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. Mark Borowiecki 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. Craig Anderson Senators Jersey . - The Minnesota Vikings have ruled Christian Ponder out for Sundays game at Baltimore, because the quarterback has not yet passed all of his post-concussion tests. Thomas Chabot Senators Jersey .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-daniel-alfredsson-senators-jersey/ . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half.MONZA, Italy -- First it was physical contact. Now its turning into a psychological battle. The fierce rivalry between the Mercedes teammates dominating Formula One took a new turn Sunday when Lewis Hamilton pressured Nico Rosberg into a mistake and overtook him to win the Italian Grand Prix. You have to be prepared for the unexpected, Hamilton said. Im quite grateful for today that I didnt lose it, didnt crash into anyone on that first corner. ... I managed to keep my head. At the Belgian GP two weeks ago, Rosberg finished second after crashing into Hamilton early and sending his teammate out of the incident-packed race -- resulting in disciplinary measures from Mercedes and a reportedly hefty fine for Rosberg. The key event this time came on lap 29 of 53 as Hamilton had recovered from a poor start to pull up right into Rosbergs rear-view mirrors. Feeling Hamiltons presence behind him, Rosberg braked hard and drove straight through the Monza circuits first chicane at the end of the main straightaway. Rosberg was slowed as he had to slalom through obstacles on the escape road, while all Hamilton had to do was stay on the track and he easily passed Rosberg. Hamilton then cruised to his second win in Monza, his sixth victory of the season and the 28th of his Formula One career. Lewis was quick so I needed to up my pace and as a result I made a mistake, Rosberg said. It was very bad and that lost me the lead in the end. Its definitely very disappointing. Rosberg made the same mistake earlier in the race. Its not like many other races Ive seen with Nico. He rarely made mistakes and two today in the same place, Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff said. Nico was under massive pressure from Lewis and Lewis deserved the win today. Hamilton cut Rosbergs championship lead from 29 to 22 points with six races remaining. Rosberg crossed 3.1 seconds behind, and Felipe Massa of Williams was third, a distant 21.8 seconds back. Valtteri Bottas in the other Williams finished fourth and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull was fifth. Hamilton started the season strongly by winning four of the opening five races then had a series of problems which allowed Rosberg to take over control of the championship. Now, Rosberg is the one having problems. While they are both 29, Hamilton hhas more experience. Jason Spezza Jersey. He won the F1 title in 2008 by one point ahead of Massa. If you want to be a world champion you have to go through lows and highs, Wolff said. You need extreme mental strength to make it to the end and win the championship and I think both of them have that in them. For the second consecutive race, Rosberg was booed on the podium. Maybe thats something you also need to survive if you want to make it to the top, Wolff said. It was a disappointing day for the Ferrari drivers before their home tifosi -- fans -- as Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth and Fernando Alonsos race ended on lap 30 due to a technical problem that resulted in the Spaniard pulling to a stop at the end of the main straightaway. Ferrari dropped to fourth in the constructors standings behind Williams in third. Mercedes holds a massive 182-point lead in the team category ahead of Red Bull. Hamilton and Rosberg qualified 1-2 and fans had anticipated a battle between the pair at the first corner. But at the start, Hamilton had a technical problem and dropped to fourth heading into the first chicane behind Rosberg, McLarens Kevin Magnussen and Massa. Hamilton rebounded by passing Magnussen with Massas help on the fifth lap then overtook Massa around the outside through the first chicane on lap 10 and began to reduce Rosbergs lead lap after lap. Meanwhile, Rosberg lost time when he drove straight through the first chicane on lap nine -- a harbinger of things to come. The layout of the Monza track -- long, high-speed straights followed by slow corners -- requires heavy braking. Its one of the most difficult tracks for braking because of low downforce and the highest speed of the year, Rosberg said. But that isnt any excuse or anything, thats just the way it is. ... Unfortunately I got it wrong two times in the race. Hamilton also had a problem 15 minutes before the race started, when a team mechanic dropped a portable brake cooler on his front wing, breaking it slightly and forcing a change. I came here with a positive attitude and hoping just for no issues, Hamilton said. I had another serious one but I managed to pull through it. Im still looking for one of those weekends where we dont have any of those troubles. The Singapore GP in two weeks is up next. ' ' '