The NCAA drops the puck today on their mens hockey tournament and there will be no shortage of Canadians on the ice as 16 teams try to make their first step to becoming National Champions. Authentic Greg Monroe Jersey . The tournament includes a total of 109 Canadian players. There are 35 players from Ontario, 35 from British Columbia, 18 from Alberta and seven each from Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Many of those players are trying to follow in the footsteps of several successful Canadian NHLers who went to college, including four members of the gold-medal-winning Sochi Olympic team: Jonathan Toews (North Dakota), Martin St. Louis (Vermont), Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and Chris Kunitz (Ferris State). "I think that if more Canadian families were exposed to what college can do — as parents for your kid socially, athletically and academically ... I think more people would be doing it," said University of Denver coach Jim Montgomery, a Montreal native who went to Maine and ended up playing 122 NHL games. Among the 945 players to see NHL action this season, 100 were Canadians who played at a U.S. college. Naturally, many went the more traditional road, through the QMJHL, OHL or WHL. But the NCAA is slowly becoming another acceptable way to get there. "Theres no wrong path," Phoenix Coyotes assistant general manager Brad Treliving said. "I think as a Canadian guy you grew up and youre around major junior hockey more, so ... youre closer to it than you are U.S. colleges, but, jeez, theres no wrong answer. Its an individual choice and theres benefits to both." Treliving said major junior hockey is the "quicker" path to the NHL because it has more of a pro-style schedule and grind. But others point to colleges 40-game season as a better chance for some players to develop. Theres more opportunity to lift weights and practice. "Theres the Sidney Crosbys and the Ovechkins and the Malkins of the world that could grow under a rock and are going to play in the NHL," Montgomery said. "Theres other perfect examples — elite players like the Paul Kariyas of the world. Those are the ones everyone knows but its like, did he really need to go to college? Well, Paul Kariya needed to go to college because he was 155 pounds and in 18 months of college he was 175 pounds ready to play against 30-year-old men that are 225 pounds. "It teaches you how to be a man quick." Perhaps some notoriety can come from watching this NCAA tournament. Boston College defenceman Michael Matheson (Pointe-Claire, Que.) is a first-round pick and top prospect for the Florida Panthers, while Quinnipiac has Connor and Kellen Jones (Montrose, B.C.) and Matthew Peca(Petawawa, Ont.). Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel (Swift Current, Sask.) has been one of the best in the country this season and could soon follow in the footsteps of other recent Canadian college players like Matt Read, Ben Scrivens and Cory Conacher who have signed NHL contracts. Hamilton brothers Greg and Matt Carey recently signed deals with the Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively, after playing at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. Greg Carey came away satisfied with his direction, which was only possible because playing tier-2 junior hockey opened him up to the world of U.S. colleges. "You have friends, older friends on your team who have the ability to go and to head down to the States and play and it looks like a lot of fun," Carey said in a phone interview. "And then you get to go on your visits and you get exposed to this world that you really dont see as a Canadian kid growing up. We see a lot of the major junior with the Dub and the O and the Q and the NHL is right there, front and centre, so we dont really get the NCAA." Looking at the tournament from an NHL draft perspective, the top eligible player in the tournament, according to Craig Buttons rankings, is Boston Colleges starting goalie Thatcher Demko. Demko posted a .921 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average in 21 starts this season. Authentic Al Horford Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. Authentic Jaylen Brown Jersey . Raymond, 31, started 15 regular-season games for the Stamps in 2013, racking up 51 tackles. He also returned two kickoffs for 79 yards including a 61-yarder. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseysauthentic.com/ ., climbed from seventh to fifth spot in womens competition Sunday at the ISU world junior figure skating championships.Fresno, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Larry Nance Jr. and Derek Cooke Jr. both supplied double-doubles in No. 25 Wyomings 70-65 triple-overtime win over Fresno State on Saturday night. Nance led the Cowboys with 21 points while pulling down 11 rebounds, while Cooke tallied 12 points and 15 boards. Josh Adams chipped in 16 points for Wyoming (16-3, 5-1 MWC), which bounced back from its 60-52 home loss to San Diego State earlier in the week. Paul Watson had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (9-10, 4-2), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Marvelle Harris and Cezar Guerrero finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the loss. Halfway through the third overtime, Harris tied it up at 65-65 with a jumper. Nance gave the Cowboys the lead for good on a basket with just over a minute left. Julien Lewis missed from beyond the arc at the other end before Charles Hankerson Jr. sealed it with a triple to account for the final margin. That was a hard-fought game for both teams, said Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt. Every time we got together, after a miss or a make, I reminded them to put pressure on your defense. Put pressure on your defensive rebounds. Im thrilled we finished on the high end of it. Much like the second half, neither team could shake one another in the second overtime. Riley Grabau converted a jumper to give the Cowboys a 61-59 lead, then Guerrero missed a 3-pointer at the other end. Hankerson missed a pair of free throws, though, with 24 seconds left. Guerrero tied the game with a jumper in the closing seconds, but he committed a foul of Nance with a second remaining. Nance could not hit one from the line, however, and the game went to a third overtime. Nance hit two free throws in the final minute of the first overtime to push the Cowboys ahead by two, but Harris answered with a layup from Guerrero to tie the game and send it to another session. Authentic Aron Baynes Jersey. Watsons dunk gave the Bulldogs a 33-32 lead at the 15-minute mark of the second half, then Wyoming went on an elongated 6-0 run. Nance capped it with two straight buckets as Fresno State was held scoreless for six minutes. Watson ended up hitting a 3-pointer that pushed the Bulldogs back in front, 41-40, with just under seven minutes remaining. The Cowboys were held scoreless for over four minutes until Hankerson nailed a 3-pointer to keep the back-and-forth battle going. Lewis knocked down 1-of-2 from the line to cut the deficit to 43-42. Guerrero missed a pair of free throws the next time down the floor for the Bulldogs. Nance then split two free throws to make it a two-point game with under a minute left, but his foul led to Alex Davis free throws that tied it at 44-44. Nance missed a jumper in the closing seconds and the game went to overtime. Wyoming made shots at the end and we didnt, said Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. We had great open looks. They threw one or two in and we didnt. Any time you lose a game at this level at home its always difficult to swallow a loss. Nances layup at the midway point of the first put Wyoming up 13-12. Guerrero followed with a jumper that kicked off a 9-2 spurt for the Bulldogs. Fresno State was held to just one field goal over the final seven minutes of the half, however, and the Cowboys ended up with a 26-23 lead at the break. Game Notes Wyoming shot 44.6 percent from the floor and held the Bulldogs to 35.7 percent shooting ... Each team shot 57 percent from the free throw line ... 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