It seems like University of Wisconsin Men's Hockey Team I discovered kryptonite. Unfortunately, that resulted in them being eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament.
For the first time in Big Ten hockey history, the bottom-ranked team in the conference won the quarterfinal series of the Big Ten tournament. unfortunately, No. 5 Badger (26-11-2)they were the two seeds to make history. 7-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (14-19-4) won the best-of-three series 2-1.
Despite the good vibes and improvements from last year, Wisconsin ended up with just one more win and the same result in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes had reason to be confident. After all, they beat Wisconsin the last two times the teams met, even though that game was back in Columbus.Badgers beat Ohio State 3-1 and 6-0 In the two games played at the Kohl Center in December, I thought they would dominate again once they got home.
Instead, it was Ohio State that hurt the Badgers early in the opener, outscoring Wisconsin 6-0 early and getting early goals from their defensemen. brent johnson. The Badgers later tied the game, but then… Max Montez The show has started.
Montez scored twice, including a snipe on the power play in the first game, giving Ohio State a lead it couldn't relinquish. He added a game-clinching empty netter, giving the Buckeyes his 3-1 victory.
“One of the things I think is beautiful about this game is that even if it rears its head like it did tonight, it just comes out.” University of California head coach mike hastings Said. “This is a revealing sport. I thought they paid a little bit more than we did and won the special teams battle. They had it harder, but they got paid for it. 24 hours. It would be best to turn the situation around soon.”
The Badgers responded with a 4-2 win in Game 2, but it took a lot of great saves from their goalie. Kyle McClellan To do that – 37 saves to be exact.
The power play was even better in the second game, going 5-2 and featuring UW's stars. 2nd grade Cruz Lucius The senior had two assists and a game-clinching empty-net goal. david ciley He scored the winning goal in the second period and also added an assist. It felt like the Badgers might have regained momentum.
History was on the Badgers' side Saturday night, with a home crowd that broke a Big Ten tournament record. Three of his six games in the Big Ten quarterfinal series have been played, with five of those games being won by the team that won Game 2.
Instead, the Badgers bucked that trend with a listless performance and yet another 3-1 loss, extending their personal three-game losing streak dating back to their WCHA days to five games.
The Badgers came close to scoring a few minutes into the game when the puck slipped through the Buckeyes' goaltender. Logan Turnesbut it was rescued by a defenseman theo wahlberg For the Buckeyes. It seemed to take the wind out of Seigaku University's sails, which never came close again for the rest of the game.
result? A disappointing upset on home ice, and the reality that the team is playing its worst hockey of the year when it should be at its peak.
“We have to find a way to score multiple goals in our building in a win-or-go-home situation.” [game]'' Hastings said. “Experience is the best teacher. Two of the last three nights I've experienced something I haven't wanted to experience in the last few weeks.”
The Badgers finished the season series against the Buckeyes with four of their five conference wins, and combined for only five goals in those four losses.
stars of the weekend
3 – david ciley, Wisconsin. He scored a big game-changing goal in Game 2 and was solid with faceoff dots in the first two games.
2 – Max Montez,Ohio. The forward scored two goals, including the winning goal, in the all-important first leg.
1 – Logan Turnes,Ohio. The goaltender recorded both wins in Ohio State's win and played none in the loss, stopping 57 of 59 UW shots over the weekend.
next
Now the No. 9 Badgers have also fallen to No. 9 in the all-important rankings. pairwise Rankings are the primary criteria used to determine seeding for the NCAA Tournament. They'll have to sit back and wait for the next few weeks and try to stay calm because their next appearance will be in the NCAA Tournament.
The selection show is March 24, but the Badgers will have a pretty good idea of their final standings in advance, thanks to the transparent seeding process the NCAA uses throughout hockey.
Currently, the Badgers enter as the first three seeds and will likely face defending champion Quinnipiac in the first round, followed by top-seeded Boston College in the regional final.
according to playoff statusthe Badgers could finish anywhere from the No. 5 overall seed to the No. 11 seed, but have an 84% chance of remaining on the 8/9 line.
Hastings said after the game, “Continued in Chapter 3.”
