Big Ten playoff pairings set: Notre Dame hockey headed to Michigan for quarterfinals
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson knows what his team's mode of transportation will be for the first round of next weekend's Big Ten Postseason Tournament.
The 15-17-2 Irish, who completed their Big Ten regular season at 9-13-2 last weekend with 4-0 and 2-1 setbacks at Michigan, will be busing to Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines (17-13-3 overall, 10-11-2 Big Ten) in the best-of-three quarterfinal series against the coach Brandon Naurato’s No. 16 Wolverines.
Minnesota made sure the Irish would not be flying back to the Twin Cities next weekend when the No. 8 Golden Gophers clinched third place in the Big Ten standings with a 6-2 victory over visiting Michigan. Minnesota scored three unanswered goals in the second period to break the 2-2 deadlock after the first period.
More:Michigan sweeps Notre Dame hockey; road playoff series next for Irish
Meanwhile, second-year coach Adam Nightingale’s No. 6 Michigan State Spartans, who were fifth in the Big Ten a season ago, clinched the regular-season title by scoring three goals in the third period, two into the empty net, for a 5-2 victory at No. 4 Wisconsin. The victory by Michigan State also secured a first-round bye for the Spartans, who will begin their postseason by hosting one of two Big Ten Tournament semifinal games on Saturday, March 16.
The victory lifted the Spartans (22-8-3, 16-5-2 Big Ten) to 52 points in the standings with the second-place Badgers at 47 points, seven ahead of Minnesota. Fourth-place Michigan has 34 points. The top four teams plus sixth-place Penn State (24 points) and seventh-place Ohio State (15) are also fixed behind the Irish (31 points). The Nittany Lions scored a 5-2 victory over the Buckeyes Friday night in Columbus.
In addition to Notre Dame at Michigan, the other quarterfinal series have No. 7 Ohio State at No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 6 Penn State at No. 3 Minnesota.
More:Notre Dame goaltender Bischel named Big Ten First Star of Week
Big Ten standings
1. Michigan State-x 16-5-2, 52 points (22-8-3 overall); 2. Wisconsin 15-7-1, 47 points (24-9-2 overall); 3. Minnesota 13-6-4, 40 points (20-8-5 overall); 4. Michigan 10-11-2, 34 points (17-13-3 overall); 5. Notre Dame 9-13-2, 31 points (15-17-2 overall); 6. Penn State 6-14-3, 24 points (14-16-3 overall); 7. Ohio State 4-17-2, 15 points (12-17-4 overall). x-regular-season champion.
Friday’s results: Minnesota 6, Michigan 2; Michigan State 5, Wisconsin 2; Penn State 5, Ohio State 2; Notre Dame-idle. Saturday’s games: Michigan at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.; Michigan State at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.; Penn State at Ohio State, 5 p.m.; Notre Dame-idle.
Big Ten Tournament pairings
March 8-10 best-of-three series
Number in parentheses indicates seeding; times to be determined
(5) Notre Dame at (4) Michigan
(7) Ohio State at (2) Wisconsin
(6) Penn State at (3) Minnesota
(1) Michigan State-idle