Around the Big Ten (Hockey): March 1
We’ve reached the end of the Big Ten regular season and now we look to the playoffs.
But before we get to that, there was still plenty of action that decided the seeding for the weekend’s quarterfinal matchups.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers had a very successful stint for the second straight week in a row with their sweep against Ohio State. In the second period of game one, the Gophers exploded on the scoresheet, scoring four times in little over six minutes. That’s all Minnesota needed as Justen Close got the shutout.
Game two got close, but not close enough as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Minnesota then decided to score twice in 13 seconds to tie it. After that, it was all Gophers once again as they went on to win 5-2.
Penn State had one goal in mind - win two games and get home ice in the playoffs. In game one versus Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions took control. 14 seconds in, Danny Dzhaniyev beat Jared Moe to give Penn State the early lead. 10 different Nittany Lions recorded a point en route to a dominating 6-1 win.
It all came down to game two and the Badgers decided to go with their backup goaltender, Kyle McClellan. Around midway through the first period, Wisconsin struck first on the power play to get the 1-0 lead. Connor McMenamin would tie it in the second, but in the third Mathieu De St. Phalle would give the Badgers the go-ahead goal.
McClellan saved 47 shots and the Badgers played spoiler once again with a 2-1 win.
Heading over to Ann Arbor, the Michigan Wolverines had a big series with Notre Dame. Game one saw a chaotic first period with both teams going back and forth. The Fighting Irish had the late 3-2 lead in the third period, until Adam Fantilli did Adam Fantilli-type things and tied the game with less than two minutes to go.
Notre Dame bounced back and got the extra point in the shootout.
Game two was quite the nail-biter, at least for Penn State fans, who were relying heavily on Michigan after their heartbreaking loss. With the seniors being celebrated, the action would wait to reach its peak in the third period. Drew Bavaro scored first, but Michigan’s Mackie Samoskevich answered back to tie the game.
This game needed overtime, and Drew Bavaro wasn’t done getting on the scoresheet. With the game on his stick, he scored and clinched home-ice advantage for Notre Dame.
Big Ten playoff matches are now set, so let’s take a look at who's playing who.
With Minnesota winning the regular season title, the Golden Gophers receive a first-round bye.
With help from Minnesota, the Wolverines remained at the second seed and will play the seventh-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. The No. 3 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will welcome the No. 6 seeded Penn State Nittany Lions. At the fourth seed, Notre Dame will take on the fifth-seeded Michigan State Spartans in South Bend, Indiana.
Anthony Desher is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.
