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. 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. 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The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Lowry totaled 21 points, 11 assists and six steals as the Toronto Raptors outlasted the New York Knicks in overtime, 95-90, in a seesaw battle at Madison Square Garden. The matchup between the Atlantic Division leaders and the five-win Knicks was surprisingly tight as neither team led by more than seven points. There were 12 leads changes and 21 ties, but Toronto controlled play in overtime as New York missed its first seven shots. Terrence Ross finished with 22 points, while Lou Williams and Patrick Patterson contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively off the bench for Toronto, which improved to 5-3 without star guard DeMar DeRozan. It was one of those nights you just find a way to grind it out, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 34 points, but New York failed to build off Fridays victory over the Celtics. A Ross floater in the lane broke an 84-84 tie with 2:38 left in regulation, and after a series of empty possessions, Anthony missed a contested 19-footer from the right wing. After Lowry hit iron on a 3-point try inside the final minute, Anthony did the same from the top of the key. Toronto, though, knocked the rebound out of bounds, and Anthony took Patterson to the hole and put in a left-handed layup with 28.7 ticks left. Lou Williams dribbled away most off the 24-second clock and was long on a 3- point try, but Patterson grabbed the rebound and Toronto called timeout with 2.dddddddddddd on the clock. Lowry drove left on the final possession of regulation and missed everything on his off-balanced baseline jumper. Patterson drained a 3-pointer on Torontos first touch in OT, and Lowry added a jumper the next time down. After Stoudemire split a pair at the foul line for the second time in the extra session, Lowry and Amir Johnson scored on back-to-back possessions for a 95-88 lead, and Toronto held on from there. (The loss) is more on what we didnt do, rather than what they did, Anthony said. It was knotted at 27-all heading into the second quarter and another back-and- forth frame ended with Quincy Acy tossing a length-of-the-floor pass to Jose Calderon for a buzzer-beating layup that gave New York a 46-45 lead. Ross 13 third-quarter points helped Toronto take a 72-67 advantage into the final quarter, but a Shane Larkin 3-pointer evened things at 74-74 less than three minutes in. Game Notes Lowry committed nine of Torontos 24 turnovers ... The Knicks gave it away 25 times ... Toronto came in averaging 108.4 points per game ... New York has dropped five in a row at home ... The Knicks were without guards J.R. Smith (foot) and Iman Shumpert (shoulder dislocation). ' ' '