And then there were two. It’s Buckeyes vs. Irish with the Big Ten Hockey tourney championship on the line. One way or the other, the B1G is going to have a first-time winner and its fifth different champ in five years.
| Game Info | B1G Final |
|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 8pm ET |
| Television | BTN |
| Local Radio | 1460 AM |
| Online Stream | BTN2Go ($) |
Notre Dame and Ohio State met four times during the regular season with ND winning the teams’ regular season series 3-1-0-0. The Fighting Irish swept the Buckeyes in Columbus back in November but in the rematch, just five weeks ago, the teams split a hotly contested series in South Bend.
After a sensational start to their inaugural Big Ten campaign, the Irish struggled down the stretch. They finished the regular season on a 1-4-0 skid. However, as regular season champs, they earned a pass to the conference tourney semis where they took on Penn State. The Irish scored with less than a minute remaining to defeat the Nittany Lions, 3-2.
| Team Stats | Ohio State | Notre Dame |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Seed | No. 2 | No. 1 |
| National Polls | No. 4/5 | No. 3 |
| Avg. Goals For | 3.22 | 2.94 |
| Avg, Goals Against | 2.08 | 2.17 |
| Power Play | 24.3% | 21.8% |
| Penalty Kill | 89.9% | 88.5% |
| Points Leader | Tanner Laczynski (42) | Jake Evans (38) |
| Goals Leader | Mason Jobst (19) | Cal Burke (13) |
| Top Goaltender | Sean Romeo (2.07/.926) | Cale Morris (1.93/.946) |
Ohio State, on the other hand, steams into the championship on a 5-0-1 run. The Buckeyes swept Michigan State in the opening round of the B1G tourney. They then ousted a red-hot Michigan squad in a semifinal overtime thriller.
This game couldn’t get much better on paper. Seven All-Big Ten players will take the ice in the B1G championship for teams that will probably both be No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. It’s No. 3 in the polls vs. No. 4/5, the Big Ten’s first seed vs. its second seed, B1G Goalie and Player of the Year Cale Morris vs. GotY finalist Sean Romeo and PotY finalist Tanner Laczynksi.
The Big Ten’s final battle gets underway this Saturday at 8pm ET. It airs live on BTN. You can also stream it via BTN2Go.
NCAA Tourney Watch
Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan are all solidly in the field. According to the PairWise rankings, the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish should both be No. 1 seeds. (The only wrench in the works would be if OSU loses on Saturday and Denver crushes the NCHC finals.) At No. 12 and No. 13 in the PairWise Penn State and Minnesota will have to sweat out the conference tourneys.
