Advertisement

2023 Big Ten hockey tournament: Michigan hockey downs Minnesota again for title

2023 Big Ten hockey tournament schedule

All games are played at the home of the higher-seeded team. The first round is a best-of-three series, with the semifinals and final dropping to just one game.

First round, March 3-5

No. 2 Michigan defeats No. 7 Wisconsin, 2-0

Game 1: Michigan 6, Wisconsin 5 (OT)

Game 2: Michigan 7, Wisconsin 4

No. 3 Ohio State defeats No. 6 Penn State, 2-1

Game 1: Ohio State 5, Penn State 1

Game 2: Penn State 2, Ohio State 1 (OT)

Game 3: Ohio State 3, Penn State 1

No. 5 Michigan State defeats No. 4 Notre Dame, 2-1

Game 1: Notre Dame 1, Michigan State 0

Game 2: Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 2

Game 3: Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 2

Semifinals, March 11

No. 1 seed Minnesota will host the lowest-seeded team remaining, with the other semifinal played at the home of the other high seed.

Game 1: Michigan 7, Ohio State 3

Game 2: Minnesota 5, Michigan State 1

Championship game, March 18

Final: No. 2 Michigan 4, No. 1 Minnesota 3

Big Ten hockey wrapped up its regular season on Saturday night with Michigan hockey’s 2-1 overtime loss to Notre Dame in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines got star defenseman Luke Hughes back from injury, but mustered just one goal on 49 shots against Ryan Bischel, the Fighting Irish goalie who leads the nation in saves and is one of three Big Ten semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award (given annually to the nation’s best college goalie).

The win gave Notre Dame two points in the standings to slide the Irish into the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament, leaping past Penn State and Michigan State; it’s another boost for the Irish’s beleaguered NCAA tourney chances. For Michigan, meanwhile, it was the Wolverines’ fourth straight loss (though two came in the shootout and count as ties in the NCAA's eyes) and could damage U-M's bid for another No. 1 seed.

Michigan defenseman Luke Hughes (43) celebrates a goal against Michigan State during overtime of the "Duel in the D" at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.
Michigan defenseman Luke Hughes (43) celebrates a goal against Michigan State during overtime of the "Duel in the D" at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.

STATE OF HOCKEY:5 players to know as Michigan, Michigan State faced off in Detroit

SPARTANS WILL:Michigan State hockey bombards Wisconsin in emotional 6-2 win

A wide-open season that saw five of the conference’s seven teams separated by just four points entering the final day saw its drama fizzle out a bit on Saturday evening. Ohio State, which needed only to reach overtime against No. 1 seed Minnesota in order to clinch the No. 2 seed, gave up five straight goals in a 5-2 loss, while Penn State, which could have grabbed home ice in the first round with a win over lowly No. 7 seed Wisconsin, instead stumbled to a 2-1 loss to the Badgers. And so, Michigan is the No. 2 and will host the Badgers, while Michigan State will head to South Bend as the No. 5 seed.

The conference will look to top a stellar 2022, which saw three teams make the NCAA tournament, and two — Michigan and Minnesota — in the Frozen Four. The odds look good for the Big Ten dominating on Selection Sunday again on March 19: Minnesota (1), Michigan (4), Penn State (8) and Ohio State (10) all sit in the top 10 of the Pairwise Rankings, which is the model the selection committee uses to fill the 10 at-large berths as part of a 16-team field.

The Big Ten's pair of bubble teams will, unfortunately for them, face each other in the first round: Notre Dame enters the postseason at No. 14 in Pairwise, and Michigan State, which was idle for the final weekend, sits at No. 19 in coach Adam Nightingale’s first season at the helm in East Lansing. The Spartans won the season series with the Irish thanks to two regulation wins in early February, plus an OT win back in October. Either the Irish or the Spartans could steal an NCAA berth with a strong March, even if they don’t win the conference’s auto-bid.

MSU hockey coach Adam Nightingale instructs his Spartans Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, during the rivalry faceoff against U-M at Munn Ice Arena. The Wolverines won 4-2.
MSU hockey coach Adam Nightingale instructs his Spartans Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, during the rivalry faceoff against U-M at Munn Ice Arena. The Wolverines won 4-2.

Michigan dropped its first game this season against the Badgers, 6-3 on Dec. 2 in Madison, then won the other three games of the series by a combined 17-8 score, including a 13-6 sweep in Ann Arbor on Feb. 3-4.

The Wolverines are the defending Big Ten tourney champs, defeating No. 1 seed Minnesota in Minneapolis last year; the Spartans are still looking for their first win after 13 straight losses over nine Big Ten tourneys.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2023 Big Ten hockey tournament for Michigan hockey, Michigan State