Las Vegas is going to experience the Frozen Four for the first time Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

The Vegas Golden Knights won’t be in town, but those that participated in the Frozen Four yesteryear are excited for what’s to come.

“I hope it’s great,” center Jack Eichel said. “I assume the teams that are in it will have really good support from their fans and university’s community.

“(T-Mobile Arena) is a great building and it’s really cool that it’s going to get to be here.”

Three Knights players — Eichel, winger Reilly Smith and new center Nic Dowd — have experienced being on the cusp of playing for a national championship.

Some have played in NHL arenas. Others have played in NFL stadiums.

“I think it’s probably going to shock a lot of the players early,” Dowd said about playing at T-Mobile. “It’s going to be one of those things where it’s not like they get to adjust over a season.”

Eichel shines for Boston

The 2015 Frozen Four was going to be held at TD Garden in Boston.

Boston University playing for a national championship in Boston? Seems feasible.

“It was our goal to be a part of it,” Eichel said.

Boston knocked off Yale 3-2 in overtime, then followed with a thrilling 3-2 win over Minnesota-Duluth to reach the Frozen Four.

National powerhouse North Dakota waited. You would think that TD Garden would be filled to the brim with Terrier red and black in support for the hometown university.

“It was actually a pretty North Dakota-full crowd,” Eichel said. “They travel well. I don’t remember exactly what would be the percent be for BU fans versus North Dakota fans, but they definitely had a lot of people there.”

Eichel, the Hobey Baker Award winner that year, put Boston on his back again one more time with two goals and an assist to beat UND.

North Dakota nearly erased a three-goal deficit in the third period before Eichel scored into the empty net to send BU to the title game.

It was the 22nd time Boston played in the Frozen Four. Only a national championship would’ve been the perfect cap on Eichel’s lone college season, but the Terriers lost 4-3 to Providence two days later.

“I’d always dream of playing in the Frozen Four,” Eichel said. “To be a part of that weekend and everything that comes with it, and the fact that it was in Boston, it made it that much more special.

“It’s really hard to get there. I find the parity in college hockey to be really tight. Anybody can really beat anybody on any given night. I think that’s what makes college hockey great.”

Smith flies high at Miami

Smith arrived his freshman year at Miami (OH), joining a program with high expectations. The RedHawks made it to the national championship the year before, but lost 4-3 in overtime to Boston.

The Terriers scored twice in the final minute to force overtime.

There was a lot of buzz going into the 2010 season with the Frozen Four at Ford Field in Detroit.

Miami knocked off Alabama-Huntsville 2-1, then beat Michigan 3-2 in double overtime in the regional final to set up a matchup with Boston College.

“Good memories going into it,” Smith said. “Then we lost 7-1 in our first game.”

Boston College was the No. 1 team all season, stacked with future NHL talent like Chris Kreider, Cam Atkinson and Brian Dumoulin.

“National championship would’ve been great for your school, but we came up a little short,” Smith said.

On Cloud Nine

Dowd was named the captain of St. Cloud State his senior year in 2014 and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker.

The year before, Dowd was part of history with the Huskies making it to the Frozen Four for the first time.

They weren’t the only school that year to make their first trips. Massachusetts-Lowell and Quinnipiac were also in their first national semifinal appearances.

But it was Yale that went on to win their first national title against Quinnipiac, who defeated St. Cloud State 4-1 in the Frozen Four.

“I think that’s the goal of any college hockey player is to win the national championship,” Dowd said. “You kind of daydream about stuff like that as you get into that age in your life.

“Those guys are some of the closest guys that will be around for the rest of your life.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.