By Roy J. Akers-www.skyviewsports.net
With Conference matchups already eliminating teams from the NCAA dance and automatic qualifiers, the B1G is down to their final four team. Overall, Notes: Hockey East leads the country with seven teams in the rankings. The Big Ten follows with five, the NCHC has four, ECAC Hockey has three and the CCHA has one … Team records are listed as W-L-T.
| 19.University of Massachusetts Lowell, 741715-15-419 20.Cornell University, 19RV14-10-617 | Upcoming Top 20 MatchupsFriday, March 14No. 8 Providence at No. 9 UConnSaturday, March 15No. 11 Penn State at No. 10 Ohio State |
Others Receiving Votes: College of the Holy Cross, 18; University of Nebraska Omaha, 15; University of New Hampshire, 15; Colgate University, 12; Sacred Heart University, 7; Union College, 3; Dartmouth College.
Big Ten Hockey Semifinals
Big shocker as No. 4 Minnesota falls to Notre Dame. It would be a surprise if the Gophers do not end up in the NCAA tournament as an at-large team.
Semifinal Pairings Set for Big Ten Hockey Tournament
Big Ten Hockey Tournament Semifinals to be held on Saturday, March 15
ROSEMONT, lll. — No. 3 seed Ohio State, No. 5 seed Penn State and No. 7 seed Notre Dame won Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal series over the weekend to advance to the Big Ten Semifinals. No. 1 seed Michigan State received a bye by virtue of its Big Ten regular season championship and a tiebreaker.
Saturday’s semifinal matchups from on-campus sites, to be carried on the Big Ten Network:
March 15, 6:00 p.m. ET — No. 7 Notre Dame (12-24-1) at No. 1 Michigan State (24-6-4)
March 15, 8:30 p.m. ET — No. 5 Penn State (20-12-4) at No. 3 Ohio State (23-12-2)
The winners of the single-elimination semifinal games will meet in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the campus of the highest remaining seed. The game will be broadcast on BTN.
Big Ten Quarterfinal Series Results:
No. 7 Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Minnesota, 2 games to 1
No. 3 Ohio State defeated No. 6 Wisconsin, 2 games to 1
No. 5 Penn State defeated No. 4 Michigan, 2 games to 0
Western Michigan keeps rolling
BRONCOS RISE IN NATIONAL POLLS
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan closed out the regular season with a sweep at Miami, which helped the Broncos elevate in the latest national polls.
WMU rose to No. 3 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live polls. The Brown and Gold leaped over Minnesota in the USCHO poll, while moving ahead of Minnesota and Maine in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll.
Among NCHC teams, Denver, Arizona State, North Dakota and Omaha were ranked in the top 20. Colorado College was receiving votes. WMU won the Penrose Cup, tying the league record with 19 NCHC wins this season.
Western Michigan is set to host St. Cloud State this weekend as part of the NCHC Quarterfinals. Puck drop for Friday’s series opener is set for 7 PM at Lawson Arena.
