://www.swellwaterbottlenz.com/ . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. Swell Bottle Sale Nz . Braden Calverts Winnipeg rink rallied to defeat Italy 8-7. After giving up three points in the second end, Calvert came back with a single, then stole two more points in the next two ends to tie it up at the fifth-end break. Swell Marble Bottle NZ .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs.VANCOUVER -- Once the Chicago Blackhawks got rolling, there was little the Vancouver Canucks could do to stop a team determined to get back to its winning ways. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad each had a goal and an assist in the second period Wednesday as Chicagos quick-strike offence turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead in a span of 7:41 to snap a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over Vancouver. "We kind of lost ourselves there a little bit in the second period. It turned into a little bit of a track meet," said Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan. "It wasnt from a lack of chances on our part. We had a 4-on-2 and 3-on-1 that we dont convert, then shortly thereafter one ends up in our net." Marian Hossa had the other goal for Chicago (33-10-13), while Saad added an empty netter late. Corey Crawford made 29 saves to get the win. "Theyre a good team. They havent won a couple of Stanley Cups for no reason," said Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, who finished with 36 saves. "Its disappointing being up 2-0 and losing the lead so quickly like that. "Weve got to play 60 minutes against teams like that. For the majority of the game I thought we played really well but we had a little bit of a lapse and its game over." The Blackhawks four goals in that 7:31 barrage -- which came on just five shots -- helped end Chicagos recent 0-2-2 run. "They had a few chances early in the game and they kept on pressing," said Luongo. "Once they got one I felt like it deflated our team and they kept scoring." With the victory, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville passed Dick Irvin to move into the sole possession of third place on the all-time NHL coaching wins list with 693 as Chicago improved to 10-1-3 in the second game of back to backs this season. "Im fortunate and happy with the places Ive been," said Quenneville. "Took a little while to get this last one, but certainly its been fun and well keep pushing forward." Chris Higgins and Tom Sestito had the goals for Vancouver (27-19-9), which dropped its second straight. The Canucks hold down the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, but the ninth-place Phoenix Coyotes are three points back with two games in hand. Vancouver is 2-3-0 in the absence of suspended head coach John Tortorella, who will sit out one more game after he tried to get into the Calgary Flames locker-room after that infamous line brawl on Jan. 18. The Canucks have been held to two goals or fewer in nine of their last 10 games and have just four wins in 15 outings. "We have to fight through this," said Canucks forward Daniel Sedin, whose goal-scoring drought is now at 14 games. "Weve got to believe in what we do out there and start making plays -- I think thats the main thing. When we have the puck I think were too passive. "I think when we have the puck we have to start believing in what were doing." Things were looking good for the home side early in the second period after Sestito doubled the Canucks 1-0 lead with his fifth of the season at 2:44. But the Blackhawks fifth-ranked power play finally made a breakthrough against the leagues No. 3 penalty kill when Hossa finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe passing sequence for his 23rd at 6:30. Chicago then tied things 3:39 later when Saad scored his 15th of the season on a nice deflection. A couple of Luongos Canadian Olympic teammates then conspired to give the Blackhawks a lead they wouldnt surrender. Toews scored his 18th at 10:47 before Sharp rounded out the blitz at 14:27 when he wired a shot farside for his 27th. "Thhey had a few chances early in the game and they kept on pressing," said Luongo.dddddddddddd"Once they got one I felt like it deflated our team and they kept scoring." Vancouver had a chance to get back in the game later in the period, but the leagues 29th-ranked power play, which entered the night on a dismal 2-for-36 run, failed to generate anything. Needing a big third, the Canucks were unable to find a way past Crawford on another man advantage midway through the period as Toews sprawled on the goal-line to keep Higgins effort out. Saad then iced it with 38 seconds left into an empty net. "I think guys are discouraged," said Sullivan. "Weve hit a bump in the road here and weve got to try and dig ourselves out of it. For me, theres no sense putting your head down and shrugging your shoulders. This is an unforgiving league." The Blackhawks grabbed sole possession of first in the Central Division with the victory and sit second in the conference. "Things went smoothly for us the first part of the season and going through what were going through right now is when you find out about everyone," said Quenneville. "(I) still think that stretch hasnt been bad, but it feels so much better when you have that type of effort and get a result as well." With the Canucks set to begin a five-game road trip on Friday night that will take them into the Olympic break, players from both teams heading to the Games in Sochi, Russia, were honoured before the opening faceoff. Fans at Rogers Arena were just settling into their seats after the national anthems when Higgins opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the first. Canucks forward Ryan Kesler shovelled a puck towards the Chicago goal that Higgins sent through Crawfords five-hole for his 15th goal of the season and third in the four games. "Getting scored on the first shift is never a good feeling but we knew that wasnt going to be the difference," said Toews. "We had a great momentum swing in the second scoring four goals like that. It was huge for us." After taking that early punch, the Blackhawks carried the play for much of the rest of the period but couldnt find a way past Luongo or his posts. Blackhawks defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson saw his shot from the point deflect off a stick and hit the crossbar before Hossa also found iron moments later. "Im sure (the teams confidence) is not at an all-time high," said Sullivan. "The greatest thing about confidence is its fleeting. You can get it back just as quick as you lose it. It all starts with a good shift and it grows from there. Weve got to get that snowball going." NOTES: Canucks defenceman Christopher Tanev was added to Vancouvers sick bay prior to the game, missing his first game of the season with an upper-body injury. Also on the shelf at the moment is captain Henrik Sedin, who missed his fourth straight game, while fellow forward Mike Santorelli sat out his sixth straight contest. ... Before the game, a banner honouring both the mens and womens hockey gold medals at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver was unveiled in the rafters at Rogers Arena. Hall of Fame defenceman Scott Niedermayer -- who captained Canadas gold-winning mens team in 2010 -- and former womens national team member Tessa Bonhomme, who also won gold four years ago, performed the ceremonial faceoff before the game. ... The Canucks five-game road trip will take them to Winnipeg, Detroit, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. ... Vancouvers next home game is Feb. 26 against the St. Louis Blues. ... The Blackhawks continue their six-game pre-Olympic road trip on Saturday in San Jose. ' ' '