German Atlantis Forum » NCAA championship in seven seasons. North Dak

MINSK, Belarus -- Defending champion Sweden made the first step in its title defence with a 3-0 victory over Denmark at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund scored twice in the opening period when the Swedes displayed fast, well organized play that was tough for Denmark to match. "It was nice to have a few goals right away, keep the pressure off and the nerves away," Backlund said. Another Scandinavian superpower, Finland, began its campaign with an upset 3-2 loss to Latvia and Norway blanked Italy 3-0 while Germany prevailed in a shootout to beat Kazakhstan 2-1. Backlund scored his first for Sweden when defenceman Markus Lauridsen deflected his shot to the net with his skate and struck again by precisely directing Joakim Lindstroms slap shot. Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist added the third on a solo effort after intercepting a pass. "Once we got up two to nothing we stopped taking the puck to the net," Nyquist said. "We tried to make too many passes instead of shooting the puck." Latvia failed to capitalize on its second-period power plays when a total of seven Finns were in the penalty box. Finland used its only power play in that period to go 2-1 up with a goal by Petri Kontiola. Kristaps Sotnieks tied the match for Latvia -- the quarterfinalist in the Sochi Winter Olympics -- in the third before Arturs Kulda netted the winner on a power play. It was the first victory for Latvia over Finland at the worlds. Thomas Oppenheimer scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Germany the win. Germany outshot its opponent 47-20 but Kazakhstan went ahead 1-0 after a goal from Andrei Gavrilin. The Germans answered through Matthias Plachta at the end of the first period. "I have to look at the positive," German coach Pat Cortina said. "We put the puck to the net and that is extremely important for our team." Niklas Roest opened the scoring in the first period for Norway, Morten Ask made it 2-0 midway through the game and captain Anders Bastiansen rounded off the victory on a breakaway in the third. "I tried to shoot early to surprise the goalie and it went in, so I was really happy," Bastiansen said. "We did a good job. We won and thats the most important thing." Goaltender Lars Haugen made 15 saves for the shutout, but needed help from his posts on two shots by defenceman Daniel Sullivan in the second. "We had a little difficulty in the beginning, adjusting to the speed," Italy coach Tom Pokel said. "However, as the game went on we got better and better. So it was a good game for us." Italy and Kazakhstan are both newcomers to the top division this year. Later Saturday, Canada hopes to rebound from Fridays 3-2 loss to France with a win against Slovakia, while the United States faces Switzerland a day after it routed host Belarus 6-1. Marcus Davenport Youth Jersey .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. Marshon Lattimore Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/ .ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh net. Willie Roaf Saints Jersey . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Ted Ginn Jr Youth Jersey .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers.TSN2 and TSN GO deliver the culmination of the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Ice Hockey Championship with coverage of the FROZEN FOUR. TSN subscribers can watch the entire FROZEN FOUR tournament live on TSN GO. Coverage begins with the semifinals tomorrow (Thursday, April 10) at 5 p.m. ET, live on TSN2 and TSN GO. "With its single-elimination bracket format, the NCAA Championship is one of the most exciting events in hockey," said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President, Programming and Marketing, TSN. "The FROZEN FOUR further showcases the growing number of Canadians competing for the biggest titles in college sports, and is the perfect complement to our NCAA coverage that includes NCAA MARCH MADNESS and the all-new COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF." The complete broadcast schedule is as follows:*• Semifinal #1: Union (N.Y.) vs. Boston College on Thursday, April 10 at 5 p.m. ET on TSN2 and TSN GO• Semifinal #2: Minnesota vs. North Dakota on Thursday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET on TSN.ca and TSN GO. Encore on Friday, April 11 at 2 p.m. ET on TSN2 and TSN GO• Final at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 12 on TSN2 and TSN GO Calling all the games are ESPN lead hockey play-by-play commentator John Buccigross and lead hockey analyst Barry Melrose, with reports froom Quint Kessenich.dddddddddddd In the first FROZEN FOUR semifinal, Union (N.Y.) takes on NCAA scoring leader Johnny Gaudreau and Boston College, who are seeking their fourth NCAA championship in seven seasons. North Dakota takes on Minnesota in the second semifinal, making this Minnesotas third trip to the FROZEN FOUR since their back-to-back title victories in 2002 and 2003. North Dakota enters the matchup looking for their eighth national title. Craig Buttons Four Thoughts on the FROZEN FOURThe four teams competing in this years FROZEN FOUR feature a combined 40 NHL draft picks. Craig Button, TSNs Director of Scouting, shared his thoughts on four of the top players to watch in the tournament: 1. "Johnny Gaudreau is the real deal – he has been the most dominant player in NCAA hockey since Paul Kariya."2. "There are many exciting prospects to watch, but I would pay extra attention to North Dakota captain Dillon Simpson, an Edmonton Oilers draft pick who grew up in Edmonton."3. "Québec-born Boston College defenceman Mike Matheson has really developed into a force on the blue line."4. "Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox has been turning heads with solid performances and some truly great numbers this season." ' ' '