MADISON, Wis. – To begin its first of two straight weekends of road series, the No. 4 Wisconsin men’s hockey team heads to Columbus, Ohio, for a Big Ten series against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17. Friday’s game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT (B1G+), with Saturday a 3:30 p.m. start (BTN).
Here’s six quick things to know before tuning in:
1 – SWEPT THE IRISH: Last weekend, the Badgers swept Notre Dame at the Kohl Center, winning game one, 4-2, and game two, 3-2.
No luck for the Irish. ☘️
That’s a SEASON SWEEP of Notre Dame!#75thSeason || #NextChapter pic.twitter.com/w51fjFpPGb
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 11, 2024
The victories helped UW complete its season sweep of the Fighting Irish, winning four games against Notre Dame and capturing all 12 possible Big Ten points. The Badgers became the first team to beat the Fighting Irish four times in a season since they joined the Big Ten in 2017.
2 – HOME ICE ADVANTAGE FOR PLAYOFFS: With its wins over Notre Dame, Wisconsin clinched a top-four Big Ten finish, meaning that the Badgers will have home ice advantage for at least one conference playoff game.
This marks the first time since 2013 that a conference playoff game will be held at the Kohl Center.
If the Badgers win two more games, they’ll clinch a top-two spot in the conference.
Teams that finish in second through fourth place in the regular season will play host to a best-of-three quarterfinal series at their home arena between Friday and Sunday, March 8-10.
The Big Ten regular-season champion earns a bye into the semifinal, which takes place the following weekend on either March 16 or 17. If the Badgers host a semifinal game, it will take place on Sunday, March 17.
The Big Ten title game will take place at the home rink of the highest remaining seed on March 23.
3 – BRING ON THE BUCKEYES: This weekend’s series marks the second time that Wisconsin and Ohio State will meet this season. On Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2, the then-No. 6 The Badgers swept the Buckeyes at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers won game one, 3-0. Freshman defenseman Zach Schulz and sophomore forwards Christian Fitzgerald and Cruz Lucius each tallied a goal as senior goaltender Kyle McClellan stopped 29 shots to blank the Buckeyes.
All the highlights
Badgers 3 – Buckeyes 0
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