The Ohio State Men’s Hockey team entered this weekend in solid position to reach the NCAA Tournament. After sweeping Michigan State on the road, this past weekend’s home series against Wisconsin was likely no longer a must-sweep.
Well, the Buckeyes decided to put that to the test, going 0-1-1 against Big Ten’s last place team. The Buckeyes fell to the Badgers 3-2 on Friday, ending the dream of winning a Big Ten regular-season title. Then, on Saturday night, the Buckeyes blew a 3-0 second-period lead after getting complacent. Wisconsin dominated the puck and the shots over the final 30 minutes, and the Buckeye defense cracked three teams, allowing Wisconsin to earn a tie.
Still, thanks to a poor weekend all around by bubble teams, the Buckeyes still sit tied for No. 10 in the PairWise Rankings. With only one conference champion (Atlantic Hockey) likely to come from outside the Top 10, that gives the Buckeyes about four spots worth of breathing room heading into conference tournaments. We’ll likely see a bid thief or two, so that’s not the best position to be in.
The bad news for the Buckeyes is that they now have to host Wisconsin again in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. The round is best-of-three, so it’s at least two chances to pick up another bad loss (at home, to boot). Of even more concern, the Buckeyes are 1-2-1 against Wisconsin on the season, so it’s tough to expect an easy sweep next weekend.
If Ohio State loses in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, it will almost certainly miss the NCAA Tournament. A sweep should come close to locking up a bid, though there are potential resume-hurting losses in the semifinals as well.
We’ll keep track of the Buckeyes and other bubble teams in their conference tournaments next week (some conferences don’t start until the following week), as we follow the Men’s Hockey team’s chances of joining the Women’s Hockey team in the NCAA Tournament.