Funkerstation » Halak.Chara opened the scoring at 10:04 of the

Its been a rough year for the Idaho football program, but the Vandals are ending it on a high note.Idaho (8-4) has qualified for a bowl game in what is its second-to-last year playing major college football.The Vandals were unceremoniously kicked out of the Sun Belt Conference earlier this year, and the administration decided it had had enough of FBS football and chose to become the first program in modern times to voluntarily drop to the FCS ranks.In two decades as an FBS program, Idaho has qualified for a bowl only three times. The Vandals will face Colorado State on Dec. 22 at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Their other bowl appearances have been in Boise as well.Coach Paul Petrino acknowledged it is sweet vindication to reach the postseason.It was a great feeling, Petrino said. Thats one reason Im so proud of our players. Theyve been kicked out of a conference and told they were going to change divisions. They never worried about that. They worried about playing one game at a time.Idaho won six of its final seven games to finish with a 6-2 mark in the Sun Belt, a collection of teams in the southeastern U.S. whose closest member is 2,000 miles from the Vandals campus in tiny Moscow, Idaho.The Sun Belt found that it didnt need Idaho or New Mexico State any longer in order to host a conference championship game and gave both the boot earlier this year.Idaho President Chuck Staben decided the two-decade experiment as an FBS program was producing only high expenses, with few wins and few fans to compensate. The Vandals averaged fewer than three wins per season as an FBS program since 1996, with eight 10-loss seasons.Crowds were sparse in the 16,000-seat Kibbiedome, a giant wooden stadium built in the shape of a Quonset hut.After next season, the Vandals will return to the FCS Big Sky Conference, a league they dominated in the 1980s and early 1990s.That will mean lower overall costs, especially with 22 fewer scholarships to provide, and lower travel costs.Staben said there was no chance the decision will be revisited now.In the long term, this well-deserved bowl invitation does not change factors that informed our decision to join the Big Sky after the 2017-2018 season, versus pursuing an unsustainable future as an FBS independent team, Staben said.Right now, were focused on celebrating the accomplishments of our student-athletes, Staben added.With all the turmoil surrounding them, you might have thought the Vandals would resume their losing ways, and at first they did.They opened the season with a victory over Montana State then were blown out by No. 4 Washington and Washington State of the Pac-12. They improved after that and finished the season with a four-game winning streak.We played two tough Pac-12 teams and got our butts whupped a little bit, said Petrino, the brother of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino. Our guys just kept fighting. Our kids got better and better. They found a way to win games.The Vandals are led by junior quarterback Matt Linehan, a son of Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and former Vandal quarterback Scott Linehan.Matt Linehan said the Vandals were pleased to be headed to Boise, a city where they have a lot of alumni and are likely to draw a big, friendly crowd.It didnt matter what bowl we were going to, Linehan said. There was just a sigh of relief that we knew we were going.Linehan has thrown for 2,803 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. Five of his receivers have caught passes for at least 350 yards.Vandals players expressed satisfaction that the game will be the only televised bowl game on Dec. 22 and will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN.This is my first time ever playing in a nationally televised game, said defensive back Jayshawn Jordan. Its a great way to end my college career.Linehan and other Vandals players have endured some lean seasons, and appreciate the success now.Weve gone through enough adversity to fight through it, Linehan said. Were happy to be here at this point.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Bol Bol Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Vlatko Cancar Jersey . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. 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TORONTO -- Europe coach Ralph Krueger was well aware of the odds against his team in the World Cup of Hockey. His players didnt focus on that and instead listened to his message.The speed at which Europe (2-0) has bought into what Krueger was preaching has them sitting atop Group A following a 3-2 overtime victory over the Czech Republic on Monday.They always believed wed have a shot at being where we are today. Probably nobody outside of our room did, Krueger said. We havent even spoken about winning, weve just spoken about execution and growth since Day 1, but we never used any negative motivators.Were not done with these two games, we want to continue into the next game and bring a high level and compete onwards.Leon Draisaitl at 2:06 of overtime, taking a pass from Mats Zuccarello and beating Czech goalie Petr Mrazek low on his blocker side for his second goal of the tournament.Zdeno Chara and Zuccarello scored in regulation while Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots for his second win of the tournament.Jakub Voracek and Martin Hanzal responded for the Czech Republic (0-2), which is all but eliminated from advancing to the semifinals. Mrazek made 38 saves.Its not great, we lost two games and we dont have much chance right now to go to semis, said Hanzal, who scored his first of the tournament in the third period to force overtime. Weve got to hope that Canada loses twice, its going to be really hard, but theres still a chance.The Czechs now have two days off before concluding the preliminary round against the United States. Europee plays Sweden.ddddddddddddEurope took a 2-1 lead at 2:17 of the third period on Zuccarellos first of the tournament. Moments after sprawling out to rob Roman Josi with a huge glove save, Mrazek mishandled Zuccarellos fluttering wrist shot.Hanzal tied it 2-2 on a power play at 8:31 of the third, picking up the bounce off the end boards off of a Vladimir Sobotkas point shot and beating Halak.Chara opened the scoring at 10:04 of the second period, beating a screened Mrazek with a floater from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the tournament.The Czechs nearly respond moments later as the puck got behind Halak, but Dennis Seidenberg was there to clear it off the goal line.Voracek tied it with 6:32 left in the middle period as he got around a pinching Josi and beat Halak.Europe outshot the Czechs 21-9 in the second period and had plenty of opportunities to take over the game.Just over two minutes in and with Europe already on a power play, Czech defenseman Michal Kempny jumped on a loose puck in the crease giving Europe a penalty shot. Anze Kopitar took the shot but could not beat Mrazek with a backhand deke.Then, just past the six-minute mark of the second, Marian Hossa beat Halak glove side, but his wrist shot deflected off the post.We really got together within the room, Draisaitl said. By now, everyone kind of knows their role and thats really important on a team. We just clicked as a team. ' ' '