early in the third period

Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Just down the road from the FCS championship game, theres a certain playoff about to wrap up Monday night that surely has some catching up to do to whats been going on in the other half of Division I college football. Even Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys Stadium in Arlington will be hosting Ohio State and Oregon for the FBS championship game, might have to agree the 24-team playoffs on the FCS level have a little something on the four-team College Football Playoff. Even if North Dakota State keeps winning the FCS title, as it did Saturday with a 29-27 victory over Illinois State. The thrilling matchup of Missouri Valley Conference teams was an excellent advertisement for the playoff system. In the FCS, it dates to 1978. Well, yeah, I think a playoff could work, and we like what we have in FCS, NDSU coach Chris Klieman said. We have 24 teams and you get a true champion because youve got to win a number of games in consecutive weeks. But I dont know if theyll ever do that at that level of having how many teams, is it four, is it eight, so on. But no, its fun to have a true champion, and we crowned two champions today. We crowned a true Missouri Valley champion today and a national champion today. I think that with the playoff system, added Bison running back John Crockett, I think thats something that they really should look deeply into because at the end of the day when you go to school, you dont want to be just another player. You dont want to be just another school. I feel like at the end of a football season, its either youre the best or youre just amongst the rest. I feel like at the end of the day, if you want to hold your finger up and say, were the best team in the nation, hands down, playoffs, its perfect, because a bowl game cant -- like TCU, they played great, and other teams didnt play so well. I think that they really need to think about that because look at this, this is amazing, great atmosphere, and you know at the end of the day whos No. 1. Interestingly, Illinois State coach Brock Spack feels differently from his championship game brethren. He doesnt see a need for the FBS playoff to expand beyond four teams. Spack coached on the higher level of Division I for two decades and values the bowl games as well as the playoffs. The bowl scenario I think works for them, he said. I think the plus-one or whatever youre calling this is interesting. I think it seems like its a very good equation because I dont think they would have picked the two teams that theyre going to play Monday night. I really like the playoff scenario. Its unique to our level football. Ive really enjoyed it. I dont think for - this is just my opinion, that they should get away from the bowl scenario. I think thats unique to that level, and maybe four teams is the magic number. Im not in that position to make that decision or really have an opinion. It seems to be working out very well. Will they go to six or eight or whatever? I think youve got to be careful with that, particularly with these unprofessional players. Youre talking about academics, and were trying to reduce the risk of injury, and obviously the more games you play, the more you expose these guys to injury. FCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STORY North Dakota State (15-1) 29, Illinois State (13-2) 27 http://tinyurl.com/lfubljh GAME BALLS Offense - NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz might stand 6-foot-6, but he has both mobility and the ability to improvise under pressure. The championship games most outstanding player completed 15-of-22 pass attempts for 237 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards on 16 carries, including the game-winning touchdown as well as a fumble at the end of a 23-yard run in the first quarter. Defense - NDSUs starting trio of linebackers led their team in tackles as Carlton Littlejohn had eight solo tackles, Esley Thornton had six stops as well as a late-game interception to seal the win, and Nick DeLuca had six more tackles. For Illinois State, defensive tackle Brandon Prate had eight solo tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss. Special Teams - So senior Adam Keller finally didnt convert a PAT after NDSU took the late 29-27 lead. He deserved a little slack despite the blocked kick as he had made 117 PATs in a row. He kicked two 41-yard field goals and a 24- yarder to reach an FCS single-season record 29 field goals, and he added two PATs in an 11-point game. IN MEMORIAL Illinois State players wore a red-and-white commemorative decal with the number 65 on their helmet to honor John Rodgers, the father of Eastern Washington senior All-America offensive tackle Jake Rodgers. John Rodgers suffered a heart attack in the stands during the FCS quarterfinal game between Illinois State and EWU on Dec. 13 and passed away two weeks later. Members of the Redbirds team found it difficult to celebrate after the win considering what happened during the game and wanted to express their support of both the Rodgers and EWU families. In another sign of sportsmanship, the NDSU and Illinois State players not involved in the pregame coin toss walked out on the field to shake hands with each other. It was a sign of mutual respect between two teams from the same conference. CONFERENCE SCOREBOARD The Missouri Valley set an FCS single-season record with its 10 playoff wins, two more than the previous high. The combined records of the 11 FCS conferences that participate in the playoffs: Missouri Valley (five qualifiers) - 10-4 (.714) CAA Football (four) - 4-4 (.500) Southland (three) - 3-3 (.500) Big South (two) - 2-2 (.500) Big Sky (three) - 2-3 (.400) Patriot (one) - 1-1 (.500) Southern (one) - 1-1 (.500) MEAC (one) - 0-1 (.000) Northeast (one) - 0-1 (.000) Pioneer (one) - 0-1 (.000) Ohio Valley (two) - 0-2 (.000) IN THE HUDDLE SCOREBOARD Championship Game Record: 1-0 (1.000) Season Record: 645-193 (.770) Air Max 270 Cheap China . Authorities in Medina, Minn., released the details one day after Cunningham was jailed for another alleged incident with the woman he had been living with for the previous eight months. Cunningham had already been charged with felony domestic assault for allegedly choking the woman last week. Yeezy Boost China Cheap . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. 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Ben Smith had one of Chicagos early goals and set up the other -- the first of Klas Dahlbecks NHL career -- while Darling outplayed reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask in the rookies sixth career start. Patrick Kane also tallied and Marcus Kruger recorded two assists for the red-hot Blackhawks, who survived a late comeback effort from the Bruins as well as an injury to Jonathan Toews. The Chicago captain did not return after sustaining an upper- body injury near the midway mark of the second period. The Bruins had their captain, Zdeno Chara, back in the lineup after missing 19 straight games with a knee injury, but still fell for the fourth time in their last five outings. Rask managed just 18 saves. Darling, recalled from the minors last week with Corey Crawford sidelined by an ailing foot, came up with 14 saves during a first period in which the Blackhawks surged ahead with a pair of high-effort goals. Final Score: Buffalo 4, Calgary 3 Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Moulson scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the third period, to lead Buffalo to a 4-3 win over Calgary. Moulson scored the first and last goals of the game, and his marker that redirected off his skate with 7:29 left proved to be the decider for the Sabres, who have won two straight games. Tyler Ennis collected three assists, including one on both of Moulsons goals. Zemgus Girgensons tallied a goal and an assist and Marcus Foligno also lit the lamp for Buffalo. Jhonas Enroth earned the win with 42 saves. Despite outshooting Buffalo 45-19, Calgary was on the wrong end of the final score. Mark Giordano, David Jones and Sean Monahan all scored for the Flames, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season. Karri Ramo made 15 saves on only 19 shots in the loss. Final Score: Philadelphia 4, New Jersey 1 Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Read and Sean Couturier picked up a goal and assist each to stoke Philadelphias 4-1 victory over New Jersey on Thursday. Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek also lit the lamp for the Flyers, who kicked off their final homestand of calendar year 2014 with their second win in three outings. Claude Giroux and Mark Streit chipped in a pair of assists to back a 17-save effort by Ray Emery. Philadelphia continues its residency on Saturday afternoon by welcoming Carolina. Martin Havlat provided the sole offense for the Devils, who have lost eight of their last 10 overall. Cory Schneider surrendered three goals on 35 shots in defeat. Final Score: Columbus 3, Washington 2 (OT) Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Nick Foligno scored a power-play goal with 18.8 seconds left in overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Thursday to extend their win streak to five games. The Blue Jackets went on the power play with 1:57 to play when Jason Chimera was called for interference. After Sergei Bobrovsky made two huge short-handed saves, Jack Johnson, who had drawn the penalty, dished to Foligno for a one-timer from the right circle. The puck sailed over Braden Holtbys glove, giving Foligno his second goal of the game. Bobrovsky finished with 39 saves, while Holtby stopped 20-of-23 shots. The Capitals were seeking a fourth straight win. Final Score: Los Angeles 5, Ottawa 3 Ottawa, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis scored less than two minutes apart early in the third period, helping the Los Angeles Kings spoil Dave Camerons head coaching debut with a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. The two goals came almost immediately after Ottawas Mark Stone scored short-handed to tie the game at 2-2 just 1:44 into the final frame. Matt Greene, Justin Williams and Tanner Pearson also talllied to help the Kings bounce back after two straight losses.dddddddddddd. Jake Muzzin posted a career- best three assists, while Jonathan Quick came up with 32 saves for Los Angeles. Cameron was elevated from assistant coach on Monday to replace Paul McLean, who was fired after the Senators dropped 13 of their last 17 games. Ottawa was able to overcome a 2-0 deficit on goals by Bobby Ryan and Stone, but gave up three in the third period to fall to 1-4-1 in its last six outings. Jared Cowen notched a goal and an assist in the loss, with Craig Anderson stopping 31-of-35 shots for Ottawa. Final Score: Tampa Bay 2, Carolina 1 Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Nikita Kucherovs marker with 30.3 seconds left in regulation sent Tampa Bay past Carolina, 2-1, on Thursday. Kucherovs second goal of the contest was a fluke deflection. He appeared to want to pass across from the left circle, but the puck instead changed direction off the skate of Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey in the slot and slid over the goal line. Evgeni Nabokov turned away 29 pucks and picked up his first assist of the season for the Lightning, who had lost two in a row. Justin Faulk tallied and Cam Ward made 25 saves for the Hurricanes, who suffered their fourth straight defeat and third by one goal. Final Score: St. Louis 6, NY Islanders 3 St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Alexander Steen had two goals and one assist in his return, helping the St. Louis Blues post a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders at Scottrade Center on Thursday. Steen, who missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury, provided an immediate spark and his second tally ignited four-goal third period that carried the Blues to their third straight win. T.J. Oshie had a goal with two assists and Jake Allen made 25 saves. John Tavares and Mikhail Grabovski scored in the second period for the Islanders, who have lost three games in a row. Former Blue Jaroslav Halak allowed five goals on 32 shots. Final Score: Colorado 4, Winnipeg 3 (SO) Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored on Colorados first two chances in the shootout, as the Avalanche rallied for a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Jarome Iginla and Ryan OReilly scored late for the Avalanche after Mark Scheifele had given the Jets a 3-1 lead at 4:32 of the third period. Calvin Pickard made 30 saves, including two huge stops in overtime, before shutting out Winnipeg in the shootout, helping Colorado snap a four-game losing streak. Scheifele added two assists and Ondrej Pavelec made 23 saves for Winnipeg, which has picked up at least a point in eight straight games (5-0-3). Final Score: Nashville 5, Arizona 1 Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Fisher had a goal and an assist in Nashvilles 5-1 win over Arizona Thursday. Fisher, who missed nearly the first two months of the season due to an Achilles injury, netted his first goal of the campaign that ended a long power-play drought for the Predators. Pekka Rinne made 28 saves in Nashvilles second straight win. James Neal also tallied a goal and an assist, while Shea Weber and Filip Forsberg each had a pair of assists. Ryan Ellis, Olli Jokinen and Calle Jarnkrok all tallied goals for the Preds. Mike Smith allowed five goals on 38 shots in the Coyotes fourth straight loss. Antoine Vermette scored the lone Arizona goal. Final Score: San Jose 2, Minnesota 1 San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Joe Pavelski scored the game-winning goal early in the third period to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. Brent Burns also scored and Joe Thornton assisted on both markers for the Sharks, who have won six of their last seven games. Alex Stalock stopped 18-of-19 shots fired his way in the win. Christian Folins first NHL goal accounted for Minnesotas lone goal and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves in defeat. ' ' '