SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson knows what the take is for his team in the first round of the Big Ten Postseason Tournament next weekend.
The 15-17-2 Irish, who completed their Big Ten regular season at 9-13-2 last weekend with setbacks of 4-0 and 2-1 at Michigan, will travel by bus to Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines (17-13-3 overall). Overall, 10-11-2 Big Ten) in a best-of-three quarterfinal series against coach Brandon Nauratu's No. 16 Wolverines.
Minnesota made sure the Irish wouldn't be back in the Twin Cities next weekend when the No. 8 Golden Gophers clinched third place in the Big Ten with a 6-2 win over visiting Michigan. Minnesota scored three unanswered goals in the second half to break a 2-2 tie after the first period.
blackberries: Michigan sweeps Notre Dame hockey. Next road playoff series for the Irish
Meanwhile, second-year coach Adam Nightingale's No. 6 Michigan State Spartans, who finished fifth in the Big Ten a season ago, clinched the regular-season title by scoring three goals in the third period, two into empty nets, for a 5-2 win over No. 4 wisconsin. Michigan State's win also earned a first-round bye for the Spartans, who will begin the postseason by hosting one of two Big Ten Tournament semifinal games on Saturday, March 16.
The victory raised the Spartans (22-8-3, 16-5-2 Big Ten) to 52 points in the standings with the second-place Badgers on 47 points, seven points behind 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 steady behind the Irish (31 points). The Nittany Lions earned a 5-2 win over the Buckeyes on Friday night in Columbus.
In addition to Notre Dame at Michigan, the other quarterfinal series has No. 7 Ohio State at No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 6 Penn State at No. 3 Minnesota.
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Big Ten ranking
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). Regular Season Champion X.
Friday results: Minnesota 6, Michigan 2; Michigan State 5, Wisconsin 2; Penn State 5, Ohio State 2; Notre Dame – inactive. Saturday matches: Michigan at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.; Michigan State at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.; Penn State at Ohio State, 5 p.m.; Notre Dame – inactive.
Big Ten Championship Pairs
March 8-10, best-of-three series
The number in parentheses indicates the seed; Times to be determined
(5) Notre Dame at (4) Michigan
(7) Ohio at (2) Wisconsin
(6) Pennsylvania in (3) Minnesota
(1) Michigan is inactive