Roots behind Wisconsin men's hockey's early playoff exit

But the roots of Ohio State's third straight win over the No. 5 Badgers in the quarterfinal series go back three weeks. The Buckeyes fought back late in regulation to win Game 1 of the series against the Badgers in overtime. The mopping up was completed the next night.

The last-place team in the Big Ten, which had won just one of 18 games entering that series, believed it had more potential. That happened Sunday as the Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin 3-1 in Game 3 at the Kohl Center.

Three things that stood out when Wisconsin men's hockey was eliminated from the Big Ten playoffs

The Badgers had to accept an early withdrawal from a tournament they once had realistic hopes of winning.

“It's the Big Ten, right? And we always talk about how anybody can beat anybody,” Wisconsin forward Mathieu de Saint Phalle said.

Ohio State proved that, but the Badgers laid some of the blame for how the weekend played out at their own feet.

He scored four points in the series-extending Game 2 win, but he only scored two goals in two games against Buckeyes goaltender Logan Turness, and one in both Games 1 and 3. We lost by -3. The first period was filled with uncertainty on Friday and Sunday.

And, in a roundabout way, Ohio State's 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory in Columbus on Feb. 16 and another 3-1 victory the next day impacted their playoff berth.

“I definitely think it gave them some faith,” de Saint Phalle said. “But at the end of the day, we were playing good hockey leading up to the game, so I don’t see that as an excuse.”

Stephen Halliday scored the tying goal with 1:39 left in the series opener in Columbus. He had two assists Sunday.

Davis Burnside scored his fifth goal of the season in overtime to give the Buckeyes the win. He scored his eighth and ninth points Sunday, his first a key power play goal that gave Ohio State the lead.

It was crucial for the Buckeyes to take the lead in their third game three days later. Scooter Brickey became an even bigger obstacle for the Badgers when the Ohio State defenseman scored from below the goal line midway through the second period to take a 2-0 lead.

“In the playoffs, when you get a lead and you score one point, the other team has to score two points,” Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik said. “I thought we played really solid defensively. Hey, when you get that second goal down, you start to get a lot of pressure. And against one of the best teams in the country, three days in their barn. We have three games to go. I'm really proud of my group.”

These five goals shaped Wisconsin men's hockey's 25 regular season wins

Badgers coach Mike Hastings knew from experience that the third game in three days of the playoffs wasn't going to go well. Things got ugly for the Badgers when Ohio State took the lead and neutralized Wisconsin in neutral territory.

“We couldn’t produce enough,” he said.

Wisconsin is aiming for the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and just over a week ago played a home series against Michigan State for the Big Ten regular season championship.

With three losses in five home games, the Badgers have fallen to No. 9 in the pairwise rankings, the No. 3 seed. And the opportunity to spend time on home ice, at least until the Big Ten semifinals, was wasted.

Wisconsin men's hockey passed one test, but will soon face another in Game 3 vs. Ohio State

Hastings tried to put things into perspective Sunday night.

“Now we move on to Chapter 3,” he said. “We had a regular season, we had a short playoff stint, and now we have an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. We understand that how that plays out is still in our hands. There is a need” . ”

But the Badgers have plenty of time to keep their cool before deciding on their next destination at the NCAA Selection Show on March 24th.