Bekanntmachungen » is about six inches, Mississippi State coach Dan Mull

Its a return to tradition, as three schools which boast rich histories along with multiple NCAA Division I championships and one program which shouldnt be treated like the new kid on the block, comprise the field for the 2014 Frozen Four, set to kick off today at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Three of the four programs vying for supremacy -- Minnesota, Boston College and North Dakota -- account for 65 of 67 collective appearances in the final weekend of the college hockey season. The other one, Union, entered the tourney as the No. 1 program in the nation after spending the majority of the season climbing up the top 10. In the early semifinal, the Hockey East regular-season champion faces off against the pride of the ECAC. Watch it live NOW on TSN2 and TSN GO. UNION (30-6-4) HEAD COACH: Rick Bennett (78-27-16); Captain: Mat Bodie Newcomers to the Frozen Four two years ago, the Dutchmen were taken down by upstart Ferris State in the semifinals, but that only served to stoke their competitive fires. Last year in Pittsburgh, Union shocked the college hockey world by posting an easy 5-1 victory over defending champions and 2014 semifinal foe Boston College in the opening game of the East Regional before they were vanquished by the same score in the regional final by eventual national runners-up Quinnipiac. This season, fueled by senior forward Daniel Carrs team-best 48 points, a junior defenseman in Shayne Gostisbehere who got a taste of national hype machine as a Philadelphia Flyers prospect and Hobey Baker Award finalist, and junior backstop Colin Stevens (26-4-2, 1.93 GAA, six shutouts), Union simply has been on the warpath. It finished the year having claimed the Cleary Cup and Whitelaw Cup as ECAC regular-season and playoff champions, then ousted Vermont and Providence to win the East Regional to reach Philadelphia unbeaten in 15 games (14-0-1). After taking down Dartmouth, Cornell and Colgate in the conference playoffs, the Dutchmen earned a well-deserved honor, vaulting over the two programs which checked their rise to the top spot in the country for most of the season. With Minnesota and BC having bowed out early in the Big Ten and Hockey East playoffs, respectively, Bennetts kids gained the first No. 1 ranking in program history and the heads that wear the crown have not grown heavy just yet. Union has its work cut out, though, if it wishes to claim the programs first hockey championship. The last time the ECAC boasted back-to-back national titles, Boston University won under legendary coach Jack Kelley in 1971 and 72. It also must contend with BCs lingering memory from last years premature exit. BOSTON COLLEGE (28-7-4) HEAD COACH: Jerry York (963-576-102); Captain: Patrick Brown The Mighty Mites of the Heights invade the Quaker City looking to uphold a bit of a recent successful trend. BC has won four national championships since 2000 and three in the last six years, all starting with regional play in nearby Worcester. The Eagles have triumphed in each of the last three even numbered seasons (2008, 10, 12) when their path to glory began at DCU Center, and this year was no different as the Maroon and Gold bounced back from a best-of-three quarterfinals loss to budding hockey rival Notre Dame by downing Denver and slipping past UMass- Lowell. Yorks squad has also gained a Frozen Four berth in eight of the last nine even-numbered seasons going back to 1998, when the program burst onto the scene with an overtime title-game loss to Michigan in Boston. Powering the ride is the countrys highest-scoring line of Hobey Hat Trick member and prohibitive favorite Johnny Gaudreau, Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes. The trio has combined for 76 goals and 192 points along with a plus-115 rating in 39 games, including a mammoth 13-point, plus-15 effort in a tourney-opening 6-2 decision over the Pioneers where Gaudreau -- the nations leading scorer -- picked up six points (3G, 3A). The Eagles didnt reach this point solely on offense. Their defense tied with the Fighting Irish for fewest goals allowed in-conference with 40, and have given up only 89 tallies all season, third-lowest among the final four schools. Freshman phenom and expected 2014 first-round draft choice Thatcher Demko (16-4-3, 2.16 GAA) along with junior Brian Billett (12-3-1, 2.42) have done their due diligence, racking up identical .920 save percentages and combining for three shutouts. Hockey East and the WCHA have battled for supremacy since the dawn of the new Millennium, and if BC should win once more, it will pull the former even with the latter conference for the best in the game. The Chestnut Hill-based school has already snagged a piece of history in reaching this point, tying Michigan with 24 all-time Frozen Four berths. The nightcap features geographic neighbors and former fierce conference rivals which found themselves in different locations this season for the first time in a long time. Watch it live tonight on TSN GO at 8pm et/5pm pt MINNESOTA (27-6-6) HEAD COACH: Don Lucia (650-343-94); Captains: Nate Condon, Kyle Rau Motivated by being knocked off the No. 1 perch it held for most of the regular season and an unexpected exit in the inaugural single-elimination Big Ten playoffs authored by Ohio State, Minnesota has roared back to life with a pair of dominating victories to reach the Frozen Four for the 21st time in program history. The Gophers powered past AHA champion and tournament newcomers Robert Morris and then whitewashed former conference foe St. Cloud State to pull within two victories of their first national championship since winning back- to-back in 2002-03. Lucia led his charges to the seasons final weekend two years ago, only to be toppled by an upstart BC club by a 6-1 count, and then ended up on the wrong side of an NCAA record for the quickest goal scored in overtime in a 3-2 defeat to eventual champion Yale in the first round of the West Regional one year ago. Minnesota began the year in the top five, hit the ceiling soon after, then cemented its place there thanks to a 14-1-4 stretch mid-season and rolled to the Big Ten regular-season crown. Theyve done it with balance: five players have scored at least 10 goals, and while no player recorded more than Raus 37 points, 14 players have sported double-digit point totals. Defense has also been a premium, in sharp contrast to their years spent in the high-speed WCHA. Sophomore stalwart Adam Wilcox, another Hobey Baker finalist, finished 25-5-6 with a 1.89 GAA, .935 save percentage and four shutouts, while he and his fellow blueliners combined to allow a paltry 78 goals in 39 games, by far the lowest total and percentage of all four of this years entrants. Owing to their separate paths, for the first time in 66 years, the Gophers and Fighting Sioux did not play each other in the regular season. In their 284th all-time meeting, the stakes have never been higher for these two upper Midwestern schools, their respective rabid fan bases and bragging rights, since a 1979 NCAA championship meeting saw Herb Brooks Minnesotans take down Gino Gasparinis Dakotans in Detroit. NORTH DAKOTA (25-13-3) HEAD COACH: Dave Hakstol (260-132-40); Captain: Dillon Simpson The solid, but unspectacular Sioux arrive in Philadelphia without the bona fides of the other three combatants, yet still hold a place in college hockey lore. UND has reached the national semifinals for the 20th time -- and first since 2008 -- thanks to sweeping the Midwest Regional as an at-large bid and lowest seed by taking down top-seeded Wisconsin and then outlasting Ferris State in double overtime. Despite holding a late-season lead in the brand-new NCHC, North Dakota conceded the regular-season title to St. Cloud State on the final weekend, then needed three games to take out Colorado College in the conference quarterfinals before bowing to Miami-Ohio in the semis. Sophomore winger Rocco Grimaldi can lay claim to the tournaments first hat trick, which he recorded in a 5-2 win against the Badgers, and also sits atop the club in scoring with 39 points (including a team-best 17 goals and a team- high 156 shots on goal). Behind him, the largely-ignored Flyers prospect Michael Parks, a junior and projected senior leader of the squad with 12 goals and 30 points. Like their border brothers, the Sioux have made it this far thanks to 14 players who have tallied at least 10 points, a defense which did not allow more than six goals in any game, and a unique adaptability to opponents playing styles. North Dakota faced a known quantity in long-time WCHA rivals Wisconsin, going shot for shot and stride for stride in victory, then showed uncanny patience in outwaiting the molasses-in-January pace of the Bulldogs. The Big Green will have to shift into yet another mode, as Minnesota can stretch the ice like few teams and turn forechecking schemes into taffy. Hakstol reached the national final in his first year at the helm of 2004-05, eventually coming up short as Denver completed its consecutive championships, but hasnt been back since. The Sioux havent won it all since 2000, beating Boston College in Providence. A berth in Saturdays terminal contest, and a victory, will go a long way towards securing his legend and long-term viability in Grand Forks. Saturdays national final is set for a 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt puck drop on TSN2 and TSN GO. Cheap Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt. Valencia made sure it will finish first in Group A with a 1-0 win at Swansea thanks to an early goal from Dani Parejo. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. 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Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes.Imagine a playoff that includes Arizona facing TCU in one semifinal and Mississippi State meeting Georgia Tech in the other. Is it a long shot? Sure. But its not quite as far-fetched as it may have seemed before this season of surprises began. No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 9 TCU, No. 10 Arizona and No. 22 Georgia Tech are all unbeaten after starting the season unranked. The list of undefeated teams that opened the season outside the Top 25 also includes Marshall, which remains unranked despite winning its first five games by an average margin of 31.8 points. Its way too early, but I thought before the season when everybody started lining teams up for the four-team playoff, I said, you know, theres so much that can happen in the regular season in college football, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. All the polls are nice for the fans, but theyre going to be presumptuous. Lets wait and see what happens because I think the Power 5 conferences have so much more parity than theyve ever had that theres so much more thats still going to happen over these next six or seven weeks. Heres a look at these five unbeaten teams that started the season unranked. -- ARIZONA (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) How they got here: Arizona is 5-0 for the first time since 1998 with a young offensive backfield featuring redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon and true freshman running back Nick Wilson. Linebacker Scooby Wright leads a defence that has eight sacks over its last two games. In its last two games, Arizona edged California 49-45 on a Hail Mary and pulled off a 31-24 stunner at No. 12 Oregon, which was ranked second at the time. Potential roadblocks: Arizona has a tough home test with Southern California on Saturday and has three more games with ranked teams: Nov. 1 at No. 18 UCLA, Nov. 22 at No. 24 Utah and Nov. 28 at home against No. 20 Arizona State. If the Wildcats stay unbeaten through the regular season, theyd still have to survive the Pac-12 championship game. -- GEORGIA TECH (5-0, 2-0 ACC) How they got here: The Yellow Jackets have found an ideal quarterback for Paul Johnsons triple-option attack in Justin Thomas, who has rushed for 470 yards while also throwing seven touchdown passes with only one interception. Georgia Tech beat Georgia Southern 42-38 on a touchdown with 23 seconds left and erased a 10-point deficit in a 27-24 triumph over Virginia Tech. Id say theyre resilient, Johnson said. Nothing much seems to affect them. We get behind and nothing changes. They dont panic. Potential roadblocks: Georgia Tech hosts defending ACC Coastal Division champion Duke on Satuurday and closes the regular season with a Nov.dddddddddddd15 home game against Clemson and a Nov. 29 trip to No. 13 Georgia. The Yellow Jackets avoid No. 1 Florida State in the regular season but could face the Seminoles in the ACC championship game if both get that far. -- MARSHALL (5-0, 1-0 Conference USA) How they got here: Marshalls the one team on the list that isnt really a surprise. Before the season, Marshall was touted as a team that could go unbeaten thanks to star quarterback Rakeem Cato and a tissue-soft schedule. Cato directs an offence that leads all FBS teams with 595.6 yards per game. Cato has done a tremendous job, Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. He is extremely unselfish and could care less about his stats. What he cares about is winning the football game. Potential roadblocks: Marshall has a potentially tricky home game Saturday with Middle Tennessee, which beat the Thundering Herd 51-49 last season. The only other remaining opponent that currently owns a winning record is UAB, which hosts the Herd on Nov. 22. Marshall also could end up in the Conference USA championship game. -- MISSISSIPPI STATE (5-0, 2-0 SEC) How they got here: Quarterback Dak Prescott has emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate while leading Mississippi State to its highest ranking ever. The Bulldogs have gained at least 500 yards in each of their games this season, though their brutal schedule gives them little time to celebrate. The difference between a pat on the back and a kick in the rear end is about six inches, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. We have to make sure we keep in the high-end of those six inches right there because if not, it will turn to the second. Potential roadblocks: Mississippi State hosts No. 2 Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs also have two upcoming road games against Top 25 teams: Nov. 15 at No. 7 Alabama and Nov. 29 at No. 3 Ole Miss. If the Bulldogs get through that grind unscathed, theyd still need to play the SEC championship game. -- TCU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) How they got here: The Horned Frogs already have matched their win total from last season, when they finished 4-8. TCUs offence is averaging 516.2 yards per game, 171.4 more than last season. That represents the best statistical improvement of any FBS offence this season. We are good enough to win the Big 12, TCU linebacker Paul Dawson said after a 37-33 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma, which was ranked fourth at the time. Potential roadblocks: TCU visits No. 5 Baylor on Saturday and hosts No. 16 Oklahoma State on Oct. 18 and No. 17 Kansas State on Nov. 8. ' ' '