Getty Parker Mackay and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are looking to repeat as national champions.
The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and the Providence Friars will meet in the Frozen Four at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, and play for a berth to the national championship.
The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2. But if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of ESPN2 via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN2.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN2.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
ESPN2 is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
Providence vs Minnesota Duluth Preview
The Bulldogs are attempting to become the first repeat national champions since the Denver Pioneers pulled it off in 2006.
“None of our guys take for granted that we have this opportunity again,” Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin said, according to The Buffalo News. “These are very hard things to accomplish, especially the way the college game is now, and the parity. I think our guys are very respectful of that and feel very fortunate to have another opportunity.
“It’s great we’ve got guys that have won a championship and have been there before. You’re hoping when they get there, they can rely on that experience and help guys that haven’t been there.”
Bulldogs captain Parker Mackay rescued the defending champs in the regional semifinals, finding the back of the net with three minutes remaining in regulation to tie things up against Bowling Green. The forward then scored 11:45 into overtime for a 2-1 victory.
He tallied an empty-netter in the team’s 3-1 win over Quinnipiac to advance to the Frozen Four.
“Last year was about pulling the young guys along and making sure they’re doing things the right way out there,” Mackay said, according to the Duluth News Tribune. “This year it’s been more of just staying on guys, not letting guys get complacent.
“We knew the challenges were definitely going to be different. [Sandelin] and I talked about it at the start of the year. We were excited for them, though. And there were times where it was frustrating, when we were a .500 club for a little bit down the stretch. It wasn’t easy just trying to find our game every night. And it’s hard to deal with success sometimes, but obviously we’ve done a great job with that lately, and we’ve been playing good hockey.”
Providence’s Path
The Friars have scored 10 unanswered goals. After going down 3-0 to Minnesota State in the first period of the sides’ regional semifinals tilt, Providence roared back for a 6-3 victory.
They then shut out Cornell 4-0 in the regional finals.
Last year, Providence reached the regional finals but surrendered a goal to Notre Dame in the final minute to lose 2-1.
“The guys have been waiting to get back to this point all year long,″ Providence head coach Nate Leaman said, according to The Providence Journal. “There was a lot of ache in our team from losing last year the way we did, with 30 seconds left (in regulation time). It’s been a lot of heartache for our guys. This is what you’re playing for.″