Tonight at 8 PM Eastern, two of the very best teams in the country, basically from the start of the season until its final day, will face off for the NCAA Div. 1 men's national championship.

For the favourites, the Mavericks of Minnesota State, this is the first national title game ever at the Div. 1 level. For the underdogs, the Pioneers of the University of Denver, it could be the date of their ninth national title, pushing them to a tie for the all-time lead with Michigan.

This is a story of college hockey’s historical “have” versus what has, until very recently, been a doormat “have-not.”

Denver has been to four of the last six Frozen Fours, and this is its 16th appearance since 1958.

The last time these two teams played each other, and it was a rude welcome to the college hockey coaching