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There were some golden moments, a number of surprises and some unforgettable magic across the sports world in 2014. Heres a look back at 10 memorable Canadian stories:GRAND SEASONEugenie Bouchard showed she had arrived on the womens tennis scene by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open last January. The young Canadian star proved it was no fluke a few months later by making the final four at the French Open.Bouchard took it one step further at Wimbledon with a performance that really got the countrys attention.She dispatched three top-20 opponents en route to the final without dropping a set. Bouchards semifinal win over Simona Halep made her the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the modern era.Her effort on the hallowed All-England Club grass courts had tennis observers and non-sports fans talking from coast to coast. Bouchard eventually met her match in the final, dropping a 6-3, 6-0 decision to Petra Kvitova.Bouchard picked up her first WTA title last spring, cracked the top five in the world rankings in October and reached the season-ending WTA finals.Its hard to believe shes only 20. Imagine the possibilities when she hits her prime.Canadas Milos Raonic also continued his strong play on the mens tour in 2014.He reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time before falling to Roger Federer. Raonic rose as high as No. 6 in the world rankings and made his first appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals.GOLDEN GOALOne victory was a thorough beatdown while the other had fans biting their nails for what felt like hours.The Canadian mens hockey team shut out Sweden 3-0 in Sochi to win gold for the second straight Winter Olympics. The Canadian womens team also came through with a successful title defence in a game loaded with drama.The Americans nearly iced the victory when Kelli Stack fired the puck down the ice toward Canadas empty net. The puck hit the post, Canada regained possession and Marie-Philip Poulin scored the tying goal seconds later.Poulin added the winner in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory and its fourth straight Olympic womens hockey gold.RUGBY RUNIt was uncharted territory for the Canadian womens rugby team.Canada entered last summers Womens Rugby World Cup having never finished higher than fourth at the tournament. They left the event knowing that they truly belong among the sports elite. With Magali Harvey and captain Kelly Russell leading the way, the Canadians held off the host French side 18-16 in a hard-fought semifinal. Canada dropped a 21-9 decision to England in the championship game.Harvey was named International Rugby Board womens player of the year after the game. Russell was a finalist for the honour.HOOP DREAMSCanadian basketball made big strides over the last year on several fronts.The national womens team finished fifth at the world championships for its best result at the tournament in years. Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., was selected with the first overall pick in the NBA draft — the second straight year that a Canadian went No. 1 — and the Toronto Raptors finally returned to the post-season.Canadas lone NBA team played in front of sellout crowds at Air Canada Centre with a few thousand more watching the first-round action outside on a big screen.The Ontario capital is still considered a hockey town, but for the younger generation of sports fans in the city the Raptors are becoming just as important.TITLE REIGNSFor a brief moment after their second straight Olympic bobsled victory, Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse tuned out the din at the Sanki Sliding Center and focused on each other.They were near the mountain road outside the finish area, away from the cheering fans, getting in line with others for the flowers presentation.They gave each other a knowing smile. All the hard work had paid off, all the sacrifice and effort was worthwhile, and they proved once again they were still the best duo in the world.Their victory was one of a number of successful individual and team title defences in Sochi. Other repeat winners included freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau in moguls and a remarkable performance by Brian McKeever, who won three gold medals in cross-country skiing for the second straight Paralympics. CAPITAL RETURNThe Ottawa Rough Riders folded in 1996 after a long run in the nations capital. The CFL returned to the city in 2002 but the Renegades lasted only four seasons.In 2014, it was the Redblacks turn and football fans in Ottawa welcomed the expansion team in a big way.The atmosphere was electric on July 18 for opening night at TD Place Stadium, the first of nine straight home sellouts. However, the excitement didnt translate into victories.Ottawa edged Toronto 18-17 in its home opener, but the Redblacks won only one more game the entire season and scored a league-low 278 points.FLYING HIGHIt was a one-two finish that provided one of the enduring images of the Sochi Olympics.Justine Dufour-Lapointe won gold and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe took silver in womens moguls at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. The sisters reached out to hold hands during the flower ceremony and peacefully gazed at each other.The snapshot from that moment made Canadians proud and generated international attention. Even tennis great Roger Federer weighed in.So cute, sport is great, he tweeted with a photo of the sisters on his verified Twitter feed.MONEY IN THE BANKSTiger-Cats kick returner Brandon Banks provided plenty of excitement in Hamiltons victory over Montreal in the CFL East final.He nearly topped himself in the Grey Cup.Banks returned two kicks for touchdowns and had a playoff-record 226 punt return yards in the Ticats win over the Alouettes. In the CFL championship game, Banks electrified the Vancouver crowd with a 90-yard runback with just 35 seconds left — a play that would have given Hamilton the lead over Calgary.However, a penalty flag negated his effort and the Ticats couldnt make it back to the end zone, dropping a 20-16 decision to the Stampeders.DROUGHT OVERGolfer Nick Taylor was a star amateur who couldnt seem to get on track at the pro level, spending five years labouring on lower-level tours.A September breakthrough at the Web.com Tour championship gave him PGA Tour status. He played like a seasoned professional two months later and earned his first PGA Tour victory in the process.Taylor overcame a four-shot deficit on the final day to win the Sanderson Farms Championship. The victory came with a hefty US$720,000 payday and a two-year Tour exemption.It also ended Canadas long victory drought.The last Canadian-born player to win a PGA Tour event was Mike Weir back in 2007. Calgarys Stephen Ames, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, last won in 2009.FAREWELL TO A LEGENDThe numbers are overwhelming.Jean Beliveau won the Stanley Cup 10 times with Montreal over his 20-year playing career and added seven more titles as an executive. Beliveau made 13 all-star game appearances, scored 507 goals and added 712 assists over 1,125 games.He was also one of the most respected captains in Canadiens history and was simply beloved in Quebec and around the country.Beliveau was 83 when he died on Dec. 2.His funeral at Mary Queen of the World cathedral attracted a whos who from the political and hockey world. Former and current players were joined by celebrities and fans alike, all who wanted to pay their respects to Le Gros Bill.———Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. . American Lindsey Jacobellis was third, while Japans Yuka Fujimori finished just off the podium. Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., earned bronze at the 2006 Olympic Games and is set to return to the Games this February in Sochi, Russia. http://www.metssale.com/mets-dwight-gooden-jersey/. The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. . - Bryan Price sat down in the cushy chair. . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday.Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - No. 4 Duke missed 10 of its first 11 looks from behind the arc and trailed by nine points late in the second half. Then the shots started falling. Quinn Cook made three 3-pointers in the final 4:38, Tyus Jones put the game away with a deep 3 with 10 seconds left and the Blue Devils went into Charlottesville and rallied late to stun No. 2 Virginia, 69-63, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. Jones finished with 17 points while Cook and Justise Winslow netted 15 apiece for the Blue Devils (18-3, 5-3 ACC), who were primed to fall three games back in the ACC standings before closing the game on an 11-0 run. Malcolm Brogdon paced Virginia (19-1, 7-1) with 17 points, and Justin Anderson added 11. The Cavaliers were four wins shy of tying a school record for best start, set in 1981. The Ralph Sampson-led Cavaliers went to the Final Four that season. Virginia came in giving up a nation-low 49.1 points per game and looked strong on the defensive end for most of the game before the late collapse. Duke led 26-25 at halftime despite scoring all of its points in the paint or at the free throw line. Andersons sweeping layup early in the second half gave Virginia its first lead since it was 2-0. Jahlil Okafors tip-slam at the other end put Duke back in front, but London Perrantes came right back down for a layup that gave the Cavaliers a lead that they would hold for the next 16-plus minutes. Trailing by 11 near the midpoint of the second half, Tyus Jones finally hit Dukes first 3-ball. The Blue Devils kept pushing and had it down to two following Matt Jones layup on a nifty feed from Okafor, but Perrantes brought the crowd back to life witth a deep triple that sparked a 7-0 run the other way.dddddddddddd Winslow was assessed a flagrant-1 foul for grabbing Andersons leg when the two got tangled under the UVA basket during the surge. Anderson hit the two free throws and Anthony Gill drove in for a layup to stretch the lead back to 56-47. Duke scored eight of the next 10 to get within three at the final media timeout. Out of the break, Brogdons triple and an alley-oop to Anderson from Perrantes straddled a Cook trey and gave the Cavaliers a 63-58 lead. They went scoreless the rest of the way, missing four field goal attempts and a free throw. Matt Jones had Duke within 63-61 with his 3 from the top of the key, Winslow tied it with a layup and Cook forced a timeout with his triple at 1:19. After empty possessions both ways, Tyus Jones showed no nerves with a hand in his face and the game on the line, beating the shot clock with the game- clinching 3. Okafor, one of the candidates for ACC and National Player of the Year, was held to two points in the first half. Darion Atkins, who netted all nine of his points over the first 20 minutes, and timely double-teams kept Okafor in check early, but he came alive down the stretch and finished with 10 points and nine boards. Game Notes The first half was the only half this season that Duke did not hit a 3-pointer ... Earlier in the week, Duke dismissed guard Rasheed Sulaimon for repeated violations of team rules. It was the first player dismissed under coach Mike Krzyzewski ... Krzyzewski picked up his 53rd career win against Virginia. He also has 53 wins against Georgia Tech. He has beaten Maryland the most times, 55. ' ' '