ACCRA, Ghana - Ghana picked Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng in a preliminary 26-man World Cup squad on Monday. [url=htt

ACCRA, Ghana - Ghana picked Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng in a preliminary 26-man World Cup squad on Monday. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . The group will be trimmed to a final 23-man squad after a friendly game against the Netherlands on May 31, the Ghana Football Association said. AC Milans Essien and Schalkes Boateng were named after returning to international football last year. They had both asked for time away from the national team in the years after the last World Cup. Ghana captain and striker Asamoah Gyan and midfielder Sulley Muntari were also included and are set to play in their third consecutive World Cups. Ghana was the best-performing African team at the 2010 tournament, reaching the quarterfinals and just missing out on the semifinals after a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay in South Africa. Ghana will play the United States, Germany and Portugal in Group G in Brazil, and opens its campaign against the U.S. in Natal on June 16. Ghana beat the U.S. in the second round of the last World Cup. Coach Kwesi Appiah didnt reveal what his target was for the team that nearly became the first African nation into the last four of a World Cup four years ago. "Once the players are all fit we hope to deliver," Appiah said. "Every coach has a target and l believe in my players and the national team, but l cannot tell where we will get to. The only thing l can say is we will not disgrace Ghanaians." Essien missed the 2010 World Cup through injury and is likely facing his last chance to play at the showpiece in Brazil. Boateng stepped down from national team duties in 2011 but was recalled to Ghanas squad toward the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign late last year. Ghana will play in its third straight World Cup in Brazil. Appiah also picked Marseilles Andre Ayew, Juventus Kwadwo Asamoah and young attacking midfielder Wakaso Mubarak. Defender Jeffrey Schlupp, who plays for Englands Leicester City, was the biggest surprise in the initial squad. The GFA announced Monday that Ghana would play the Netherlands in Rotterdam on May 31 and South Korea in Miami on June 9 in its final World Cup warm-ups before facing Jurgen Klinsmanns U.S. team in Brazil. ___ Provisional squad: Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey, Fatawu Dauda, Stephen Adams. Defenders: Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare, Harrison Afful, Jeffrey Schlupp, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Jerry Akaminko, Rashid Sumaila. Midfielders: Michael Essien, Rabiu Mohammed, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah, Sulley Muntari, Albert Adomah, Wakaso Mubarak, Christian Atsu, David Accam, Andre Ayew, Afriyie Acquah. Forwards: Asamoah Gyan, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Abdul Majeed Waris, Jordan Ayew. Carolina Hurricanes Store . Damyean Dotson, 19, Dominic Artis, 19 and Brandon Austin, 18, were suspended after the school received a police report concerning allegations made by a student who said she was assaulted by the players in early March. Wholesale Hurricanes Jerseys .com) - The St. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl.Wayne Simmonds is on a stretch not seen by a Philadelphia Flyers skater in 32 years. The Vancouver Canucks will be tasked with slowing him down when they host the Flyers Monday night. The red-hot winger looks to extend his goal-scoring streak to four straight games on Monday night when the Flyers resume their road trip against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks played for the first time in a week on Sunday night in Calgary and did so without No. 1 netminder Roberto Luongo due to a lower-body injury that has him day-to-day. Vancouver didnt miss a beat with backup Eddie Lack in net as the rookie posted his second career shutout with an 18-save effort in the 2-0 win. Jannik Hansen and Mike Santorelli each scored a goal for the Canucks, who have won three in a row and are 10-1-1 overall in December. "I thought we played in the areas and we played hard. Im very happy we found a way to get it done," Canucks coach John Tortorella said. Vancouver did lose defenseman Andrew Alberts 2:43 into the game when he took an elbow from Calgarys Brian McGrattan, who was given a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit. Alberts did not return to the game. The 25-year-old Simmonds meanwhile, netted two of Philadelphias three power-play goals in Saturdays 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers. Scott Hartnell had the other and Steve Mason made 13 saves and another two stops in the tiebreaker. Michael Raffl had the winner for the Flyers in the third round as he skated down and out to the left, out-waiting Edmonton netminder Ilya Bryzgalov before throwing the puck in under the crossbar for the win. &"I didnt really expect to be sent out there. Hurricanes Jerseys China. I really enjoyed it," said Raffl, who took his first chance in an NHL shootout in his 26th career game. It was the first time Philly faced Bryzgalov since buying out the final six seasons of his eight-year, $51 million deal over the summer. Philadelphia trailed 2-0 after the first period, but Simmonds led the comeback charge with his third straight two-goal game. He is the first Flyer to post such a streak since Reggie Leach in 1981. "Obviously we had (Bryzgalov) the last two years and I actually thought he played a really good game. He made a lot of stops for them," Simmonds said. "We just had to keep crashing the net, and we had some pretty nice goals in that shootout. It was nice to get the two points." Philadelphia improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games and won the opener of six-game road trip, snapping a six-game losing streak as the visiting club. Simmonds has nine points over a five-game point streak, while Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux, who also scored in the shootout, extended their respective runs with two assists each. Voracek has six goals and nine helpers over a nine-game point streak, while Giroux has posted five goals and 10 assists during an eight-game run. The trio will try to help the Flyers avenge a 3-2 home loss to the Canucks on Oct. 15. Vancouver has won three of its past four versus Philadelphia overall. That includes a 6-2 victory the last time the clubs met in Vancouver on Dec. 28, 2010. Philadelphia had won seven in a row as the guest in this series before that meeting. ' ' '